Email Notifications

Occasionally, members may have trouble receiving email notifications from Expensify, such as Expensify Magic Code emails, account validation emails, secondary login validations, integration emails, or report action notifications.

Troubleshooting missing Expensify notifications

Issue: The email or notification is never received, and no message, banner, or additional context is provided

Emails can sometimes be delayed and could take up to 30-60 minutes to arrive in your inbox. If you’re expecting a notification that still hasn’t arrived after waiting:

  • Check your Email Preferences on the web via Settings > Account > Preferences. In the Contact Preferences section, ensure that the relevant boxes are checked for the email type you’re missing.
  • Check your email spam and trash folders, as Expensify messages might end up there inadvertently.
  • Check to make sure you haven’t unintentionally blocked Expensify emails. allowlist the domain expensify.com with your email provider.

Issue: A banner that says “We’re having trouble emailing you” shows the top of your screen.

Confirm that the email address on your Expensify account is deliverable, and then click the link in the banner that says “here.” If successful, you will see a confirmation that your email was unblocked.

ExpensifyHelp_EmailError

If unsuccessful, you will see another error:

  • If the new error or SMTP message includes a URL, navigate to that URL for further instructions.
  • If the new error or SMTP message includes “mimecast.com”, consult with your company’s IT team.
  • If the new error or SMTP message includes “blacklist,” it means your company has configured its email servers to use a third-party email reputation or blocklisting service. Consult with your company’s IT team.

ExpensifyHelp_SMTPError

Further troubleshooting for public domains

If you are still not receiving Expensify notifications and have an email address on a public domain such as gmail.com or yahoo.com, you may need to add Expensify’s domain expensify.com to your email’s allowlist by taking the following steps:

  • Search for messages from expensify.com in your spam folder, open them, and click “Not Spam” at the top of each message. Configure an email filter that identifies Expensify’s email domain as expensify.com and directs all incoming messages to your inbox to prevent messages from going to spam.
  • Add specific known Expensify email addresses, such as concierge@expensify.com, to your email contacts list.

Further troubleshooting for private domains

If your organization uses a private domain, Expensify emails may be blocked at the server level. This can sometimes happen unexpectedly due to broader changes in email provider’s handling or filtering of incoming messages. Consult your internal IT team to assist with the following:

  • Ensure that the domain expensify.com is allowlisted on the domain email servers. This domain is the source of various notification emails, so it’s important it’s recognized by your company’s servers.
  • Confirm there is no server-level email blocking
  • Make sure spam filters are not blocking Expensify emails.

Even if you have received messages from our Concierge support in the past, ensure that expensify.com is allowlisted.

Companies using Outlook

  • Add Expensify to your personal Safe Senders list by following these steps: Outlook email client / Outlook.com
  • Company IT administrators: Add Expensify to your domain’s Safe Sender list by following the steps here: Create safe sender lists in EOP Company IT administrators: Add expensify.com to the domain’s explicit allowlist. As each company’s setup varies, you may need to contact Outlook support for specific instructions.
  • Company administrators: Contact Outlook support to see if there are additional steps to take based on your domain’s email configuration.

Companies using Google Workspaces:

FAQ

How can I be sure that emails from Expensify are legitimate and not spam?

Expensify’s emails are SPF and DKIM-signed, meaning they are cryptographically signed and encrypted to prevent spoofing.

Why do legitimate emails from Expensify sometimes end up marked as spam?

The problem typically arises when a third-party domain or IP reputation service erroneously flags our domain or one of our sending IP addresses. Many IT departments use lists published by such services to filter email for the entire company.

What is the best way to ensure emails are not accidentally marked as Spam?

For server-level spam detection, the safest approach to allow emails from Expensify is to verify DKIM and SPF, rather than solely relying on the third-party reputation of the sending IP address.

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