Approving an expense doesn’t always mean the same thing, depending on whether it was created from a Factorial Card transaction or submitted manually by an employee.
Key differences at a glance
| Card Expenses | Manual Expenses | |
|---|---|---|
| Who paid upfront? | Company (via Factorial Card) | Employee |
| Reimbursement needed? | No | Yes (via Payroll or SEPA) |
| How is expense created? | Automatically drafted from the transaction | Manually submitted by employee (web/mobile) |
| Data source | Transaction data (amount, date, merchant) auto-filled + proof required | Employee input + receipt OCR prefill |
| Policy control | Preventive: card limits, merchant/category restrictions | Detective: policy checks after submission |
| Approval focus | Verify business purpose and receipt | Verify correctness, eligibility, and reimbursement |
Reviewing Card Expenses
- Faster review: Since card expenses are automatically created and already validated against card limits, your main task is to ensure the receipt is attached and the expense has a valid business purpose.
- No reimbursement step: Once approved, the expense is simply archived and linked to accounting - no need to process payroll or SEPA.
- Rejections: If you reject a card expense, the employee and company must decide how the non-approved payment will be reimbursed to the company (for example, payroll deduction or direct transfer).
Reviewing Manual Expenses
- Manual expenses need a closer look since they rely on employee input. Check:
- Receipt accuracy and validity.
- Compliance with policies (e.g. per diem rates, mileage rules).
- Correct allocation to category, project, or cost center.
- If approved, the expense will proceed to reimbursement (payslip or SEPA).
Best Practices for Approvers
- Prioritize reviewing card expenses quickly - the employee has already spent company funds.
- Pay extra attention to manual expenses, since these are the ones that trigger real reimbursements.
- Use Factorial’s expense alerts (out of budget, out of policy) to speed up decision-making.
This way, approvers clearly understand why card expenses are simpler but riskier if rejected, while manual expenses carry reimbursement responsibility.