Expensify Classic lets Workspace Admins build flexible approval workflows for expense reports. You can automate simple approvals or set up detailed chains of command for large organizations.

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Choose an Approval Mode

1. Go to Settings > Workspace > [Workspace Name] > Workflows > Add approvals.
2. Choose one of the following modes:
   • Submit and Close – Automatically approves reports unless they contain violations.
   • Submit and Approve – Sends each report to a single assigned approver.
   • Advanced Approval – Supports multi-level approval chains with conditional logic.

Enforce Workflow Rules

To prevent employees from bypassing the workflow:

• In the Workflows tab, enable Workflow Enforcement.
• This locks the approval path unless overridden by a Workspace Admin. description: Learn how to set up and manage report approval workflows in Expensify, including approval modes, over-limit rules, and automated audits. keywords: [report approval, approval workflow, over-limit expenses, advanced approval, concierge audit, receipt audit, expense rules, category approver, tag approver, enforce workflow] —

Report approvals in Expensify allow Workspace Admins to create automated workflows that streamline expense review and approval. This article explains the available approval modes, how to configure them, and how to manage additional controls like over-limit rules and random audits.

Report approval modes

Choose from three types of approval workflows based on your workspace needs:

• Submit and Close: Reports are auto-approved unless they contain violations.
• Submit and Approve: Reports are sent to a single designated approver.
• Advanced Approval: Enables multi-level, conditional approval chains.

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How to set an approval workflow

To configure your workspace’s approval mode:

1. Go to Settings > Workspaces.
2. Select your workspace.
3. Click the Members tab.
4. Scroll to the Approval mode section.
5. Choose one of the following:
   • Submit and Close: Auto-approves all reports unless they have violations.
   • Submit and Approve: Sends reports to a single designated approver.
   • Advanced Approval: Allows multiple approvers and conditional workflows.

Note: You can also set rules for specific categories and tags to fine-tune your workflow.

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Enforce workflow rules

To prevent employees from bypassing assigned approval paths:

1. Go to Settings > Workspaces.
2. Select your workspace.
3. Click the Members tab.
4. Enable Enforce workflow.

Admins will still be able to manually override workflows if needed.

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Manually review over-limit expenses

You can flag high-value expenses for manual review.

Set a Manual Approval Rule

1. Go to Settings > Workspace > [Workspace Name] > Workflows.
2. Under Expense approvals, enter a dollar amount in the Manually approve all expenses over field.

Assign an Over-Limit Approver

For workspaces using Advanced Approval, assign a backup approver for large reports.

1. Go to Settings > Workspace > [Workspace Name] > Members.
2. Click Settings next to a member’s name.
3. In the If report total is over field, set a dollar amount.
4. In the Then approves to field, select the backup approver.
5. Click Save.

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Assign Approvers by Category or Tag

Use categories or tags to send expenses to specialized approvers.

Assign a Category Approver

1. Go to Settings > Workspace > [Workspace Name] > Categories.
2. Find the category and click Edit.
3. Choose an approver from the list.
4. Click Save.

Assign a Tag Approver

Note: Tag-based approvers only work with single-level tags.

1. Go to Settings > Workspace > [Workspace Name] > Tags.
2. Select the relevant tag.
3. Assign an approver.

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Understand Complex Approval Workflows

Lifecycle of an Expense Report

1. Submission – Reports are submitted manually or via Delay Submissions.
2. Category & Tag Approvers – Reports are routed here first, if set.
3. Approval Mode – Determines how the report progresses:
   • Submit and Close – Auto-closes if no violations.
   • Submit and Approve – Goes to one approver.
   • Advanced Approval – Follows a chain of multiple approvers.
4. Concierge Approval – If enabled, Concierge approves reports under the manual limit.
5. Final Approval & Export – Approved reports can be exported to an accounting system.

You can require manual review for expenses that exceed a specific dollar amount.

Set a manual approval rule

1. Go to Settings > Workspaces.
2. Select your workspace.
3. Click Members.
4. Scroll to Expense approvals.
5. Under Manually approve all expenses over, enter your desired limit.

Assign an over-limit approver (Advanced Approval only)

1. Go to Settings > Workspaces.
2. Select your workspace.
3. Click Members.
4. Click Settings next to a member’s name.
5. Enter a limit in If report total is over.
6. Under Then approves to, select the secondary approver.
7. Click Save.

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Route reports using category and tag approvers

Approvers can be assigned to specific categories and tags to route expenses accordingly.

Assign a category approver

1. Go to Settings > Workspaces.
2. Select your workspace.
3. Click Categories.
4. Locate the category and click Edit.
5. Assign an approver and click Save.

Assign a tag approver

Only supported for single-level tags.

1. Go to Settings > Workspaces.
2. Select your workspace.
3. Click Tags.
4. Locate the tag and assign an approver.

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Understanding complex workflows

Lifecycle of an expense report

1. Submission: Reports are submitted manually or via Scheduled Submit.
2. Category/Tag Approvers (if assigned): Reports are routed here first.
3. Approval mode: Reports follow the selected workflow:
   • Submit & Close: Auto-closes after submission.
   • Submit & Approve: Sent to a single approver.
   • Advanced Approval: Routed through multi-level approvers.
4. Concierge Approval: For workspaces with manual review enabled, Concierge approves reports under the limit.
5. Final approval & export: Once approved, reports can be exported to your accounting system.

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Example workflows

Submit & Close

Terry and Dana co-run a business and don’t need formal approvals. Their workspace uses Submit & Close, so all reports are auto-approved.

Submit & Approve with Category Approvers

Pat manages accounting. Reports are submitted to Pat, but Dale must review all Plant and equipment purchases. These go to Dale first, then to Pat.

Advanced Approval with Over-Limit Approvers

Amal submits a report with a $1,200 flight and $950 in accommodations. Jamie (manager) can approve up to $2,000. Since the total exceeds the limit, the report is routed to Lee for final approval before it reaches Finance.

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Automate receipt audits

Concierge Receipt Audit automatically checks receipts for accuracy.

• Available in all Control plan workspaces.
• Cannot be disabled.
• Uses SmartScan to compare receipt data to entered amounts.
• Flags discrepancies for manual review.

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Customize Expense Report Auditing

All reports are checked for errors and compliance. You can add manual audits for specific cases.

To set this up:

1. Go to Settings > Workspace > [Workspace Name] > Workflows.
2. Under Expense approvals, use the Manually approve all expenses over field to:
   • Enter a dollar amount to review all expenses above a certain threshold.
   • Enter a percentage to randomly audit that portion of compliant reports.
3. Click Save.

Concierge Receipt Audit automatically reviews receipts to flag discrepancies.

• Available on all Control plan workspaces
• Cannot be disabled
• Uses SmartScan to match receipts with entered data
• Expenses flagged for mismatches require manual review

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Set a random audit schedule

You can choose to randomly audit a percentage of otherwise compliant reports.

1. Go to Settings > Workspaces.
2. Select your workspace.
3. Click Members.
4. Scroll to Expense approvals.
5. In Randomly route reports for manual approval, enter a percentage (default: 5%).
6. Click Save.

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FAQ

Can I disable Concierge Receipt Audit?

No, this feature is always enabled on Control plan workspaces.

Who can access the Reconciliation tab?

Only Domain Admins have access.

What if company card expenses are missing from a report?

1. Use the Reconciliation tool to locate missing expenses.
2. Click Update next to the card to sync transactions.
3. If transactions are still missing, contact Concierge and share:
   • Merchant name
   • Date
   • Amount
   • The last four digits of the card

Note: Only posted credit card transactions will import.