# Approve expenses

In Odoo, not just anyone can approve expense reports, only users with the necessary rights (or
permissions) can. This means that a user **must** have at least *Team Approver* rights for the
*Expenses* app. Employees with the necessary rights can review expense reports, approve or reject
them, and provide feedback thanks to the integrated communication tool.

Please refer to the {doc}`access rights documentation </applications/general/users>` to learn more
about managing users and their access rights.

## View expense reports

Users who are able to approve expense reports, typically managers, can easily view all expense
reports they have access rights to. Go to {menuselection}`Expenses app --> Expense Reports`, to view
the {guilabel}`All Reports` dashboard.

A list of all expense reports with a status of either {guilabel}`To Submit`, {guilabel}`Submitted`,
{guilabel}`Approved`, {guilabel}`Posted`, or {guilabel}`Done` appears. Expense reports with a status
of {guilabel}`Refused` are hidden, by default.

```{image} approve_expenses/expense-reports-list.png
:align: center
:alt: Reports to validate are found on the Reports to Approve page.
```

## Approve expense reports

Expense reports can be approved in two ways: {ref}`individually <expenses/individual>` or {ref}`in
bulk <expenses/multiple>`.

:::{important}
Only reports with a status of {guilabel}`Submitted` can be approved.

It is recommended to display only {guilabel}`Submitted` reports by ticking the checkbox beside
the {guilabel}`Submitted` filter, in the left column, under the {guilabel}`Status` section.

If a report is **not** able to be approved, the {guilabel}`Approve Report` button **does not**
appear on the {guilabel}`All Reports` page.
:::

(expenses-individual)=

### Approve individual reports

To approve an individual report, navigate to {menuselection}`Expenses app --> Expense Reports`, and
click on an individual report to view the report form.

From here, several options are presented: {guilabel}`Approve`, {guilabel}`Refuse`, and
{guilabel}`Reset to draft`.

Click {guilabel}`Approve` to approve the report.

(expenses-multiple)=

### Approve multiple reports

To approve multiple expense reports at once, first navigate to {menuselection}`Expenses app -->
Expense Reports` to view a list of expense reports. Next, select the reports to approve by ticking
the checkbox next to each report being approved, or tick the checkbox next to the
{guilabel}`Employee` column title to select all the reports in the list.

Next, click the {guilabel}`Approve Report` button.

```{image} approve_expenses/approve-report.png
:align: center
:alt: Approve multiple reports by clicking the checkboxes next to each report.
```

:::{tip}
It is possible for team managers to view all the expense reports for just their team members.

To do so, while on the {guilabel}`All Reports` page, click the {icon}`fa-caret-down`
{guilabel}`(down arrow)` to the right of the search bar, then click {guilabel}`My Team` in the
{icon}`fa-filter` {guilabel}`Filters` section.

This presents all the reports for only the manager's team.

```{image} approve_expenses/my-team-filter.png
:align: center
:alt: Select the My Team filter.
```
:::

## Refuse expense reports

Expense reports can **only** be refused on the individual expense report, and **not** from the
{guilabel}`All Reports` dashboard. To open an individual expense report, navigate to
{menuselection}`Expenses app --> Expense Reports`, then click on an individual expense report to
view the report form.

If more information is needed, such as a missing receipt, communicate any necessary information
requests in the *chatter* of the report form. On the individual expense report, click
{guilabel}`Send message` to open a message text box.

Type in a message, tagging the proper people, and post it to the *chatter* by clicking
{guilabel}`Send`. The message is posted in the chatter, and the tagged people are notified, via
email.

:::{note}
The only people that can be tagged in a message are *followers* of the specific report. To see
who is a follower, click the {icon}`fa-user-o` {guilabel}`(user)` icon to display the followers
of the expense report.

```{image} approve_expenses/chatter.png
:align: center
:alt: Send messages in the chatter.
```
:::

To refuse an expense report, click {guilabel}`Refuse`, and a {guilabel}`Refuse Expense` pop-up
window appears. Enter a brief explanation for the refusal beneath the {guilabel}`REASON TO REFUSE
EXPENSE` field, then click {guilabel}`Refuse`.

```{image} approve_expenses/refuse-expense.png
:align: center
:alt: Send messages in the chatter.
```

Once the expense report is refused, the status changes to {guilabel}`Refused`, and the only button
that appears in the top-left is {guilabel}`Reset to Draft`.