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.
Joe LaMantia III is a partner at L&F Distributors, a beer distribution company that services 35 counties throughout Texas and southeastern New Mexico, employing more than 1,200 people.
Calvin Ayre is the founder of the Ayre Group, a venture capital firm focused on emerging technologies.
Venkat Malladi is co-founder and CTO of Vymo, where he leads the development of next generation distribution management systems for financial institutions. Prior to founding Vymo, he was part of the Google Mobile team, where he developed multiple products based on location and maps.
At Vymo, he oversees product, engineering and design teams. He is passionate about using mobile, data and design led technologies to help solve problems related to productivity, information access and decision making. He regularly shares insights and learnings on building enterprise-grade products with a focus on end-user experience. Outside of work, he enjoys reading, cooking, philosophy, and cricket. He can be reached at venkat@getvymo.com.
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:
