Configuring the Expenses module

This article is for administrators: it explains how to set up the Expenses module, from the reference currency to categories, VAT rates, expense rules, mileage rates, per diem, mandatory fields, automatic thresholds and notifications.

Before you start #

• The configuration screens are under Settings › Expenses. Each tile has its own permission in the role matrix; by default, only the Administrator role holds them.
• The approval workflow is set in Workflows (see Approving expense reports), payments and accounting on their own screens (see Reimbursing, analysing and accounting for expenses).

Suggested order #

1. Check the reference currency and the conversion method.
2. Review the categories and VAT rates.
3. Create the expense rules (limits).
4. Set up the mileage rates and per diems.
5. Set the mandatory fields, default payment method, thresholds and notifications.
6. Check the approval workflow in Workflows.

1. Reference currency and exchange rates #

The reference currency, the conversion method and the fixed monthly rates apply to the whole organisation: they are set under Settings › Manage Illizeo › Global Settings › Currency & Exchange Rate. An expense entered in another currency is converted at the rate of the expense date.

2. Categories #

Categories opens the Expense Categories page. Illizeo supplies a set of categories, including the mileage category (For Mileage badge), which is required for trips.

1. Click Add.
2. Choose a Color and an Icon; the Preview shows the result. The Type is always For Expense.
3. Optionally restrict the category to some countries with Country (Optional), enter the Category Name and its Status.
4. Click Add.

A category supplied by Illizeo cannot be deleted, nor can a category already in use: deactivate it. It then disappears from new expenses without affecting saved ones.

3. VAT rates #

Tax Rates opens the Expense Tax Rates page.

• Add from the referential offers the rates maintained by Illizeo, country by country: tick the ones you need, then click Add. These rates are indicative: check them with the relevant tax authority.
• Add a tax rate on expenses creates a rate by hand: Name, VAT Rate (%), Country, Start date, End date, Number on tax form and Status.

The expense form only offers active rates whose period covers the expense date; a rate whose end date has passed shows “Expired”. A rate in use cannot be deleted, only deactivated.

4. Expense rules #

A rule sets a limit for a population and some categories. Expense Rules lists the rules with their target, limit and options. Illizeo supplies sample rules, marked Illizeo, which you can edit or deactivate but not delete.

1. Click Add rule.
2. Enter the Name, a Description and the Status.
3. Under Conditions, choose the Filter: Everyone, Offices, Subsidiary, Departments, Teams, Employee Roles or Employees, then the items targeted.
4. Choose the Categories. Without a category, the rule applies to all categories.
5. Under Amount limits by currency, enter the Main limit and its currency. Add a currency sets a specific limit for another currency.
6. Under Actions, answer Allow additional amount (No: an expense over the limit is blocked; Yes: it goes through with a warning) and Automatic approval (Yes: an expense under the limit is approved without going through the workflow).
7. Write the Warning message shown to the employee when the limit is exceeded, in at least one language (French or English); the translation button next to the field lets you complete the others.
8. Click Create.

Which rule applies #

• An expense is judged in its own currency: against that currency’s limit if there is one, otherwise against the main limit converted at the rate of the expense date. The limit is compared with the amount excluding tax.
• When several rules target the same expense, the most specific one wins: a specific category beats “all categories”; then an employee beats a team, a team beats a role, department or office, these beat a subsidiary, and a subsidiary beats everyone. With equal specificity, the lowest limit wins.
• Two rules cannot target the same combination of target and categories.
• A rule linked to existing expenses is deactivated instead of deleted. Duplicate creates a copy to adapt.

5. Mileage rates and vehicle groups #

Mileage Rates lists the rates with their mode, rate, currency and period. Click Add rate:

1. Fill in the Rate name, the Start Date of Rate and the End Date of Rate.
2. Choose the Travel mode (Personal Car, Motorcycle, Bicycle, Train…), the Currency and the Distance unit.
3. Enter the rate, or add tiers with Add Sub Rate: each tier has its rate and applies above a number of kilometres, calculated Per Expense or Per Year. A Vehicle group brings its own tiers.
4. Under Legal settings, choose the Country of the scale. The History button manages the periods of that country’s legal scale. For France, the tax scale by fiscal horsepower and mileage band is shown, with the uplift for electric vehicles; the Reset to legal button restores the official coefficients.
5. Under Conditions, restrict the rate to some departments or offices if needed.
6. Leave Active and Reimbursable on, then click Save.

A reimbursement above the country’s exemption threshold creates a taxable benefit, added to the payroll. Rates supplied by Illizeo cannot be edited, and a rate already in use can no longer be edited or deleted: deactivate it and create a new one. Vehicle Groups manages reusable groups: name, distance unit and sub-rates.

6. Per diem #

Per Diem opens Per diem rates by country. Click Add a rate and fill in the Country, the Meal (unit), Half day, Full day and Night amounts, the Currency, then Valid from and, if needed, Valid to. To change a rate already in use, close its period and add a new dated version: each per diem keeps the rate in force on its start date. Rates supplied by Illizeo cannot be deleted.

7. Expense Settings #

Choices are saved on click, except the thresholds and the reminder delay, which have their own Save button.

• Mandatory fields: Merchant field, Project field, Comment field and Attachment, each switchable for Expenses and for Mileage (the merchant only applies to expenses).
• Default payment method: Bank transfer (reimbursement via payment file) or Salary payment (included in payslip). It is set on each expense when approved and can be changed expense by expense.
• Automatic thresholds: Automatic approval below a threshold (an expense, mileage excluded, under the threshold of its currency is approved by the system) and Receipt required above a threshold. Each is turned on separately, with a Main threshold and Thresholds by currency. They are off when a workspace is opened.
• Notifications: Submission (notify the approver), Approval (notify the employee), Reimbursement (notify the people who pay when an expense is ready for payment) and Draft reminder, with the number of days after which a draft is reminded.

Good to know #

• The server applies the same checks as the screen: a forbidden overrun, a required receipt or a VAT rate outside its period are refused even if the entry bypasses the form.
• A limit or threshold in another currency than the expense’s is converted at the rate of the expense date; with no rate available, no automatic approval takes place and the expense follows the workflow.
• A mileage trip of 200 km or less is always approved automatically; this threshold cannot be changed.
• Deactivated categories, rates and rules remain visible on expenses already saved.