Business trips are represented by business trips during which employees of the enterprise solve important issues for the organization. Trips can be within Russia or in other countries. They are paid by the employer, for which the employee prepares an expense report on a business trip. This document includes information about how much money was spent on the trip. Based on this report, the accountant must transfer to the employee the required amount of funds to cover the costs incurred.
Document concept
For business trips, the advance report in 2017 was compiled in the form of AO-1. In 2018, the form of this document remained unchanged. This document is approved by the statistical authorities, but each company has the opportunity to make any additions to this report.
You can not only add new columns, but also exclude some lines that are considered redundant. The expense report on a business trip is presented by the primary accounting document. It serves as confirmation that the funds issued to the employee for the trip were sent for one purpose or another.
Compilation Nuances
Compiling an expense report on a business trip is quite simple. This process is carried out by an accountable person or a representative employee who received a certain amount of money for the trip from the head of the company. To make sure that these funds were actually used during the business trip, a report is compiled and transmitted to the company's accountant.
The report is checked by the chief accountant, and then transferred to the director for signature. If the employee has spent more than what he received before the trip in the form of an advance, then he can receive compensation. It is issued in cash from the organization’s cash desk. For this, a citizen first receives a cash expenditure order, which indicates for what purpose the funds were spent.
What forms can I use?
When preparing an expense report, employees of enterprises can use the following documents:
- AO-1 form approved by statisticians;
- a form specially developed by a particular company on the basis of AO-1 form;
- electronic document, if the company uses electronic document management.
If the company decides to develop its own form, then it is important to enter some required details into it. If they are absent, then this may cause certain problems with tax inspectors.
How is it made out?
All company employees who go on business trips should understand how to fill out an expense report on a business trip. It is with the help of this document that they will be able to confirm the validity and legality of the costs incurred. The design rules include:
- a report form is issued to the employee by an expert in the accounting department;
- You can fill out the documentation yourself or with the help of an accountant;
- data is entered immediately after the trip;
- some information fits into the accountants of the company.
The employee must attach other documents to such a report, which serve as confirmation of certain expenses. They are presented by different checks, receipts or other payment documents.
A sample travel expense report can be found below.
What information is included?
Filling out this document is carried out on the basis of official documents available to the employee of the company who arrived from a business trip.If the calculations were made in cash, then different payment documents are attached to the report. If non-cash expenses were used, then an extract from the bank will be required.
The following information is included in the documentation:
- information about the traveled citizen;
- data on the accountant who fills in several paragraphs of this report;
- the name of the organization in which the citizen works;
- Personnel Number;
- purpose of the advance payment, represented by household or entertainment expenses;
- information about cost overruns or cash balances;
- lists documents confirming the costs of the citizen while on a business trip;
- The total amount spent by a company employee during a business trip
- citizen signature.
After studying this report, the accountant puts his signature on it. Additionally, they indicate the number and date of the report. The expenses to be accounted are given, as well as the numbers of accounting accounts. A correctly drawn up and verified document is transferred to the director of the company for study and signing.
An example of filling out an expense report on a business trip is below.
What documents are attached?
An employee of the company during a business trip must save all payment documents that confirm certain expenses. They are recorded in the report during its completion. This documentation may be presented in different forms. Therefore, the following papers are attached to the report:
- cashier's checks considered the most common documentation;
- strict reporting forms;
- cash warrants;
- receipts;
- invoices;
- other payment documents.
All of these papers should be carefully checked and stored under optimal conditions. If they are lost, the employee will not be able to prove that he really spent the funds received from the employer for the necessary purposes. In this case, accounting may refuse to reimburse expenses.
If funds are spent in organizations and stores in which a cashier's check is not issued, you will have to request commodity checks.
What are the difficulties?
In the process of filling out an expense report on a business trip, various difficulties may arise. These include:
- if a person is sent to another country, then he must confirm the expenses with payment documents received from foreigners, but if he does not have knowledge of a foreign language, then he may not have different receipts and checks;
- often, immediately after such a trip, a citizen goes on vacation, so he does not have time to draw up a report immediately after arrival, but you can also have to formulate documentation immediately after a period of rest;
- all documents received from foreigners will have to be translated into Russian.
It depends on the correctness of filling out the report and preparing other documents whether expenses will be correctly reimbursed to the citizen.
Features when traveling abroad
Business trips can be carried out not only within Russia, since it is often required to visit foreign partners, therefore a business trip abroad is required. How to issue an expense report in this case? For this, the features are taken into account:
- returning from a trip, the employee must draw up a report within three business days;
- if the money was issued in foreign currency, then this is certainly indicated in the documentation;
- information on spending in foreign currency must be entered without transfer at the ruble exchange rate;
- if documents confirming certain expenses are drawn up in a foreign language, you will have to deal with their line-by-line translation into Russian;
- the translation process can be carried out by a direct employee of the company or by employees of specialized companies;
- if tickets for different vehicles are created in a foreign language, then the transfer of details, to which the full name refers to, is certainly required.passenger, place of arrival, flight, date of departure and arrival, as well as ticket price;
- it is not necessary to translate information that does not have any significance, for example, this includes flight rules or features of baggage transportation;
- there is no need for a transfer if a citizen has an electronic ticket, since all the information is filled in on the basis of the requirements of the Unified International Codifier;
- a transfer is required for all other supporting papers, which include a hotel bill or a check for car rental.
Only when all the above requirements are taken into account, an employee of the company will be able to confirm the target spending of money received from the employer. If employees of specialized companies are involved in the transfer, the costs of such services are included in other expenses of the company.
Can an employee go on vacation after a trip?
Often business trips last long enough, so immediately after such a trip, the employee needs rest. It is allowed to immediately take a vacation after such a trip. For this, it is not required to come to work and transfer promptly an advance report on a business trip.
It is allowed to draw up documentation immediately after leaving the vacation, and not within three days after returning from the trip.
Delivery deadlines
The document is for rent within three days. The countdown begins with the following points:
- return from a business trip;
- exit from vacation;
- return from sick leave.
Therefore, the countdown in three days begins from the moment when the citizen returns to work to continue his career. If the deadlines for the transfer of the advance report on a business trip are violated, this leads to the fact that the employee does not receive money from the company to cover the expenses incurred by him. In addition, this situation may become the basis for holding the company accountable if violations are identified by tax inspectors.
What wiring is used?
To approve a correctly filled out form of an advance report on a business trip, it is required to enter the relevant data into the accounting records. To do this, the accountant uses postings to reflect income or expense transactions. Expenses are posted to account 71.
If a citizen spent more on a trip than he received from the employer, he can count on compensation for such expenses. To do this, he must confirm them with official documents. Only in this case the necessary information is entered by the accountant in the accounting of the company.
Conclusion
Business trips may be required by any company for various reasons. They can be carried out in Russia or in other countries. Workers on business trips can expect to receive compensation for their expenses. To do this, they must save payment documents confirming the expenses incurred.
After a business trip, an advance report is prepared by the company employee. It contains information about all expenses during the trip. Other documents attached to it are studied by the accountant and director of the company. Based on this report, the necessary data are entered into the accounting of the company.