dag: Who needs to approve this employee expense claim?
version: 1.0.0
image: https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1554224154-26032ffc0d07?w=1200&q=80
description: Route an employee expense claim to the correct approval or rejection path based on policy compliance, receipt documentation, business purpose, and exception status. Use this tree at the point of claim submission to ensure consistent, auditable treatment across the organisation. All expense claims must comply with the Employee Expenses Policy; refer to the Finance intranet for the current policy version and category limits.
tags: finance, expenses, accounts payable, policy, approval
entry: Q1

Q1: Is the claimed amount within the policy limit for this expense category (e.g. meal allowance, hotel nightly rate, mileage rate)?
  hint: The Employee Expenses Policy sets specific per-claim and per-night limits for each category — for example, a maximum of £30 for a team lunch, £150 per night for UK hotel accommodation, or the HMRC approved mileage rate for business travel. Check the current policy limits on the Finance intranet before submitting; limits are reviewed annually and may have changed since your last claim. Include all sub-items in the total when assessing a category limit — for example, a restaurant meal with a service charge and soft drinks counts as a single meal claim. If you are claiming in a foreign currency, convert to your functional currency at the rate on the date of expenditure using the rate published by your bank or the OANDA daily rate.
  yes -> Q2
  no  -> Q4

Q2: Has a valid receipt or supporting document been provided for every line item in the claim?
  hint: A valid receipt must show the supplier name, date of transaction, itemised description of goods or services, and the total amount paid including tax. Credit card statements alone are not sufficient — an itemised till receipt or VAT invoice is required. For mileage claims, a journey log showing start and end locations, business purpose, and distance must be provided. Digital receipts saved from email or a receipt scanning app are acceptable provided they are legible and unaltered. If an original receipt has been genuinely lost, a signed self-declaration form must accompany the claim; a maximum of two such declarations per employee per financial year is permitted under policy.
  yes -> Q3
  no  -> [REJECT]

Q3: Has the business purpose of each expense been documented — for example, the names of attendees at a meal, the client or project the travel relates to, or the meeting objective?
  hint: HMRC and most tax authorities require evidence that expenses were incurred wholly, exclusively, and necessarily for business purposes — and your organisation is required to demonstrate this in the event of a tax audit. The business purpose must be specific: "client meeting" is insufficient; "Q3 renewal meeting with Acme Ltd account team — 4 attendees" is acceptable. For entertainment and hospitality claims, list all attendees' names and their employer or relationship to the business. For project-coded expenses, include the project or cost centre code and confirm it matches the work undertaken on the relevant date. Vague or missing purpose descriptions are the single most common reason for expense claim rejection.
  yes -> Q5
  no  -> [REJECT]

Q4: Is the claimant requesting a formal policy exception for the out-of-limit amount, with a written justification?
  hint: Policy exceptions may be granted in genuine circumstances — for example, a last-minute hotel booking during a major conference when standard-rate rooms were unavailable, or an emergency client dinner where the per-head cost exceeded the limit. The exception request must be submitted in writing at the time of the claim, not retrospectively. The justification should explain why the limit could not be adhered to, reference any evidence (e.g. hotel availability screenshots), and confirm that the most cost-effective option available was selected. Habitual exception requests from the same claimant will trigger a Finance review of the underlying pattern and may result in a formal conversation with the line manager.
  yes -> Q5
  no  -> [REJECT]

Q5: Does the total claim value fall at or below the auto-approval threshold configured in the expense management system (typically £50 or the local equivalent)?
  hint: Many expense management systems support a low-value auto-approval tier for routine, low-risk claims — for example, a single taxi receipt or a small working lunch — where the cost of human review exceeds the value of the claim. Check your organisation's expense policy or the system configuration for the current auto-approval limit. This tier is only available for claims that have already passed all receipt, documentation, and business-purpose checks; a claim with a missing receipt cannot be auto-approved regardless of its value. If your organisation has not configured an auto-approval threshold, answer no.
  yes -> [AUTO_APPROVE]
  no  -> Q6

Q6: Does the total claim value (or the exception amount) exceed the line manager's approval authority limit?
  hint: Line managers typically have authority to approve expense claims up to a defined threshold — commonly £500 to £1,000 per claim — above which Finance review is required to provide an independent check. The authority limit applies to the total claim submission, not to individual line items within it. If a claimant regularly submits claims just below the Finance review threshold, this pattern should be flagged to the Finance team as a potential control risk. For senior employees (Director level and above), claims should always be approved by someone at a higher level in the organisation, not by a direct report, to preserve the segregation of duties principle.
  yes -> [FINANCE_REVIEW]
  no  -> [LINE_MGR]

[AUTO_APPROVE]: Auto-Approve
  color: #2E7D32
  description: The claim meets all policy requirements — it is within category limits, fully receipted, documented with a clear business purpose, and within the auto-approval threshold. The system will process the claim automatically and payment will be included in the next scheduled payroll or expense payment run, typically within 5-7 business days of submission. The claimant will receive an automated confirmation email; no further action is required from the line manager unless they choose to review the claim retrospectively. Retain all receipts and supporting documentation for a minimum of seven years, as HMRC or equivalent tax authorities may request evidence of business expenses during a compliance review.
  code: FIN_AUTO_APP

[LINE_MGR]: Line Manager Approval Required
  color: #F9A825
  description: The claim is within policy and fully documented but requires line manager approval before payment can be processed. The line manager will receive an automated notification in the expense management system and must approve or query the claim within three business days of receipt; failure to act within this window will automatically escalate the claim to their own manager. The approving manager must confirm that the expenses were genuinely incurred for the business purposes stated, that the claimant was authorised to incur the cost, and that the budget coding is correct. Once approved, the claim will be queued for the next payment run and the claimant will be notified by email.
  code: FIN_LINE_MGR

[FINANCE_REVIEW]: Finance Review Required
  color: #E65100
  description: The claim value exceeds the line manager's approval authority limit and requires an independent review by the Finance team before payment is authorised. The Finance Accounts Payable team will review the claim for policy compliance, receipt validity, business purpose adequacy, and correct cost centre coding within five business days of line manager pre-approval. Finance may return the claim to the claimant with specific queries, request additional documentation, or escalate to the Finance Controller if the amount is unusually large or the justification is insufficient. Payment will not be released until Finance approval is recorded in the expense management system; the claimant will be notified of the outcome by email.
  code: FIN_FINANCE_REV

[REJECT]: Reject and Return to Claimant
  color: #B71C1C
  description: The claim cannot be processed in its current form because it is missing a required receipt, lacks a sufficient business purpose description, exceeds policy limits without an approved exception, or contains items that are not reimbursable under the Employee Expenses Policy. The system will generate a rejection notification to the claimant specifying exactly which line items are non-compliant and what corrective action is required. The claimant may resubmit a corrected claim with the required documentation within 30 days of the original rejection; claims not resubmitted within this window will be closed and no payment will be made. Persistent or significant policy breaches will be escalated to the claimant's line manager and, where appropriate, referred to HR for review under the disciplinary or conduct policy.
  code: FIN_REJECT