Expense Claims & Imprest

The Expenses module is available on Starter, Pro, and Enterprise plans. It covers the full lifecycle of employee expense claims, imprest (cash advance) management, petty cash floats, and per diem allowances — all with built-in approval workflows and budget integration.

Submitting Expense Claims

Any employee can submit an expense claim to request reimbursement for money spent on behalf of the company. Claims are itemised so each line can be categorised and verified independently.

How to Submit a Claim

1. Navigate to Expenses and click "New Expense Claim".
2. Enter a descriptive title and select the expense category.
3. Add one or more line items — each with a description, amount, and date incurred.
4. Upload receipt images or PDFs for each line item.
5. Add any notes or justification for the expense.
6. Submit the claim for approval.

What to Include

• •Clear descriptions for every line item.
• •Accurate amounts in the company currency.
• •Legible receipt photos or scanned copies.
• •The correct category (travel, meals, office supplies, etc.).

Approval Flow

Expense claims follow a multi-level approval workflow to ensure proper oversight and financial accountability.

• •Manager — reviews the claim for legitimacy and completeness. Can approve, reject, or request more information.
• •Department Head — confirms the expense aligns with departmental budget and priorities.
• •Finance Head — performs final financial review and authorises reimbursement.
• •At any stage, the approver can reject the claim with a reason, sending it back to the employee.
• •Approved claims are forwarded to Finance for disbursement processing.

Imprest Advances

An imprest is a cash advance given to an employee before expenses are incurred. This is common for business trips, event planning, or procurement of goods. The employee must later retire the imprest by submitting receipts for how the money was spent.

Requesting an Imprest

1. Navigate to Expenses and click "Request Imprest".
2. Enter the purpose of the advance, the amount needed, and the expected return date.
3. Submit the request for approval.
4. Once approved, the cash advance is disbursed to the employee.

Imprest Retirement

After spending the advanced funds, the employee must retire the imprest by accounting for every naira spent. Retirement is required regardless of whether the full amount was used.

1. Open the imprest record and click "Retire Imprest".
2. Add line items for each expenditure with receipts attached.
3. If there is unspent money, record the balance to be returned.
4. Submit the retirement for review by Finance.

• •Finance reviews the retirement against the original advance amount.
• •If the employee spent more than the advance, the difference is processed as a reimbursement.
• •If the employee spent less, the unspent balance must be returned to the company.
• •Retired imprests are marked as closed and archived.

Overdue Imprest Sweep

The system runs a daily sweep to identify imprests that have passed their expected return date without being retired. Overdue notifications are sent to remind the employee and alert their manager and Finance.

• •The employee receives a reminder notification to retire the imprest.
• •The employee's manager is notified of the overdue advance.
• •Finance receives a summary of all outstanding imprests across the company.
• •Repeatedly overdue imprests are escalated in priority.

Petty Cash Floats

Departments can maintain a petty cash float for small, routine purchases that do not warrant a full expense claim. The float system tracks every voucher issued and helps maintain an accurate cash balance.

How Petty Cash Works

• •Departmental float — each department is assigned a fixed petty cash amount (e.g., ₦50,000).
• •Vouchers — when cash is disbursed from the float, a petty cash voucher is created with the amount, purpose, recipient, and receipt.
• •Replenishment — when the float runs low, the department requests a top-up. Finance reviews the vouchers and replenishes the float to its original amount.
• •Balance tracking — the system maintains a running balance showing how much remains in the float at any time.

Per Diem Allowances

Per diem covers daily travel allowances for employees on business trips. Rates can be configured based on destination, employee grade, or trip purpose.

• •Per diem rates are set by the organisation in the Expenses settings.
• •When an employee creates a travel-related expense, the per diem rate is applied automatically based on the number of days.
• •Per diem amounts can be adjusted for partial days (arrival and departure days).
• •Per diem claims follow the same approval workflow as regular expense claims.

Budget Alert Integration

Expense claims and imprest requests are checked against the department budget in real time. The system provides warnings and blocks to prevent overspending.

• •When a claim would exceed 80% of the remaining department budget, a warning is shown to the approver.
• •When a claim would exceed the total remaining budget, the approval is blocked until the budget is adjusted.
• •Finance managers can view budget utilisation alongside pending expense claims.
• •Monthly and quarterly summaries compare actual expenses against budgeted amounts.