So I was hired to do a job (play a show) recently, and sent my invoice in to the management for payment. The manager got all upset about me including taxi and Uber receipts, and asked me to explain what they were for. Since I had an instrument in a flight case that weighed 35 pounds, I couldn't hoof it on any of the .5 to 2 mile trips throughout the major city we were in, making transportation necessary. On the two trips that I didn't have my instrument with me, I was meeting associates for dinner and taking them home in my Uber, since their phones were dead. The manager told me that these are not business expenses, and especially because one of the other people paid for dinner.
My interpretation of a business expense is anything that I have to pay for while on a business trip. This includes food, so it follows that transportation to said food is necessary and therefore a business expense. That also doesn't matter if someone else ends up buying dinner, especially if they're counting it as an expense as well, and especially if they were going to order the Uber home in the first place if they didn't have a dead phone. I think the manager is just being a huge dick here, especially since he's arguing over about $30, but does anyone else have experience with expenses?
>>16923307
Go by tax code. If it can be written off on taxes in your state, it's a business expense. It gets murky on travel for gigs but you certainly have an argument.
More importantly is what was agreed upon. You can't slap on an extra expense even if it is business related if the manager never agreed to pay it.
If you didn't pay for the food, you can't ask for reimbursement.
If someone else paid for it, they need to expense whatever company they work for. Why the fuck do you think it's OK for you to get a free meal AND get paid to eat it? Are you retarded?
And yes, this is coming from someone who does these kinds of transaction reports for upper level executives. Everything comes from their credit card, so it's reimbursable to them. If someone else covers a dinner, then it's the other parties responsibility to ask for reimbursement. They aren't part of your company or part of the contract.
For the Uber, you need to split off your portion, and you are reimbursed for that alone. The client is not a fucking charity, and you have no right to request reimbursement for your "altruistic" actions.
>>16923324
The thing about "what was agreed upon" with this particular manager is that he weasels his way into an "agreement" that is bullshit from the start. I've been on this exact trip before, and all expenses were paid - there was a driver provided and accommodations were booked for me. He only made clear two days ahead of time that there would not be a driver. I asked my friend - the "leader" of the band, the one who's business is actually paying me - about charging for the taxis this time and he said it wouldn't be a problem. Problem is, he and the manager don't communicate very well and the manager is a tight ass.
>>16923328
The guy that bought dinner is the co-owner of the record label that flew me out to play the show. There was no per diem provided, so no one is "paying me to eat". They said only the rehearsals and performance would be paid for on this trip, but it is complete nonsense to fly someone in for a gig and then expect them to pay out of pocket for taxis when they're necessary to the business trip.
lol
op
get a fucking brain
jesus christ
>>16923368
Excellent explanation of the intricacies of business expenses
burmp
>>16923362
Did you actually "fly" to this place? if so, who paid? If the company/manager paid for the flight, it goes without saying that subsequent travel in that city is company paid, at least to the extent of you getting to/from the show as well as any business meetings while there.
>>16923307
Does it further the business?
>yes
it's an expense
>no
It's not
>>16923741
Yes, I flew quite a long distance. The flight was booked and paid for by the company, and the dinner was with a co-owner of the company and the singer, who is essentially my boss.
>>16923926
Okay so a dinner with someone from the company counts as an expense and the manager was being a dick
