Adding expenses to different Policies

sid_verma
sid_verma Expensify Customer Posts: 3 Expensify Newcomer

I have to capture expenses for 3 different business units (BU). I have setup each business unit as a separate policy. At the end of each week, Expensify is setup to automatically close the report and upload to Quickbooks Online.

The way it currently works, depending on which BU the expense is for, on my phone, i go to Account > Settings > Policies... and select the correct one. I then take a photo of the receipt after which SmartScan does its magic.

What I am hoping to achieve is to make this even simpler.

Is there a way in which, I open the app, take a photo of the expense/receipt... and then in additional information... i use the drop down menu to select the relevant policy. This would make my life so much easier!!!!

(Unless ofcourse there is a better way to capture these expenses that get uploaded to the correct BU automatically)

Answers

  • Sheena Trepanier
    Sheena Trepanier Expensify Team, Approved! Accountant, Expensify Student Ambassador Posts: 1,362 Expensify Team

    Hi @sid_verma, thanks for posting and providing really wonderful context for everyone.

    There isn't a way to choose the policy after taking a picture of a receipt, but a close second would be to select the report the expense goes on.

    That would work like this:

    1. You create a report for each policy (BU),
    2. You snap a photo of a receipt and click "Add details",
    3. Then "More options",
    4. In the Report dropdown, you select the report that corresponds with the policy (BU) the expense is for.

    If you use the above method, you can snap photos in batches, doing the receipts for one policy (BU) at a time. The report you select with the first receipt will be the "sticky" report future receipts will automatically be put on. This way, you only need to set the report for the first receipt in a batch, which should save you considerable time compared to changing the policy for each expense.

    Cheers!

  • sid_verma
    sid_verma Expensify Customer Posts: 3 Expensify Newcomer

    Thanks for your response.

    Each of my policies are setup in such a way that they sync with different QuickBooks Online Companies weekly. By doing what you are suggesting, how will it ensure that that doesn’t change.

    I also find that batch photo taking prone to inefficiency as I’d rather that the photo as and when the receipt / expense occurs.

    Thoughts?

  • Sheena Trepanier
    Sheena Trepanier Expensify Team, Approved! Accountant, Expensify Student Ambassador Posts: 1,362 Expensify Team

    Hi @sid_verma, as long as the report is tied to the correct policy and coded with the categories and tags that match that policy, it will export to QuickBooks Online successfully. Switching the report on the expense when uploading shouldn't interfere with your integration.

    You can still upload receipts and change the report on each instead of batch uploading, that's no problem. Whichever you prefer should be the workflow you go with.

  • S_G
    S_G Expensify Customer Posts: 1
    Hi @Sheena Trepanier, hoping to clarify something:

    Up above you said:

    That would work like this:

    1. You create a report for each policy (BU),
    2. You snap a photo of a receipt and click "Add details",
    3. Then "More options",
    4. In the Report dropdown, you select the report that corresponds with the policy (BU) the expense is for.
    If users did this, does this mean they would have to manually submit the reports (i.e. the reports would not be submitted automatically using Scheduled Submit)?

    Thanks!
  • sid_verma
    sid_verma Expensify Customer Posts: 3 Expensify Newcomer
    Hi @Sheena Trepanier I had a followup question/clarification that I was hoping you could help me with:

    I have 3 x companies on QBO.
    I have setup a policy for each one of those on Expensify. They sync with QBO.
    On my Mobile App, before taking a pic of the receipt, I switch to the appropriate policy, take the pic. End of the week, all the receipts are auto-submitted and uploaded to QBO.

    I am the ONLY user thats taking the pics of these receipts. No one needs to approve any of these receipts.

    As per your suggestion, which I quite like, when i'm taking the pic of a receipt, which of the three policies do I need to be on. Or its irrelevant because the report that has been setup (which i would select under Add details ..> report... ) would automatically record it on the correct report under the correct policy?? 

    I hope that I have been able to explain it properly.

    Alternatively, should I really be having a SINGLE policy, Under that setup 3 different reports (one for each of the QBO companies)? Id like to keep it as simple as possible.

    Thanks in advance!
  • Nicole Trepanier
    Nicole Trepanier Expensify Team Posts: 498 Expensify Team
    @S_G Scheduled submit can still submit the reports automatically. You would just be selecting the report the expense is applied to rather than allowing the scheduled submit feature to place them on the most recent open report.

    @sid_verma Since you'll be selecting the report on the expense before adding categories or tags, you won't need to worry about changing the default policy on your app every time you snap a receipt. Once a report is selected, the expense will use the policy on that report.