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.
Swapnil Shinde is the co-founder and CEO of Zeni, the first AI-powered finance concierge for startups. Zeni’s intelligent bookkeeping, accounting and CFO services were designed to meet the needs of companies ready for rapid growth. Prior to Zeni, he co-founded Mezi, the AI-powered travel concierge and booking platform, acquired by American Express in 2018. He also co-founded Indian music streaming service Dhingana, acquired by Rdio in 2014, and Twin Ventures, an angel fund started with his twin brother Snehal Shinde. He has nearly two decades of experience as a technologist and product entrepreneur, and has worked at companies including Yahoo!, Symantec and IBM Software Labs.
Sabrina Kieffer is the COO at online learning platform Skillshare.
Raj T. Chawla is the global head of financial services at BeyondMinds.
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:
