Expense Submission
An expense claim. One line per expense: what it was for, when, how much, in which currency and with which tax. The claim names who paid. It does not post anything itself; once approved, it is posted through a Post Expense Submission.
What it is for
The claim collects the expenses and their evidence (attach the receipts with Attachment on the toolbar) and goes through approval. Approved, its lines are posted to the ledger, all at once with Post This Expense or a few at a time on a Post Expense Submission.
The rule people get wrong: the header is fixed at Create. Fill Submission Date, Payment Source and Default Currency before pressing Create; afterwards they are locked.
Every field in plain words
Header
| Field | What it means | What to put |
|---|---|---|
| Submission | The claim's number | Given on Create |
| Submission Date | The date of the claim | Required. New lines take it as their Expense Date |
| Payment Source | Who paid | Required. Picked from Payment Source. Its account is copied onto the claim on Save |
| Notes | What the claim is for | Optional. Carried to the posting |
| Default Currency | The currency new lines start in | Filled with the company's ledger currency |
The Dimensions tab holds the claim's financial dimensions. A new line starts with them.
Basic Data: the lines
| Column | What it means | What to put |
|---|---|---|
| Expense Date | When the money was spent | Starts as the Submission Date. It cannot be later than today, nor older than the company's back limit |
| Expense Category | What the money was spent on | Required. Offered from the categories of an expense group that are marked for use in expenses. Picking one fills Name, Account, Price and Tax Group from the category |
| Name | The category's name | Filled in |
| Account | The ledger account the expense goes to | Filled from the category's expense account. Not typed |
| Merchant | Where the money was spent | Typed |
| Currency | The currency of the receipt | Shown only when the company's setting asks for a currency on each line. Starts as the Default Currency |
| Exchange Rate | Rate to the company's currency | 1 for the company's own currency; otherwise read from the exchange rates on the Expense Date. Shown with Currency |
| Quantity | How many | Starts at 1. Must be more than zero |
| Price | The price of one | Must be more than zero |
| Gross Amount | Quantity × Price | Worked out |
| Tax Group, Tax Zone | The tax on the expense | Tax Group starts from the category. Together they decide the tax lines |
| Line Text | A note | Optional |
Tax Lines on the grid's toolbar shows the tax worked out for the selected line: Tax Code, Tax Percentage, Tax Amount.
Project, Activity Number, Line Property and Customer columns exist on the lines but are hidden as shipped.
The maths
On Save, for each line:
- Gross Amount = Quantity × Price.
- The tax lines are worked out from the line's Tax Zone and Tax Group on the Submission Date, on the Gross Amount. Tax Amount is their total.
- Amount Including Tax = Gross Amount + Tax Amount.
- Each amount is also kept in the company's currency: the amount × Exchange Rate.
Post This Expense
The Post This Expense button on the toolbar is live only when the claim is approved and at least one of its lines is not yet on a Post Expense Submission. Pressing it:
- asks "Post this expense of 1,250.00?" with the claim's total including tax, in the company's currency;
- creates a Post Expense Submission holding every line not yet posted, on the journal named in the Expense Management Setting, dated today, with the Posting Status Park;
- opens it. Someone still has to post it.
The claim is then fully on postings, and Edit is greyed out.
After posting
A line that is on a Post Expense Submission that has not been reversed is locked: its cells cannot be edited, and it cannot be removed. A claim with any such line cannot be deleted. Reversing the posting frees the lines again.
How to configure it
On Expense Management Setting:
- Currency Required On Line shows Currency and Exchange Rate on the lines, for staff who spend abroad.
- Expense Date Back Limit (Months) sets how old an expense may be. Empty or 0 means no limit.
- Default Parameters can default, require, lock or hide any field of this screen for the company.
Scenarios
- A salesperson's monthly travel claim, paid back with salary. Payment Source Employee; one line per trip, fuel and meal.
- A petty cash book. Payment Source the petty cash float; the custodian enters each voucher as a line.
- Spending in another currency on a business trip. Tick Currency Required On Line; pick the receipt's currency per line.
- A claim approved in part. Post only the lines accepted, on a Post Expense Submission raised by hand; the rest stay on the claim for later.
What it is connected to
- Payment Source - who paid, and the account for it.
- Post Expense Submission - posts the lines.
- Expense Management Setting - the company's rules for this screen.
- Expense categories are kept on Category and Category Group in Company setup.
If something looks wrong
- "Basic Data cannot be Empty" The claim has no line.
- "Basic Data - Line ID : 0002 - Expense Category Cannot be Empty" (or Name, Currency, Expense Date). Fill it on that line.
- "Basic Data - Line ID : 0002 - Quantity Cannot be Zero" or "... Gross Price Cannot be Zero" Quantity and Price must be more than zero.
- "Basic Data - Line ID : 0002 - Expense Date cannot be later than 23-Oct-2026" The date is in the future, in the company's time zone.
- "Basic Data - Line ID : 0002 - Expense Date cannot be more than 2 month(s) old - the earliest allowed is 23-Aug-2026" The expense is older than the company's back limit. Lines saved earlier are not checked again unless their date changes.
- "Account is not defined in Payment Source" Fill the Account on the payment source.
- "Header - Dimension Employee is mandatory" or a line's dimension message. The account demands that dimension. The claim takes its dimensions from its first line: fill them on the line.
- "Expense Submission EXP-0001 has not been approved. Post Expense Submission creation is not allowed." Post This Expense needs an approved claim.
- "You have no rights to create Post Expense Submission." Your role cannot create postings.
- "No posting journal is configured for Post Expense Submission. Set the 'journalno' default for EMPE in EM Settings first." Add a Default Parameters line for Post Expense Submission, field Transaction Journal, on Expense Management Setting.
- "Every line of Expense Submission EXP-0001 is already on Post Expense Submission PEX-0001." Nothing is left to post.
- "Line ID : 0002 - Expense Submission Lines (TRAVEL) cannot be Delete. Its already referred in Post Expense Submission" and "Line ID: 0002 Quantity: 2 cannot be change, already referred in Post Expense Submission." (and the same for category, currency, tax group, tax zone, expense date, price, amount). The line is posted. Reverse the posting first.
- "Submission Expense: EXP-0001 cannot be deleted." Some of its lines are posted.