No more chasing up expense receipts

Just as it must with customer invoices and supplier invoices, a company must keep its receipts for a period of 10 years from the end of the financial year. In the event of a tax audit, the company must be able to present all supporting documents for business expenses.

In theory, each document should be kept in the format in which it was received. For example, an invoice received in paper format should be filed in binders and kept in that format.

However, it is possible to transfer documents established on paper to digital format, provided that the conditions defined in article A102 B-1 of the Tax Procedures Code are met:

1. The copy is an identical image and content of the original
2. Colors are reproduced identically
3. The document is saved in PDF format with an electronic signature.
   

Probative value archiving refers to the set of procedures put in place by a company to accurately record, store and retrieve certain legal documents such as:

1. Contracts
2. Invoices
3. Expense reports, including supporting documents

Since July 1, 2019, employees no longer have to keep paper copies of receipts to justify reimbursement for business expenses incurred during their business trips.

In fact, a digital copy is sufficient in case of a tax audit.

With Qonto, your employees can take a photo of their receipts and then throw away the paper original. The supporting documents are stored in a dedicated space and possess probative value - they justify or ‘prove’ an expense’s validity - to avoid any risk of reclassification by URSSAF.

If an employee fails to provide a receipt or other supporting proof-of-purchase document, their company is under no obligation to reimburse that employee for that travel expense. However, it can make an exception if:

1. The amount of the expense is low
2. This situation is exceptional

In the case of non-compliance with the above conditions, the lack of supporting documents can expose the company to having the reimbursement of the business expense reclassified as a benefit in kind during an audit by URSSAF. This means that the amount would be subject to social security contributions.

However, employees have several options if they want to request reimbursement of their professional expenses.

Firstly, they can try to obtain a duplicate of the missing receipt or invoice directly from the relevant merchant, shop or supplier.

Another possibility is to draft a sworn statement and attach a bank statement to provide proof of the amount and the date of the expense.

With Qonto, there’s no need to chase up receipts and supporting documents. Employees simply take a photo of their receipt with their smartphone. Our professional expense management tool takes care of:

1. Detecting the data of the supporting document (date, amount, VAT, name of the supplier, etc.)
2. Linking the receipt to the bank transaction
3. Archiving the supporting document and sending it to your accountant

If a supporting document is missing, Qonto automatically sends a weekly reminder to your employees.