Expense report template
An expense report (or expense claim form) is how an employee asks to be paid back for business costs they paid themselves, such as travel, hotels, meals with clients, or supplies. This free Excel template records each item with its date, category, project, receipt and VAT, totals the claim, and has a separate mileage log for business journeys in a personal car.
Running a company of 30 to 200 people? Documents like this are now worth money.
It's set up so a manager can approve it and finance can post it without chasing anyone for details.
What's in the template
The download has 5 sheets: Expenses, Mileage, Example - Expenses, Example - Mileage, plus a read-me.
Expense claim (example rows from the Example sheet):
| Date | Category | Description | Client or project | Receipt? | Amount (incl. VAT) | VAT | Net | Paid with |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-02 | Travel | Train to Leeds client meeting | Northfield Supplies | Yes | 86 | 0 | calculated | |
| 2026-09-02 | Meals | Lunch during client visit (self) | Northfield Supplies | Yes | 14 | 2 | calculated | |
| 2026-09-09 | Accommodation | Hotel, one night, trade show | Trade show | Yes | 132 | 22 | calculated | |
| 2026-09-10 | Client entertaining | Dinner with two prospects | Trade show | Yes | 119 | 20 | calculated | |
| 2026-09-18 | Supplies | Printed brochures for stand | Trade show | No | 42 | 7 | calculated |
How to use it
- One claim per person per month. It keeps approvals and posting simple.
- Record each item the day it happens, with a photo of the receipt. Reconstructing a month from a wallet of crumpled receipts is where errors creep in.
- Split out the VAT shown on each VAT receipt, so finance can reclaim it where the rules allow.
- Use the project column for anything you recharge to a client or want to cost against a job.
- Log business mileage separately with the start, end and purpose of each trip.
- Send it to your manager by the cut-off date; they check it against the policy and approve.
Mileage in the UK
When employees use their own car for business journeys, HMRC sets approved mileage rates you can pay without tax or National Insurance. For cars and vans the rate is 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year (from 6 April 2026; it was 45p before) and 25p a mile after that. Commuting to a normal workplace doesn't count as business travel. Rates change, so check GOV.UK before you rely on them. In the US, the IRS publishes a standard mileage rate each year.
What your expenses policy should cover
The form works best next to a short written policy that answers the questions people would otherwise ask the approver:
- What can be claimed, and what can't (fines, personal upgrades, alcohol beyond a client meal, if that's your rule).
- Limits: for example a nightly hotel cap by city, and a per-head limit for client meals.
- Receipts: required for every item, and what happens when one is lost.
- Approval: who signs off claims, and who approves the approver's own expenses.
- Deadline: claims in within a month, so costs land in the right period.
- Company cards vs own money, and how card spending is reconciled.
Keep it to a page. If you have an operations manual, link the policy from it so new starters can find it.
Example: one month's claim
The example sheets show a fictional sales manager's September: a train to a client, a hotel and dinner at a trade show, brochures, and two drives to customers. The brochure line has no receipt, so it's highlighted for the approver to query before signing it off.
Common mistakes
- Missing receipts. Agree in your policy what happens without one.
- Claiming VAT that isn't on a valid VAT receipt.
- Including commuting miles in the mileage log.
- Claims months late, which makes costs land in the wrong period.
- No written policy, so every approval is an argument.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between an expense report and an invoice?
An invoice bills a customer. An expense report asks the company to pay an employee back for business costs they paid personally.
Do we need an expenses policy as well?
Yes. The report records claims; the policy says what can be claimed, the limits and who approves. Keep the policy short and link it from the form.
Can we pay more than the HMRC mileage rate?
You can, but in the UK anything above the approved rate is taxable for the employee. See the GOV.UK guidance below.