How to Create an Expense Report in Excel (Easy Steps)

What Is an Expense Report?

An expense report is a document that records all expenses incurred by an organization. The common elements included in an expense report are as follows:

Date of Expense
Expense Type (such as Hotel, Transport, Meal, Miscellaneous, etc.)
Amount of Expense
Subtotal for each expense type
Amount of Due and Advance Payment
Purpose of Expense
Responsible Department

It’s important to note that the format of an expense report may vary across different organizations. Each organization can customize the report by adding or modifying elements according to their specific needs.

Advantages of Using Expense Reports

Using an expense report offers several advantages:

Expense Tracking: It helps you keep track of expenses, making cost control more efficient.
Budget Information: Provides valuable data for creating and managing budgets.
Tax Compliance: Simplifies tax payments and deductions.

Step 1 – Turning Off Gridlines in Excel

Open an Excel file.
Go to the View tab.
Uncheck the Gridlines checkbox in the Show group.

Step 2 – Adding Basic Information

Add a Title for the report (e.g., Expense Report).
Include fields for Purpose, Employee Name, Employee ID, and Time Period.

Step 3 – Adding Columns for Date, Description, and Expenses

Create data columns for various expense types (e.g., Hotel, Transportation, Meals, Phone bills, Others).

Step 4 – Converting Data into an Excel Table

Select the range of cells containing your data (e.g., B9:I19).
Go to the Insert tab.
Choose Table from the Tables group.

In the Create Table window, ensure the My table has headers checkbox is marked.
Click OK.

Step 5 – Introducing Subtotal Row and Turning Off Filter Button

Go to the Table Design tab.
Uncheck the Filter Button and check the Total Row option.

A subtotal row will appear at the bottom of the table.

Step 6 – Formatting Cells

Format date cells (from the Time Period and Date columns) as desired (e.g., choose a date format).
Format other cells (Hotel, Transport, Meal, Phone, Others, and Total) as Accounting format.

Step 7 – Applying the Excel SUM Function

In the Total column, enter the following formula in the first cell:

=SUM(Table1[@[Hotel]:[Others]])

This formula calculates the total cost for each date.

Press Enter, and the formula will automatically fill down the column.

Step 8 – Inserting Expenses and Other Data

Enter your expense data into the data columns.
The row-wise totals will appear in the Total column.

Step 9 – Generating Subtotal for Each Expense Type

Go to the Subtotal row of the Hotel column.
Click the down arrow to reveal a list of operations.
Choose the Sum operation.

Drag the Fill Handle icon to the right to calculate subtotals for all expense types.

Step 10 – Adding Rows for Final Calculation

In this section, we’ll add two more rows for the final bill calculation. Before any reimbursement, employees may receive an advance payment. Let’s address this:

Add Advances and Reimbursement rows below the subtotal row.

Enter the advance amount in cell I21.
In cell I22, enter the following formula:

=Table1[[#Totals],[Total]]-I21

Press Enter to get the result.

Step 11 – Keeping a Space for Authorization in the Expense Report

You can add a space for authorization, indicating that this expense report will be accepted after approval by a responsible person.

Remember that you have to attach all expense documents while submitting this report to the authority.