An expense report is a document employees submit to get reimbursed for business expenses they paid out of pocket — travel, meals, accommodation, supplies, or client entertainment. A clear, well-structured expense report speeds up the reimbursement process and satisfies accounting and tax requirements.
How to create an expense report using Filero
- Open Filero's free Expense Report Generator.
- Enter your name, department, and the reporting period (date range).
- Enter your company name and the name of your manager or approver.
- Add each expense as a line item — date, category, description, and amount.
- The tool totals your expenses automatically.
- Add any notes or purpose of the expenses.
- Click Generate and download a clean PDF — no watermark, no account required.
What to include in an expense report
- Employee details: Your name, employee ID (if applicable), department, and position.
- Reporting period: The date range the expenses cover — a week, a month, or a specific trip.
- Expense date: The actual date each expense occurred.
- Category: Travel, accommodation, meals, transport, supplies, etc. — breaking expenses into categories makes them easier to review and approve.
- Description: A brief note on what the expense was for and why it was a business expense.
- Amount: The cost in the relevant currency.
- Receipt reference: Note which receipts are attached to support each expense.
- Total: The sum of all expenses being claimed.
- Signature: Your signature and the date of submission.
Tips for getting expense reports approved quickly
- Attach receipts for every item. Most businesses require receipts for any expense above $75. Even for smaller amounts, receipts back up your claim and prevent queries.
- Submit promptly. Most expense policies require submission within 30 to 60 days of incurring the expense. Late submissions may be rejected.
- Use the correct categories. Check your company's expense policy for the category names they use — this makes coding against the right budget codes faster for the finance team.
- Separate personal expenses. If a trip combined business and personal time, clearly separate the business-related costs and only claim those.
- Note the business purpose. For meals and entertainment, note who you met with and what the business purpose was — this is an ATO requirement for deductibility.
Expense reports for self-employed and sole traders
If you are self-employed, you do not submit an expense report to an employer — but keeping a record of business expenses is essential for tax time. The ATO allows you to deduct legitimate business expenses from your taxable income. Keeping a well-documented expense record throughout the year (rather than trying to reconstruct it at tax time) makes lodging your tax return much simpler.
Use Filero's Expense Report Generator to create monthly summaries of your business expenses. Store these alongside your receipts (photos of paper receipts are acceptable) as your tax records.
Frequently asked questions
How long should I keep expense reports?
The ATO requires businesses to keep records for five years from the date the records were prepared or the transaction was completed. For sole traders, the same five-year rule applies to records supporting your tax return.
Can I claim GST on business expenses?
Yes, if you are registered for GST and you have a valid tax invoice. You can claim the GST component of business expenses as a GST credit in your BAS. Make sure each receipt you keep is a proper tax invoice (includes ABN, GST amount, and is issued to your business).
What other business documents can I create on Filero?
Filero offers free generators for invoices, quotes, receipts, pay stubs, and purchase orders — all free, no account, no watermark.
Ready to try it?
Use Filero's free Expense Report Generator tool. No account needed, works on any device.
Open Expense Report Generator