Ridiculous things people claimed as travel/business expenses
Apr 25, 2014, 2:29 am
#286
Moderator: Manufactured Spending
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Naturally, if an employees personal habits, including excessive or negligent consumption of alcohol, negatively affected his job performance, then that's legitimate grounds for discipline or termination. But limiting an employee's personal behavior on personal time is very dangerous ground for an employer, unless they can prove that such behavior has a direct bearing on the employee's job performance.
Apr 25, 2014, 5:55 am
#287
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My personal opinion is that companies should allowing the expensing of alcoholic drinks for the employees' consumption for the entertainment of clients and for personal use, e.g. a beer or two with dinner after a long day. In return the employee should remember that, A, this is a privilege and not a right, B, they must be fit to work at any reasonable time, and C, their consumption should be minimal (e.g. one or two drinks). After all, why should their employer fund a drinking spree?
I have known individuals who have been banned from expensing alcoholic drinks because they would routinely get hammered every night and expense it back to the company. This was compounded by one of these people trying to say that the customer was with them when they definitely weren't. On a later trip he actually asked an important customer to cover for him if anyone from the company got in touch. He was fired shortly afterwards.
I have known individuals who have been banned from expensing alcoholic drinks because they would routinely get hammered every night and expense it back to the company. This was compounded by one of these people trying to say that the customer was with them when they definitely weren't. On a later trip he actually asked an important customer to cover for him if anyone from the company got in touch. He was fired shortly afterwards.
Apr 25, 2014, 6:08 am
#288
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There are many things wrong with this.
1 - So what if it's recreational? Why should business travel disallow ANY recreational activity? Watching TV is allowed. If the company pays for internet access at the hotel, they don't disallow you browsing for non-business purposes.
2 - Your premise is that one consumes alcohol to feel good. I would argue that a very good meal has similar effects. In fact, a really nice meal often gives me a better feeling than an alcohol buzz. Since no enjoyment can be had, by your standards it should not be paid for by the company.
3 - You are also saying that food is necessary to sustain oneself, therefore it's ok to pay for that, but not for alcohol because it's not a necessity. Well, EXPENSIVE food is not a necessity either. By that logic, the company can ask everyone to eat only at fast food joints. If you think it's unhealthy then just go to Subway (...not to mention that food in many expensive restaurants is not necessarily healthier, or not by much).
4 - You forget that you are dealing with people here, not machines. When I travel for business, I sacrifice various things (e.g. time away from my family). My employer understands that and compensates for the inconvenience in various ways. If you make travel draconian and start being a d-bag about it, then my azz is staying home.
I'm all about being reasonable. When it comes to expenses, having a glass of wine / beer or two with dinner is reasonable, IMO. On a per diem, there should be no questions asked.
If you want we can continue this in another thread; this is going to far off topic, IMO.
1 - So what if it's recreational? Why should business travel disallow ANY recreational activity? Watching TV is allowed. If the company pays for internet access at the hotel, they don't disallow you browsing for non-business purposes.
2 - Your premise is that one consumes alcohol to feel good. I would argue that a very good meal has similar effects. In fact, a really nice meal often gives me a better feeling than an alcohol buzz. Since no enjoyment can be had, by your standards it should not be paid for by the company.
3 - You are also saying that food is necessary to sustain oneself, therefore it's ok to pay for that, but not for alcohol because it's not a necessity. Well, EXPENSIVE food is not a necessity either. By that logic, the company can ask everyone to eat only at fast food joints. If you think it's unhealthy then just go to Subway (...not to mention that food in many expensive restaurants is not necessarily healthier, or not by much).
4 - You forget that you are dealing with people here, not machines. When I travel for business, I sacrifice various things (e.g. time away from my family). My employer understands that and compensates for the inconvenience in various ways. If you make travel draconian and start being a d-bag about it, then my azz is staying home.
I'm all about being reasonable. When it comes to expenses, having a glass of wine / beer or two with dinner is reasonable, IMO. On a per diem, there should be no questions asked.
If you want we can continue this in another thread; this is going to far off topic, IMO.
Apr 25, 2014, 12:05 pm
#290
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I have worked for companies that specifically excluded alcohol from reimbursement. As others have stated, the itemized receipt was required for reimbursement and all alcohol was to be subtracted from the total. They didn't have a problem with having a beer at dinner, but they weren't going to fund it. He who has the gold makes the rules ... it never bothered me.
Apr 25, 2014, 2:53 pm
#291
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How do businesses that want receipts handle international travel? I'm a grad student, and they loathe to give us per diem. (probably too many stories of guys buying a loaf of bread, a jar of PB, a jar of jelly, and hitting the bars every night)
But I managed to convince my school to give it to me on a trip to Japan. Since my funding comes from the taxpayers, I cannot turn in receipts with alcohol on them. If I want a beer with dinner, I need 2 receipts - one for the food, one for the beer. (They refuse to just subtract the cost of the beer and not reimburse that portion)
So what happens when I turn in an itemized receipt written entirely in Japanese? I could have bought a bottle of saké for dinner and they wouldn't know. I pointed this out to someone in my department, and was granted per diem. Not a lot (about $100 a day), but more than plenty to eat 3 nice meals a day.
But I managed to convince my school to give it to me on a trip to Japan. Since my funding comes from the taxpayers, I cannot turn in receipts with alcohol on them. If I want a beer with dinner, I need 2 receipts - one for the food, one for the beer. (They refuse to just subtract the cost of the beer and not reimburse that portion)
So what happens when I turn in an itemized receipt written entirely in Japanese? I could have bought a bottle of saké for dinner and they wouldn't know. I pointed this out to someone in my department, and was granted per diem. Not a lot (about $100 a day), but more than plenty to eat 3 nice meals a day.
The second issue is per diems versus receipts. If you are truly on a per diem you should not have to furnish receipts. The money is a reasonable amount agreed to ahead of time for you to spend at your discretion. I wonder if you are dealing more with an advance, an amount of money given to you ahead of time which you must still justify spending and return any portion unspent.
Apr 26, 2014, 4:51 am
#292
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Really? I don't think so. Many studies have shown that moderate drinking is actually healthier than no drinking at all. Why should a company prevent me from taking actions to improve my health, in this case by being a moderate drinker?
Apr 26, 2014, 8:32 pm
#293
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 283
To go back to the original premise of the thread:
Funniest thing I ever expensed (well, technically I was a child and my Dad expensed it)? When I was about 5 my Dad took me on a business trip. Happened lots. Generally I'd be at a trade show playing games on a piece of business equipment that we were selling. People would say, "Well, what a cute kid, can he show me how to run it?". And I did. I was great for sales.
The best thing was that we'd stop at McDonalds or Dairy Queen on the road on the way back home. I remember my Dad telling me to hang onto any receipts whether it's for a pop or parking, admissions, anything.
I always wondered how he felt about going into the office and expensing chicken McNuggets. Or a Frosty (from Wendy's). I think he put a very good example on though. We didn't eat anywhere fancy, we didn't stay at expensive hotels and by example, our staff ate at a lot of food courts and stayed at a lot of Days inns.
As for alcohol, try convincing me that a few cocktails are good for performance? In that case, I practically demand that you buy a bottle of Boone's and drink it first thing in the AM.
Funniest thing I ever expensed (well, technically I was a child and my Dad expensed it)? When I was about 5 my Dad took me on a business trip. Happened lots. Generally I'd be at a trade show playing games on a piece of business equipment that we were selling. People would say, "Well, what a cute kid, can he show me how to run it?". And I did. I was great for sales.
The best thing was that we'd stop at McDonalds or Dairy Queen on the road on the way back home. I remember my Dad telling me to hang onto any receipts whether it's for a pop or parking, admissions, anything.
I always wondered how he felt about going into the office and expensing chicken McNuggets. Or a Frosty (from Wendy's). I think he put a very good example on though. We didn't eat anywhere fancy, we didn't stay at expensive hotels and by example, our staff ate at a lot of food courts and stayed at a lot of Days inns.
As for alcohol, try convincing me that a few cocktails are good for performance? In that case, I practically demand that you buy a bottle of Boone's and drink it first thing in the AM.
Apr 27, 2014, 1:35 pm
#295
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Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 16,025
My personal opinion is that companies should allowing the expensing of alcoholic drinks for the employees' consumption for the entertainment of clients and for personal use, e.g. a beer or two with dinner after a long day. In return the employee should remember that, A, this is a privilege and not a right, B, they must be fit to work at any reasonable time, and C, their consumption should be minimal (e.g. one or two drinks). After all, why should their employer fund a drinking spree?
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I actually got called into my boss' (and company owner) office once and was "chastised" for not expensing the few beers I had with dinner. I didn't make that "mistake" again...
Apr 27, 2014, 5:58 pm
#296
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My personal opinion is that companies should allowing the expensing of alcoholic drinks for the employees' consumption for the entertainment of clients and for personal use, e.g. a beer or two with dinner after a long day. In return the employee should remember that, A, this is a privilege and not a right, B, they must be fit to work at any reasonable time, and C, their consumption should be minimal (e.g. one or two drinks). After all, why should their employer fund a drinking spree?
However, at the end of the day when on my own I'll pay for my own. That way I'm not looking over my shoulder about the quantity or quality of the adult beverages I might consume and don't have to answer to anyone.
Apr 27, 2014, 11:49 pm
#297
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The second issue is per diems versus receipts. If you are truly on a per diem you should not have to furnish receipts. The money is a reasonable amount agreed to ahead of time for you to spend at your discretion. I wonder if you are dealing more with an advance, an amount of money given to you ahead of time which you must still justify spending and return any portion unspent.
Apr 28, 2014, 7:48 am
#298
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Apr 28, 2014, 8:15 am
#299
Join Date: Sep 2006
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The precedent had already been set by a colleague, who had previously expensed a Camp Snoopy funnel cake. http://blog.mallofamerica.com/dining...an-get-at-moa/
May 2, 2014, 8:55 am
#300
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: ORD
Posts: 869
Back in the day, someone in our office claimed hotel in-room "movies". I think the pay-per-view system wasn't functioning well, and the bill accidentally included the titles of the so called "movies". The guy was fired later
