Free Company Expense Policy Template

A company expense policy is the short document that says who can spend, what a card is for, and what has to come back with the receipt. This is a template you can copy for a construction company, a property manager, or a field service team. It is written for the owner, office manager, or bookkeeper putting the first card and receipt rules on paper.

It covers both company-card charges and out-of-pocket reimbursements. Those are two ways of paying for the same rules. Fill in the brackets, then share it with anyone who has a card or who buys something and asks to be paid back. This is a starting document, not legal or tax advice. Have your accountant read it before you rely on it.

Who this template is for

Use it if you are writing the policy for the first time, or replacing a page nobody follows. It fits companies where spend happens on job sites, at properties, and in the truck, not only at a desk.

• Construction. Crews buy materials, fuel, permits, and rentals that have to land on a job.
• Property management. Maintenance and office staff buy for specific properties and units.
• Field service. Technicians buy parts on the way to a work order.

If you also need mileage, petty cash, or gift rules beside this one, the list of eight expense policies is the companion. The document below is the one people actually hand out.

The expense policy template

Copy from "Purpose" through "Violations." Replace every bracket. Leave a rule out only when it does not apply, and say so, so people do not guess.

Purpose

[Company name] uses this policy so card charges and out-of-pocket purchases are business expenses, coded to the right job or property, and backed by a receipt. It applies to employees, owners, and anyone else the company gives a card or agrees to reimburse.

Who can spend

• Company cards go to people who buy for the business. [Owner or office manager] names them: field leads, project managers, maintenance techs, office staff.
• A cardholder spends only on [Company name] work, inside the limit on that card.
• Anyone without a card who pays out of pocket needs approval from [approver] before the purchase, except [a small emergency amount, if you allow one].
• Personal purchases do not go on a company card. If one happens, the cardholder marks it and pays the company back.

Card rules

• The card stays with the person it was issued to. Do not lend it.
• Spend at merchants that fit the work: materials, parts, fuel, permits, job-site supplies, and the other categories [Company name] lists here.
• Cash advances and gift cards need written approval from [approver] first.
• Do not split one purchase into smaller charges to stay under a limit.

Receipt deadlines

• Every card charge and every reimbursement needs a receipt that shows the vendor, the date, and what was bought. A slip that shows only the total is not enough. What an itemized receipt includes.
• Send the receipt within [number] days of the purchase. A week is a workable starting point, while the person still has the paper and still remembers the job.
• If the receipt is lost, the cardholder writes what was bought, the business reason, and the job or property. [Approver] decides whether to accept it.
• Meals need the business reason and who was there.

Job and property coding

• Every charge names where it belongs before it is approved.
• Construction: the job, and the cost code if you use them (materials, equipment, permits).
• Property management: the property, the unit when the work was for one unit, and whether the cost is the company's or the owner's.
• Field service: the work order or the customer, so the cost can be reviewed or billed against that job.
• A receipt that covers two jobs gets split. Do not put a mixed receipt on one code.

Coding is what makes job-site spend useful later. A charge with no job attached cannot be compared with a budget.

Approvals

• [Manager, project manager, or office manager] reviews charges that have a receipt and a code.
• Purchases over [amount] need approval from [owner or controller] before the money is spent, unless the card was already issued for that kind of purchase.
• Recurring vendors (dumpsters, utilities, software) follow the same receipt and coding rules.
• Approvers do not approve their own expenses. A second person does.

Reimbursements

• Use a company card when you have one. Reimburse only when someone paid with their own money for an expense this policy allows.
• The request includes the receipt, the amount, the date, the business reason, and the job, property, or work order.
• Submit it within [number] days. [Company name] pays approved requests on [payroll, the next check run, or within a set number of days of approval].
• Mileage on a personal vehicle is reimbursed at [your mileage rate]. Do not also expense the fuel for those same miles. Reimbursements and mileage.
• [Company name] does not reimburse commuting, personal meals, alcohol, or anything this policy lists as not allowed, unless [approver] agreed in writing first.

Violations

• A missing receipt after the deadline, a personal charge, or a charge on the wrong job is a policy miss.
• First miss: the cardholder fixes the record. That means the receipt, the code, or repayment of a personal charge. Personal charges on company cards.
• Repeat misses: [owner] can lower the card limit, pause the card, or refuse the reimbursement.
• A fake receipt, or a personal purchase described as a job cost, goes to [owner] the day it is found.

Read the policy once a year, and again when you add a card, a new entity, or a new kind of work.

Construction, property management, and field service

Keep one policy. Change the coding line and the approver so they match how the work is organized.

Construction

Code every charge to the job. Materials, equipment rental, permits, and dump fees should not sit in overhead when they belong on a project. The foreman or project manager is usually the right approver, because they know whether the lumber was for that job. A receipt from a supply house that covers two jobs gets split before it is approved.

Property management

Code every charge to the property, and to the unit when the work was for one unit. A disposal for a turnover is not an office supply. Note whether the cost is the company's or the owner's, so the owner statement stays accurate. The property manager or the maintenance lead approves charges for the properties they run.

Field service

Code every charge to the work order or the customer. Parts bought on the way to a call should name that call. If a technician pays out of pocket because the truck card was declined, the reimbursement uses the same work-order code a card charge would. The service manager approves.

Enforce the policy on the cards you already have

A written policy works when someone can see the spend before month-end. Clyr connects to the Amex, Visa, and Mastercard cards the company already uses, and to its bank accounts. It does not issue a replacement card.

Each swipe shows up in a live feed. The cardholder gets a text and replies with a photo of the receipt. The charge is coded to the job, property, or work order, then sent to the approver named in this policy. A personal charge on a company card can be flagged for repayment. Business spend on a personal card can be submitted as a reimbursement.

That is the same rule set as the template, applied when the card is used. Receipt capture, approvals, and the text that asks for the receipt are the parts that keep the deadline honest. If you want to see it on your own cards, book a 20-minute demo.

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