Short answer
A good expense report template has one row per receipt and eleven columns: date, merchant, category, project, net amount, tax, total, currency, payment method, notes and a receipt reference. Net plus tax should equal total on every row. NexaLink Scanner's free CSV export produces this layout from your scanned receipts, so you do not have to type it.
Key takeaways
- One row per receipt, never one row per day or per trip — it keeps every line traceable.
- Split net, tax and total into separate columns; whoever reclaims VAT or GST needs the tax figure on its own.
- Keep the original currency in its own column instead of converting in the total.
- A receipt reference column links each row to the image, which is what makes the report auditable.
What an expense report is for
- Expense report
- An expense report is a list of business costs for a period or a project, one line per receipt, with enough detail for someone else to approve, reimburse, rebill or record each cost — and to find the receipt that proves it.
Freelancers use expense reports to rebill clients. Small businesses use them to hand costs to a bookkeeper. Employees use them to get reimbursed. The audience changes, but they all ask the same questions: what was it, when, who did you pay, how much, how much of that was tax, and where is the receipt?
The eleven columns, one by one
| Column | What goes in it | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Date | Date on the receipt, as YYYY-MM-DD | Sorts correctly in any spreadsheet; decides which period or tax year the cost falls in |
| Merchant | Business name as printed, e.g. "Screwfix", "Hilton Frankfurt" | The payee; lets the reader match a bank or card line |
| Category | Type of cost: Travel, Materials, Software… | Maps to tax-form lines and account codes |
| Project | Client, job or property the cost belongs to | Rebilling and job costing; leave as "General" if none |
| Net | Amount before tax | What the cost is if tax is reclaimed |
| Tax | VAT, GST or sales tax shown on the receipt | Needed separately to reclaim input tax |
| Total | Amount actually paid | Must equal Net + Tax |
| Currency | ISO code: GBP, USD, EUR, INR, AUD… | Stops a € receipt being summed as £ |
| Payment method | Business card, personal card, cash, bank transfer | Shows who is owed what, and helps match statements |
| Notes | Business purpose, attendees, "rebill", business share % | The context a receipt does not show |
| Receipt ref | An ID or file name linking to the receipt image | Makes every line auditable |
Optional columns: Tax rate (20%, 10%, 5%…) if you handle several rates, Supplier tax number (VAT or GST registration) for tax-invoice rules, and Reimbursable (yes/no) if someone else will pay you back.
Example rows
Here is how a week for a UK-based freelance consultant looks in the template. Copy the header row into a spreadsheet and you have a working template.
| Date | Merchant | Category | Project | Net | Tax | Total | Currency | Payment | Notes | Receipt ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-11-02 | Avanti West Coast | Travel | Acme Ltd | 48.00 | 0.00 | 48.00 | GBP | Business card | Workshop, rebill | R-0412 |
| 2026-11-02 | Pret A Manger | Meals | Acme Ltd | 6.25 | 1.25 | 7.50 | GBP | Business card | Working lunch on travel day | R-0413 |
| 2026-11-04 | Adobe | Software | General | 16.66 | 3.33 | 19.99 | GBP | Business card | Monthly licence | R-0414 |
| 2026-11-05 | Hotel Adlon | Lodging | Beta GmbH | 210.28 | 14.72 | 225.00 | EUR | Business card | 1 night, rebill | R-0415 |
| 2026-11-06 | Ryman | Office costs | General | 10.00 | 2.00 | 12.00 | GBP | Cash | Printer paper | R-0416 |
How to fill it in without errors
- Work from the receipt, not the bank statement. The statement has the total but not the tax or what you bought.
- Read tax off the receipt. Do not calculate it as 20% of the total — zero-rated and exempt items mean the printed figure is often different.
- Check Net + Tax = Total on every row. A formula column catches typos.
- Write the business purpose while you remember it. "Lunch" is not enough; "working lunch with client, project kickoff" is.
- Give every receipt a reference and name the image file the same way, so the row and the image can always be matched.
- Total per currency and per category at the bottom, not one grand total across currencies.
Generating the template from your receipts
Typing an expense report is the slow, error-prone part. NexaLink Scanner reads merchant, date, total and tax from each receipt on your phone, flags values it is unsure of for you to confirm, and lets you add category, project (Pro), tags and notes. The CSV export — free on every plan — gives you one row per receipt in a layout like the one above, in each receipt's own currency.
On Pro you can also export a PDF expense report, which is the easier format to send to a client or attach to an invoice. Image export and Xero/QuickBooks-shaped import files are coming. If your bookkeeper wants something specific, see how to send receipts to your accountant, or browse expense report scanning.
Adapting the template
- For client rebilling: filter to one project and the rebill note; drop the payment-method column. See the receipt scanner for freelancers.
- For your tax return: sort by category and use names that match your form's expense lines — the self-employed expense categories template has the UK and US lists.
- For travel: add trip dates and destination; US travellers need receipts for all lodging and for other travel costs of $75 or more[2].
- For a VAT or GST reclaim: add the supplier's tax number and tax rate columns.
Key facts about NexaLink Scanner
- What it is: NexaLink Scanner is a private receipt and expense organiser for iOS and Android, built for freelancers, sole traders, contractors and small businesses. It is not accounting software and does not file tax returns.
- How it reads receipts: text is read on the phone (on-device OCR) and capture works offline. Merchant, date, total and tax are filled in; any value it is unsure of is flagged, and a low-confidence total cannot be saved until you confirm it.
- Where data lives: receipts are stored on your phone and do not sync to the web. Data leaves only when you export it.
- Free plan: 50 receipts, on-device reading, search, 5 default categories and CSV export. CSV export is free on every plan, always.
- Pro: $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year — unlimited receipts, custom categories, projects and tags, a PDF expense report in the app, tax and multi-currency reports. Image ZIP export and Xero / QuickBooks import files are coming soon.
- Accounting connections (none live yet): Xero — First · V1.1 · QuickBooks Online — Next · V1.2 · FreeAgent — Planned · Sage Accounting — Planned · Zoho Books — Planned · TallyPrime — Import file first. CSV export works with any accounting tool today. Status as of 2026-11-10; see accounting integrations.
Frequently asked questions
What should an expense report include?
One row per receipt with the date, merchant, category, project, net amount, tax, total, currency, payment method, a note of the business purpose and a reference to the receipt image. Add totals per category and per currency at the end.
Is there a free expense report template?
Yes — copy the column headers from this page into any spreadsheet. If you scan your receipts with NexaLink Scanner, the free CSV export produces the rows for you, so you do not need to type them. Add a formula column to check net plus tax equals total.
Should I use a CSV or a PDF expense report?
Use CSV when someone will import or analyse the data — a bookkeeper or accounting software. Use PDF when someone will read and approve it — a client or a manager. NexaLink's CSV export is free; the PDF expense report is on Pro.
How do I handle receipts in different currencies?
Keep the original amount and add a currency column. Total each currency separately. If you need a converted figure, add a separate column with the rate and its source rather than overwriting the original. NexaLink keeps each receipt in its own currency and reports totals per currency.
Do I need to separate tax from the total?
If you or your business is registered for VAT or GST, yes — the tax figure is what you reclaim. Even if you are not, a separate column keeps the report usable if your situation changes. Always copy the tax figure printed on the receipt rather than calculating it.
How often should I prepare an expense report?
Monthly suits most freelancers and small businesses; per trip or per project suits consultants who rebill. The more often you do it, the less you have to remember. Whatever rhythm you choose, keep it fixed so clients and bookkeepers know when to expect it and so receipts never sit for more than a month.
Can I attach receipt images to the report?
In a spreadsheet, use a receipt reference column that matches the image file names. NexaLink keeps the images on your phone; image export is coming, and until then the originals stay in the app, searchable, to show on request. Many clients accept a PDF expense report that lists each receipt instead of the images themselves.
Sources
- IRS — What kind of records should I keep — checked on 2026-11-10
- IRS — Publication 463, Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses — checked on 2026-11-10