Expensify offers flexible reimbursement options to help businesses quickly and efficiently pay employees for approved expenses. This guide walks you through setting up direct, indirect, and global reimbursement methods based on your company’s needs.

There are a few ways to reimburse employees in Expensify. The option that’s best suited for you and your business will depend on a few different factors:

• Direct Reimbursement: For companies with a business bank account in the US that reimburse employees within the US.
• Indirect Reimbursement: This option is available to all members, and connecting a bank account to Expensify is not required. Indirect reimbursements mean that all reports are reimbursed outside of Expensify.
• Global Reimbursement: If your company bank account is in the US, Canada, the UK, Europe, or Australia, you can reimburse employees directly in nearly any country worldwide.

Set Up Direct Reimbursement

Once a business bank account is connected to Expensify, a Workspace Admin can enable Direct Reimbursement under Settings > Workspaces > [Workspace Name] > Workflows > Make or track payments > Direct.

Direct Reimbursement Features

• Select a default reimburser for the Workspace from the dropdown menu:
  • The default reimburser will receive notifications to reimburse reports in Expensify.
  • Any Workspace Admin with access to the business bank account can be added as a default reimburser.
• Set a default withdrawal account for the Workspace:
  • The default bank account is used to reimburse all of the reports submitted on the corresponding workspace.
• Set a manual reimbursement threshold to automate reimbursement:
  • If the total of a given report is less than the threshold set, reimbursement will occur automatically upon final approval.
  • If the total of a given report exceeds the threshold, it must be reimbursed manually.

Set Up Indirect Reimbursement

A Workspace Admin can enable Indirect Reimbursement under Settings > Workspaces > [Workspace Name] > Make or track payments > Indirect.

Indirect Reimbursement Features

If you reimburse through a separate system or payroll, Expensify can collect and export employee bank account details for you. Contact Concierge if you need the Reimbursement Details Export format added to your account.

Set Up Global Reimbursement

Once a business bank account is connected to Expensify, a Workspace Admin can enable Global Reimbursement by navigating to Settings > Workspaces > [Workspace Name] > Workflows > Make or track payments > Direct and selecting Enable Global Reimbursements.

More information on setting up Global Reimbursement can be found in the Enable Global Reimbursement guide.

Choose who pays currency conversion fees

For cross-border reimbursements, you can choose whether your company or your employee absorbs the foreign exchange (FX) rate difference and conversion fee when a reimbursement is paid in a currency other than your business bank account’s currency.

Once Global Reimbursement is enabled, a Currency conversion fees setting appears in the same Make or track payments > Direct panel, with two options:

• Company pays — Your company absorbs the FX rate difference and conversion fee, so the employee receives the full amount they originally paid in their local currency. Your business bank account is debited more than the report total to cover these costs.
• Employee pays — The employee absorbs the FX rate difference and conversion fee, so the amount deposited into their account can be less than the report total.

New Global Reimbursement setups default to Company pays.

Note: The manual reimbursement threshold applies to the report total and may not include currency conversion fees. When your company pays currency conversion fees, the amount debited from your business bank account can exceed the report total.

FAQ

How do I export employee bank account details once the Reimbursement Details Export format is added to my account?

Employee bank account details can be exported from the Reports page by selecting the relevant Approved reports and then clicking Export to > Reimbursement Details Export.

Is it possible to change the name of a verified business bank account in Expensify?

Yes, you can update the name of a bank account under Settings > Account > Wallet by clicking the pencil icon next to the bank account name.

What is the benefit of setting someone as a default reimburser?

Having a designated member reimbursing for the Workspace helps to ensure that all outstanding reports are reimbursed. The default reimburser receives notifications alerting them to reports that require their action.