Get reimbursed faster
Expense claims get stuck when they are incomplete: a missing receipt, an unclear purpose, a total that does not add up. This form keeps everything together. Each line has a date, a category and a description; the totals are calculated; and photos of your receipts are added as pages after the claim, in the same PDF.
What to include
- Your name and department, and the organisation you are claiming from.
- The period the claim covers.
- One line per expense: date, category (travel, meals, accommodation, fuel…), what it was for, and the amount.
- Any advance you received before spending.
- Photos of every receipt.
- Your signature and your approver’s.
Advances
If you were given cash in advance, add it under the expenses. The form shows the total claimed, less the advance, and the balance payable to you. If you spent less than the advance, it shows the balance to return instead.
Receipt photos
Add photos straight from your phone’s camera or gallery. They are rotated the right way up, shrunk to a sensible size on your device (nothing is uploaded), and added as pages labelled “Receipt 1 / 4” and so on. HEIC photos from iPhones work in Safari; elsewhere, set your camera to “Most compatible”.
Categories you use
Choose a category from the list or type your own. Categories you use are remembered for next time.
Good practice
- Claim promptly: many organisations only reimburse claims made within 30 or 60 days.
- Write the purpose, not just the shop name: “Lunch with client, Acme proposal” rather than “Java House”.
- Keep the original paper receipts until the claim is paid.
- Claim one currency per form. For trips abroad, convert at the rate on your card statement and note it in the description.
Related
Organisations paying claims can record the payment with a payment voucher. Small cash expenses paid from a float belong on a petty cash voucher. Contractors billing hours can use the timesheet generator.
A worked example
Thabo, a sales representative, spent a week visiting clients. He received an advance of 100 before the trip. His claim lists a return train ticket, a lunch with a client, fuel for a site visit and printer ink, each with its date and category. The total claimed is 149; less the 100 advance, the balance payable to him is 49. He adds four photos of his receipts, which appear as pages two to five of the PDF, and sends the file to his manager, who signs “Approved by” and forwards it to accounts.
Checklist before you submit
- Every expense has a date, a category and a clear purpose.
- Every expense has a receipt photo, or a note explaining why not.
- Any advance is entered.
- The period is correct, and nothing has been claimed before.
- You have signed it.
Expense claim terms explained
- Advance
- Money given to you before you spent it, taken off your claim.
- Balance payable
- What the organisation owes you after the advance.
- Balance to return
- What you owe back if you spent less than the advance.
- Mileage
- Using your own vehicle for work, usually claimed at a set rate per kilometre or mile.
- Per diem
- A fixed daily allowance some organisations pay instead of actual meal costs.
If your organisation pays a per diem, claim it as one line per day with the category Meals and the daily rate, rather than individual receipts, unless your policy says otherwise.
For managers approving claims
Check that each line has a receipt or a note, that the purpose fits your policy, that the dates fall in the period, and that the totals add up (they always will, because they are calculated). Look for duplicates from earlier claims. Sign “Approved by” and pass the claim to whoever pays it; they can record the payment with a payment voucher that lists the claim number as a supporting document.
Related free tools
- Free payment voucher generator: to record paying the claim.
- Free petty cash voucher generator: for small cash expenses from a float.
- Free images to PDF converter: to combine receipt photos on their own.
One more tip
Start the claim on the first day of a trip and add each expense as it happens, with a photo of the receipt straight from your phone. By the time you are home, the claim is finished and nothing is forgotten or lost.
Updated 2026-10-29