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.
Ray Blakney is the CEO of Kairos Venture Studios, which is on a mission to bring a fresh take to online businesses in the Latin American market by launching 12 new businesses in the region each year. He has nearly two decades of business experience that have included starting, growing and leading over a dozen profitable companies along with hundreds of staff from across the U.S. and Latin America. A business coach, mentor and advisor, he is also the creator of the 9 Year Letter Method, a goal-setting system for relationships, financial, health and fun.
David Brooks is CEO of Cirrus, a fintech provider of cloud-based document management software.
Alan Tyson is the CEO of DATABASICS, a time and expense management solutions provider.
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:
