There are always costs associated with doing business, whether it's buying a new strapping machine for the factory, paying for a hotel room to attend a conference, or simply having business cards made up to hand out to potential clients. There are several ways to keep a handle on these expenses, but for larger companies, the preferred method is usually the expense account. This article will go over how it works and what is and is not appropriate to charge to your expense account.

An expense account is a special fund set aside by the company for expenses incurred by its employees as they go about doing their jobs. A Toronto realtor who owns a business will generally have an expense account, as will many larger businesses. These accounts are usually held at a bank and the funds can be accessed by using debit or credit cards that are made up in the company's name and given to employees who have the company's permission to spend the money in the account.

To charge cooling water treatment chemicals and other products and services to the company's expense account, an employee needs only to present the card and be able to enter the code that comes with the card, which makes it difficult for employees who are not authorized to used the card. The employee then saves the receipts and turns them in to the company's accountant, where they are compared with the credit card and bank statements and verified for necessity.

Some people believe that having access to a company expense account is a free pass to charge whatever they want to the company, but this type of behavior will only lose you're your access to the account and perhaps even get you fired. Every charge you make you should be able to justify. If you buy an EFL pack for the computer, for example, it should be to improve employee's English skills. If you buy a meal, it should be while on company business, such as at a conference or pitching to a vendor over lunch. Rest assured - you will be questioned about any suspicious charges.

An alternative to having an expense account is to simply have your dentists in Aurora, Ontario save their receipts for anything they buy for the company. Though they must pay out of pocket at the time, they will be reimbursed for the expenses when they return home and submit the receipts to the accounting department for verification. This is a good choice if you suspect your employees may abuse an expense account, as you can simply refuse to pay them back for something that had nothing to do with conducting business.