How do I explain myself to my boss?

Question

in a way where he will accept it?

...I do his expenses every month, and I have not been expensing them right away - I expense them when its closer to months end, so I can expense them all in one shot.

He wants me to expense things right away - the minute they hit his credit card.

How do I convince him I will do so going forward - and what is a reason I can give him for waiting so long?

The truth will not work - because that will put him on edge.

I was thinking of something like "In order for me to expense charges right away, I must monitor your american express usage on-line, and i will do so going forward"

but i dont want him to feel like he has to "watch" me.

any ideas?

Answer 1

I understand you're reasoning for waiting.  You want to do it in one lump sum.  It is more convenient and it saves time.

However, the boss is paying for your time and signs your paycheck.  So do it his way no matter how stupid it is.

Can you tell that I work for the government?  ;-)

Answer 2

he's the boss so it's his game so his rules. just do it his way and don't give him an excuse other than 'i'm sorry and from now on i'll do it how you'd prefer'.  i'm sure he wants it done so he can see what he's spending as he goes through the month.

Answer 3

Why the need to convince or explain yourself?  Just acknowledge his request, that going forward you'll expense charges immediately, and you'll verify the charges on line.  End of story.   Going into explanation mode isn't necessary and just makes you seem nervous.  Doing expense reports once a month is more common than daily or weekly so the way you did do it is more standard.

Answer 4

The standard practice is to do it on a monthly basis. Your boss, like mine, probably isn't a person accustomed to accounting practices. It is more work for you but it's the way he wants it so you will have to adapt. I would simply tell him you've been doing it the standard way but you can provide him with daily expenses if he wishes. My boss was asking me why I could not provide him with monthly Financial Statements on the first of the following month! ....shows you how we're from 2 different world.  

Answer 5

I'm not sure you should give a reason for waiting so long.  The truth could come across as if you were trying to avoid extra work, and you don't want to look like you're making excuses.  I think you should just say, "I should have been expensing things daily, and I will do so from now on.  I will check your American Express usage online every morning and expense new items as they are posted to your account."