Expense Reimbursement Approvals

Expense Reimbursement Approvals

Imagine you are an employee who just wrapped up a work trip and needs to submit an expense reimbursement form. You fill out the form with all your receipts like hotel bills, meals, transportation costs and send it off, expecting the usual back-and-forth approvals. But instead of waiting for an email to trickle in, each stage of the approval process happens, without you even realizing the complexity going on behind the scenes with Zoho Forms.

Employees submit expense reimbursement forms, and the approval process involves multiple levels based on the expense amount and the type of expense. Different approval paths are triggered depending on these factors. 

Firstly, create a form with the required fields. 
Form structure

Now, lets understand the approval workflow that should work on submitting this form.

Approval Workflow

If your expense is under $500 and not travel-related, the team manager takes a quick look and either approves it or denies it. This initial review is fast and keeps things simple for small, everyday expenses. But if you’ve spent more than $500 or had travel expenses, the form doesn’t stop there. It knows where it needs to go next.

For any reimbursement over $500 or involving travel, the department head steps in. At this level, the expense needs closer scrutiny. Whether it’s a trip to a conference or a big purchase for a project, the department head ensures it aligns with the team’s budget and policies. And if your total expense crosses the $1,000 mark, the form automatically gets passed to the finance department for approval.

If the reimbursement is for over $1,000, finance department ensures all the numbers add up and that every penny spent has been accounted for properly. They are the guardians of the company’s funds, making sure all expenses are justified and well-documented.

But what if your reimbursement exceeds $2,500 and seems unusual? In these cases, the form escalates directly to the CEO or an executive for a decision. This level ensures that any significant spending gets the careful review it deserves.

Let us put this down clearly as conditions to be satisfied.
  1. If the expense amount is less than 500 and does not involve travel, the request is sent to the Team Manager for final approval.
  2. If the expense amount is less than 500 and involves travel, the request is auto-approved as final approval without requiring further action.
  3. If the expense amount is greater than or equal to 500, the request is sent to the Team Manager for approval and moves to the next level once approved.
  4. If the expense amount is greater than or equal to $500 and less than $1,000 and involves travel, the request is sent to the Department Head for final approval.
  5. If the expense amount is greater than or equal to $500 and less than $1,000 and and does not involve travel, the request is sent to another Department Head for final approval.
  6. If the expense amount is greater than or equal to $1,000 and is less than or equal to $2,500, the request is directly sent to the Finance Head for final approval.
  7. If the expense amount is greater than $2,500, the request is directly sent to the CEO for final approval.

How to achieve this workflow using Zoho Forms

Zoho Forms’ Advanced Approval Workflows allow you to set up such a complex, conditional process by configuring rules that dictate which approvers are involved at each stage, based on specific form responses.

To set this workflow up, go to the Approval Workflow section of Zoho Forms.

Configuring Level 1 - Team Manager

To set up rules that route submissions to different approvers based on the form’s responses, choose to set up the level with conditions and add conditions. 

  1. If the expense amount is less than 500 and does not involve travel, the request is sent to the Team Manager for final approval.
  2. If the expense amount is less than 500 and involves travel, the request is auto-approved without requiring further action.
  3. If the expense amount is greater than or equal to 500, the request is sent to the Team Manager for approval and moves to the next level once approved.
Level 1

Configuring Level 2 - Department Head

  1. If the expense amount is greater than or equal to $500 and less than $1,000 and involves travel, the request is sent to the Department Head for final approval.
  2. If the expense amount is greater than or equal to $500 and less than $1,000 and and does not involve travel, the request is sent to another Department Head for final approval.
Level 2

Configuring Level 3 - Finance Head

  1. If the expense amount is greater than or equal to $1,000 and is less than or equal to $2,500, the request is sent to the Finance Head for final approval.
Level 3

Configuring Level 4 - CEO

  1. If the expense amount is greater than $2,500, the request is sent to the CEO for final approval.
Level 4

Configure automatic email notifications for both the approver and the employee at each level. This ensures that both parties are informed when the form moves to the next approval stage or if it is rejected.

Review and Test

Before rolling out, test the workflow with dummy data to ensure that the form is routed to the correct approvers under various conditions.
Ensure that rejected submissions are returned to the employee with reasons for rejection, if necessary.

      Create. Review. Publish.

      Write, edit, collaborate on, and publish documents to different content management platforms.

      Get Started Now


        Access your files securely from anywhere

          Zoho CRM Training Programs

          Learn how to use the best tools for sales force automation and better customer engagement from Zoho's implementation specialists.

          Zoho CRM Training
            Redefine the way you work
            with Zoho Workplace

              Zoho DataPrep Personalized Demo

              If you'd like a personalized walk-through of our data preparation tool, please request a demo and we'll be happy to show you how to get the best out of Zoho DataPrep.

              Zoho CRM Training

                Create, share, and deliver

                beautiful slides from anywhere.

                Get Started Now


                  Zoho Sign now offers specialized one-on-one training for both administrators and developers.

                  BOOK A SESSION







                              Quick LinksWorkflow AutomationData Collection
                              Web FormsRetailOnline Data Collection Tool
                              Embeddable FormsBankingBegin Data Collection
                              Interactive FormsWorkplaceData Collection App
                              CRM FormsCustomer ServiceForms for Solopreneurs
                              Digital FormsMarketingForms for Small Business
                              HTML FormsEducationForms for Enterprise
                              Contact FormsE-commerceForms for any business
                              Lead Generation FormsHealthcareForms for Startups
                              Wordpress FormsCustomer onboardingForms for Small Business
                              No Code FormsConstructionRSVP tool for holidays
                              Free FormsTravelFeatures for Order Forms
                              Prefill FormsNon-Profit
                              Forms for Government
                              Intake FormsLegal
                              Mobile App
                              Form DesignerHR
                              Mobile Forms
                              Card FormsFoodOffline Forms
                              Assign FormsPhotographyMobile Forms Features
                              Translate FormsReal EstateKiosk in Mobile Forms
                              Electronic FormsInsurance
                              Drag & drop form builder

                              Notification Emails for FormsAlternativesSecurity & Compliance
                              Holiday FormsGoogle Forms alternative GDPR
                              Form to PDFJotform alternativeHIPAA Forms
                              Email FormsWufoo alternativeEncrypted Forms
                              Accessible FormsTypeform alternativeSecure Forms

                              WCAG

                                          Create. Review. Publish.

                                          Write, edit, collaborate on, and publish documents to different content management platforms.

                                          Get Started Now






                                                            You are currently viewing the help pages of Qntrl’s earlier version. Click here to view our latest version—Qntrl 3.0's help articles.




                                                                Manage your brands on social media

                                                                  Use cases

                                                                  Make the most of Zoho Desk with the use cases.

                                                                   
                                                                    

                                                                  eBooks

                                                                  Download free eBooks and access a range of topics to get deeper insight on successfully using Zoho Desk.

                                                                   
                                                                    

                                                                  Videos

                                                                  Watch comprehensive videos on features and other important topics that will help you master Zoho Desk.

                                                                   
                                                                    

                                                                  Webinar

                                                                  Sign up for our webinars and learn the Zoho Desk basics, from customization to automation and more

                                                                   
                                                                    
                                                                  • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                                  • Meetups


                                                                  • Ask the Experts


                                                                  • Kbase


                                                                  • Resources


                                                                  • Glossary


                                                                  • Desk Marketplace


                                                                  • MVP Corner



                                                                    Zoho Sheet Resources

                                                                     

                                                                        Zoho Forms Resources


                                                                          Secure your business
                                                                          communication with Zoho Mail


                                                                          Mail on the move with
                                                                          Zoho Mail mobile application

                                                                            Stay on top of your schedule
                                                                            at all times


                                                                            Carry your calendar with you
                                                                            Anytime, anywhere




                                                                                  Zoho Sign Resources

                                                                                    Sign, Paperless!

                                                                                    Sign and send business documents on the go!

                                                                                    Get Started Now




                                                                                            Zoho TeamInbox Resources





                                                                                                      Zoho DataPrep Demo

                                                                                                      Get a personalized demo or POC

                                                                                                      REGISTER NOW


                                                                                                        Design. Discuss. Deliver.

                                                                                                        Create visually engaging stories with Zoho Show.

                                                                                                        Get Started Now










                                                                                                                            • Related Articles

                                                                                                                            • Record Approvals

                                                                                                                              Upon receiving form entries from your respondents, you can create reports to sort and consolidate the entries that need to be approved by applying filters. You can set approvers to review the records and approve or deny them. This will streamline the ...
                                                                                                                            • Overview

                                                                                                                              Having an approval process within your organization becomes essential to approve certain documents, applications, invoices, budgets, purchase orders, discounts, vacation time, etc. To streamline the manual approval processes that you already have and ...
                                                                                                                            • Setting up Approvals

                                                                                                                              <br> Help Guide: An overview on approvals Setting up approvals Use-cases
                                                                                                                            • Rules in Form Approvals

                                                                                                                              With conditional rules in form approvals, you can define the conditions and actions to be performed if the conditions are met on the final approval or denial. You can configure rules with a combination of AND/OR connectors between multiple condition ...
                                                                                                                            • Setting up Levels of Approval

                                                                                                                              Table of Contents Setting up a basic approval workflow Setting up an an advanced approval workflow You can configure multiple levels of approval to build an efficient approval process. You can add approvers at each level who can review form entries ...
                                                                                                                              Wherever you are is as good as
                                                                                                                              your workplace

                                                                                                                                Resources

                                                                                                                                Videos

                                                                                                                                Watch comprehensive videos on features and other important topics that will help you master Zoho CRM.



                                                                                                                                eBooks

                                                                                                                                Download free eBooks and access a range of topics to get deeper insight on successfully using Zoho CRM.



                                                                                                                                Webinars

                                                                                                                                Sign up for our webinars and learn the Zoho CRM basics, from customization to sales force automation and more.



                                                                                                                                CRM Tips

                                                                                                                                Make the most of Zoho CRM with these useful tips.



                                                                                                                                  Zoho Show Resources