Types of Expense Reports

The main types of expense report
What each line should show

An expense report lists spending, with the date, amount, category and receipt for each item, so someone can check it, pay it back or understand it. The main types are a reimbursement report for spending an employee paid personally, a travel report for one trip, a mileage report for driving, an advance settlement report for a cash advance, a petty cash report, and summary reports that group a business's spending by category or compare it with income. Each answers a different question, so pick the one that matches what you need to know.

Billed publishes this page. The Billed details are quoted from Billed's own product pages, opened on October 30, 2026. This page covers the types of report and how to put one together; for reimbursement rules, receipts and policies, follow the links to the guides that cover them.

The main types of expense report

Employee reimbursement report: an employee lists business costs they paid themselves, with receipts, to be paid back. Its rules come from your reimbursement policy; see the guide to reimbursement policies and how to set up expense reimbursement.
Travel expense report: all the costs of one business trip, such as transport, lodging, meals and fees, on one report, so the trip can be checked as a whole.
Mileage report: business trips in a personal vehicle, with dates, purpose and distance. See how to track mileage for business.
Advance settlement report: for an employee who received money before a trip, it compares the advance with what was spent, so the difference can be paid back or returned.
Petty cash report: small cash purchases from a cash fund, matched to the cash remaining. See what is petty cash management.
Expense report by category: a business's spending over a period, grouped into categories, to see where money goes. See business expense categories.
Income vs expense report: income compared with spending over a period, to see whether the business made a profit. For managing the cash side, see how to manage cash flow.

The first five track individual claims or funds; the last two summarize the whole business. For an overview of expense reports, see what is an expense report.

What each line should show

Whatever the type, each line should show:

The date of the expense.
Who was paid.
The amount.
The category.
The business purpose.
The receipt, attached or referenced.

Your expense policy sets the details, such as deadlines and limits; see how to create an expense policy.

How to prepare an expense report, step by step

Pick the type that matches the question: a reimbursement claim, one trip, mileage, an advance, petty cash, or a summary of the business.
Set the period or event: a date range, or one trip.
Collect every receipt for that period or trip, and note anything missing.
Enter each expense with its date, payee, amount, category and business purpose.
Take out personal items, so only business costs remain.
Total by category, and add a grand total.
For an advance, subtract the advance from the total to see who owes whom.
Check and submit the report to whoever approves it, or file it with your records.

Worked example: a travel report with an advance

The employee, trip and figures here are a sample, invented for this example.

An employee receives a $1,000.00 advance for a three-day conference and submits a travel report afterward:

Airfare: $340.00
Hotel: 3 nights × $165.00 = $495.00
Taxis: $48.00
Conference fee: $299.00
Total business expenses: $340.00 + $495.00 + $48.00 + $299.00 = $1,182.00

A $35.00 personal souvenir paid on the same card is left off the report. The business spending exceeds the advance by $1,182.00 − $1,000.00 = $182.00, so under the company's policy the employee is owed $182.00. If the spending had been less than the advance, the employee would return the difference. For the IRS rules on advances and accountable plans in the US, see the guide to reimbursement policies.

Where Billed fits

Billed's expense and receipt tracking page says "Billed's expense report can group your expenses by category," and "The expense report shows what you spent over a date range, and the income vs expense report compares income with expenses so you can see how profitable the business is." It also says "Reports can be filtered by date range and exported for your accountant, bookkeeper or tax software."

Billed's financial reporting page says "Billed offers several built-in reports: Invoice Reports (paid, partially paid, and overdue), Expense Reports, Income vs Expense Reports, Top Selling Products, and Time Tracking Reports." For a business with more than one entity, it says "If you manage multiple businesses in Billed, each business has its own set of financial reports."

For more on recording expenses, see how do I create an expense, expense tracking for small business, and what is an expense account. For bills your business owes suppliers, see what is accounts payable.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the main types of expense reports?

Employee reimbursement reports, travel expense reports, mileage reports, advance settlement reports, petty cash reports, and summary reports that group spending by category or compare it with income.

What should each line of an expense report include?

The date, who was paid, the amount, the category, the business purpose and the receipt. Your expense policy may ask for more, such as a project or client.

How do you settle a travel advance on an expense report?

Total the business expenses for the trip and subtract the advance. In the sample on this page, $1,182.00 of expenses against a $1,000.00 advance means the employee is owed $182.00; if spending is less than the advance, the employee returns the difference.

What is the difference between an expense report and an income vs expense report?

An expense report lists or groups spending. An income vs expense report compares that spending with income over the same period, to show whether the business made a profit.

Do freelancers need expense reports?

A freelancer doesn't claim reimbursement from an employer, but a report of business expenses by category over a period helps when you or your accountant prepare your taxes. See the page on business expense categories.

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