Create a Printable Expense Report in 5 Easy Steps

Creating a printable expense report may seem easy for those who have done it before. But a new entrepreneur or small business can find the process intimidating if they don’t have an idea of where to start.

Fortunately, you don’t need to be an expert accountant or know the deep inner workings of Excel to create a printable expense report. We are going to take you through the whole process, so you can track your expenses with ease.

Here is what you need to do:

1. Determine Your Needs

Expense reports can be of different types. A small business can have a simple spreadsheet that tracks all business expenses over a period of time. However, organizations generally use multiple reports to stay on top of their business expenses and facilitate reimbursements, like:

• Travel expense report
• Project expense report
• Event expense report
• Vendor expense report

You can create a report to track any sort of expense based on your needs. So, decide whether you need a basic expense report or something like a travel expense report to reimburse your employees.

2. Choose an Expense Report Template

You don’t have to start from scratch to create a spreadsheet that tracks your business spending. Countless websites offer free expense report templates to save your work and time. You can download a free template and edit the columns to print your expense report.

The template websites provide templates for Excel, Google Docs, and other formats. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about any incompatibility.

Select and download a template for the type of printable expense report you want. A range of templates is available online, whether you want to create a basic or vendor expense report.

3. Customize Your Expense Report

Your template will have several columns where you can put in your information. Begin by filling out your business name, vendor or employee details, date, project name, and so on. You can also customize the columns in your template or add more based on your needs.

For example, you might want to add a vehicle expense column if you use your car for business purposes. Likewise, you can dedicate columns to organize different expenses made by your business.

Additionally, you may be able to claim many expenses from your tax, like:

• Lease or rent
• Interest paid on mortgages
• Office supplies and utilities
• Licensing fees
• Repairs or maintenance

Therefore, customize your template as per your requirements.

4. Record Your Expenses

The next step is to enter your expenses and fill in all the columns with payment information. Try to capture all the vital details you may need for expense tracking, compliance, or audits. Put each expense in a separate row and enter the amounts accurately.

Now, add up all the figures and type the total. Some spreadsheets will do the job automatically once you fill in all the expenses.

In addition, arrange your expenses chronologically, starting from the oldest to the most recent. You can also record your expenses as you pay to save work at the end of the month or year.

Ideally, you should record your expenses the moment you pay to gain more visibility into your spending.

Pro tip: You can attach invoices or receipts with your reports for more accountability.

5. Print Your Expense Report

Switch on your printer and click on the print option on your template. Your expense report will be ready in a moment!

Go for Paperless Expense Reports

Businesses that use expense or payment management software don’t need printable expense reports. They can record expenses on the fly and gain real-time visibility into business spending. In addition, the tool sorts all the expenses in the right categories and fills in all information automatically.

In addition, you can capture e-receipts and let your employees upload proof of payments from the field. And best of all, you are able to generate reports instantly with a few clicks whenever you want. All the expenses will be ready with all information for you to control your budget.

Final Thoughts

Creating an expense report is a simple process. You can download a free template and fill in your expenses to create a customized report. However, you can save more time and improve data accuracy by using expense management software. Plus, you can also print your expense reports in seconds to track your expenses efficiently.

Try Mesh today to gain real-time visibility into your business expenses and create printable reports.

• Get the latest blogs from Mesh by subscribing to our newsletter