Tracking Your Reimbursement Status

#Where to Check Your Status

1. Log into Light
2. Click Expenses in the sidebar
3. You'll see a list of all your submitted expenses with their current status

#Understanding Expense Statuses

Draft You started filling out an expense but didn't submit it yet. Click on it to finish and submit it whenever you're ready.

Submitted You've submitted your expense and it's waiting for your manager or approver to review it. This usually takes 1-3 business days, depending on how quickly your manager responds. You'll get a notification when it moves to the next status.

Approved Great news! Your manager approved your expense. It's now in the queue to be processed for payment. You should be reimbursed within a few business days. Light will notify you when payment is being sent.

Processing Your reimbursement is being prepared. Light is verifying everything and getting ready to send the money to your bank account. This usually takes 1-2 business days.

Paid Your reimbursement has been sent to your bank account. Check your bank to see the deposit (it might take 1-2 business days to appear depending on your bank).

Rejected or Needs Revision Your manager or the system flagged an issue with your expense. You'll see a message explaining why. Click on the expense to review the feedback, make corrections, and resubmit.

#Checking Payment Details

To see more details about a specific expense:

1. Go to Expenses (/expenses)
2. Click on the expense you want to check
3. You'll see:
   • Status: Where it is in the approval and payment process
   • Amount: How much you'll be reimbursed
   • Submitted Date: When you submitted it
   • Approved Date: When it was approved (if applicable)
   • Expected Payment Date: When Light expects to send the money (if approved)
   • Actual Payment Date: When the money was sent (if paid)
   • Receipt & Details: The receipt image and all the details you filled in

#Getting Notifications

Light sends you updates at key milestones:

• When your expense is approved
• When payment is being processed
• When your reimbursement has been sent

You can customize which notifications you receive by going to your Profile settings and updating your notification preferences. Learn more here.

#What If Your Status Seems Stuck?

Submitted → not moving after 5 days Your manager might not have seen it yet. You can politely remind them or check if they're out of office. If it's urgent, contact your admin.

Approved → not moving after 3 days Light is processing it. Sometimes there are delays if the Finance team is working through a batch of approvals. It will move to "Paid" soon.

Paid → but I don't see the money Check your bank account—it can take 1-2 business days for deposits to show up. If it's been more than 3 days, contact your admin with your payment date and amount.

Rejected or Needs Revision Read the feedback from your manager carefully. Common reasons include:

• Missing or unclear receipt
• Expense exceeds policy limit
• Wrong category
• Missing description or project code

Make the corrections and resubmit. You can click the expense and edit it right away.

#Tips for Faster Reimbursement

• Submit receipts within a week: It's easier for your manager to approve fresh expenses
• Include clear descriptions: Helps your manager approve faster
• Follow company policies: Avoid rejections by checking policies before you submit (see Understanding Expense Policies)
• Make sure your banking info is correct: A wrong bank account could delay payment

#Batch Payments

Some companies process reimbursements in batches (e.g., every Friday). If your company does this, your "Processing" status might last a bit longer. Your admin can tell you your company's reimbursement schedule.

#Questions About a Payment?

If something doesn't look right or you have questions:

1. Check your Light Expenses page for the payment date and amount
2. Review the expense details to make sure everything matches
3. Contact your manager or admin with the expense amount and date

#Related Articles

• Submitting an Expense for Reimbursement
• Setting Up Your Profile
• Understanding Expense Policies