First, try to recover it
Most lost receipts can be replaced if you move quickly.
- Ask the merchant. Many businesses can resend a receipt or invoice by email, or reprint one from the order. Have the date, amount and last four digits of the card ready.
- Check your inboxes. Search for the merchant name, including spam and any shared or old addresses.
- Check the merchant’s app or account. Order history in a retailer, airline, hotel or rideshare account usually includes downloadable receipts.
- Check your card or bank portal. Some issuers show itemised data for certain transactions, or let you request a copy.
- Ask whoever was there. For a team meal or a group trip, someone else may have kept the receipt.
If you can’t recover it
Write a record at the time, with these details:
- Date of the purchase
- Amount
- Merchant and location
- What was bought and the business purpose
- Who else was involved, for meals or client events
- The name and signature of the person who made the purchase, and a date
- The approver’s name
For a card purchase, attach the card statement line so the amount and date are backed by a third-party record.
What the IRS looks for
IRS Publication 463 says documentary evidence, such as receipts, canceled checks or bills, is generally adequate if it shows the amount, date, place and essential character of the expense. Your own record should show the amount, time, place and business purpose. Documentary evidence isn’t required for an expense under $75, other than lodging, and there are other exceptions, such as a transportation expense where a receipt isn’t readily available.
That is a general summary, not tax advice. Because a substitute record may carry less weight than a receipt, ask your accountant what you need for your situation. The full rules are in Publication 463.
Set a policy so it’s consistent
A missing-receipt process is easier to run if it’s written down. Include:
- How many days people have to submit receipts after a purchase
- The form or note to use when a receipt is lost
- Who approves substitutes, and a limit on how often one person can use them
- What happens when the same gap keeps recurring
The expense policy template has wording for this, and the month-end checklist shows where missing receipts fit in your close.
Catching it before it’s lost
The best fix is to notice early. With Barespend, your team emails, texts or uploads receipts as they spend, each is matched to the card or bank transaction it belongs to, and transactions with no receipt stand out the day they happen rather than at the end of the month. That is when the merchant can still resend it and the purchaser still remembers what it was for.