How to Approve Expense Reports

Most company managers dread approving expense reports. The hard-to-read forms and jumble of receipts make it a tedious task. But if you have a good set of rules to follow, you can approve an expense report in a few minutes and get back to more pressing concerns.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Scan the report. Make sure all appropriate areas have been filled out. If not, return it to the employee immediately for completion. Always be certain that you're using the correct form. Large companies change paperwork often and may even require online forms to be filled out instead of paper ones.
2. Check for employee name, ID number and department number. Most companies need an employee ID number in addition to a name to process and approve the expense report. Look for missing identifying information and have it added before passing along the expense report to the office administrator or department head.
3. Go over the report line by line. Look for complete details about each expense, including the date, category, description and amount. Double check to determine if the proper expenses have been entered into the right column. For example verify that Tuesday's expenses are listed in the Tuesday column and not in the column for Wednesday's expenses.
4. Follow the company guidelines regarding allowable amounts for meals, lodging and other expenses. If the company doesn't publish a set policy, use your judgment.
5. Compare receipts with expense marked on the form. Contact the employee right away for missing receipts, then attach them to the report. Check for the employee's signature. Approve and sign the expense report yourself and then email or send it to the next manager or to the accounting department for employee reimbursement.