Reimbursement Workflow

#Understanding Reimbursement

Reimbursement occurs when:

• Employee paid from personal funds: Submitted expense from own pocket (travel, meal, supply purchase)
• Corporate card not available: Employee used personal card or cash
• Advance request: Employee requesting advance before spending

Reimbursement is distinct from corporate card settlement (card is billed directly to company).

#Reimbursement Workflow States

Approved expenses progress through states:

1. APPROVED: Manager approved, awaiting Finance processing
2. IN_DRAFT: Finance is preparing reimbursement batch
3. SUBMITTED_FOR_REVIEW: Finance submitted to payment system
4. PAYMENT_PROCESSED: Payment executed to employee
5. CLEARED: Reimbursement complete and reconciled

#Automatic Reimbursement

Light can automatically process approved expenses:

1. Configure in Settings > Automation > Reimbursement

2. Enable Auto-Process Approved Expenses

3. Set options:

   • Timing: Process daily, weekly, or on-demand
   • Minimum Amount: Only pay if batch exceeds (e.g., $100)
   • Maximum Amount: Safety limit per batch
   • Day of Week: Which day to process (e.g., Fridays)

4. Light automatically:

   • Creates reimbursement bill in AP
   • Routes to payment processing
   • Pays employee on schedule

With automation, approved expenses are paid automatically. No Finance intervention needed.

#Manual Reimbursement Processing

For more control, process reimbursements manually:

#Creating Reimbursement Batch

1. Navigate to Reimbursements > Approved

2. View all approved expenses awaiting reimbursement

3. Filter to expenses ready to pay:

   • By employee: Pay one person at a time
   • By date: Pay weekly or monthly batches
   • By amount: Batch similar amounts together

4. Select expenses (checkboxes)

5. Click Create Reimbursement Batch

6. Light shows:

   • List of selected expenses
   • Total to reimburse
   • Each employee's amount

7. Click Create Batch

#Creating AP Bill for Reimbursement

1. Light creates an AP bill for the batch:

   • Vendor: The employee (as User vendor)
   • Amount: Total of all selected expenses
   • Line items: Individual expenses from the batch
   • GL accounts: Posted to appropriate accounts based on category

2. Bill appears in AP > Bills > Reimbursements

3. Bill shows status: DRAFT

#Posting the Bill

1. Open the reimbursement bill
2. Review amounts and GL accounts
3. Click Post when ready
4. GL entries are created
5. Bill moves to POSTED state

#Creating Payment

1. After posting, click Create Payment

2. Light shows payment details:

   • Employee banking information
   • Amount to pay
   • Payment method (default from employee setup)

3. Confirm payment method:

   • Direct deposit: ACH to employee bank account
   • Check: Mail check to employee
   • Other: Credit card or other method

4. Click Schedule Payment or Execute Payment

#Executing Payment

1. If scheduled, payment executes on set date

2. If immediate, Light processes payment now:

   • For ACH: Submits ACH file to your bank
   • For Check: Prints check (if configured)
   • For other methods: Routes accordingly

3. Employee receives notification: "Reimbursement of $X is being processed"

4. Bank processes payment (1-3 days typical)

5. Employee receives funds

#Reimbursement by Employee

View what each employee is owed:

1. Navigate to Reimbursements > By Employee

2. View each employee with:

   • Total to reimburse: Sum of approved, unpaid expenses
   • Last reimbursement: When last paid
   • Pending expenses: Number of approved expenses

3. Click employee to see:

   • Individual expenses
   • Dates of expenses
   • Amounts
   • Categories

4. Optionally, create batch for just that employee

#Grouping Reimbursements

Batch multiple employees' expenses together:

1. Select expenses from multiple employees

2. Light shows:

   • Employee 1: $345
   • Employee 2: $120
   • Employee 3: $890
   • Total batch: $1,355

3. Create single AP bill for entire batch

4. Post and pay all at once

5. Individual employees are reimbursed separately

#Advance Payments

Process advances before expenses:

1. Employee requests advance: "I need $500 for upcoming trip"

2. Manager approves advance

3. Create Advance Bill in AP:

   • Vendor: Employee
   • Amount: $500
   • GL Account: Advances (asset account)

4. Post and pay advance

5. Employee receives funds

6. Employee submits expense receipts after trip

7. Expenses are approved

8. Final reimbursement = (Actual Expenses) - (Advance Paid)

9. Either reimburse additional or employee returns overage

#Reconciling Reimbursements to Receipts

Ensure all approved expenses are reimbursed:

1. Navigate to Reimbursement Reports

2. View:

   • Approved Not Yet Reimbursed: Expenses approved but not paid
   • Days Pending: How long expense has been pending payment

3. Identify stalled expenses and process

#Following Up on Late Payments

If payment hasn't reached employee:

1. Check bank status:

   • For ACH: Typically 1-3 business days
   • For checks: 5-10 business days (mail time)

2. If delayed:

   • Confirm bank received ACH file
   • Check for checks returned due to invalid account info
   • Follow up with bank

3. Reissue payment if needed

#Handling Reimbursement Issues

#Duplicate Expense

If employee is paid twice for same expense:

1. Identify duplicate (Light may flag)

2. Contact employee: "We paid you for this already"

3. Options:

   • Employee voluntarily returns overpayment
   • Company recoups from next paycheck
   • Deduct from future reimbursement

4. Reverse the duplicate payment in AP

5. Update bill to reflect single payment only

#Incorrect Amount

If paid wrong amount:

1. If overpaid:

   • Process credit to employee
   • Adjust next reimbursement, or
   • Request employee to return overpayment

2. If underpaid:

   • Process additional payment for difference
   • Issue separate check for shortfall

3. Investigate cause (data entry error, forgotten receipt, etc.)

#Reimbursement Timing

#Daily Processing

For companies that process daily:

1. Approved expenses paid same or next business day
2. Fast for employees
3. Requires automated setup

#Weekly Processing

Most common:

1. Process every Friday or Monday
2. Approved expenses paid weekly
3. Employees know to expect payment specific day
4. Finance controls batch size

#Monthly Processing

For companies with fewer expenses:

1. Process once a month (e.g., on 15th)
2. Employee must wait up to month for payment
3. Reduces Finance overhead
4. Can be stressful for employees

#Reimbursement Portal Access

Employees can track their reimbursements:

1. Login to Light app or portal

2. Navigate to My Reimbursements

3. View:

   • Pending approval (waiting for manager)
   • Approved and scheduled (waiting for payment)
   • Paid (with payment date and amount)
   • Declined (with reason)

4. See expected payment date

5. Can open tickets if payment not received

#Related Articles

• Expense approval workflows
• Employee reimbursements
• Issuing and managing corporate cards