Set up expenses

Expense Management lets staff claim back money they spent for the company (a claim), ask for cash before they spend it (a requisition, also called an advance) and then account for that advance with receipts (a retirement). This page is the setup checklist. Do the steps in order: the forms staff use read every value from here.

How an expense moves through WbizManager

Stage	Who	What happens	Guide
1. Setup	HR and finance	Policy, categories, types, rates, GL accounts, payout defaults	This page and Set up expense categories and types
2. Claim or request	Employee	Files a claim, or a requisition before spending	Claim an expense, Request an expense advance
3. Approve	Line manager	Approves, returns for correction or rejects	Approve expenses
4. Verify	Finance	Checks receipts and policy, sets the allowed amount and the payout method	Verify expenses
5. Pay out	Finance	Pays through payroll, by hand, or through the Payment service	Pay out expenses
6. Retire	Employee, then manager and finance	Accounts for an advance with receipts and settles the balance	Retire an expense advance
7. Post and report	Finance	Journals reach the ledger; reports and exports	Post expenses to the ledger, Expense reports

Where to find the settings

In the menu on the left, select Human Resources, then Expense, then Settings. The page is called Expense configuration. It has eight sections on the left: Policy, Categories, Types, Per diem & mileage, GL mapping, Payout defaults, Integrations and Approval workflows.

The same settings are also under Settings › HR Settings, on the Expense tab, shown as one long list of sections you open one at a time. Both places change the same values.

Steps

1. Save the expense policy first

   Select Policy. Until a policy is saved you'll see No policy saved yet, and staff see Using default expense rules on their forms.

   

   1. Policy opens the company-wide rules.
   2. Base currency: all caps and totals are checked in this currency (for example NGN). Turn on Foreign-currency lines only if staff may enter a line in another currency with an exchange rate.
   3. Receipt or declaration: when on, any line above a category's receipt threshold needs a receipt or a "no receipt" declaration with a reason. Duplicate-detection window flags a line with the same employee, category, date and amount within that many days (0 means the same day).
   4. Advance rules. Overdue advance blocks new requisitions stops staff with an overdue advance from asking for another (when off, they can, and approvers see a warning). Maximum open advances caps how many unretired advances one person may hold (blank means no limit). Partial retirements lets staff retire an advance in several parts. Auto-recover overdue advances via payroll is the number of days after the due date and grace period before a payroll deduction is raised (blank means never).
   5. Save (it reads Create policy the first time).
   6. Tenant capabilities shows whether Accounting and the Payment service are connected. These decide whether journals post and which payout methods you can use.
2. Add categories, types and rates

   Every claim line is filed under a category, and each document can use an expense type with its own caps and deadlines. Set them up now: see Set up expense categories and types.

   Staff can't start a claim until at least one category exists. They see Expense categories aren't set up yet instead of the form.

3. Map the GL accounts

   Select GL mapping. These accounts are used when a verified claim or retirement is posted to the ledger: see Post expenses to the ledger.

   

   1. When Accounting isn't connected, this notice says mapping is optional and journals are kept as deferred. Map the accounts anyway if you'll switch Accounting on later.
   2. Staff advances: an asset account. It holds the money an employee owes back while an advance is outstanding.
   3. Employee reimbursements payable: a liability account, credited when a claim is verified.
   4. Default expense account: used for any category that has no GL account of its own.
   5. VAT recoverable and Rounding / FX difference: optional.
   6. Save.
4. Choose how money is paid out

   Select Payout defaults.

   

   1. Default payout method: pre-selected when finance verifies a document. Next payroll adds the amount to the employee's next payroll as a non-taxable addition. Manual means finance pays outside WbizManager and records the reference. Payment service sends batched bank transfers, and is only available if your subscription includes it.
   2. Default funding account: the Payment service account that batches are paid from. Only used with the Payment service.
   3. Reimbursement payroll element: the code of the payroll earning type used for Next payroll payouts, for example EXP_REIMB. Payroll payouts fail until this is filled in.
   4. Advance-recovery payroll element: the code of the payroll deduction type used to recover unspent or overdue advances, for example ADV_RECOV.
   5. Save.
5. Check the integrations

   Select Integrations.

   

   1. Whether Accounting and the Payment service are connected. With Accounting off, verified documents are kept as deferred journals and nothing reaches the ledger.
   2. Accounting integration: Auto (subscription) follows your subscription. Enabled turns posting on (and lets you post every deferred journal). Disabled turns it off.
   3. Payment integration: the same choice for the Payment service.
   4. Save.

   When Accounting is on, a Post deferred journals box appears here with a Post batch button. It posts documents verified while Accounting was off, 50 at a time.

6. Check who approves

   Select Approval workflows.

   

   1. One row for each process: Expense claims, Expense requisitions and Advance retirements. Each must show Active, or submissions that need approval are refused.
   2. Manage workflows opens Settings › Approval Settings › Approval Workflow: see Set up approval workflows.
   3. Register process codes is a one-time step per company. Running it again does no harm.

What else must be in place

• Line managers. Each employee's primary job Reporting to, or their primary assigned supervisor, is who approves their expenses. Set by HR in Set up employees and supervisors.
• Bank accounts. Staff can only be paid into a bank account HR holds on their employee record (shown as HR-validated). Without one, the Payout section of a claim is empty.
• Departments. Reports and the finance queue filter by the employee's department.
• Permissions. Staff need the expense self-service permission to see My Expenses. Line managers need the team expenses permission. Finance needs the finance view, verify and pay permissions; report viewers need the expense report permission.
• Projects (optional). If an expense type requires a project, the project must exist in the Projects module.

What employees and managers see

Setting	What it changes for staff and managers
Policy: receipts, duplicates, advance rules	The Policy check on every claim, and whether a new requisition is blocked by an overdue advance. See Claim an expense and Request an expense advance.
Categories and types	The Expense type cards and the Category list on each line. See Set up expense categories and types.
Retirement terms (on the type)	When an advance must be retired. See Retire an expense advance.
Line manager on the employee record	Who sees the document in their Approvals Inbox. See Approve expenses and View your team's expenses.
Payout defaults	How the employee is paid, shown on their document. See Track your expenses.

For the full HR setup order, see HR setup overview.