Free Trip Expense Tracker: Business Travel Expense Report, Per Diem Tracker, and a Group Trip Cost Splitter (PDF, Word, Excel)

What is on the page

Category and paid by

Airfare, lodging, meals, ground transport, parking, conference fees and so on, and whether you paid personally, with a company card or in cash. Only personal payments are reimbursed.

Currency and rate

Expenses abroad in the original currency with the exchange rate used (from your card statement or the company's rate). Excel converts each line.

Mileage

Miles driven in a personal car and the rate per mile your company pays. Many use the IRS standard mileage rate for the year.

M&IE and 75% days

On the per diem sheet, the meals and incidental expenses rate and the share allowed: 75% on the first and last day of travel under federal rules, minus any meals provided.

Fair share and balance

On the group splitter, what each person paid, their fair share of the costs they took part in, and whether they are owed money or owe it.

Filling in a travel expense report

Write each expense the day it happens with a photo of the receipt; reconstructing a trip from card statements a week later always misses something. Record the original amount and currency, and the exchange rate on your card statement, so the dollar figure matches what you were actually charged. Mark which expenses went on the company card: they appear on the report for a full picture but aren't reimbursed to you. Business meals with clients need the names of the people and the business purpose. The summary at the bottom adds mileage, subtracts company-card charges and any cash advance, and shows what is due. Attach receipts in date order and sign. Most companies set a deadline, often 30 to 60 days after the trip, for an expense to be reimbursed tax-free under an accountable plan.

Per diem: how the daily allowance works

Instead of reimbursing every meal, many employers and all US federal agencies pay a daily allowance (per diem) for meals and incidental expenses, plus lodging up to a maximum rate for the city. The US General Services Administration publishes the rates for every county each fiscal year, starting October 1; look up your destination on gsa.gov or follow your company's own table. On the first and last day of travel the meals allowance is 75%, and meals provided (a conference lunch, a client dinner) are deducted. In the sample, a four-day trip comes in under the allowance because the hotel was below the city rate and meals stayed modest. Check your own employer's policy which may differ from federal rules.

Splitting a group trip fairly

On a shared trip, one person books the house, another buys groceries, someone pays for gas and someone else covers dinner. Write every shared cost with who paid it and how many people it is split between. Leave anyone out of the costs they did not take part in; in the sample, Dev skipped the Saturday dinner, so it's split three ways. Each person's fair share is the sum of their portions; the balance column then shows who is owed and who owes, and the check row should come to zero. Settle with as few transfers as possible: people who owe pay the people who are owed, largest amounts first.

Receipts and records

Keep receipts for every business expense and, for the IRS, a record of the amount, date, place and business purpose. A photo is usually enough for the company and for tax records. Self-employed people deduct travel on their own return rather than through an employer; keep the same report for each trip as the record. Travel rules and allowances change, so check your company policy and current IRS or GSA guidance; this template is a record-keeping tool, not tax advice.

Editing the files

The Excel and ODS versions convert currencies, total expenses and mileage, work out the amount due, calculate per diem allowances with the 75% days, and split group costs into balances. Rename categories to match your company's expense codes in Excel or Word. The PDFs are fillable. For general office expenses, use the expense reimbursement form.

Questions

What should a travel expense report include?

Each expense with date, description, category, vendor, payment method, amount and currency, plus mileage, any cash advance, receipts, the business purpose and signatures.

What is per diem?

A fixed daily allowance for lodging and for meals and incidental expenses (M&IE) while traveling for work. US federal rates are set by the GSA for each location and fiscal year.

Why is per diem 75% on travel days?

Under federal travel rules, and many company policies, the meals and incidentals allowance is 75% on the first and last day of a trip.

How do I split trip costs with friends?

List each shared cost with who paid and how many people share it, add up each person's share, and compare it with what they paid. The group splitter shows who owes whom.

Does the Excel file convert currencies?

Yes. Enter the amount, currency and exchange rate on each line and Excel converts it to dollars.