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Create and submit expense reports

[This article is prerelease documentation and is subject to change.]

An expense report groups related expenses into a single document that you submit for approval. After approval, the report is posted to the general ledger and reimbursement is processed. This article explains how to create, fill, and submit expense reports in Business Central.

Note

Approvals in Expense Management are optional when the agent is not enabled, and can be configured on the Expense Agent Setup page.
If the Expense Agent is enabled, approvals are handled automatically through the web app using the agent’s built-in approval process.

Important

Create an expense report

  1. Select Search (Alt+Q) in the upper-right corner, enter Expense Reports, and then choose the related link.
  2. Choose New to open a blank Expense Report card.
  3. In the Expense User No. field, select the expense user.
  4. In the Description field, enter a description of the report, such as "March travel expenses."
  5. In the Expense Report Date field, enter the report date.
  6. Optionally, set the Posting Date if it differs from the report date.

Add expenses to a report

You can add existing released expenses to the report.

  1. On the Expense Report card, choose Get Expense Line in the action bar.
  2. Select the expenses you want to include, and then confirm.

The selected expenses appear as lines on the Lines FastTab.

Note

This functionality is available only when the agent is enabled.
If the agent is not enabled, expenses can be entered only directly on the expense report lines.

Tip

You can also create an expense report directly from an individual expense by using the Create Expense Report action on the expense card.

Add expense lines directly

If you don't use Expense Agent, you can add expense lines directly to the expense report without creating individual expenses first. This method is also useful when you want to add a line manually.

  1. On the Expense Report card, in the report lines subpage, enter the expense details directly: category, amount, description, and other relevant fields.
  2. If the category requires itemization, choose the Itemizations action to break down the line.
  3. If the category requires participants, choose the Participants action to add attendees.
  4. If the category is per diem type, enter the Expense Location, Starting and Ending Date and Time to the expense line, and choose the Per diem action to adjust per diem lines.
  5. If the category is mileage type, enter the Starting and Ending Point, Mileage and optionally if it was the Round Trip to the expense line.

Note

All rules existing for expenses apply to the expense report lines, i.e., rule violations, justification, currencies...

Review rule violations

If expense rules are enabled, Business Central checks each expense line against the applicable rules. Violations appear in the Rule Violations FactBox.

Review all violations before you submit the report. While violations don't block submission, they show to the approver and might cause the report to be rejected.

Release an expense report

Releasing the report locks it for editing and prepares it for submission.

  1. On the Expense Report card, choose the Release action, or press Ctrl+F9.

To make changes after you release a report, choose Reopen.

Submit or resubmit an expense report for approval

  1. On the Expense Report card, choose Submit.

The report status changes to Pending Approval. You can track the status in the Status field on the report. If the report is rejected, you receive an approver comment that explains why. To make changes and resubmit:

  1. Choose Reopen to change the status back to Open.
  2. Make the needed changes.
  3. Release and submit again.

Add an attestation

If your organization requires an anti-corruption attestation, the Attestation section appears on the expense report.

  1. Turn on Anti-Corruption Attestation to confirm the attestation.
  2. Optionally, enter details in the Anti-Corruption Description field.

You can print reports for documentation or filing purposes.

  1. On the Expense Report card, select an action under Report to generate different report views:

    • Expense Report Details provides a detailed breakdown of all expenses in the report, including categories, dates, merchants, payment methods, amounts, and other related information.
    • Expense Report Summary Page displays a summarized view with grouped totals and category-specific details, and includes designated areas for signatures.
    • Expense Report Cover Page generates a cover page with key information such as the employee name, submitted to and approved by fields, expense report date, and total amounts.

Tip

In some jurisdictions, regulatory authorities require a specific expense report cover page that includes defined fields, formats, and signatures.

The Expense Report Summary Page report is designed to be flexible and includes all relevant information by default. You can easily customize the report layout to match local regulatory requirements or replicate an exact required document format.

Next steps

Approve expense reports

Create and manage expenses
Post expense reports
Manage employee expenses

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