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.
Mark Bishopp is the senior vice president of embedded commerce and partnerships at Fortis, an integrated commerce platform. A payment technology industry leader with over 25 years of financial services experience, Bishopp joined Fortis in 2022. He has held a number of payments-related executive positions and has been a trusted advisor and consultant in third party payments (marketplaces, payment facilitation, ISO, ISV/VAR, etc.) for 15-plus years. He is a global SME in online payments with a specific focus on payments as a strategic asset solutions.
Brandi Riggle, Manager, Baker Tilly Digital Solutions
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:
