This article is for: finance teams and admins.
Expense checks let One check each expense against your expense policy once it has the details it needs. The clearer your rules, the more expenses One clears on its own and the fewer your team reviews by hand.
Write rules One can check
Overview
One turns each rule of your policy into a check. A rule works best when it says what, how much and for whom, using information that's in Factorial or on the receipt.
| Vague rule | Rule One can check |
|---|---|
| "Keep meals reasonable." | "Meals can cost at most £30 per person, per day." |
| "Submit expenses on time." | "Flag expenses submitted more than 30 days after the document date." |
| "Hotels should be standard." | "Hotels can cost at most £150 a night." |
| "No personal expenses." | "Alcohol on its own, tobacco and gambling are out of policy." |
| "Bring a proper receipt." | "Meals over £50 need an itemized invoice showing VAT." |
| "Don't drive too far." | "Mileage over 300 km in one trip needs a description of the reason." |
How to use
- Write your policy in plain words, one rule per sentence. Start from your current policy document.
- For each rule, say how strict it is: a hard flag (out of policy) for clear limits you never accept, a soft flag (warning) for cases that are fine with a reason. For example: "Expenses without a receipt are a warning; meals over £80 are out of policy."
- For rules that apply to some people only, name the group: "The sales team can spend up to £60 per person on client meals."
- Go to Settings > Expenses > Automations > Expense checks and click Edit checks.
- Paste or type your rules. One turns each rule it can verify into a check and tells you which ones it can't.
- Review the checks on the page, adjust them by chatting, and click Save.
Neither kind of flag stops anyone from submitting or approving. Reviewers make the final decision, unless you set your approval flow to approve or reject automatically.
Tips and Best Practices
- Start from the ready-made checks every company gets, then add your own rules.
- One rule, one sentence, one number. Long rules with many exceptions are harder to check and to explain to employees.
- After you save a new rule, look at the results on the next expenses that come in before your approval flow relies on it.
- Use the result in your approval flow: auto-approve expenses in policy and send the rest to a reviewer. See How do I set up the approval flow?.
- Publish the full policy in the Handbook so employees can read it too.
- Related: How do I check expenses against my expense policy? · How do I set up the approval flow?
Troubleshooting and FAQ
Troubleshooting
One says it can't check one of my rules.
The rule depends on something that isn't in Factorial or on the receipt. Rewrite it with something One can see (for example "the description must name the client"), or keep it for your reviewers.
A check flags too many expenses.
Make it more specific (a category, an amount, a group of people), or turn it into a soft flag. Ask One: "make the weekend check a warning and skip hotels and flights".
A check never flags anything.
Ask One to explain it: "explain the meals check". Check that the category, amount and people in the rule match how your team really submits expenses.
FAQ
1. What information can One check in an expense policy rule?
Anything on the expense: amount, category, date, currency, description, expense type (regular, mileage or per diem), mileage distance and route, per diem dates. Totals over time: daily, weekly or monthly spend per person, for example "at most £100 a week on meals". Who submitted it: their team, contract or other employee details. What's on the receipt: line items, VAT, whether it's an itemized invoice, the type of business, totals that don't add up, a currency or date that doesn't match the expense.
2. Does a check run on every expense?
Yes, on regular, mileage and per diem expenses, whoever reported them, once an expense has all its required details and Expense checks are On.
3. What's the difference between a hard flag and a soft flag?
A hard flag (out of policy) means the expense breaks a hard rule: the employee is told it's likely to come back to them, and the reviewer is advised against approving it. A soft flag (warning) means something needs a look but it isn't a clear breach: the expense goes through and the reviewer is asked to take a look. Say which you want when you write the rule, for example "Alcohol is out of policy." (hard) or "Expenses on weekends are a warning." (soft).
4. Can different people have different limits?
Yes. Name the group in the rule, for example a higher meal limit for sales, a hotel limit only for people based abroad, or "People on an internship contract can't claim taxis over £30." If a rule names a group of people, ask One to update it when your teams change.
5. What can't One check?
One only checks what's in Factorial or on the receipt. It can't know things agreed outside Factorial, for example "only if your manager agreed by email" or "only for client X", unless it's written on the expense. It can't judge impressions such as "receipts that look suspicious": it looks for concrete signs instead, like totals that don't add up, an invalid tax number, edited amounts, or dates that contradict each other.
6. Can I ban a shop or merchant in my expense policy?
Yes, for businesses that are never reimbursable: a rule like "no casinos" works. For a shop that also sells banned items, such as a supermarket that sells alcohol, write a rule about what was bought instead: "alcohol is never reimbursed".
7. Do I need rules for duplicates, per diem meals or mileage rates changed by hand?
No. Factorial flags possible duplicate expenses (expenses that look like one already submitted), meals on days already covered by a per diem, and mileage rates changed by hand, without a rule. Duplicate alerts are visible only to people who can see all company expenses.
8. What should I do when One can't check a rule?
Either rewrite it with something One can see ("the description must name the client"), or keep it for your reviewers. Publish the full policy in the Handbook so employees can read it too.
9. Can I still create spending policies the old way?
No. Spending policies have been replaced by Expense checks, and your old policies were turned into checks. Expense checks are set up only with One.
10. Can a check block an expense?
No. Checks inform employees and reviewers; they never block submitting or approving. Your approval flow can still approve or reject automatically if you set it up that way.