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Expense Settings (Deep Dive)

The Expense Settings module is the financial control center for your organization. Before your employees can submit an expense claim (like a business flight or a team lunch), you must define the rules of engagement here.

1. Why do we need this?​

  • The Problem: If employees can type whatever they want on an expense claim (e.g., "Food - $5000"), the finance team has no way to track budgets, enforce receipt rules, or prevent junior staff from spending at executive levels.
  • The Solution: The Expense Settings module solves this by forcing all spending into structured Categories (like "Travel" or "Client Meals") and automatically enforcing Claim Limits based on the employee's seniority grade.

2. Expense Categories​

The Expense Categories tab allows you to define exactly what types of expenses your employees are allowed to claim.

Expense Categories Dashboard

The Overall Flow & Dashboard Elements​

When you land on this tab, you will see a grid of all your existing categories.

  1. + Add New Category (Button):
    • What you do: Click this to create a brand new expense type.
    • What happens: A side drawer smoothly slides in from the right edge of the screen, allowing you to configure the category without leaving the page.
  2. The Category Cards (Grid Blocks):
    • What you do: View your existing categories at a glance.
    • Hidden Hover Actions: By default, these cards look clean and simple. However, when you hover your mouse over a card, two hidden buttons magically appear in the top right corner:
      • Pencil Icon (Edit): Click this to open the side drawer and modify the category.
      • Trash Can Icon (Delete): Click this to permanently delete the category. (A confirmation warning will pop up to prevent accidental deletion).
  3. Hidden Info Tags:
    • At the bottom of each card, tiny icons (Receipt, Briefcase, Pie Chart) will only appear if you have turned on specific rules for that category (like requiring a receipt or linking a budget head). If those rules are turned off, the bottom of the card remains empty.
  4. The Empty State (Hidden UI):
    • When it appears: If you have zero categories configured, the grid completely disappears and is replaced by a large, dashed-border "Empty State" box with a giant receipt icon, prompting you to get started.

The Configuration Drawer Explained​

When you click to Add or Edit a category, the side drawer opens. Here is exactly what each UI element inside the drawer does:

  1. Category Name & Description (Text Boxes):
    • What you do: Type a clear name (e.g., "Flight Tickets") and instructions.
    • What happens in the future: This name and description will appear in the dropdown menu for all employees when they start a new expense claim.
  2. Brand Color & Selected Icon (Visuals):
    • What you do: Pick a color and scroll through the 100+ icons to pick a matching symbol (like an airplane or coffee cup).
    • What happens in the future: This visually brands the category on the employee's dashboard and in all financial reports.
  3. Attached Receipt Mandatory (Toggle):
    • What you do: Turn this ON to force proof of purchase.
    • What happens in the future: If an employee tries to submit a claim for this category without uploading a PDF or photo of the receipt, the system will throw an error and completely block their submission.
  4. Project Assignment Required (Toggle):
    • What you do: Turn this ON if this expense must be billed to a specific client project.
    • What happens in the future: The employee will be forced to select a project from the company's live project list before they can submit the claim.
  5. Budget Head Association (Dropdown):
    • What you do: Link this category to a corporate budget (e.g., linking "Flights" to the "Q3 Travel Budget").
    • What happens in the future: Every time an expense is approved, the money is automatically deducted from that specific company budget head behind the scenes.
  6. Category Active (Toggle - Hidden on New):
    • What you do: Turn this OFF to retire an old category.
    • When it appears: This toggle is completely hidden when creating a new category. It only appears at the bottom of the drawer when you are editing an existing one.
    • What happens in the future: If toggled off, a red "Inactive" badge appears on the card. Employees will no longer see this category, but all past historical data is preserved.
  7. Cancel & Save (Buttons):
    • What you do: The Cancel button closes the drawer without saving. The blue Create/Update button saves your data.
    • Hidden behavior: When you click Save, the button turns into a spinning loading wheel so you know the system is working, and a green success notification will pop up on the screen.

3. Claim Limit Matrix​

Once your categories are built, click the Claim Limits tab at the top. This screen is a powerful grid that intersects your Expense Categories (rows) with your Employee Grades (columns).

Claim Limits Matrix

The Matrix Interface Explained​

  1. Frequency (Dropdown column):
    • What you do: Select how often the limit resets for a specific category (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Yearly).
    • What happens in the future: If you set "Client Meals" to Monthly, the employee's allowance tracker will automatically reset back to zero on the 1st of every month.
  2. Value (The Grid Inputs):
    • What you do: Click into any intersection box and type a monetary limit. For example, on the "Hotels" row, type "$150" under the Junior Grade column, and "$400" under the Executive Grade column.
    • What happens in the future: If a Junior employee tries to submit a hotel receipt for $200, the system will instantly flag it as an "Out of Policy" violation before it even reaches their manager.
  3. Reset (Hidden Button):
    • What you do: Click this to undo any unsaved typing you just did in the grid.
    • When it appears: This button is completely invisible by default! It only pops up in the top right corner the moment you actually change a number in the grid.
  4. Save Changes (Button):
    • What you do: Click this to lock in your matrix.
    • Hidden behavior: Because you are editing dozens of fields at once, the matrix does not auto-save. You must click this button. Once clicked, the button disables itself and shows a loading spinner to prevent you from clicking it twice.
  5. Configuration Missing (Hidden Warning Screen):
    • When it appears: If you navigate to the Claim Limits tab before creating any Categories or Grades, the entire matrix is hidden and replaced with a warning icon telling you that you can't build a matrix without rows and columns.

🌟 Best Practices & Common Mistakes​

  • Pro-Tip: Use "0" Wisely: If you want to completely block a specific grade of employees from claiming a certain expense (e.g., Interns cannot claim "Client Entertainment"), simply leave their limit at 0.
  • Common Mistake: Forgetting to Save the Matrix: It is very easy to spend 10 minutes typing numbers into the matrix and then accidentally navigate away. Always remember to click the blue Save Changes button at the top right before leaving the page!
  • Gotcha: Mandatory Receipts: Always turn on Attached Receipt Mandatory for high-value categories (like Flights or Hardware). Leaving it off means employees can claim large sums of money without providing any proof of purchase.