Nanny Agency JobsA clear expense record connects each purchase to its purpose, approval, receipt and payment status. It lets you answer three different questions: was this purchase agreed, is the spending documented, and has any money you personally provided been repaid? Keep those answers separate, even when they relate to the same item.
Start by agreeing the process with the employer. GTM's expense-report guidance recommends defining covered expenses, submission arrangements and receipt requirements. The original worksheet below turns that administrative conversation into a purchase-by-purchase record. It does not establish reimbursement rights, tax treatment or driving-expense rules.
Confirm the purchasing route before spending
Ask how ordinary approved purchases are funded: an employer-provided payment method, a specific advance or another agreed arrangement. If you are asked to use personal money, clarify the purchase, amount, submission route and expected repayment timing before proceeding. Say if that arrangement does not work for you.
Make the approval specific enough to act on. “Buy craft supplies” leaves more uncertainty than a named list and agreed spending limit. Establish who can approve substitutions or a price change, and what to do if that person is unavailable. An urgent request is still a reason to clarify the plan, not an instruction to silently absorb an unexpected cost.
Keep a reference to the approval with the purchase entry. A short dated message or an agreed standing instruction may provide the relevant context; avoid copying an entire private family conversation into an expense log.
Build one record for each purchase
Give each purchase a simple identifier so that its receipt, submission and later repayment can be matched. Use the same identifier when following up. The record can be a list or a spreadsheet, provided it is readable on the device you actually use.
- Purchase reference: A unique label, such as OCT-04.
- Date and seller: When and where the purchase was made.
- Purpose and items: What was bought and which agreed task it served.
- Approval reference: Who approved it, when and any agreed limit or condition.
- Amount and currency: The actual amount shown on the receipt.
- Funding source: Employer funds, named advance or personal funds.
- Receipt reference: The saved image or document, with any missing evidence flagged.
- Submission status: Not submitted, sent on a named date or clarification requested.
- Repayment record: Amount received, date and remaining amount awaiting resolution.
- Open action: The specific question, responsible person and next follow-up date.
Record the actual purchase even if approval or repayment is disputed. Keep the uncertainty visible in its own field. Do not change a purchase amount merely to make it match the amount someone has transferred.
Match receipts and advances without mixing balances
Save a readable receipt promptly and check that the image includes the date, seller, items and total. Use the agreed storage location and access arrangements. If a receipt includes personal purchases, identify the relevant items and ask how the reviewer wants that mixed receipt handled; do not present the whole total as household spending.
An advance needs its own short record: money received, purchases made from it, money remaining and what happened to that remainder. Link each purchase to the advance rather than also listing it as money you personally paid. That distinction prevents the same item appearing in two reimbursement requests.
If the receipt is missing, say so. Record the facts available and ask what supporting information the reviewer will accept. A card transaction may show a payment to a seller without identifying each item. Do not create a replacement receipt or suggest that incomplete evidence proves more than it does.
Work through a fictional purchase record
Fictional example: A parent gives Alex a $50 advance for approved craft materials. Alex spends $32 and saves the receipt. The advance record shows $50 received minus $32 spent equals $18 remaining. Alex returns the $18 using the agreed method and records the date. Nothing in that purchase was paid from Alex's own funds.
Separately, the parent approves a $24 activity kit and asks whether Alex is willing to purchase it personally for later repayment. Alex agrees after confirming the repayment date, buys the kit and submits its receipt under reference OCT-05.
The parent initially transfers $20. Alex records $24 personally spent, $20 received and $4 still outstanding. The original purchase remains $24. Alex's follow-up refers to OCT-05 and asks whether the $4 difference was accidental or needs clarification. When the remaining $4 arrives, Alex records that payment and closes the entry.
These figures are invented to demonstrate recordkeeping, not typical costs or recommended spending limits. The two transactions stay separate because an advance balance and an unpaid personal outlay answer different questions.
Submit a clear request and preserve corrections
Send the agreed reviewer a dated list of purchase references, receipts and amounts requiring attention. Identify which items used employer funds and which involve personal outlay. If there is nothing to repay on an entry, its documentation can still be needed to explain how an advance was used.
Keep the submitted version. If a refund, return or error appears later, add a dated adjustment linked to the original purchase. Explain where the refund went and what needs reconciling rather than quietly deleting the transaction.
Before marking a period complete, check each open entry against the actual response or payment received. “Approved,” “receipt accepted” and “repaid” should remain separate statuses. Where the records do not agree, state the difference plainly and assign a follow-up. An organized log makes the conversation easier; it does not decide a disputed obligation.
Sources
GTM Payroll Services, Expense Reports for Nannies, published 31 January 2014; checked 27 October 2026. Used only for the administrative process reference above. The worksheet, suggested workflow and fictional figures are original editorial tools.