Submitting reports

Learn how to group related expenses together into reports and submit them for approval and reimbursement.

What is an expense report?

An expense report is a collection of individual expenses grouped together for submission and approval. Think of it like a folder containing related receipts that you bundle together to send to your manager for review. Rather than submitting each expense individually, which would create excessive notifications and approvals, you consolidate related expenses into a single report that moves through the approval process as one unit.

Benefits of reports. Reports enable batch processing, allowing you to submit multiple expenses at once with a single submission action and approval notification. They provide contextual grouping so related expenses are reviewed together, which helps approvers understand the complete context of a business trip or project. Reports simplify tracking because you monitor one status instead of tracking dozens of individual expenses separately. They also accelerate approval since your approver can review and approve all expenses in one session rather than processing them one at a time over several days.

Create a report

Creating a new expense report is a quick process that establishes the container for your related expenses.

Navigate to the "Reports" section using the left sidebar navigation. Click the "+ New Report" button to open the report creation form. Fill in the report details starting with a descriptive report name that clearly identifies what the report contains—for example, "Seattle Sales Conference - March 15-17" or "New York Client Visits - April 2025." Select a report type from the dropdown such as Business Trip, Monthly Expenses, Conference, or Project Expenses, depending on what categories your organization has configured. Enter the start date representing the date of your first expense in the report, and the end date representing the date of your last expense. Optionally, add a purpose statement explaining why these expenses were incurred, such as "Attended annual sales conference to present new product line and meet with West Coast clients." Click "Create Report" to save the new report in draft status.

Add expenses to report

Eloope provides three flexible methods for adding expenses to your reports, depending on your workflow preferences.

Option A: From unreported expenses. This is the most common method when you've already created several expenses and now want to organize them into a report. Navigate to the "Expenses" section and click the "Unreported" tab to view all expenses that aren't part of any report yet. Select the expenses you want to add by clicking the checkbox next to each expense. Click the "Add to Report" dropdown button that appears when you have expenses selected. Choose the destination report from the list of your draft reports. Click "Add" to move the selected expenses into that report.

Option B: During expense creation. If you already know which report an expense belongs to when you're creating it, you can assign it immediately. When filling out the expense creation form, look for the "Add to Report" dropdown near the bottom of the form. Select the appropriate report from your list of draft reports. When you save the expense, it's automatically added to that report instead of remaining in the unreported expenses list.

Option C: From report details. This method is useful when you're working within a report and want to add more expenses to it. Open the report you want to modify by clicking on it from your reports list. Click the "Add Expenses" button within the report detail view. A dialog appears showing all your unreported expenses with checkboxes. Select the expenses you want to add to this report. Click "Add Selected" to move them into the report.

Pre-submission checklist

Before submitting your report for approval, run through this comprehensive checklist to ensure everything is in order and minimize the chance of rejection.

Verify that all required receipts are uploaded and attached to their corresponding expenses. Check that your receipts are clear and legible—if any receipt images are blurry, poorly lit, or cut off, replace them with better quality photos. Confirm that amounts are accurate by comparing what you entered in Eloope with what appears on your receipts, watching for typos like extra zeros or decimal point errors. Ensure that expense categories are correct according to your company's chart of accounts—for example, client meals should be categorized as "Client Entertainment" rather than "Team Meals." Review all expense descriptions to make sure they clearly explain the business purpose of each expense. Check for policy violations flagged by the system, and if any exist, verify that you've provided adequate justification in the comments. Finally, confirm that your report name and purpose statement are descriptive enough that approvers can understand what the report is for without having to open it.

Submit for approval

Once you've completed your checklist and verified that everything is in order, you're ready to submit your report.

Open the report by clicking on it from your reports list to view the complete details. Review the summary section at the top, which displays the total amount of all expenses, the number of individual expenses included, and any policy violations that have been flagged. Add comments in the comments field if you need to provide additional context for your approver—for example, explaining policy violations that you received pre-approval for, noting unusual circumstances, or highlighting important expenses that might need extra attention. Click the "Submit for Approval" button at the bottom of the report. A confirmation dialog will appear asking you to verify that you want to submit the report. Click "Confirm Submission" to finalize the action.

Your report status immediately changes from "Draft" to "Submitted" and it routes automatically to your approver or approvers according to your organization's configured approval workflow. You'll receive a confirmation notification acknowledging that your report has been submitted, and your approver will receive a notification that they have a new report to review.

Track report status

After submission, Eloope provides clear visibility into where your report is in the approval and payment process.

Status badges. Each report displays a status badge that communicates its current state. "Draft" means the report hasn't been submitted yet and is still being compiled. "Submitted" indicates you've submitted the report and it's in the approval queue. "Pending Approval" shows that an approver is actively reviewing it. "Approved" means all required approvers have approved it and it's now with the finance team for payment processing. "Rejected" indicates an approver returned the report to you for corrections and resubmission. "Paid" is the final status, confirming that your reimbursement has been processed and payment has been sent.

Detailed tracking. Click on any report to view comprehensive status details beyond just the status badge. You'll see the detailed approval chain showing every level of approval required and which levels have been completed. For each approval level, you can see who approved the report and exactly when they approved it. Any comments from approvers appear in the comments section, providing feedback or context. If your report has been approved and is awaiting payment, you may see an estimated reimbursement date when finance expects to process the payment.

Handle rejections

When an approver rejects your report, it's returned to you for corrections before it can be resubmitted for approval.

If you receive a notification that your report was rejected, start by opening the rejected report from your reports list. Read the rejection reason carefully in the comments section—your approver should have provided specific feedback about what needs to be corrected. Make the necessary corrections based on the feedback you received. This might involve editing expenses to fix amounts or categories, uploading missing receipts that were required, correcting amounts to match receipts, or adding clearer descriptions to explain the business purpose. After making all corrections, add your own comment explaining what changes you made—for example, "Attached missing hotel receipt for March 16 and updated meal category from Client Entertainment to Team Meals as requested." Click "Resubmit" to send the report back through the approval process.

The approval process starts over from Level 1 when you resubmit, so all approvers who previously reviewed it will review it again. This ensures everyone sees your corrections and can approve the updated version.

Recall a submitted report

If you discover an error or need to make changes after submitting a report but before it's been approved, you can recall it to draft status.

Open the submitted report that you need to modify. Look for the "Recall" button, which appears only for submitted reports that haven't been approved yet—once a report is approved, you can no longer recall it. Click the "Recall" button and a confirmation dialog will appear. Confirm that you want to recall the report by clicking "Confirm Recall."

The report immediately returns to draft status and is removed from your approver's queue. Make whatever edits you need, whether that's adding expenses, removing expenses, uploading receipts, or correcting amounts. When you're satisfied with your changes, resubmit the report and it will route back to your approver with the updated information.

Best practices

Following these best practices will help you manage your expense reports efficiently and minimize approval delays.

Timing. Submit reports weekly or bi-weekly rather than letting expenses accumulate for months. Regular submission creates a steady workflow for approvers and ensures you receive reimbursements promptly. Waiting too long means you're financing company expenses out of pocket for extended periods.

Organization. Group related expenses together logically—for example, all expenses from a single business trip in one report, or all monthly recurring expenses in a monthly report. This contextual grouping helps approvers understand the expenses and makes the review process faster.

Clarity. Use descriptive report names that clearly communicate what the report contains. Instead of "Report March 2025," use "San Francisco Client Meetings - March 12-14, 2025." Add clear purpose statements that explain the business objective, such as "Quarterly strategic planning meeting with West Coast team."

Quality. Review your report carefully before submitting to catch errors, missing receipts, or unclear descriptions. A thorough self-review before submission significantly reduces the chance of rejection and speeds up the approval process.

Responsiveness. If your report is rejected, respond promptly to the feedback rather than letting it sit for weeks. Make the requested corrections and resubmit within 24-48 hours so you don't delay your own reimbursement unnecessarily.

Related articles

• Quick Start for Employees
• Creating Expenses
• Understanding Approval Workflows
• Handling Rejections
• Policy Compliance