Expense Reports and Analytics

#Understanding Expense Analytics

Expense analytics provide visibility into:

• Who is spending the most (employees, departments)
• What categories represent biggest spend (travel, meals, supplies)
• Where employees are purchasing (merchants)
• When spending is happening (time trends)
• Why spending is occurring (business purposes)
• How Much is being reimbursed vs. card expenses
• Compliance with policies (violations, exceptions)

Use analytics to manage costs and improve policies.

#Spending Summary Dashboard

Quick overview of expense activity:

1. Navigate to Dashboard > Expense Summary

2. View:

   • Total Expenses This Month: Sum of all expenses
   • By Status: Submitted, Approved, Reimbursed, Rejected
   • vs. Budget: Actual vs. budgeted spending
   • Trend: Month-over-month change
   • Reimbursement Pipeline: Expenses awaiting reimbursement

3. Filter by:

   • Date Range: Specific months or quarters
   • Department/Cost Center: Specific teams
   • Employee: Specific people

#Expense Report by Category

Analyze spending by expense category:

1. Navigate to Reports > Spending by Category

2. View:

   • Category Name: (Travel, Meals, Office Supplies, etc.)
   • Total Spending: Sum in this category
   • % of Total: What percentage of overall spend
   • Trend: Change from prior period
   • Count: Number of expenses in category

3. Data shown as:

   • Table: Detailed numbers
   • Chart: Visual pie chart or bar chart
   • Trend Graph: Historical comparison

Example results:

• Travel: $45,000 (45%)
• Meals: $22,000 (22%)
• Office Supplies: $18,000 (18%)
• Professional Development: $15,000 (15%)

Click on category to drill down into individual expenses.

#Spending by Employee

View spending by individual:

1. Navigate to Reports > Spending by Employee

2. View table with:

   • Employee Name
   • Department
   • Total Spending: YTD or specified period
   • Avg per Expense: Average expense size
   • Count: Number of expenses submitted
   • Status: Reimbursed, Pending, Rejected

3. Sort by:

   • Total Spending: Highest spenders first
   • Count: Most frequent submitters
   • Avg Amount: Largest individual expenses
   • Department: Group by department

4. Click employee to see their recent expenses

#Spending by Merchant

Analyze which vendors/merchants you're using:

1. Navigate to Reports > Spending by Merchant

2. View:

   • Merchant Name: Shop or restaurant name
   • Total Spending: Cumulative spend with this merchant
   • Frequency: How many times used
   • Avg Transaction: Average amount per purchase
   • Category: Type of merchant (travel, meals, etc.)

3. Filter by:

   • Merchant Category: Restaurant, airline, hotel, etc.
   • Geography: Where merchant is located
   • Date Range: Specific periods

4. Use to:

   • Identify preferred vendors
   • Negotiate volume discounts
   • Optimize procurement

#Spending Trends

Track spending over time:

1. Navigate to Reports > Spending Trends

2. View data by:

   • Monthly: Spending in each month
   • Quarterly: Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 comparison
   • Annual: Year-over-year comparison

3. Display as:

   • Chart: Line graph showing trend
   • Table: Detailed numbers
   • Growth Rate: % increase/decrease

4. Analyze:

   • Seasonal patterns (higher spending in certain months?)
   • Year-over-year growth (is spending increasing?)
   • Forecast future spending

Example: Travel spending highest in Q3 (summer travel season), meals spike on conference days.

#Department Analysis

Compare spending across departments:

1. Navigate to Reports > Department Spending

2. View by:

   • Department Name
   • Total Spending: Sum per department
   • Per Person: Average per employee
   • Employees: Count of people in department
   • Budget: If budgets are set

3. Benchmarking:

   • Which departments spend the most per capita?
   • Is Sales department higher than expected?
   • Is Engineering lower?

4. Use for:

   • Accountability
   • Budget allocation
   • Policy adjustments

#Policy Compliance Analysis

Monitor compliance with policies:

1. Navigate to Reports > Policy Compliance

2. View:

   • Total Submissions: Expenses submitted
   • Compliant: % meeting policy
   • Violations: Expenses exceeding limits or ineligible
   • Exceptions Granted: Override approvals

3. Breakdown by:

   • Violation Type: Exceeds limit, ineligible, missing documentation
   • Category: Which categories have most violations
   • Employee: Who violates most

4. Analyze:

   • Are policies too strict (high violations)?
   • Are policies well-understood (lower violations over time)?
   • Which employees need coaching?

#Reimbursement Metrics

Analyze reimbursement efficiency:

1. Navigate to Reports > Reimbursement Metrics

2. View:

   • Submitted Expenses: Total submitted
   • Approved: % approved
   • Reimbursed: % paid
   • Days to Reimbursement: Average time from submission to payment
   • Rejection Rate: % rejected or denied

3. Drill down:

   • Submitted to Approved: How long does approval take?
   • Approved to Reimbursed: How long does payment take?
   • Total Cycle Time: Full submission to payment time

4. Use to:

   • Improve process efficiency
   • Identify bottlenecks
   • Set reimbursement targets (e.g., "Pay within 5 business days")

#Receipt Extraction Quality

Monitor AI extraction accuracy:

1. Navigate to Reports > Extraction Quality

2. View:

   • Total Receipts Processed: Receipts submitted via upload/email
   • Success Rate: % extracted successfully
   • Manual Corrections: Expenses that required employee correction
   • Accuracy: % of extractions needing no changes

3. View by:

   • Merchant: Which merchants have poor extraction
   • File Type: Images vs. PDFs
   • Date Range: Improvement over time

4. Use to:

   • Identify problematic merchants
   • Request better invoice formats from vendors
   • Track AI improvement

#Cost Control Metrics

Measure expense management effectiveness:

1. Navigate to Reports > Cost Control Metrics

2. View:

   • Budget vs. Actual: Spending vs. budgeted amount
   • Variance: Dollar difference
   • Burn Rate: Pace of spending relative to budget
   • Forecasted Year-End: Projection if trend continues

3. Monitor:

   • Approval Rate: % of expenses approved (vs. rejected)
   • Override Rate: % of policy exceptions granted
   • Policy Violation Rate: % submitted despite violations

4. Example:

   • Annual travel budget: $100,000
   • Spend to date (6 months): $52,000
   • Burn rate: 52% of budget, 50% of year → On target
   • Forecast year-end: $104,000 (4% over budget)

#Custom Reports

Create tailored reports:

1. Navigate to Reports > Custom Report

2. Click Create Report

3. Select:

   • Report Type: Spending, Compliance, Reimbursement, etc.
   • Dimensions: Slice by employee, department, category, merchant, etc.
   • Metrics: Which numbers to show (total, average, count, etc.)
   • Filters: Specific date range, departments, categories
   • Format: Table, chart, or both

4. Run report and view results

5. Save for recurring use

6. Schedule to email automatically

Example custom report: "Q1 Travel Spending by Sales Representative (excluding international), compared to budget"

#Exporting Reports

Export data for further analysis:

1. Open any report

2. Click Export

3. Choose format:

   • Excel: For detailed analysis, sorting, pivot tables
   • PDF: For sharing and printing
   • CSV: For importing to other systems

4. Click Export to download

Use exports for:

• Detailed analysis in spreadsheets
• Presentation to executives
• Import to accounting systems

#Scheduled Reports

Automatically send reports on schedule:

1. Navigate to Reports > Scheduled Reports

2. Click Schedule Report

3. Select report type

4. Configure:

   • Frequency: Daily, Weekly, Monthly
   • Day/Time: When to send
   • Recipients: Who receives
   • Format: PDF or Excel
   • Filters: Any specific data

5. Create schedule

Example: Monthly summary emailed to CFO every first Monday.

#Executive Dashboard

High-level view for executives:

1. Navigate to Dashboard > Executive Summary

2. View:

   • Total Spending: All expense spending
   • YTD vs. Budget: Actual vs. target
   • Top Employees: Highest spenders
   • Top Categories: Biggest expense areas
   • Reimbursement Pending: Amount not yet paid
   • Policy Violations: Current problems
   • Headcount: Spending per employee

3. Drill into any metric for details

4. Print or share dashboard for board/executive review

#Benchmarking

Compare your company to industry:

Light provides anonymized benchmarking:

1. Navigate to Reports > Benchmarking

2. View:

   • Your spending per employee: How much employees spend on average
   • Industry average: Comparable to peer companies
   • Travel category: Your % vs. industry %
   • Meals category: Your % vs. industry %

3. Use to:

   • Justify spending levels
   • Identify cost-saving opportunities
   • Set realistic budgets

Example: Your company spends $5,000 per employee annually on travel. Industry average is $4,800. You're slightly above average but reasonable given your business model.

#Related Articles

• Expense management overview
• Expense policies and spending limits
• Expense approval workflows