# Expense report template for small business

Source: https://www.barespend.com/guides/expense-report-template/
Author: Dino Crnalic, CPA, CFO focused on finance transformation (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dino-crnalic-cpa)
Last updated: 2026-10-27

## The short answer

An expense report needs one row per expense with the date, merchant, amount, category, business purpose and a receipt. Add attendees for meals and a total at the bottom. Copy the table below into a spreadsheet, adapt the categories to your chart of accounts, and have each report approved before it’s paid.

## The template

Copy this into a spreadsheet, one report per person per period.

**Employee:** [name] **Period:** [start date] to [end date] **Approver:** [name]

| Date | Merchant | Category | Business purpose | Attendees (meals) | Paid with | Amount | Receipt attached |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [date] | [merchant] | [category] | [why this was needed] | [names, if any] | [company card / personal] | $[amount] | [yes / no] |
| [date] | [merchant] | [category] | [why this was needed] | [names, if any] | [company card / personal] | $[amount] | [yes / no] |
| [date] | [merchant] | [category] | [why this was needed] | [names, if any] | [company card / personal] | $[amount] | [yes / no] |

**Total claimed:** $[total] **Of which on a personal card (to be reimbursed):** $[total]

**Submitted by:** [signature, date] **Approved by:** [signature, date]

## Why each column is there

- **Date, merchant and amount** identify the expense and let it be matched to a card or bank transaction.
- **Category** should come from your list, which keeps coding consistent. See [business expense categories](/guides/business-expense-categories-small-business/).
- **Business purpose** is the part people skip and accountants ask for. “Client lunch” is weak. “Lunch with [client] to discuss the renewal” is better.
- **Attendees** matter for meals, where the record usually needs to show who was there.
- **Paid with** separates what needs to be reimbursed from what was already paid by the company.
- **Receipt attached** gives the approver a quick way to spot gaps.

IRS Publication 463 describes an adequate record as one that shows the amount, time, place and business purpose of each expense. These columns cover all four. See [Publication 463](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p463) for the rules in full, and ask your accountant what applies to you.

## Checklist for the person submitting

1. Every line has a receipt, or a signed note explaining why not (see [what to do when you lose a receipt](/guides/what-to-do-when-you-lose-a-receipt/)).
2. Every line has a business purpose, in your own words.
3. Dates fall inside the period.
4. Categories come from the company list.
5. Personal items are removed, and mixed purchases show only the business portion.
6. The total matches the lines.

## Checklist for the approver

1. Do the purposes make sense for the person’s role?
2. Are amounts within policy limits, or approved in advance if not?
3. Are there duplicates, such as the same charge on a card and in a reimbursement claim?
4. Are receipts legible and showing the right amount?
5. Is anything missing that should be chased before the report is paid?

## When a spreadsheet stops being enough

A spreadsheet works for a handful of people. It starts to struggle when you have several cards, receipts spread across inboxes and chats, and a bookkeeper who retypes each line.

With Barespend, your team emails, texts or uploads receipts as they spend. Each one is matched to its card or bank transaction and coded to your chart of accounts, so most of what this template asks people to type is filled in for them and the report becomes a review rather than a form. Anything unmatched is flagged. Plans start at $5 per active member a month on an annual plan, and you can [try it free for 7 days](https://start.barespend.com?utm_source=barespend.com&utm_medium=website&utm_content=guides-expense-report-template).

Pair this with the [expense policy template](/guides/expense-policy-template-small-business/), which sets the deadlines and approval limits the report depends on.

Want it as a file? Download the [free expense tracker template](/free-tools/expense-tracker-template/) for Excel or Google Sheets.

## Common questions

### What should an expense report include?

The submitter’s name and period, then for each expense: date, merchant, amount, category, business purpose and receipt. For meals, add who attended.

### How often should expense reports be submitted?

Monthly is common, and some teams do it after each trip. Whatever you choose, set a deadline in your expense policy and stick to it.

### Do I still need an expense report if I use a company card?

You still need each charge supported with a receipt and a business purpose, but the report can be much lighter, since the card feed already supplies the date, merchant and amount.

### When should I stop using a spreadsheet?

When the work of chasing, checking and re-keying outweighs the time saved by keeping it simple. Common signs are missing receipts at every close, several cards to reconcile and a bookkeeper recoding most lines.