Expense Module: Prerequisite for Expense Module

Before initially using the Expense module, you can set up some information to ensure the system operates correctly.  

Some of the prerequisites required for the proper functioning of the Expense Module are as follows:

• Activating Expense Module
• Setting Up Payment Types
• Setting Up Expense Types 
• Setting Up Spend Categories
• Creating Approval Rules
• Creating an Expense Policy
• Setting Up User Permissions For Expenses
• Setting Up Default Expense Policy
• Setting Up Currencies

Activating Expense Module

The Expense module is visible to you only when it is activated on your account. To enable the Expense module on your account, please contact our support team at [email protected].  

Setting Up Payment Types

The Expense module includes standard data for different payment types which can be changed or configured based on your organization’s needs.

1. Navigate to your Profile icon on the top right corner of the page.The dropdown list is displayed.
2. Press Control Panel.The Control Panel page is displayed.
3. Scroll down to the Expense section and press Payment Types.The Payment Types page is displayed.
4.  Press Add New Payment Types.The Add Payment Type page is displayed.
   

   Note

   All fields with an asterisk (*) are mandatory.
5. Enter the name of the payment type in the Name field.
   
6.  Enter a brief text regarding the payment type in the Description field.
7. Enable the Is Active toggle button to make this payment type visible. By default, this button is enabled.
8. Press Save.The success notification is displayed, confirming the setting up of payment types.

Setting Up Expense Types

The Expense module includes standard data for different expense types, which can be configured or updated based on your organization’s needs. Note that this is optional and not mandatory.

1. Navigate to your Profile icon on the top right corner of the page.The dropdown list is displayed.
2. Press Control Panel.
   The Control Panel page is displayed.
   
3. Scroll down to the Expense section and press Expense Types.
   The Expense Types page is displayed.
   
4. Press Add New Expense Type.
   
   The Add Expense Type page is displayed.
   

   Note

   All fields with an asterisk (*) are mandatory.
5. Enter the name of the expense type in the Name field.
6. Enter a brief text regarding the expense type in the Description field.
   
7. Enable the Is Active toggle button to make the expense type visible. Note that this button is enabled by default.
8.  Press the Select Category field and choose the relevant expense type category from the displayed dropdown list.
9. Press the GL Code field and choose the relevant general ledger code from the displayed dropdown list.
10. Press Save.
    The success notification is displayed.

Setting Up Spend Categories

The Expense module includes standard data for spend categories which can be changed or configured based on your organization’s needs. Note that this is optional and not mandatory. 

1. Navigate to your Profile icon on the top right corner of the page.
   The dropdown list is displayed.
2. Press Control Panel.The Control Panel page is displayed.
   
3. Scroll down to the Expense section and press Spend Categories.The Spend Categories page is displayed.
4. Press Add New Spend Categories.
   The Add Spend Category page is displayed.
5. Enter the name of the spend category in the Name field.
   
6. Enter a brief note regarding the expense type in the Description field.
   
7. Enable the Is Active toggle button to make the spend category visible. Note that this button is enabled by default.
8. Press Save.
   
   The success notification is displayed.

Setting Up Shared Permissions to Manage Expense Components

You can set up shared permissions to ensure only authorized users can manage key Expense components such as Expense Types, Spend Categories, Payment Types, and Expense Policies. 

1. Press the Profile icon on the top right corner of the Home page.
   The profile menu is displayed.
2.  Press the Control Panel in the profile menu.
   The Control Panel page is displayed.
3.  Press Users under Organization.
   The Control Panel > Users page is displayed.
4. Press anywhere in the desired user’s row you wish to edit the user permission.
   The Edit User page is displayed.
5. Scroll down the page to the User Permissions section and press the Shared tab.The Shared > Administration section is displayed.
6. Scroll down to Expense Type in the Rights column and check the box in the All column.
   The permissions to add, edit, and view the expense types are set.
   
   

   Note

   You can set permissions for performing specific actions (add, edit, or view) on expense types by checking only the corresponding boxes in the respective columns, instead of selecting All.
7. Check the box in the All column corresponding to the Spend Category in the Rights column.The permissions to add, edit, and view the expense categories are set.

   Note

   You can set permissions for performing specific actions (add, edit, or view) on expense categories by checking only the corresponding boxes in the respective columns, instead of selecting All.
   
8. Check the box in the All column corresponding to the Payment Type in the Rights column.
   The permissions to add, edit, and view the payment types are set.

   Note

   You can set permissions for performing specific actions (add, edit, or view) on payment types by checking only the corresponding boxes in the respective columns, instead of selecting All.
   
9. Check the box in the All column corresponding to the Expense Policy in the Rights column.
   The permissions to add, edit, and view all expense policies are set.

   Note

   You can set permissions for performing specific actions (add, edit, or view) on payment types by checking only the corresponding boxes in the respective columns, instead of selecting All.
   
10. Once you have configured the Shared permissions, scroll down the Edit User page and press Save to update the permission settings for the user.
    The permissions are now set.

Creating Approval Rules

You can set up approval process(es) for expenses before setting up expense policies. 

1. Navigate to your Profile icon on the top right corner of the page.
   The dropdown list is displayed.
2. Press Control Panel.The Control Panel page is displayed. 
3. Press Approval Rules under Advanced Controls. The Approval Rules page is displayed. 
4. Press the Expense tab. The Expense > Approval Rules page is displayed. 
5. Press Add New Approval Rule.The Add new approval rule dialog is displayed. 
6. Enter the name of the approval rule in the Rule Name field.
7. Select the Manual or Automatic option to manually/automatically trigger the approval rule from the Type dropdown list.
8. Select the number of approvers required to approve the expense from the dropdown list in the Approvers Required column.
9. Select the user you wish to set as the approver from the dropdown list in the Approver column.
   

   Note

   • Pressing the Add icon in the Approver column allows you to set more users as approvers.
   • You can press Add Step to add additional steps or Remove Step to delete any additional step added if needed.

10. Press Save. The success notification is displayed and the approval rule is added.
    

    Note

    When no expense approval rules are defined, none can be selected for the expense policies resulting in all submitted expense reports being approved by automation and pushed to either processing reimbursements or closed status. 

Creating an Expense Policy 

You can create an expense policy to set your business configuration, which can mandate the receipt attachment, set restrictions, and define validations for permissible categories of expenses and their limits. 

1. Navigate to your Profile icon on the top right corner of the page.The dropdown list is displayed. 
2. Press Control Panel.The Control Panel page is displayed. 
3. Scroll down to the Expense section and press Expense Policies.The Expense Policies page is displayed. 
4. Press Add New Expense Policy. The Add New Expense Policy page is displayed.
   

The Expense Policy page is categorized into various sections as follows: 

• Setting Up Details of Expense Policy
• Setting Up Expenses within a Policy 
• Setting Up Expense Report Configuration on Expense 

Setting Up Details of Expense Policy 

The Details section with the Expense Policy page allows you to configure the basic data about the policy. 

1. Navigate to the Details section on the Add New Expense Policy page.

   Note

   All fields with an asterisk (*) are mandatory. 
2. Enter the name of the expense policy in the Name field.
3. Enable the Is Active toggle button to make the policy available. By default, this button is enabled.
4. Enter a brief text regarding the expense policy in the Description field.
5. Scroll down the page and press Save. The success notification is displayed.

Setting Up Expenses within a Policy 

You can configure Expense details within an Expense Policy to ensure consistent guidelines for allowable expenses, amounts, distance, and time. 

1. Navigate to the Expense section on the Expense Policy page.
   Under the General section,
   
2. Press the Default Expense Type field. The dropdown list is displayed. 
3. Select the expense type to be set as default while creating a new expense from the Default Expense Type dropdown list.
   

   Note

   Note that this selection does not disable the feature to change the expense type when creating new Expenses.
   
4. Enable the Expense Type Editable toggle button to allow changing the preselected expense type when creating new Expenses.
   

   Note

   Note that this toggle button is enabled by default.
   
   
5. Enable the Expense Type Required toggle button to mandate the selection of expense type when creating new Expenses.
   

   Note

   Note that this toggle button is enabled by default.
   

6. Press the Billable Expense Type field and select the required expense type from the displayed dropdown list to define if the expense must be re-billed to the client.The Billable Expense Type dropdown list is displayed.
   The available options for billable expenses are as follows: 
   • Disabled – When this option is selected, the Is Billable feature is disabled on the Expense. 
   • Default to Billable – If this option is selected, the expense is set as billable by default. 
   • Default to Non Billable – If this option is selected, the expense is set as non-billable by default. 

7. Enable the Receipt Attachment Required toggle button if the expense requires a receipt attached.
   Under the Amounts section, 

8. Enter the allowed amount for Expense in the Expense Allowable Amount field.
   

   Note

   If defined, a violation  will occur when the total value of an expense exceeds this value.
   
   

9. Enter the maximum allowable amount for an expense in the Expense Maximum Amount.  This amount cannot exceed the value set in the Expense Allowable Amount field.

   Note

   • The Expense Maximum Amount can be set up only if the Expense Allowable Amount is set up. 

   • If defined, a warning will occur when an Expense total value exceeds the Expense Allowable Amount value but is lower than the Expense Maximum Amount value. 

   • A violation will occur if an Expense total value exceeds the Expense Maximum Amount value. 

   

10. Enter the maximum percentage of the total expense allowed in the Expense Maximum Percent.  This will trigger an error if the total expense value exceeds the value set in the Expense Allowable Amount field and above the percentage value set here.
    

    Note

    • The Expense Maximum Percent field can be set up only if the Expense Allowable Amount field is set up. 

    • If defined, a warning will occur when an Expense total value exceeds the Expense Allowable Amount value but is lower than the Expense Maximum Amount value. 

    • A violation will occur if the total value of an expense exceeds the Expense Maximum Amount value, increased by the  Expense Maximum Percent value. 

     

    

11. Enter the minimum amount that can be claimed for an expense in the Expense Minimum Amount field.  Any expense below this defined value will result in an error.
    

    Note

    If defined, a violation will occur if an Expense total value is less than the Expense Minimum Amount value.
    
12. Activate the Enable Distance Expenses button to track and reimburse distance-based expenses.
    

    Note

    The Distance Expense tab is accessible only if this button is enabled.
    
13. Press and then select the unit of measurement used for calculating distance expenses from the Distance Expense Unit dropdown list.
14. Enable the Distance Rate Editable toggle button to allow editing of the rate of distance expense. If this is disabled, a value must be set in the Default Distance Rate field.
15. Enter the default rate for distance-based expenses, in cost per unit of distance format in the Default Distance Rate field.
    

    Note

    The reporting currency (from the main company) is always used for the Default Distance Rate.
    
16. Press and select the default category to define the distance-related expenses from the Default Distance Expense Type dropdown list.
    

    Note

    This value will auto-populate in the expense type field when creating or editing an Expense.
    
17. Enable the Allow Manual Distance Expenses toggle button to allow the users to create a distance expense without a route map.

    Note

    If this button is disabled, the users must create a route on the map to calculate the distance.  
    
    Under the Time section,
    
18. Activate the Enable Time Expenses toggle button to enable the feature for tracking and reimbursing time-based expenses.
    

    Note

    The Time Expenses tab is accessible only if this button is enabled.
    
19. Enter the default rate for time-based expenses in the cost-per-hour format in the Default Hourly Rate field.
    

    Note

    The reporting currency (from the main company) is always used for Default Hourly Rate.
    
20. Press and select the default category that defines the time-related expense from the Default Time Expense Type dropdown list.

21. Scroll down the page and press Save. The success notification is displayed.

Setting Up Expense Report Configuration on Expense

The Expense Report section allows you to define the approval process and automate the approval amount upper limit, the allowable amount on an expense report, and the maximum amount on the expense report. 

1. Navigate to the Expense Report section on the Expense Policy page.

2. Press and select the workflow that will be applied when an expense is submitted from the Approval Process dropdown list.

3. Enable the Allow Submit With Violations toggle button to allow an expense report to be submitted even if it contains violations against the settings/setup on the expense policy.

4. Enter the maximum expense amount that will be automatically approved in the Automated Approval Amount Upper Limit field.
5. Enter the expense report amount allowed within a report in the Expense Report Allowable Amount.
   

   Note

   The total expense report value cannot exceed this defined amount. 
   
6. Enter the maximum amount allowed on the expense report in the Expense Report Maximum Amount field.
   

   Note

   
   

   • The Expense Report Maximum Amount field can be set up only if the Expense Report Allowable Amount is set up. 

   • If defined, a warning will occur when an Expense report total value exceeds the Expense Report Allowable Amount value but is lower than the Expense Report Maximum Amount value. 

   • A violation will occur if an expense report total value exceeds the Expense Report Maximum Amount value. 

   

7. Press Save.The success notification is displayed. 

Setting Up User Permissions For Expenses 

You can configure all the permissions related to users for the Expense module by updating your user permission settings in the Control Panel. The Expense permissions are visible to the users only if the Expense module is enabled on your account. 

To update the user permission settings, follow the steps below. 

1. Press the Profile icon on the top right corner of the Home page.The profile menu is displayed. 

2. Press the Control Panel in the profile menu. The Control Panel page is displayed. 

3. Press Users under Organization. The Control Panel > Users page is displayed.

4. Press anywhere in the desired user’s row you wish to edit the user permission. The Edit User page is displayed. 

5. Scroll down the page to the User Permissions section and press the Expense tab. The Expense section is displayed. 

6. Press Expense Permissions. By default, the Expense Access tab is displayed.

7. Select the appropriate option to determine which expenses the user can view in the system.
   The available options are: 
   • Own Expenses – Users can only access the expenses they create in the system. 
   • All Expenses – Users can access all expenses available on the account. 
   • Expenses for selected policies – Users can create expenses using the selected policies.   For more information, refer to How to Select Policies to Assign User Permissions. 

8. Press the Expense Create tab.The Expense Create section is displayed. 

9. Select the appropriate option to determine which policies the user can create the expenses for.
   The available options are: 
   • All Policies – Users can create expenses using all policies in the system. 
   • Selected policies – Users can use selected policies to create new expenses and expense reports.  For more information, refer to How to Select Policies to Assign User Permissions. 

10. Press the Process Reimbursement tab. The Process Reimbursement section is displayed. 

11. Select the appropriate option to determine which policies the user can process reimbursements for.The available options are: 
    • All policies – Users can access and process reimbursements for all active policies in the system. 
    • Selected policies – Users can process reimbursements for only the chosen policies.  For more information, refer to How to Select Policies to Assign User Permissions. 

12. Press the Expense Authentication tab.The Expense Authentication section is displayed.

13. Select the appropriate option to determine which policies the user can authorize in the system.The available options are: 
    • Own Expenses – Users can only authorize their expenses in the system. 
    • All Expenses – Users can authorize all expenses in the system. 
    • Expenses for selected policies – Users can only authorize expenses for selected policies.  For more information, refer to How to Select Policies to Assign User Permissions. 

14. Once you have updated the User permissions, scroll down the Edit User page and press Save to update the permission settings for the user. The permissions are now set. 

How to Select Policies to Assign User Permissions

For selecting policies to assign user permissions and adding them to the selected Expense Policy list, follow the steps below: 

1. Under the User Permissions section within the Edit User page, navigate to the option that you want to give access to users.The following example shows how to add policies under Expense > Expense Access > Expenses for selected policies. The Expenses for selected policies section is displayed.
2. Press the Add icon. The Expense Policy dialog is displayed.

3. Check the box in the desired policy row you wish to add.

4. Press Add All Selected Expense Policies. The selected policies are added to the Expense Policy list.

   Note

   You can remove a policy from the list by pressing the Close icon in the desired policy row.

Setting Up Default Expense Policy 

You can set up the default expense policy for a user to initially use to create expenses and expense reports. 

The following example illustrates setting up a default expense policy initially. You can change the default expense policy when needed. 

1. Navigate to the Expense Home page by pressing the Expense tab. The Expense > Home page is displayed. 

2. Press New Expense.The No Default Policy page is displayed with instructions to enable the creation of new expenses and expense reports by setting a default policy. 

3. Navigate to the User Settings page.

   Note

   There are two ways to go to the User Settings page as follows: 

   • Navigate to the Profile icon > press User Settings.

   • Press the User Settings link on the No Default Policy page.

   The Edit User Settings page is displayed.

4. Press Default Expense Policy. The dropdown list is displayed.

5. Select the default policy from the Default Expense Policy dropdown list.
6. Scroll down the Edit User and press Save. The success notification is displayed.
   

   Note

   You can assign a default expense policy to any user accessing your account by navigating to the Control Panel > Users section, selecting the desired user, and following the above steps.
   
   

Setting Up Currencies 

The Supplier Currencies list must include all the currencies used for filing expenses.  Note that this list can be updated, at any time, when an expense with a currency not present in the system needs to be filed. 

1. Navigate to your Profile icon on the top right corner of the page. The dropdown list is displayed. 
2. Press Control Panel.The Control Panel page is displayed. 

3. Press Supplier Currencies under Finance Functions. The Search Supplier Currencies page is displayed. 
4. Press Add New Supplier Currency. The Add Supplier Currency dialog is displayed.

   Note

   All fields with an asterisk (*) are mandatory.

5. Press the Currency Name field. The dropdown list is displayed. 

6. Select the name of the currency you wish to add from the Currency Name dropdown list.
7. Enter the rate of exchange of the selected currency in the Exchange Rate field.

8. Enter or select the country code of the currency in the Currency Code field. Note that the Currency Code should be between 1 and 99.

9. Enable the Active toggle button to activate this currency on Expense. By default, this button is enabled.

10. Press Save. The success notification is displayed and the currency is added to the Supplier Currency list.