WragbyWbizManager

Request an expense advance

Ask for cash before a trip or job (an expense requisition), with an estimate of what you'll spend. You account for it with receipts afterwards.

For all employeesUpdated 4 Nov 2026

Before you start

  • Set up expensesHR and finance set the advance rules (how many open advances you may hold, whether an overdue one blocks a new request) and how you're paid.
  • Set up expense categories and typesHR sets the requisition types (with their caps and retirement deadlines) and the categories you estimate against.
  • Set up employees and supervisorsHR sets your line manager (who approves the request) and the bank account the advance is paid into.
In this article
  1. Steps
  2. Rules that may stop you
  3. What happens next

A requisition (an advance) pays you before you spend: travel, field work or an event. You give your best estimate per category. After the trip you retire the advance by showing what you really spent: see Retire an expense advance.

Steps

  1. Start a new requisition

    Open My Expenses and select New requisition (or select Human Resources › Expense › New Requisition).

  2. Say what the advance is for

    1. Expense type: pick the requisition type that fits (for example a travel advance), or General. The type's rules appear underneath, including "Retire within N days of the period end".
    2. Purpose (required): for example "Port Harcourt site visit, 3 days".
    3. Period from and Period to (both required): the dates the advance covers. The start can't be in the past and the end can't be before the start.
    4. The running total and the Policy check.
    5. Submit for approval sends it to your line manager.
    6. Save draft keeps it to finish later.

    Fill in Notes for approvers, Currency and Project (if any) the same way as on a claim.

  3. Estimate the costs

    Under Estimated costs, add one line per category with your best estimate: Date, Category and How much? (a total, quantity × rate, or a per diem or mileage rate). You don't attach receipts to a requisition.

    Under Supporting documents, attach anything that supports the request (an itinerary, an invitation letter, an approval email). Save the draft first.

  4. Check the payout account, then submit

    Under Payout, pick the HR-validated bank account the advance should go to. Select Save draft, then Submit for approval.

Rules that may stop you

  • An overdue advance. If you have an advance that's past its retirement date, you'll see a red banner on My Expenses ("… overdue for retirement") with Retire now. Depending on your company's policy, a new requisition is either blocked or goes through with a warning for your approver.
  • Too many open advances. Your company may limit how many unretired advances you can hold at once.

Both are set by HR in Set up expenses.

What happens next

  1. Your line manager approves, returns or rejects it: see Approve expenses.
  2. Finance verifies the amount and pays the advance: see Verify expenses and Pay out expenses.
  3. Once paid, it shows as Outstanding on your Advances tab with its due date.
  4. After the trip, retire it: see Retire an expense advance.

Follow each step on the document page: see Track your expenses.