Expense reports: They’re a territory of business accounting mired in confusion, open to interpretation, and the possible source of audits, legal issues and company morale issues.
The IRS has its standards for deductible expenses, including 50 percent of entertainment and meals related to business, and 100 percent for travel and lodging. Legally, you can deduct a stay in a 5-star hotel as easily as a trip to a chain motel, and 50 percent of a lobster dinner or a hamburger and no one will care. It’s all the same in the eyes of the IRS—but not to your in-house bookkeeping staff or other employees.
When employees begin turning in questionable expense reports, it gets people talking. It breeds resentment. It hurts morale. Can your top salesperson justify a $150 bottle of champagne if it helps land a $1 million contract? You might see it that way, but does your bookkeeper? And does she talk to others in the company?
When you use AccountingDepartment.com for your bookkeeping needs — including the collection and reimbursement of expense reports—the information submitted is fully confidential. After all, why would a bookkeeper in North Carolina care what a marketing director in Virginia ate for dinner in Las Vegas? It’s not only part of the ethical oath our bookkeepers take after meeting the rigorous testing and interview standards set by AccountingDepartment.com—it’s common sense.
Full Confidentiality for Expense Reports and More
Not only are the expense reports confidential at AccountingDepartment.com, all your company financial statements are fully secure. We’ll assign you a full-charge bookkeeper and accounting department located in your time zone, but not your immediate region. Your bookkeeper will provide you with open and honest communications whenever you have questions or concerns—but she won’t share your company business with anyone else. That’s just one of the benefits of outsourced bookkeeping and part of our guarantee here at AccountingDepartment.com.
