How to: Validate your account to close it

Ted Harris

There are some rare instances in which you may have an account created in Expensify that you didn't ever need. This may have been a company inviting you to be reimbursed for an interview that never panned out, a vendor inviting you to pay them but which you settled elsewhere or even an accident on your part, or the part of somebody else signing up with a similar email address or phone number - in these instances, an account is created for you but you don't need it.

You have two options:

1. Retain the Expensify account for a possible future where you require Expensify.
2. Verify your email and close the associated Expensify account.

We understand that the vast majority of cases will require option 2. So here's how to do that:

Verify your email address or phone number

You cannot access the setting required to close your account without verifying you actually have access to the email or phone number associated with that account. (Otherwise, you could just close any Expensify account you liked!)

1. Head to www.expensify.com and choose your Email address or Phone number
2. Enter the email address or phone number that has the unwanted Expensify account
3. You'll see the message: "This account exists but isn't validated, please check your inbox for the validation link." Click the green "Resend Link" button.
4. Find the most recent email in your inbox with the subject line "Please validate your Expensify login" and click the link to validate your email address.
5. If this was an account signed up with a phone number, tap the link sent to your phone.

Once you've clicked this link, you'll find yourself in an Expensify "Inbox" page, where you'll be prompted to set a password. You can ignore this for now.

Close your account:

1. Now you're in the unwanted Expensify account, head to the Close Account Settings at Settings > Account > Account Details > Close Account.
2. Click the red "Close My Account" button
3. Re-enter the email address or phone number associated with the account in the field when prompted.
4. Check the box for "I understand all of my unsubmitted expense data will be deleted."
5. Click the new red "Close My Account" button.

Your account is now closed.

FAQs

Q: What should I do if I'm not directed to my account when clicking the validate option from my phone or email?

A: It's possible your browser has blocked this, either because of some existing cache or extension. In this case, you should now follow the Reset Password flow, to reset the password and manually gain access with the new password, along with your email address. Follow the guide here for that: How-to: Reset your password.

Q: Why don't I see the Close Account option?

A: It's possible your account is on a managed company domain. In this case, only the admins from that company can close it. You'll need to reach out to them specifically for this, and they can follow the guide here to close your account for you: How to: Manage Domain Members.

Q: Why won't my account close?

A: If you're receiving an error message, you'll want to find the specific error on the page below to understand which setting you need to change in Expensify that will allow you to close your account. This is highly unlikely for most accounts that have never been active in Expensify, as these errors pertain to users who have previously been responsible for admin tasks in companies that need to be handed off before account closure (such as reimbursing employees or exporting expense reports). Read more on this here: How-to: Close your account.