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.
Snehal Shinde is the co-founder and chief product officer of Zeni, an AI-powered bookkeeping and accounting solution for startups. He is a three-time entrepreneur with two decades of experience as a technologist and product entrepreneur,
Rochelle Nawrocki Gorey is founder and CEO of SpringFour, a social impact fintech that focuses on delivering financial health resources to consumers. Rochelle and SpringFour have received many prestigious awards including American Banker's Most Influential Women in Fintech, Inc. Magazine's Female Founders 250, Real Leaders' Top Impact Companies, Fast Company's Brands that Matter and Finovate's Innovator of the Year.
Kenon Chen is the executive vice president of strategy and growth for Clear Capital
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:
