⚠️ Notice: We use hyperlinks, collapsible sections and buttons in this article. Click them to access different parts of the article, or resources and media such as related articles, video tutorials, and web pages.
I am a collapsible section. Click me to show my information!
I am a collapsible section. Click me to show my information!
I am hidden information. 🙈 Good job for finding me! 😁
Table Of Contents
Introduction
Expense requests are a valuable tool for both HR and employees. While HR can maintain better control over budgets and ensure compliance with company policies from start (request) to finish (approved reimbursements showing on payslips), employees benefit from a hassle-free way to claim their expenses.
With little to no paperwork and drastically reduced waiting times, expense requests are a win-win, making your workplace more satisfying and organised. 😌
Expense requests are part of the Approval System module and can be submitted from the Requests screen.
Keep reading this article to find out more 😉.
⚠️ Warning
To ensure your expense requests are submitted and processed smoothly, make sure to properly set up your Approval System module.
If you don't configure your Approval Systems module accurately, you may not be able to submit expense requests for yourself or on behalf of other people (e.g. no pay item will result as claimable for certain employees).
Don't miss the following collapsible section to learn what's needed 👇.
Prerequisites
Prerequisites
Make sure that all the employees involved in the expense processes (both approvers and requesters) have the right permissions assigned according to the level of access you want to grant them.
Ensure you have subordinates in the Organisation Chart.
Make sure you properly set up your expense pay items in Payroll & Leave > Pay Items.
In the Expense Requests section (only visible to the Payroll User role), tick Is available for expense requests to have the pay item showing when creating an expense request.
Make sure to fill the other fields in according to your needs.
🗒️ Note
If you enter zero as a value, it means you are setting the pay item to be unlimited.
If you exceed the limit set into the pay item (e.g. Maximum per request) the system will still allow you to submit the request showing a warning message. Approvers will also get a warning message but they can still approve the request, even though it exceeds the limit set for the pay item.
More on expense Pay Items 👉 here.
Submitting an Expense Request
To submit an expense request for yourself, go to Approval System > Expense > Requests. Once there:
Click on the ➕ Request Expense button at the top right of the page.
Once the side drawer slides open, select the Pay Item and enter a Claim Date.
Insert the amount in the Claim amount field and add a Remark if needed.
If the selected pay item requires a file upload, the system won't allow you to submit the request without one.
Once the file (e.g. receipt) is uploaded, the Submit button will become selectable. Click on it to confirm the request submission.
👂 Psst, did you know that, with the right permissions, you can approve, submit and cancel requests from the Employee Portal?
Just navigate to Dashboard > Employee Portal and look for the Expenses widget. Here you can select:
Approve to approve expense requests waiting for your direct approval.
Apply to submit an expense request for yourself.
Apply On Behalf Of to submit a request on behalf of someone.
Cancel Request to choose a request to cancel.
Click on the links in the bullet list above to know what to do after selecting one of the mentioned buttons.
Submitting an Expense Request on Behalf of Someone
Submitting an Expense Request on Behalf of Someone
You can submit an expense request on behalf of someone navigating to Approval Systems > Expense > Requests > On Behalf Of tab and click on ➕ Request Expense.
The Submit Expense Claim drawer will slide open. Here:
Select the person to apply for.
The employees' full name is displayed at the top left of the form, along with the company they belong to and their occupation.
To go back to the previous screen, click on the blue icon at the far right of the employee's name.
Fill in the form as you would do for a self request, and click on Submit.
📋 Note: If you need to submit expense requests on behalf of other employees (such as managers and team leaders) you'll also need the permission HR_ApplyForExpensesOnBehalfOf.
Options after Submission
Once the requests are submitted, you can go to the All tab in the Requests screen, and from the grid:
Click on the Resubmit Request button to resend the request (only if the state is Declined, Cancelled or Approved). Locked requests can't be resubmitted as they are already sent to a payroll.
The Resubmit Expense Claim drawer will open. You can modify the details to your likings and resubmit the request.
Select the Cancel Request button to revoke the request. The request's state will change to Cancelled.
Please note 👀 that Indigo is flexible enough to allow you to submit 👥 duplicate expense requests.
If the user's claiming more than once for the same value, on the same date for the same pay item, the system will simply warn ⚠️ you about it.
Don't worry though, the submission and approval processes won't be affected in any way.
Approving an Expense Request ✅
To approve an expense request, the approver needs to select the Approvals tab. Once there, they can:
Expand the request record using the small blue arrow on the far left. This will open a collapsible section where the request details can be consulted.
Perform actions using the three buttons on the far right of the request box, such as:
Opening the request in a side drawer (this can be further expanded to a full screen, using the designated button at the top right corner of the drawer)
Further details can be consulted here, like: the uploaded documentation, the Approvers, if there are any Approved Requests, the History, and Remarks.
Approving the expense request (button also available on the bottom right corner of the request drawer). A confirmation pop-up will show, asking whether you want to proceed or not with the approval.
Once the expense request gets approved, you can send it to payroll from the Expense Management feature. By doing so, the involved pay item will show in the Payroll Calculation page, under the Pay Items tab.
Declining ❌ the expense request (button also available on the bottom right corner of the request drawer).
🤔 Remember: The way you set up Rules 👈 will determine the approval path the Expense Request will follow after submitting it. Thus, it's extremely important you set them up according to your company requirements.
Claiming Overtime via Expense Request
Indigo usually allows to submit overtime requests via the Approval System module. However, this feature is available only to Attendance users overtime is related to the Scheduler and shift pre-sets.
What if you are not Attendance users? Do not fret! Indigo allows you to create an 'Overtime' pay item to use in your expense requests. This way, you can still claim compensation for your hard work after hours. 😉
Expand me for a 👣 step-by-step guide
Expand me for a 👣 step-by-step guide
From Payroll & Leave > Pay Items > click on the ➕ Insert button > Select Overtime from the Payment Type dropdown.
Set up the Overtime pay item as follow:
In the Details section ensure that:
Amount Allocation is set to Fixed
Analysis is set to Overtime
Pay Item Taxation Profile Code is set to Overtime Concession Tax
Payment basis is Multiplier
Unit description is HOURS
In the Options section, decide whether the Overtime is subject to taxation (FSS, SSC) or not using the relevant checkboxes along with other options.
In the Based on section:
Choose a Pay multiplier (e.g. 1.5).
Select 'Basic Pay Rate' as a Factor of: Pay group.
This way the flat rate per hour (basic pay rate) will be multiplied by the Pay multiplier you inserted (e.g. 1.5).
In the Expense Request section:
Tick the Is available for expense requests to show it in the expense request's submission form.
Set up an annual, per request and per lifetime maximum amount if needed.
Now go to Approval System > Rules > select Expense from the View Type dropdown and set up a rule for it.
🎉Congrats! You are ready to use the 'Overtime' pay item in your expense requests to claim for your overtime hours.
👀 Note: Since the 'Overtime' pay item's Unit is 'Hours', the Claim Amount is in hours too.
If it was and Adjustment pay item, and you selected the symbol for euro (€) in that case the same field would state Claim Amount in €.
Whether you are submitting, approving or rejecting an expense request, both the submitter and the approver will be notified on each step the claim goes through. You'll get notified both via email and in the 🔔 Notification Centre.
Related Articles