Employee Expense Claims and Reimbursements: A Simple System for a Hong Kong Company

By Di Ma, Project Manager 29 OCT 2026 · 4 MIN READ

Sooner or later every company has staff paying for things on its behalf: a taxi to a client, a courier, a team lunch, software bought on a personal card because the company card wasn't to hand. Without a simple system, those claims arrive as a handful of crumpled receipts at the end of the quarter, half of them missing. Here's how to keep it simple.

A one-page expenses policy

A small company doesn't need a handbook, just one page that answers:

What can be claimed: business travel, client entertainment, small purchases for the business. What can't: personal items, commuting between home and the office, fines.
Limits: for example a meal allowance per person, taxi vs public transport, hotel class, and what needs approval in advance.
Evidence: an itemised receipt or invoice for every claim, plus the business purpose and, for entertainment, who attended.
Deadlines: claims submitted within, say, 30 days, and reimbursed monthly.
Approval: who approves whose claims; directors' claims approved by another director where possible.

The claim process

Capture the receipt when you're handed it. A photo taken at the time beats a search a month later (see lost receipts).
Record what it was for, in a sentence.
Submit by the deadline; the approver checks it against the policy.
Reimburse all approved claims together, once a month, by bank transfer. Avoid cash.

The bookkeeping

An employee pays HK$860 for a client lunch and claims it back (illustrative)
When	Entry
Claim approved	Dr Entertainment 860 Cr Staff claims payable 860
Reimbursed with the month's claims	Dr Staff claims payable 860 Cr Bank 860

Each claim is booked to the right expense account, not "staff claims", so the income statement shows what was spent on what. The staff claims payable balance should come back to nil once each month's claims are paid; anything left there is a claim approved but not yet reimbursed.

Floats and company cards

A float or advance: money given to an employee before a trip. Book it as an amount the employee owes the company, then clear it against the receipts when they come back, with the difference repaid either way.
A company card avoids reimbursements altogether, but the same rule applies: every card line needs its receipt and purpose.

Directors' claims

A director who pays for company expenses personally is owed the money back, and that runs through the director's current account, with the same receipts and the same policy. Personal spending is never a business expense.

Allowances vs reimbursements

For salaries tax, the difference matters. Under section 9(1)(a) of the Inland Revenue Ordinance, income from employment includes any wages, salary, bonus, perquisite or allowance. So a fixed monthly travel or meal allowance, paid whether or not the money is spent, is part of the employee's employment income and is reported as such to the IRD.

Repaying an employee for specific business costs they paid on the company's behalf, backed by receipts, is a different thing from an allowance. Keep the receipts and the business purpose for every claim, and ask your adviser about anything in between, such as round-sum payments or per diems.

For the company, approved business expenses are generally deductible whether paid by card or reimbursed, subject to the usual rules (see tax-deductible expenses). Private spending isn't, however it's paid.

How Certanta handles claims

Staff upload receipts from their phone, in any language, and mark them employee-paid.
Booked as an expense owed back to the employee, in the right account, as a draft your bookkeeper approves.
Director-paid receipts go to the director's current account the same way.
Missing receipts and questions sit on one to-do list in your portal.

The Certanta client portal, to-do list for the fictional demo company Harbourfront Trading Ltd: a question from the bookkeeper about a specific payment, with a box to answer and a button to take a photo of the receipt or upload it. — One to-do list for receipts and questions, here in the demo company's portal.

Frequently asked questions

What should an expense claims policy include?

What can and cannot be claimed, spending limits and what needs approval in advance, the evidence required (an itemised receipt and the business purpose), the deadline for submitting claims, how often claims are reimbursed, and who approves them.

How should expense claims be recorded in the books?

Book each approved claim to the relevant expense account with a matching amount owed to the employee (staff claims payable), then clear that balance when the claims are reimbursed.

Is an allowance taxable for the employee in Hong Kong?

Section 9(1)(a) of the Inland Revenue Ordinance includes any allowance in income from employment, so a fixed allowance paid regardless of actual spending forms part of the employee's employment income. Reimbursements of specific business costs backed by receipts are a different matter; ask your adviser about borderline arrangements.

How often should employees be reimbursed?

Monthly works well for most small companies: claims submitted within a set period after the expense, approved, and paid together by bank transfer.

How are directors' expense claims handled?

The same way, with the same receipts and policy, but the amount owed to the director runs through the director's current account.

What if an employee loses a receipt?

Try to get a copy from the supplier or an email, and otherwise record the date, amount, supplier and business purpose in writing. A written record is weaker evidence, so it should be the exception.

Expense claims without the spreadsheet

With Certanta, staff upload a receipt from their phone and mark it employee-paid; it's booked as an expense owed back to them, ready for your bookkeeper to approve.

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This article summarises the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112) as published on e-Legislation on 29 October 2026. It is general information, not tax, employment or accounting advice. How a particular payment to an employee is treated for salaries tax depends on the facts; ask your adviser.