Hello all you QuickBooks users. Here, by popular demand, is new functionality in QuickBooks Online Advanced. The Expense Claims section is central to all employee or vendor expenses activities.
Within this section, you can create expense categories from which employees and vendors can select when submitting their expenses. You can invite employees and vendors to submit their expenses, review them and give approval once submitted.
Here's a peek into how it works. My video on the process can be found HERE.
Establishing categories and fields to facilitate employees' submission of expenses
You may prefer to configure categories and specify specific details for their employees' expense claims before granting them access to submit. This can be accomplished by clicking the "Manage settings" button within the Expense claims hub.
Modifying the available category choices
After clicking the Manage settings button, you can access the Manage categories option from the drawer. From there, you can add or modify the categories that employees and vendors can select when submitting expense claims.
To make changes, you can choose the Edit option from the Action column for existing categories or use the + Add category button to create new ones.
When adding a new category, you must provide a name that employees or vendors will see when submitting an expense and select a category from the chart of accounts.
Activating extra fields
Supplementary fields can be enabled for employees and vendors to employ when submitting expenses.
To accomplish this (following selection of the Manage settings button), you must click Manage expense form within the drawer. Utilize the sliders to activate or deactivate the Customer/project, Class, and Location fields on the expense claim forms.
It is important to note that you must first activate these options in Account and Settings before allowing employees to utilize them on expense claims.
Extending invitations to vendors and employees to submit their expense claims
To enable notifications for employee or vendor expense submissions, navigate to the Manage settings option within the Expense claims center. You can select the "Notify me when an employee submits an expense" box to receive email notifications for each submission.
To invite employees or vendors to submit their expenses, select Manage users within the Expense claims center. From there, select Add user, provide the new user's name, and email address. The user is automatically assigned a "Track time and submit expense claims" role.
Next, link the new user to an existing employee or vendor by selecting "Add new" from the Linked employee or vendor section. From the dropdown menu, you can add a current vendor or employee to link to the new user added for submitting expense claims. After selecting the appropriate employee or vendor, choose Save and Send invitation.
The new employee or vendor will now appear as a time-tracking and expense claims user within QuickBooks Online Advanced. An email invitation will be sent to the user, allowing them to create an account and password to access the area of the client file where they can submit expenses. Note that this invitation is valid for 30 days.
Submitting requests for expense reimbursement
After being authorized to submit expense claims, employees and vendors receive an email inviting them to sign into their QuickBooks Online account or create one. They can then submit claims from their computer or mobile browser.
There are two ways to create a claim: manually enter the expense information or upload a receipt. After selecting an option, employees and vendors can then add or edit the following details about the expense:
- Amount
- Reimbursement
- Transaction date
- Vendor name
- Category
- Reason for the expense
- Customer/project, class or location
- Billable status
Examining expense requests for approval
When your employees or vendors submit expense claims, they appear under the For review tab in the Expense claims hub and the Receipts tab in the Banking center.
To review and edit the details of the submitted expense claim, you can select Review from the options in the Action column. They can then assign the correct payee or bank account information and categorize the transaction.
You should note that if the expense is to be reimbursed, the vendor's name on the bill must match the submitter's associated vendor or employee name and not the name on the receipt. For example, if the employee or vendor used cash or a personal card to pay for the expense, you must create a bill to reimburse the employee.
To do this, use the Document Type dropdown and select Bill. Otherwise, leave the Receipt selected.
Once the necessary changes have been made, you can select Save. Next, QuickBooks Online Advanced will search for a match to an existing transaction in the Expenses center. If it does not find one, it offers the option to create an expense (or a bill if that was selected).
After reviewing and saving the expense, it will appear under the Reviewed category.
An alternative role option is available for individuals submitting claims besides the "Track time and submit expense claims" role.
To access this option, select Manage users from the Expense claims hub, then select the employee or vendor to modify their access. You can choose “Submit expense claims only.”
This role allows the employee or vendor to submit expense claims only.
**All images provided by QuickBooks
Liz Scott is a multi-business entrepreneur working to bring together technology and accountants through her business, Liz Scott Consulting. A member of Intuit Trainer/Writer Network, she authored and taught Master level courses, including Advisory Guides and Consulting Tools for Accountants. In addition to Liz Scott Consulting, she also owns Accounting Lifeline, a firm to serve small businesses with their financial needs. Liz is a co-host of the "Appy Hour," which helps other accountants learn about the different tools and apps for small business needs. Holding a high passion for real estate investment, she owns properties throughout Oklahoma.
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