Free Expense Report Template - Excel & Google Sheets
Submit expenses for approval or reimbursement with dates, vendors, categories, business purpose, receipt status, and approved totals.
What is an expense report template?
An expense report template is a structured sheet for submitting a specific set of expenses for approval, reimbursement, client billing, or accounting review. Unlike a general expense tracker, the report is not meant to hold every transaction forever. It should clearly show what is being submitted, who owns it, why each cost is legitimate, which receipts are attached, and what total should be approved.
What is included in this expense report template
The template includes fields for date, employee or owner, vendor, category, business purpose, amount, receipt status, approval status, and notes. It supports submitted and approved totals so reviewers can separate the amount requested from the amount accepted. That makes it practical for employee reimbursements, travel reports, client pass-through costs, and month-end approval workflows.
Who should use this template?
This template is a good fit for employees submitting reimbursements, managers approving team expenses, contractors billing client costs, and small businesses that need a cleaner approval process without buying expense-management software. It is especially useful when receipts and business-purpose notes are required before payment.
How to use it well
Create one report for a clear period, trip, project, employee, or client so the approval context stays focused. Keep every expense on its own row and make the business purpose specific enough that a reviewer does not need to ask follow-up questions. Griddy can create a report from filtered tracker rows, total approved expenses, or flag missing receipts before submission.
Related guides
Learn how teams actually use this template
Expense Tracker vs Expense Report: What's the Difference?
An expense tracker records ongoing spend. An expense report packages specific costs for review or reimbursement. Here's when to use each one.
Read guide →ExcelHow to Build an Expense Report in Excel
Build an expense report in Excel with the right columns, approval fields, receipt tracking, and formulas for clean reimbursement totals.
Read guide →Excel & SheetsReceipt Tracker vs Expense Tracker: What's the Difference?
A receipt tracker keeps proof of purchase organized. An expense tracker records and categorizes the spend. Here's when you need each spreadsheet.
Read guide →Skip the setup
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