How to Create Expense Reports as a Freelancer

As a freelancer, you wear every hat—including accountant. Whether you need to bill a client for project-related expenses or organize your spending for tax season, a clean expense report is essential.

This guide covers the two types of expense reports freelancers need: client reimbursement reports (for expenses you want the client to pay back) and tax filing reports (for your own deductible expenses).

Type 1: Client Reimbursement Expense Reports

When your contract includes reimbursable expenses—travel, materials, software purchased for the project—you need to bill them separately or include them on your invoice.

When your contract includes reimbursable expenses—travel, materials, software purchased for the project—you need to bill them separately or include them on your invoice.

What to Include

Date of each expense Vendor/merchant name

• Date of each expense
• Vendor/merchant name
• Amount (in the project's currency)
• Category (travel, materials, software, etc.)
• Business purpose ("Flight to client site for project kickoff")
• Receipt attachment (digital scan or photo)

Best Practices

• Submit expense reports with your regular invoice—don't wait until the end of the project
• Agree on reimbursable categories in your contract before work begins
• Set a pre-approval threshold (e.g., "Expenses over $100 require client approval before purchase")
• Include receipt scans—clients appreciate transparency and it speeds up approval

Type 2: Tax Filing Expense Reports

Even if no one reimburses you, you need organized expense records for tax deductions. Your "expense report" is essentially a categorized summary of all business spending for a given period.

Even if no one reimburses you, you need organized expense records for tax deductions. Your "expense report" is essentially a categorized summary of all business spending for a given period.

Monthly Summary Format

• Group expenses by category
• Total each category
• Grand total of all business expenses
• Attach all supporting receipts

Doing this monthly (rather than annually) saves massive time at tax season and makes it easier to spot unusual spending patterns.

Creating Expense Reports in Invoicemonk

Invoicemonk automates expense report creation:

Invoicemonk automates expense report creation:

1. Track expenses throughout the month (snap receipts, categorize, add project tags)
2. Filter by date range, client, or project
3. Generate a formatted report with receipt attachments
4. Attach directly to a client invoice for reimbursement, or export for your accountant

Expense Report Template

If you're creating reports manually, include these columns:

If you're creating reports manually, include these columns:

• Date | Vendor | Description | Category | Amount | Receipt (Y/N) | Billable to Client (Y/N)

Tracking Project Profitability

Beyond reimbursement and taxes, expense reports help you understand project profitability. Compare the revenue from each client against the expenses incurred to serve them.

Beyond reimbursement and taxes, expense reports help you understand project profitability. Compare the revenue from each client against the expenses incurred to serve them. Some "profitable" projects look very different once you factor in travel, software, and subcontractor costs.

For the complete expense management workflow, see our expense management guide.