This article is for: finance teams, admins and approvers.
Know where your company's money goes without building a spreadsheet. The Report tab gives you the totals by status, category, employee, team and cost centre, the expense list gives you the expenses behind them, and One, our AI assistant, answers anything else.
What you need: permission to view expenses. You see the expenses that permission covers (your team, a legal entity, or the whole company).
The Report page
How to use
- Go to Spending > Employee expenses, then open the Report tab.
- Choose the period with the date selector at the top right.
- Check the Currency filter first: the report shows one currency at a time, and it may not start on yours. If some expenses are in another currency, a notice tells you they were filtered out: switch the Currency filter to see them.
- Narrow it down with the other filters: Legal entity, Expense type, Employee and Project.
- To see the expenses behind a widget, click its title. The expense list opens with the same filters.
The widgets show pending and approved totals, the status funnel, spend by category, employee, team and cost centre, and the monthly trend (see FAQ 9).
The expense list
How to use
- Go to Spending > Employee expenses > Expenses.
- Filter by date (Document date, Created date, Report date, Approval date), status, category, owner and more.
- Show or hide columns, and export the result. See How do I export expenses?.
Ask One
How to use
- Open One from anywhere in Factorial.
- Ask your question in plain words, for example "Show the last 6 months' spend trends by cost centre." One answers with a table or a chart.
- Refine it with a follow-up, like "only the Madrid legal entity".
Tips and Best Practices
- Check the funnel every week. Money stuck in Approved is waiting to be paid back.
- Use the trend before budget meetings. Choose at least a quarter so the chart has enough months.
- Ask One for the one-off questions, and keep the Report page for the weekly routine.
Related articles: How do I export expenses? · How do I close the month in Expenses? A checklist for finance · Expenses in another currency
Troubleshooting and FAQ
Troubleshooting
"Trend requires a longer timeframe".
Choose a period of at least a quarter, or click View this quarter.
The Report page shows 0.00, or totals look lower than expected.
- Some expenses are in another currency: the Report page shows one currency at a time, so change the Currency filter.
- You only see the expenses your permission covers.
One says it found no expenses.
One only reads the expenses you can see. Check the period and filters in your question, or ask an admin about your access.
FAQ
1. Can expenses be filtered by the date they were paid?
Not in the list or the Report page. Ask One, for example "which expenses were paid in October?", or add the Paid date column to an advanced export and filter it in your spreadsheet.
2. Can I export the Report page?
No. Export the expense list instead, or ask One for the table you need.
3. Do the reports update in real time?
The Report page reads your expenses each time you open it or change a filter. Reload it to see the latest figures.
4. Why is the same expense counted in two teams?
For people in more than one team, their expenses count in each team's total. Cost centres are different: there, the expense is split by the person's percentage in each cost centre.
5. Is "expense report" the same as the Report page?
No. An expense group (sometimes called a report) is a set of expenses an employee submits together, for example a trip. The Report page shows totals for all expenses.
6. What questions does the Report page answer?
How much is waiting for approval, how much has been approved and still has to be paid, and where the money goes. Each total compares with the previous period.
7. When should I use the expense list, and which filters does it have?
Use the list when you need the expenses themselves, not totals: every expense with its status, amount, category and alerts. Filters: Document date, Created date, Report date, Approval date, status, category, subcategory, currency, owner, legal entity, project, alerts and more. You can filter, show or hide columns and export the result.
8. What can I ask One about expenses?
One reads the expenses you're allowed to see and answers in seconds with a table or a chart. It's the quickest way to answer what the Report page doesn't cover, like a comparison, a ranking or a period of your choice. For example: "Show the last 6 months' spend trends by cost centre.", "Which 10 employees spent the most on travel this year?", "How much did we spend on meals in Q3, by team?", "Which expenses were paid between 1 and 15 October?", "How many expenses are pending my approval?"
9. What does each widget on the Report page show?
| Widget | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Pending expenses | How much is waiting for approval, reimbursable and not, vs the last period |
| Approved expenses | How much is approved, reimbursable and not, vs the last period |
| Expenses status funnel | How many expenses and how much money are Pending, Approved, In payroll, Sent to pay and Paid |
| Expenses by category | Where the money goes: travel, meals, hotels… |
| Expenses by employee | Who spends the most |
| Expenses by team | Spend per team |
| Expenses by cost center | Spend per cost centre. For people in several cost centres, it's split by their percentage in each |
| Total expenses trend | Spend month by month (choose at least a quarter) |
10. How do I see totals by employee, category or cost centre?
On the Report tab, open Expenses by employee, Expenses by category or Expenses by cost centre. Each shows the total for the period and filters you chose. Click a widget's title to see the expenses behind it, or ask One, for example "Total spend by employee this quarter."
11. Can I get a spend report automatically every week or month?
No. Reports and exports are run by hand. Open the Report tab, or ask One, whenever you need the latest figures.