What Atypical Expense Reports Mean for Your Business
Four Warriors Tickets, A House Cleaning Bill, and A Lyft Ride – What’s On Your Expense Report This Month?
A few weeks ago, a colleague was telling me about an employee who submitted an expense report for four Warriors Game tickets, Lyft rides, and drinks with a whopping total of $1,075. As shocking as this expense was, I was more surprised by the fact that my colleague didn’t even bat an eye at the cost and went on to inform me that this was just a small portion of their entertainment budget for clients and a major selling point for attracting new talent.
Expense reports typically seem like a mundane topic and one that is more appropriate for an accounting blog. After hearing my colleague’s story, I thought about the different effects expenses can have on a company. A clearly outlined expense policy can be used as a recruiting tool by featuring covered expenses as perks to potential employees. On the other hand, having a loosely regulated policy where employees submit unapproved expenses can lead to a loss of revenue.
Here are my top tips for using expenses as a recruiting and retention tool: