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.
Christopher Richards is the chief banking services officer at Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank in Harwich Port, Mass. He was recently appointed as a community bank representative to The Clearing House’s Real-Time Payments Business Committee.
Rachel Lyubovitzky is CEO and co-founder of EverythingBenefits, the leading provider of next-generation automated benefits technology that uncovers hidden costs, eliminates errors and helps keep companies compliant.
Milica Kostic is a tech blogger and contributor at SmallBizGenius, Techjury and Hosting Tribunal. With a degree in sociology, she is very passionate in writing about many social phenomena affecting our society today. She is specifically interested in marketing, technology, customer and employee experience.
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:
