British Airways Receipts

Hoenir

powerful_Rogue said:

Hoenir said:

Phoenix72 said:

Hoenir said:

user1977 said:

Hoenir said:

Grumpy_chap said:

nddyer said:

I flew with British Airways recently for work & needed to submit a receipt for my expenses, only after I had paid did I find out they do not automatically give receipts In fact they have dedicated space on their website explaining why they don't need to give VAT receipts! 

After digging I found they require me to fill in an online form to request a receipt & they say they will provide a receipt within 5 days so I did.

After 7 days still no receipt so I invested an hour on the phone getting through to their customer service team who told me I just have to wait for them to send it.

I then posted on Twitter about this which BA did respond to saying it will be 28 days before they respond - way past my expenses cut off!

I want to warn others of this issue as flying is not cheap & if a receipt is needed for expenses don't expect it any time soon.

Can MSE do anything to help?

Can you submit for your expenses with the ticket confirmation that would normally be sent by e-mail shortly after making the booking?  That normally includes the cost paid.

Often the business requirement is for a proper original receipt. Where other evidence is provided there's often cases of double claiming the expense incurred. Both unintentionally and fraudulently. 

What constitutes a “proper” receipt, in circumstances where no VAT receipt is required? I would say the problem is more likely to be the OPs employer being too fussy about what they accept, especially if it’s something as commonplace as whatever BA produce when you buy a ticket.

A receipt is confirmation of the payment being made. An invoice, a till receipt, a hand written receipt on letter headed notepaper etc. OP's employer isn't being fussy. As they are expected to maintain proper accountng records for all business expenditure. 

As there is no legal requirement to provide a receipt then perhaps the employer is being overly fussy in this situation where other evidence is available.

No proper invoice no reimbursement.  That's the bottom line in the real world. 

Not the fault of BA though. Either get the company to book or use a different airline.

Being the summer holidays there's probably a considerable number of admin staff on holiday. The request will be actioned in due course. Receipts can only be issued after the flight date. 

powerful_Rogue

Hoenir said:

powerful_Rogue said:

Hoenir said:

Phoenix72 said:

Hoenir said:

user1977 said:

Hoenir said:

Grumpy_chap said:

nddyer said:

I flew with British Airways recently for work & needed to submit a receipt for my expenses, only after I had paid did I find out they do not automatically give receipts In fact they have dedicated space on their website explaining why they don't need to give VAT receipts! 

After digging I found they require me to fill in an online form to request a receipt & they say they will provide a receipt within 5 days so I did.

After 7 days still no receipt so I invested an hour on the phone getting through to their customer service team who told me I just have to wait for them to send it.

I then posted on Twitter about this which BA did respond to saying it will be 28 days before they respond - way past my expenses cut off!

I want to warn others of this issue as flying is not cheap & if a receipt is needed for expenses don't expect it any time soon.

Can MSE do anything to help?

Can you submit for your expenses with the ticket confirmation that would normally be sent by e-mail shortly after making the booking?  That normally includes the cost paid.

Often the business requirement is for a proper original receipt. Where other evidence is provided there's often cases of double claiming the expense incurred. Both unintentionally and fraudulently. 

What constitutes a “proper” receipt, in circumstances where no VAT receipt is required? I would say the problem is more likely to be the OPs employer being too fussy about what they accept, especially if it’s something as commonplace as whatever BA produce when you buy a ticket.

A receipt is confirmation of the payment being made. An invoice, a till receipt, a hand written receipt on letter headed notepaper etc. OP's employer isn't being fussy. As they are expected to maintain proper accountng records for all business expenditure. 

As there is no legal requirement to provide a receipt then perhaps the employer is being overly fussy in this situation where other evidence is available.

No proper invoice no reimbursement.  That's the bottom line in the real world. 

Not the fault of BA though. Either get the company to book or use a different airline.

Being the summer holidays there's probably a considerable number of admin staff on holiday. The request will be actioned in due course. Receipts can only be issued after the flight date. 

No doubt they will, however it's the OP that needs to realise that.

Phoenix72

Hoenir said:

Phoenix72 said:

Hoenir said:

user1977 said:

Hoenir said:

Grumpy_chap said:

nddyer said:

I flew with British Airways recently for work & needed to submit a receipt for my expenses, only after I had paid did I find out they do not automatically give receipts In fact they have dedicated space on their website explaining why they don't need to give VAT receipts! 

After digging I found they require me to fill in an online form to request a receipt & they say they will provide a receipt within 5 days so I did.

After 7 days still no receipt so I invested an hour on the phone getting through to their customer service team who told me I just have to wait for them to send it.

I then posted on Twitter about this which BA did respond to saying it will be 28 days before they respond - way past my expenses cut off!

I want to warn others of this issue as flying is not cheap & if a receipt is needed for expenses don't expect it any time soon.

Can MSE do anything to help?

Can you submit for your expenses with the ticket confirmation that would normally be sent by e-mail shortly after making the booking?  That normally includes the cost paid.

Often the business requirement is for a proper original receipt. Where other evidence is provided there's often cases of double claiming the expense incurred. Both unintentionally and fraudulently. 

What constitutes a “proper” receipt, in circumstances where no VAT receipt is required? I would say the problem is more likely to be the OPs employer being too fussy about what they accept, especially if it’s something as commonplace as whatever BA produce when you buy a ticket.

A receipt is confirmation of the payment being made. An invoice, a till receipt, a hand written receipt on letter headed notepaper etc. OP's employer isn't being fussy. As they are expected to maintain proper accountng records for all business expenditure. 

As there is no legal requirement to provide a receipt then perhaps the employer is being overly fussy in this situation where other evidence is available.

No proper invoice no reimbursement.  That's the bottom line in the real world. 

Maybe that's your 'real world'. Mines is employer books business travel and a bit of trust on T&S subject to spot checks.

Alderbank

Nothing the OP has said so far suggests they are an employee.

The scenario described is quite common with self employed contractors and their clients.

The OP does refer to VAT receipts. If he is registered for VAT in his own business then he is legally entitled to a VAT receipt within 30 days.

It's quite reasonable that the payer is requesting a VAT receipt for expenses rather than just proof of purchase in order to reclaim any VAT

PHK

But the OP doesn’t want to wait 30 days. 

Ergates

Would a credit card statement showing a payment of X to BA not suffice?

If this company expects employees/contractors to pay for flights up front, then this can't be the first time this has happened.  How do they normally deal with it?

400ixl

Air travel is not subjected to VAT so you do not need an VAT receipt.

Whenever I have booked with any airline I always get sent an e-receipt which has always been enough for any company expenses claim. Just checked my last BA flight and that had an e-receipt sent automatically.

user1977

Ergates said:

Would a credit card statement showing a payment of X to BA not suffice?

If this company expects employees/contractors to pay for flights up front, then this can't be the first time this has happened.  How do they normally deal with it?

Unless BA are doing something unusual, I expect you get an email confirming the ticket details and how much you've paid. If an employer (or anybody else) is in the habit of paying travel expenses, it's downright weird of them not to accept the normal documentation you'd get from one of the world's biggest airlines.

sheramber

Alderbank said:

Nothing the OP has said so far suggests they are an employee.

The scenario described is quite common with self employed contractors and their clients.

The OP does refer to VAT receipts. If he is registered for VAT in his own business then he is legally entitled to a VAT receipt within 30 days.

It's quite reasonable that the payer is requesting a VAT receipt for expenses rather than just proof of purchase in order to reclaim any VAT

I then posted on Twitter about this which BA did respond to saying it will be 28 days before they respond - way past my expenses cut off!

Would a self employed parson have a cut off date to provide proof of travel expenses?  To whom?