If you handle expenses for other people, for example an assistant who books travel for a team, you can enter an expense for another employee (assign it to them) and send it for them. The expense belongs to them: it follows their approval flow, is paid back to them, and they're notified.

Report an expense on someone's behalf

Overview

You can report regular, mileage and per diem expenses for someone else. Before you start:

• You need the Add new expenses on behalf of someone else permission. Your admin sets it in Settings > Permissions, and turning it on also switches on the permissions to create and view expenses.
• It depends on your plan. Your Account Manager can confirm.
• If your company pays per user, both of you must be Expenses users.
• The other person must be in a legal entity in the same country as yours.

How to use

On the web

1. Go to My spending > My expenses and click New expense > Regular expense (or Mileage / Per diem).
2. In Upload a document, click Skip this step. The form opens with the Expense owner field (the scan window creates expenses only for yourself).
3. In Expense owner, choose the person the expense is for.
4. Add their receipt in the form and fill in the details.
5. Click Save as draft. The expense shows the person as Owner and you as Reporter.
6. Click Send for approval.

On the mobile app

1. Open Expenses, tap Add and choose the type.
2. In Expense owner, select the person.
3. Add the receipt, complete the form and tap Send for approval.

With One
Attach the receipts and tell One who they're for, for example "create these expenses for [name]". See How do I submit expenses by sending receipts to One?.

Tips and Best Practices

Troubleshooting and FAQ

Troubleshooting

I don't see the Expense owner field (even as an admin).
Being an admin isn't enough. Check four things: you have the permission, your plan includes it, you are an Expenses user (if your company pays per user), and you didn't start from a scanned receipt. If you did, click Skip this step in Upload a document to get the form with Expense owner.

The person I need isn't in the list, or I can't assign the expense to them.
They may be in a legal entity in another country, or they may not be an Expenses user (if your company pays per user). Ask your admin.

"Employee [name] cannot create expenses".
The person you picked isn't an Expenses user (if your company pays per user), or that type of expense (regular, mileage or per diem) is turned off for your company. Ask your admin to add them (see How do I add people to Expenses?) or to check Settings > Expenses > Expense types, then try again.

"Cannot report expenses on behalf of this employee".
Same reasons as above. Your admin can check your permission and their Expenses access.

FAQ

1. Is it expected that the expense owner can't be changed?

Yes. In the app, the owner is fixed when the expense is created. One can move a draft you created by hand to another person, if you're allowed to report for them. Card expenses and expenses already sent never change owner. Otherwise, delete the draft and create it again for the right person.

2. Can the employee see the expense I created for them?

Yes. The owner is notified ("New expense reported for you") and sees it in their own My expenses.

3. Who approves it?

The people in the owner's approval flow, not yours. The reimbursement goes to the owner.

4. What if I don't have the receipt?

Ask the employee for a copy. Most companies require a receipt to send an expense.

5. Can I still see and change an expense I reported for someone else?

Yes. It also appears in your My expenses, and you can filter the list by owner. As the reporter you can edit, delete or send it while it's a draft, and take it back with Reset to draft while it's Pending.

6. Does One check that I'm allowed to report for that person?

Yes. When you ask One to create expenses for someone else, it checks you're allowed to and creates them in that person's name.

7. Can I let someone else edit my draft expenses?

Only you (the owner) and the person who reported the expense can edit a draft. If an assistant should handle your expenses, they can report them for you with the steps above, and then both of you can edit the drafts. Someone with Can edit expenses with pending status can change an expense that is already Pending, but not a draft.

8. Can an external user report expenses for someone else?

No. Only employees can report an expense for someone else. An external user (someone with access to Factorial but no employee profile, such as an outside adviser) can't, even with the permission, because Factorial checks that the person reporting is an employee in a legal entity in the same country as the expense owner.