How to Review Business Expense Claims & Understand Approval Routing – Admins

Admins review Employee Business Expense claims through Review Claims in Compt. Designated Business Expense reviewers can view submitted expense reports, review individual expenses, and approve, reject, or edit expenses before they are included in payroll.

Under standard approval routing, an expense first routes to the Employee Manager, who receives an immediate email with the Business Expense details. After the Employee Manager approves the expense, it moves to the Finance Reviewer’s queue. Finance Reviewers do not receive an immediate email and instead receive the standard weekly reminder.

If an Employee does not have an Employee Manager, no approval email is sent. Employees who will not have an Employee Manager can use single-tier approval, which must be enabled by a Compt Customer Success Manager. Assigning an Employee Manager or enabling single-tier approval only affects future expenses, not expenses that were already submitted.

OVERVIEW

Compt is a platform employers use to manage stipends, reimbursements, and Business Expense programs for Employees. Business Expenses may include company-approved expenses such as meals, travel, mileage, or software purchases.

Employees submit Business Expenses within an expense report. Admins with Business Expense review access can locate expense reports, review each expense, and take action before reimbursement is processed.

Business Expense claims use one of the following approval routes:

• Standard approval routing: The Employee Manager approves the expense before it moves to the Finance Reviewer.
• Single-tier approval: The Employee Manager step is skipped, and the expense routes directly to the Finance Reviewer.

A Compt Customer Success Manager must enable single-tier approval. Contact support@compt.io for more information.

WHEN TO USE

Use this process when:

• Employees have submitted Business Expense claims that require review.
• Employee Managers or Finance Reviewers need to approve or reject expenses.
• An Admin needs to edit a submitted expense before approval.
• Approved expenses need to be prepared for payroll.
• An expected approval email was not received.
• An Employee needs an Employee Manager assigned.
• An Employee should use single-tier approval.

BEFORE YOU START

Before reviewing Business Expense claims, confirm that:

• You have Business Expense Reviewer or Business Expense Admin access.
• The Employee has submitted the expense report.
• A Finance Reviewer has been assigned.
• Employees using standard approval routing have an Employee Manager assigned.
• Single-tier approval has been enabled for Employees who should skip Employee Manager approval.
• Receipts show the vendor, date, and total.

Stipend Admins are not automatically granted Business Expense review access. Business Expense roles must be updated separately.

Employee Manager assignments and single-tier approval only apply to expenses submitted after the change. They do not update the routing of expenses that were already submitted.

HOW TO

Review a Business Expense claim

1. Log into Compt.
2. Click Review Claims in the left-hand sidebar.
3. Click the Business Expenses tab.
4. Locate the expense report you want to review.
5. Use the search bar to find the report by Employee name or report title, if needed.
6. Use the Status filter to narrow the results.

Statuses may include:

• Submitted
• Reviewed
• Reviewed by Manager

7. Click View next to the expense report.
8. Click an individual expense to open the review screen.
9. Select Edit, Reject, or Approve.

Edit an expense

1. Click Edit.
2. Update the expense details, such as the amount, description, or receipt.
3. Click Save.
4. Confirm the updated details appear on the expense.

Reject an expense

1. Click Reject.
2. Enter the rejection reason.
3. Click Submit.
4. Confirm the expense status updates to rejected.

The rejection reason is sent to the Employee by email. Rejected expenses cannot be edited. The Employee must submit a new expense.

Approve an expense

1. Click Approve.
2. Confirm the expense status updates to approved.
3. Return to the full expense report.
4. Repeat the review process for each expense in the report.

You can click Unapprove if an expense was approved by mistake.

Under standard approval routing, the Employee Manager must approve the expense before it moves to the Finance Reviewer’s queue. Under single-tier approval, the Employee Manager step is skipped.

Assign an Employee Manager

1. Go to the Team List.
2. Select the Employee who needs an Employee Manager.
3. Select multiple Employees if they should all have the same Employee Manager.
4. Click Actions.
5. Click Assign Employee Manager.
6. Confirm the correct team member or team members appear.
7. Open the Employee Manager drop-down.
8. Select the Employee Manager.

The assignment applies only to expenses submitted after the Employee Manager is assigned.

Activate single-tier approval

1. Contact support@compt.io.
2. Request that a Compt Customer Success Manager enable single-tier approval.
3. Confirm the feature is enabled before affected Employees submit new expenses.

Single-tier approval routes future expenses directly to the Finance Reviewer. It does not reroute expenses that were already submitted.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

Under standard approval routing:

• The Employee Manager receives an immediate email after the expense is submitted.
• After the Employee Manager approves the expense, it moves to the Finance Reviewer’s queue.
• The Finance Reviewer receives the standard weekly reminder instead of an immediate email.

Under single-tier approval:

• The expense routes directly to the Finance Reviewer’s queue.
• The Finance Reviewer receives the standard weekly reminder instead of an immediate email.

After all required approvals are completed:

• The approved expenses appear on the Business Expense payroll report.
• Admins can run payroll for Business Expenses.

Expenses submitted before a manager assignment or routing change continue through the approval route that was active when they were submitted.

Reimbursement is processed through payroll. For exact timing, Employees should check the FAQ tab in Compt for company-specific details.

TROUBLESHOOTING

If an Employee Manager did not receive an approval email:

• Confirm the Employee had an Employee Manager assigned when the expense was submitted.
• Go to the Team List to verify the current manager assignment.
• Use Actions and Assign Employee Manager if an assignment is missing.
• Remember that a new assignment does not update already-submitted expenses.
• If no Employee Manager was assigned when the expense was submitted, no automatic email was sent. This is expected behavior, not a bug.

If a Finance Reviewer did not receive an immediate email:

• This is expected behavior.
• Finance Reviewers receive the standard weekly reminder.
• Finance Reviewers can view pending expenses through Review Claims and the Business Expenses tab.

If an expense does not use single-tier approval:

• Confirm single-tier approval was enabled before the expense was submitted.
• Confirm a Finance Reviewer has been assigned.
• Remember that enabling single-tier approval does not reroute already-submitted expenses.
• Contact support@compt.io for help activating the feature.

If an expense report does not appear in Review Claims:

• Confirm the Employee submitted the expense report.
• Check the Status filter.
• Verify you have Business Expense review permissions.
• Confirm the expense has completed any required Employee Manager approval step.

If you cannot approve or edit an expense:

• Confirm you have Business Expense reviewer access.
• Confirm the expense has not already been finalized in payroll.

If an Employee asks to edit a rejected expense:

• Explain that rejected expenses cannot be edited.
• Ask the Employee to submit a new expense within a new or existing expense report.

FAQS

Q: Who receives an email when an Employee submits a Business Expense?

A: Under standard approval routing, the Employee Manager receives an immediate email with the Business Expense details. The Finance Reviewer does not receive an immediate email.

Q: Why did no one receive an approval email?

A: The Employee may not have had an Employee Manager assigned when the expense was submitted. Because standard routing begins with the Employee Manager, there was no manager for Compt to notify. This is expected behavior, not a bug.

Q: Does the Finance Reviewer receive an immediate approval email?

A: No. Finance Reviewers receive the standard weekly reminder and can view pending expenses through Review Claims.

Q: How do I assign an Employee Manager?

A: Go to the Team List, select the Employee or Employees, click Actions, and click Assign Employee Manager. Select the manager from the drop-down.

Q: What is single-tier approval?

A: Single-tier approval skips the Employee Manager step and routes an expense directly to the Finance Reviewer. It is intended for Employees who will not have an Employee Manager.

Q: How do I activate single-tier approval?

A: A Compt Customer Success Manager must enable the feature. Contact support@compt.io for more information.

Q: Do manager assignments or single-tier approval affect already-submitted expenses?

A: No. These changes only apply to future expenses. Already-submitted expenses continue through the approval route that was active when they were submitted.

Q: Who needs to approve a Business Expense claim?

A: Under standard routing, the Employee Manager and Finance Reviewer must approve the expense. Under single-tier approval, only the Finance Reviewer is required.

Q: Can I edit an expense after it has been submitted?

A: Yes. Reviewers can click Edit to update the expense details before it is approved.

Q: What happens when an expense is rejected?

A: The Employee receives an email with the rejection reason. The rejected expense cannot be edited and must be submitted again as a new expense.

Q: Can I unapprove an expense?

A: Yes. Click Unapprove if an expense was approved by mistake.

Q: When will Employees receive reimbursement for approved expenses?

A: Reimbursement is processed through payroll. For exact timing, Employees should check the FAQ tab in Compt for company-specific details.