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Finance template

Expense reimbursement form and approval workflow template

Submit what you paid out of pocket, get your manager's approval and receive the money back.

4 steps 13 fields
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Free for 14 days. No credit card. You can change every step and field.

Out-of-pocket expenses are small, frequent and easy to mishandle. Receipts arrive as phone photos in a chat, the manager approves “the usual”, finance cannot tell which expenses were already paid, and the employee waits weeks without knowing where the money is.

This template turns that into one request per expense report. The employee states the purpose and adds one line per expense with the date, category (meals, transport, fuel, lodging, supplies or other), description and amount, and the form adds them up. For example, a $64 client lunch and $22 of parking show $86 to reimburse. Receipts and the bank account for the deposit are required before the request can be sent. A manager approves within two business days and records the cost center. Finance then has five business days to pay, record the amount and date, attach proof of payment and explain anything that was not reimbursed. Finally the employee confirms the money arrived, which closes the request.

It fits teams whose people travel, visit customers or buy small things for the office, and where finance wants every reimbursement backed by receipts and an approval.

How it runs, step by step

The process reads from top to bottom. Each step goes to its owner with a deadline, and everything that happens is recorded in the request's timeline.

  1. Expense report

    Whoever starts the request

    List every expense and attach the receipts.

    5 fields in the request form
    • Purpose * Text
    • Expenses *Columns: Date, Category, Description, Amount Table
    • Total to reimburse Calculated
    • Bank account (routing and account number) * Text
    • Receipts *One receipt or invoice per expense Files

  2. Manager approval

    A person or team you choose

    Check the expenses make sense and approve.

    Approval: Approvers you choose Due in 2 days (business time)
    2 fields
    • Cost center * Text
    • Notes Long text

  3. Payment

    A person or team you choose

    Finance checks the receipts and pays the employee.

    Due in 5 days (business time)
    4 fields
    • Amount paid * Amount
    • Payment date * Date
    • Proof of payment Files
    • NotesExplain any expense that was not reimbursed Long text

  4. Confirm receipt

    The requester

    The employee confirms the money arrived.

    2 fields
    • Reimbursement * Checkbox
    • Notes Long text

Make it yours

Send it to the employee’s manager

Set the owner of Manager approval to the requester’s manager, so every report reaches the right person without anyone choosing.

Add mileage

Add a table with date, trip and miles, and a formula column that multiplies the miles by your rate. If you follow the IRS standard mileage rate, check the current one.

Bring in finance for large reports

Use approval limits on the total so reports above an amount you choose also go to a finance approver.

Pick cost centers from a list

Replace the Cost center text field with a user-defined list, so the CSV export lines up with your accounting codes.

Frequently asked questions

What is an expense reimbursement form?

It is the form employees use to claim back business expenses they paid with their own money. It lists each expense with date, category, description and amount, includes the receipts and is approved before finance pays. A good form calculates the total itself, so nobody has to add up the lines.

Are expense reimbursements taxable?

Under IRS rules, reimbursements paid under an accountable plan are not included in the employee’s wages. To qualify, expenses must have a business connection, be substantiated within a reasonable period, and any excess must be returned. Reimbursements that do not meet those rules are treated as wages. This is general information, not tax advice.

What receipts are needed for an expense reimbursement?

Ask for one receipt or invoice per expense showing the date, vendor and amount, plus the business purpose. The IRS describes adequate records as showing the amount, time, place and business purpose of an expense. Keep the receipts attached to the request rather than in a separate inbox.

How long should an expense reimbursement take?

Pick a deadline and publish it, for example payment in the next payroll or weekly payment run after approval. What matters is that employees know the date and can see where their request is. Deadlines on the approval and payment steps make delays visible.

Guides on this process

More finance templates

Purchase request

Ask for something to be bought, get it approved and track the order until it arrives.

Request → Director approval → Place the order → Confirm delivery

Travel advance and expense report

Ask for an advance before the trip; after the return date the traveler reports the expenses and finance settles the difference.

Request → Advance payment → Trip → Expense report → Settlement

Purchase order with approval limits

Small purchases go straight through, larger ones need the manager, and the biggest go to the board. The purchase order PDF is issued at the end.

Request → Purchasing

Start from this template

Copy it into your workspace, invite the people involved by email, and send the first request today. One plan with every feature, from $49 a month for 5 users.

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