Approval Workflow

Every reimbursement claim goes through a structured approval process before it can be paid out. This guide explains the full status lifecycle, who can approve claims, and how to process them.

Status Lifecycle

A reimbursement claim moves through the following statuses:

Status Flow

Submit Claim --> Pending --> Approved --> Paid
                    |
                    +--> Rejected

Once a claim reaches the Paid status, the process is complete and the amount is reflected in the employee's Balance Sheet.

Who Can Approve Claims

Reimbursement claims can be approved or rejected by users with the following roles:

• Admin -- Full access to approve, reject, and manage all claims
• Finance Manager -- Can review and process claims within their scope

How to Approve or Reject a Claim

Reviewing Individual Claims

1. Go to Finance > Reimbursement in the sidebar
2. Filter the list by clicking the Pending tab to see claims awaiting review
3. Click on a claim row to open its details
4. Review the following information:
   • Employee name -- Confirm the person requesting reimbursement
   • Category -- Verify the expense type is appropriate
   • Amount -- Check that the amount matches the attached receipt
   • Date -- Confirm the expense date is reasonable
   • Description -- Read the explanation of the expense
   • Supporting Documents -- Open and verify the attached receipts or invoices
5. Choose one of the following actions:
   • Click "Approve" to approve the claim
   • Click "Reject" to reject the claim

If Rejecting a Claim

When you reject a claim, you must enter a reason for rejection. This reason is visible to the person who submitted the claim. Be specific so the employee understands why the claim was not approved.

Good rejection reasons:

• "Receipt amount does not match the claimed amount"
• "Duplicate claim -- this expense was already reimbursed on 10 Jan"
• "Missing receipt -- please resubmit with the original invoice attached"
• "Expense category does not match the receipt description"

Bulk Actions

You can process multiple claims at once to save time:

1. From the Reimbursement List, filter by the Pending tab
2. Select multiple claims using the checkboxes
3. Click "Approve Selected" or "Reject Selected" to process them in bulk
4. If rejecting in bulk, enter a common rejection reason that applies to all selected claims

Bulk actions are particularly useful at the end of the month when reviewing a large number of pending claims.

PDF Export

You can export approved claims as PDF documents for record-keeping and audit purposes:

1. Select the claims you want to export, or apply filters to narrow the list
2. Click the Export or Download PDF option
3. The system generates a PDF containing all selected claim details

This is useful for creating physical records, sharing with external auditors, or attaching to monthly finance reports.

After Approval

Once a claim is approved:

• The approved amount is added to the employee's reimbursement balance in the Balance Sheet
• The claim status changes to Approved and remains in this state until the payout is processed
• When the reimbursement is paid out, the status changes to Paid
• The payment is reflected in the employee's overall compensation summary

Best Practices

• Review claims promptly -- Aim to process pending claims within a few business days to keep employees informed
• Check receipts carefully -- Always open and verify supporting documents before approving
• Use clear rejection reasons -- Help employees understand what to fix if they need to resubmit
• Process in batches -- Use bulk actions at regular intervals (weekly or monthly) for efficiency
• Export records monthly -- Download PDF exports at the end of each month for your finance archives