Expense and Report Actions
Expense and Report Actions
Expense and report actions vary depending on the member role and the expense or report’s status.
Use this guide to understand:
- What each action does
- When actions appear
- Who can perform them
What actions can I take on a report?
- You can submit a report when it is in Draft status and you are the submitter
- You can approve a report when it is in Outstanding (submitted) status and you are the assigned approver
- You can pay a report after it is Approved status and you are a payer
- You can export a report when it is Approved or Paid status and you are an admin or exporter
- You can Hold expenses when they should not move forward yet
Learn more about report statuses.
What each report action means
- Submit: Available when a report is in Draft. Sends the report into the approval workflow.
- Approve: Available when a report is Outstanding and awaiting approval. Confirms the report is ready to move forward.
- Pay: Available after approval. Initiates payment or records a manual payment.
- Export: Available when a report is Approved or Paid.
- Review: Appears when there are issues (such as missing receipts or duplicates). Prompts fixes before continuing.
- Hold: Prevents specific expenses from moving forward in approval or payment.
What actions are available for each report status
Draft reports
- Submit
- Delete
- Hold
- Duplicate expense
- Duplicate report
Outstanding (submitted) reports
- Approve
- Reject
- Hold
- Change approver
Approved reports
- Pay
- Export
- Unapprove
- Mark as exported
Paid or Done reports
- Download
- Mark as exported
What actions each role can take
Submitter
- Submit reports
- Delete Draft reports
- Duplicate expenses and reports
- Hold expenses
- Invite members to their report
Approver
- Approve reports
- Reject reports
- Hold expenses
- Unapprove reports (before payment)
Payer
- Pay reports
- Cancel payment (before processing)
Workspace Admin
- Export reports
- Mark reports as exported
- Change approver
- Bypass approvers
- Change workspace (before export)
How to understand report actions using the full action table
Primary report actions
| Action | When It Appears | Who Can See It | What It Does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Submit | Draft reports | Submitter | Sends the report into the approval workflow |
| Approve | Outstanding awaiting approval | Approver | Confirms the report is accurate and moves it forward |
| Pay | Approved reports with reimbursable expenses | Payer | Initiates or records payment |
| Export | Approved or Paid reports not yet exported | Workspace Admin | Sends report data to an accounting system |
| Review | When issues are detected | All roles | Prompts required fixes before continuing |
Note: If your workspace does not use approvals, Submit and Approve may appear as Mark as done.
Additional report actions available from the More menu
| Action | When It Appears | Who Can Use It | What It Does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hold | Draft, Outstanding, or Approved reports | Submitter, approver, Workspace Admin | Prevents expenses from moving forward |
| Change workspace | Before export | Submitter, approver, Workspace Admin | Moves the report to another workspace |
| Change approver | Submitted reports | Workspace Admin | Adds or bypasses approvers |
| Delete | Draft reports only | Submitter | Permanently removes the report |
| Undelete | Deleted expenses | Submitter | Restores a deleted expense |
| Unapprove | After approval, before payment | Approver | Reverts approval |
| Mark as exported | Approved or Paid reports | Workspace Admin | Marks report as exported manually |
| Export to accounting system | When accounting integration is enabled | Workspace Admin | Sends data externally |
| Duplicate expense | Non-card expenses | Submitter | Creates a copy of an expense |
| Duplicate report | Any report owned by submitter | Submitter | Creates a copy of the report |
| Download | Any report | All roles | Downloads a PDF copy |
| Any report | All roles | Opens print view | |
| Reject | Submitted reports | Approver | Sends report back for changes |
| Invite member | Draft and Outstanding reports | All roles | Adds a member to the report |
| View details | Any report | All roles | Opens report details |
| Cancel payment | Before payment processing | Payer | Cancels a pending payment |
How to find available actions on a report
Open a report to see available actions.
- Primary actions (like Submit, Approve, or Pay) appear at the top of the report
- Additional actions are available when you open the report and choose More
- Available actions change based on:
- Your role
- Report status
- Workspace settings
- Integrations
What happens after you take a report action
- Submit → moves report to approval
- Approve → moves report to next approver or payment
- Pay → marks report as Paid or starts processing payment
- Export → sends report data externally
- Reject → sends report back for updates
- Unapprove → reopens the report before payment
FAQ
What happens if an export fails?
An error message appears with next steps. You can fix the issue and retry the export.
Why can’t I cancel a payment?
Payments can only be canceled before processing begins. Manual payments cannot be canceled.
Why can’t I see “Bypass approvers”?
Only workspace admins can bypass approvers. Some settings may prevent self-approval.
How do I invite a member to an expense report?
Open the report, select the header, then select Members and choose Invite.
