Employees working from home during the coronavirus pandemic claimed some outlandish expenses this year, including pricey exercise bikes, facelifts and private jets.
Emburse, an expense management software company, released a compilation Wednesday of some of the craziest expenses it has seen claimed this year, some of which were actually approved. That included $1,895, which was approved as a contribution for an employee's Peloton Bike under the explanation of “for health and wellness.” On the other hand, a $7,600 expense claim for a facelift was submitted under the category of “repairs and maintenance” but was rejected, despite the pressing need to look one’s best during a Zoom meeting.
René Lacerte is the CEO and founder of Bill.com. Prior to launching Bill.com in 2006, he co-founded online payroll service provider PayCycle in 1999, which was acquired by Intuit in 2009. Lacerte also spent five years at Intuit, creating and managing the company's bill presentment team and growing its bill payment and credit card offerings into multi-million dollar businesses for the company. He also launched Intuit's first connected payroll product, growing the team from two employees to 300 in 18 months.
Michael Parrinello is a partner and practice leader of Bonadio Advisory at The Bonadio Group. As the leader of the firm’s Bonadio Advisory Practice, which offers strategic consulting services from analysis to execution, driving profitability, increasing efficiencies, mitigating risk and improving operations, he works closely with clients to evaluate opportunities and achieve their strategic goals by delivering value-added solutions.
Brad Bolton is president and CEO of Community Spirit Bank in Red Bay, Alabama, and chairman of the Independent Community Bankers of America.
Some expenses weren’t for working from home, but more about getting out of the house safely. An expense claim for a private jet charter costing over $20,000 was submitted and approved under the explanation of “required to limit COVID exposure for international shoots.” Another travel-related expense claim was $2,500 for a helicopter ride, which was not approved.
The $79 expense claim for a dog crate could perhaps be used for travel at some point when that's safer, but in these times it was more plausibly to provide "crate training [for] a new COVID puppy to not run into Zoom meetings."
Below is an infographic produced by Emburse showing this and several other head-scratching claims:
