Expenses

[bold]

Hi all,

Could anyone provide some advice :-

In my current contract role, I have to visit various customers of my current client, my client books and pays all travel (i.e flights) and accommodation upfront. Certain expenses i.e Taxi's to/from hotels, airports etc I pay myself and have been claiming back through LTD Co. My client say's I can reclaim these expenses from them and also an "overnight allowance", The thing is I think the only way I would be able to do this is through there internal expenses procedure. I understand this probably could be problematic if I chose to do this.

So should I just carry on as normal ? or am I even doing wrong the way I am currently doing things ?

Any advice would be welcome

Cheers

[malvolio]

Not a problem as such, but there is a gotcha when you use your money to buy things. The safest way to play this is to ignore any costs that they are paying up front since they are not your costs and don't affect YourCo or you. If you are paying for something business related, treat it as an expense, reclaim it from YourCo as usual and invoice the client for the total value. That way you keep your tax audit trail clean, you avoid any concept of personal service since they are paying YourCo not you, and everyone is happy.

[mudskipper]

WHS. When I did this, I kept a detailed spreadsheet of the expenses which I gave to client and showed them the receipts (which they didn't bother checking) then added the total to my next invoice. I reclaimed the expenses as usual from myCo.

[doodab]

When I am charging expenses to my clients I just invoice them + fill in whatever supporting paperwork they ask for regarding expenses claims (usually a form + copies or scans of receipts).

You have to charge VAT on the amount you invoice them.

Then I claim the expenses back from MyCo.

Often this means I claim more from MyCo than I invoice the client for as clients often put a limit on the cost of hotels & meals.

[malvolio]

as clients often put a limit on the cost of hotels & meals.

And your point is? Why are you paying them for working for them? Expense limits are for employees, not outside suppliers.

[NotAllThere]

And your point is? Why are you paying them for working for them? Expense limits are for employees, not outside suppliers.

This is not the case. When I used externals from a big consultancy as a permie manager, we had an agreement with the consultancy about how much of their expenses we would meet and how much they had to fund themselves out of the swutting great fee we were paying them. If they'd invoiced expenses for a €1000 a night hotel, they'd have been told to go away.

[malvolio]

This is not the case. When I used externals from a big consultancy as a permie manager, we had an agreement with the consultancy about how much of their expenses we would meet and how much they had to fund themselves out of the swutting great fee we were paying them. If they'd invoiced expenses for a €1000 a night hotel, they'd have been told to go away.

And if they're then shown a detailed, justifiable breakdown of the costs? Hotel rooms in London next July are going to be around £1000 for a Premier Inn if you can get one.

It's the old story about acting as a business. Argue your corner, and agree a compromise if necessary. What you don't do is roll over and take whatever rules the client has in place for its employees. Your payment terms are emphatically not dependent on their personnel rule book.

[NotAllThere]

And if they're then shown a detailed, justifiable breakdown of the costs? Hotel rooms in London next July are going to be around £1000 for a Premier Inn if you can get one.

If we've agreed £200 a night, then they'd have to suck it up. That's a business mindset. If one of my staff did it with good reason, then maybe I'd have to cough up.

Expenses limits frequently are in place for suppliers. It is not unusual. They may well not be the same as for employees, they may vary between suppliers, but nonetheless, they are there.

[malvolio]

If we've agreed £200 a night, then they'd have to suck it up. That's a business mindset. If one of my staff did it with good reason, then maybe I'd have to cough up.

Expenses limits frequently are in place for suppliers. It is not unusual. They may well not be the same as for employees, they may vary between suppliers, but nonetheless, they are there.

OK, with the big difference being that I (and from the sounds of it the OP) am not charging you a 500% markup on employee costs to cover overheads...

[malvolio]

If we've agreed £200 a night, then they'd have to suck it up. That's a business mindset. If one of my staff did it with good reason, then maybe I'd have to cough up.

Expenses limits frequently are in place for suppliers. It is not unusual. They may well not be the same as for employees, they may vary between suppliers, but nonetheless, they are there.

OK, with the big difference being that I (and from the sounds of it the OP) am not charging you a 500% markup on employee costs to cover overheads...

My agreement with all my clients has been that my fee gets me to the base office. If it costs me any more to be somewhere else then they get invoiced for the extra. Never yet had a problem with that.