This article is for: employees.
Factorial treats what you paid with a Factorial card differently from what you paid yourself. Card expenses are created for you and you only add the receipt; manual expenses you create and get paid back for. Knowing which is which means you never report the same payment twice.
Card expenses
Overview
When you pay with a Factorial card, the company has already paid, so there's nothing to pay back to you. Factorial creates a draft expense for you automatically with the amount, vendor and currency of the payment. You add the receipt and send it:
- On the mobile app, with One: after you pay, tap the notification asking for the receipt and take a photo. One matches the receipt to the payment and sends the expense. See How do I submit expenses by sending receipts to One?.
- On the mobile app, without One: the notification opens the draft. Add the receipt, complete any required fields, and tap Send for approval.
- On the web: open the draft in My spending > My expenses, add the receipt and click Send for approval.
What's different about a card expense:
- The amount, vendor name and currency come from the card payment and can't be changed. You can complete the other fields, like category, description or project.
- Card expenses can't be deleted, because they record a real payment. If you shouldn't claim one, see How do I delete an expense?. If the merchant reverses the payment, the expense changes to Payment reversed on its own.
Manual expenses
Overview
A manual expense is one you create yourself, usually for something you paid with your own money: a taxi, a meal, a train ticket. Once it's approved, your company pays you back, with your payslip or by bank transfer. Create it from the receipt in My spending > My expenses > New expense > Regular expense: see How do I create an expense?.
How to tell them apart
Overview
Each expense shows how it was created:
- In the expenses lists, filter by Expense type: Factorial Card or Manual.
- On mobile, the expense details show Creation: Card or Manually created.
Tips and Best Practices
- Don't create a manual expense for a card payment. Add the receipt to the card draft instead. If you upload the receipt with One, it does the matching for you.
- Add receipts as soon as you can. Card drafts stay in your list until you add the receipt and send them.
- Paid with a company card that isn't a Factorial card? Create a manual expense and choose the right Payment method, so it isn't paid back to you by mistake.
- Related: How are card payments matched to expenses and receipts? · How do I attach a receipt to an expense? · How do I handle duplicate expenses?
Troubleshooting and FAQ
Troubleshooting
I created a manual expense and the card expense also appeared.
You now have two expenses for one payment. It also happens when One can't match your receipt to the card payment, for example because of a tip or a receipt in another currency: see How are card payments matched to expenses and receipts?. Delete your manual draft and add the receipt to the card expense. If you already sent both, take the manual one back with Reset to draft while it's still Pending (see How do I edit or take back an expense?), then delete it. If it's already been decided, tell your finance team.
"Cannot update automatically created field".
You tried to change the amount, vendor name or currency of a card expense. Those come from the payment and can't change.
FAQ
1. Do I need a receipt for card expenses?
Yes. The company paid, but a receipt is normally required before you can send the expense for approval.
2. Can I change an expense from card to manual?
No. Factorial sets it from how the payment was made.
3. Do card expenses follow the same approval flow?
Yes, both go through your company's approval flow. Your company can also set rules that apply only to card expenses.
4. Can I give a card expense to someone else?
No. A card expense stays with the cardholder.