How you get cell phone reimbursement depends on the company that you work for. Usually when an individual uses a personal cell phone for business purposes, she will be required to analyze her bill and determine which charges are work related. Then she will need to submit that cost to the accounting department within her company. It may be necessary to draft an expense report or to provide an explanation for the costs. Also remember to adhere to any deadlines.
The manner in which cell phone reimbursement is obtained from an employer can vary depending on the company’s policy. This means that the first thing that you should do is to read and familiarize yourself with your company’s policy so that you do not find yourself stuck with bills that will not be reimbursed. If you are using a personal cell phone for business purposes, you should make a record of every phone call that is business related. This is very likely to be difficult and inconvenient, but it is usually necessary. The reason for this is that most people have service plans that allow them a certain amount of minutes for a certain price. By keeping a record of the business-related calls, you can determine how much of your service plan is being used for non-personal reasons.
It is also important to remember to make a record of other expenses that are related to your business affairs. For instance, text and multimedia messages have costs. If you are allowed to receive a limited number per month, you should treat the division as you did your talking minutes. If you have a plan in which the number of messages that you receive is unlimited, you should keep track of how many business-related messages you send and receive.
Comparing this to the total number sent and received will allow you to determine the percentage of your bundle that is devoted to business. You should seek cell phone reimbursement only for that percentage. For example, if you get unlimited text messages for $10 US Dollars (USD) and 50 percent of all of your texts dealt with work, you should seek a reimbursement of $5 USD. Furthermore, remember to analyze your bill for costs such as roaming and international charges that are work related.
Once you have determined the correct figure for your cell phone reimbursement, you will likely need to submit it to your accounting department. You may be required to include it as part of an expense report. It is also possible that you will be required to detail the clients and the reasons for the phone calls and messages that you sent and received. It is a good idea, therefore, to make note of this information in your records. Also remember that you may be eligible for cell phone reimbursement only if you submit your expenses by a certain date.