Keep a Delay Claim's Receipts in One Running Ledger — Free
A disruption claim is won or lost on dates and receipts, and those are exactly what disappears when you are rebooking a flight at 23:40 with a charged-up phone. Fifteen minutes with this ledger turns the whole event into one file: what you spent, when, what it was for, what has already come back, and the balance still owed.
The proof surface
Free path: the card computes locally in the browser with no key and no account. Where an AI step helps, any free chat assistant works — Google AI Studio's free tier and Groq's free tier were both no-card and rate-limited when this page was reviewed on 2026-09-13 (limits change; check before you rely on them).
Why the flat version breaks
A folder of screenshots proves nothing on its own, and a bank statement cannot tell a claim reviewer why the 24.00 meal belongs to a nine-hour delay. The ledger keeps the reason and the date next to the amount, so the balance at the bottom is the only number you have to argue for.
How to keep the ledger in four passes
Amount and reason on one line while the receipt is still in your hand. Bank statements give you the amount six weeks later but never the reason, and the reason is what makes a claim readable.
Vouchers, goodwill payments and refunds are entries too. Keeping them in the same running balance means the ledger shows the amount still owed rather than the amount once spent, which is the number a reviewer checks first.
If the ledger goes negative on a date, you were out of pocket that day with nothing in hand. That is worth knowing before you claim, because it is usually the point where a goodwill payment was promised and never arrived.
Keep the original receipts; the ledger is the index that makes them quick to check. Add the airline's reply as the next entry when it comes, so the file stays alive instead of becoming a one-time complaint.
SAMPLE DATA, NOT A VERIFIED CLAIM: NL4471 · 3 Oct 2026 · hotel 86.40 · meals 24.00 · voucher −64.00 · fare difference 145.00 · recover 42.50 already back. Replace these values with your own source before you rely on anything.
What breaks first
Rounding the amounts
86.40 and 145.00 in a ledger are checkable; the same numbers as 'about 230' are not. Enter what the receipt says, including the small ones — the 12.75 of phone calls is still your money.
Mixing two bookings in one ledger
One reference, one ledger. Two disrupted flights in one file produce a balance no reviewer can tie to a booking, and you end up explaining instead of claiming.
Treating the balance as a legal entitlement
The ledger shows what you spent and what came back. What you are owed depends on the carrier's conditions and the scheme that applies to your journey — read those before you quote a figure.
What you pay otherwise
| The usual route | What it leaves out | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Claim-assistance services | A commission on the amount recovered, taken from money you already spent | often a percentage of the payout |
| Reconstructing from statements | Hours of matching card lines to receipts months later | an evening of work |
| Leaving the claim | The receipts get filed somewhere and the deadline passes | the whole balance |
| This page + the free ring-binder ledger | Computed in your tab, result on screen before you type anything | $0 |
Try the free ring-binder ledger
A delayed flight is already posted with six expenses, one voucher and a refund subtracted. Add a 30.00 taxi and the closing balance moves in the ledger immediately.
Open the free ring-binder ledger →Keep the work if you will use it again
Unlimited entries, negative refund entries, the running balance and the dip-below-zero warning, with no account.
Every entry, the running balance and the below-zero warning stay free. The one-time tier adds the printable sheet for the claim pack plus the saved ledgers behind it.
Boundary: This records your own expenses and refunds; it is not legal advice and it does not decide what you are owed. Check the carrier's conditions and the passenger-rights scheme that applies to your journey, and keep the original receipts.