Expense checks read every expense and its receipt as soon as it's submitted, and flag anything that breaks your company's rules. Approvers and finance no longer have to check every expense and receipt by hand: they can focus on the expenses that need a closer look.
Why use Expense checks
- Checked on arrival. One reads each expense and its receipt as it's submitted and flags anything that breaks the rules, before anyone approves it.
- Recommended checks from day one. Every new company starts with a set of recommended default checks already on. There's nothing to set up.
- Your rules, your way. Edit any check, add your own limits (for example for hotels, meals or taxis), or turn checks off.
- Automate approvals. Connect the checks to your approval flow to auto-approve clean expenses and auto-reject clear policy violations.
How expenses are flagged
Each check can raise one of two types of flag:
| Flag | What it means | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Soft flag | The expense keeps moving and the approver is asked to take a look. | No receipt or an unreadable receipt, expense sent 30+ days late, weekend spend, business class, a meal with no attendees named. |
| Hard flag | The approver is advised not to approve the expense. | Receipt dated after the expense was sent, amount above the receipt total, items companies don't reimburse (tobacco, fines, gift cards, minibar). |
You decide which checks apply and how strict they are, so the rules fit your company.
Checks that are always on
Some checks always run:
- The same receipt claimed twice.
- A card expense also claimed as a manual expense.
- Overlapping per diems.
- A mileage distance that was edited manually.
Edit your expense checks
- Go to Settings > Expenses > Expense checks
- Click Edit or Add check
- Edit any check, add your own limits, or turn checks off.
Use Expense checks in your approval flow
In the approval flow, each checked expense arrives as approve, review or reject. You can use this result as a condition in your flow, for example:
- No flags → auto-approve.
- Hard flag → auto-reject.
- Soft flag → review by finance.
To learn how to build these rules, see Set up approval flows for expenses.
AI credits
Each expense checked uses 2 AI credits.
If your company runs out of credits:
- Approvers see the expense as Not checked.
- Admins get an alert with a Get more credits option.
- Employees don't see any change.
Once credits are available again, expenses still waiting for approval are checked automatically within the hour.
Tip: Plan what happens to Not checked expenses in your approval flow, so no expense is approved without a review by mistake.
FAQ
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Do I need to set up Expense checks?
No. New companies start with a set of recommended checks already on. You can edit them at any time in Settings > Expenses > Expense checks > Edit checks.
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How do I know Expense checks are on?
Admins see an "Expense checks are on" banner in Spending. A short tour in Spending and in Settings explains the new alerts.
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Does a flag reject the expense automatically?
Not on its own. A soft flag asks the approver to take a look, and a hard flag advises the approver not to approve. Expenses are only approved or rejected automatically if you set this up in your approval flow.
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Can I turn a check off?
Yes, except for the checks that are always on: the same receipt claimed twice, a card expense also claimed manually, overlapping per diems and manually edited mileage distances.