VP of finance
Controller
Operations director
Accounting manager
Department head
Process improvement lead
This process is used when an organization needs a structured, repeatable approach to managing expense approvals across departments and geographies. It applies when expense volume is high enough that ad-hoc approval creates inconsistency, when multi-level review is required based on amount or category, when the organization must demonstrate policy compliance to auditors or regulators, and when expense data needs to flow reliably into accounting and ERP systems. This process is common in organizations undergoing growth, tightening financial controls, or standardizing operations across distributed teams.
The expense approval process typically involves employees who submit expenses, direct managers who provide first-level approval, finance analysts who review policy compliance and budget alignment, controllers or senior finance leaders who authorize exceptions or high-value expenditures, and accounting teams who process approved expenses for payment and reconciliation.
Standardized expense handling across all departments with consistent policy application regardless of team or geography. Reduced processing time from submission to reimbursement by eliminating manual routing and reducing incomplete submissions. Multi-level review enforcement where expenses route through the correct approval layers based on value, category, and risk. Cleaner financial data because approved expenses are validated and coded before they reach the accounting system. Stronger audit readiness with a documented trail from submission through approval to payment for every expense.
Your version of this process may vary based on roles, systems, data, and approval paths. Moxo’s flow builder can be configured with AI agents, conditional branching, dynamic data references, and sophisticated logic to match how your organization runs this workflow. The steps below illustrate one example.
Expense capture and submission
The process begins when an employee captures and submits one or more expenses, including amounts, categories, dates, business purposes, and supporting documentation such as receipts or invoices. An AI Agent may assist by pre-populating fields based on prior submissions, validating receipt images for readability, and checking that all required information is present.
Automated policy validation
Before routing to any human reviewer, the submission is evaluated against the organization’s expense policy. This includes category-level spending limits, receipt requirements, duplicate detection, and per-diem or travel allowance checks. Submissions that fail validation are returned to the employee with specific instructions. Those that pass proceed to the appropriate review tier.
First-level manager approval
The employee’s direct manager reviews the submission in context, including the business justification and any AI-generated flags or summaries. The manager either approves the expense, returns it with questions, or denies it with an explanation. For amounts within the manager’s authority, the approved expense proceeds directly to finance processing.
Multi-level review for elevated expenses
Expenses that exceed the first-level authority threshold, fall into restricted categories, or are flagged during validation route to additional reviewers. This may include a department head, a finance analyst, or a controller, depending on the organization’s approval matrix. Each reviewer sees the complete submission history and prior approval decisions. The AI Agent may summarize the review status and highlight outstanding items for each reviewer.
Finance processing and system handoff
Once all required approvals are in place, the expense is coded for accounting and routed to the payment queue. Data from the approved expense flows into connected financial systems for GL posting, reimbursement, and reporting. Any discrepancies identified during processing are flagged and routed back for clarification before payment is released.
Record closure and reporting
The complete expense record, from submission through all approval layers to payment, is stored as part of the organization’s financial history. This record supports reconciliation, audit, and policy compliance reporting.
This process commonly relies on inputs such as expense claims, receipts, travel itineraries, corporate card statements, and budget allocation data. It may be triggered by a form submission, a mobile capture, a corporate card transaction feed, or a scheduled reporting cycle. Systems commonly connected include ERP platforms like NetSuite or SAP for GL coding and payment processing, HRIS platforms like Workday for organizational hierarchy and policy data, and corporate card management platforms for transaction matching.
Key decision points include whether the submission passes automated policy validation, whether the direct manager approves the business justification, whether elevated expenses require additional review tiers, and whether finance identifies any issues during coding and payment preparation. If an expense is returned at any stage, the workflow routes it back to the submitter with specific feedback for revision.
Inconsistent policy application across departments, leading to some teams approving expenses that others would reject. Multi-level routing not configured correctly, causing elevated expenses to bypass required approval tiers. Approved expenses arriving in the accounting system with incorrect GL codes, creating reconciliation burden. Duplicate submissions not caught during validation, resulting in overpayments. Delayed reimbursements due to incomplete approval chains, eroding employee trust in the expense process.
Enforces consistent policy validation across all submissions before any human review, reducing inconsistency and incomplete filings.
Routes expenses through configurable multi-level approval matrices based on amount, category, department, and risk, ensuring the right reviewers are engaged at each tier.
AI Agents pre-populate submission fields, detect duplicates, and summarize review status for each approver, accelerating the review cycle.
Connects approved expenses directly to ERP systems like NetSuite or SAP for GL coding and reimbursement, eliminating manual data transfer.
Maintains a complete, auditable record from submission to payment, supporting financial compliance, reconciliation, and reporting across the organization.
