documentation/content/applications/finance/expenses/expense_reports.rst

===============
Expense reports
===============

When expenses are ready to submit (such as, at the end of a business trip, or once a month), an
*expense report* needs to be created. Open the main :menuselection:`Expenses app` dashboard, which
displays the :guilabel:`My Expenses` dashboard, by default. Alternatively, navigate to
:menuselection:`Expenses app --> My Expenses --> My Expenses`.

Expenses are color-coded by status. Any expense with a status of :guilabel:`To Report` (expenses
that still need to be added to an expense report) is shown in blue text. All other statuses
(:guilabel:`To Submit`, :guilabel:`Submitted`, and :guilabel:`Approved`) the text appears in black.

Create expense reports
======================

First, select each desired expense to be added to the report on the :guilabel:`My Expenses`
dashboard, by ticking the checkbox next to each entry, or quickly select all the expenses in the
list by ticking the checkbox next to the :guilabel:`Expense Date` column title, if needed.

Another way to quickly add all expenses that are not on a expense report, is to click the
:guilabel:`Create Report` button, *without* selecting any expenses, and Odoo automatically selects
all expenses with a status of :guilabel:`To Submit` that are not already on a report.

.. image:: expense_reports/create-report.png
   :align: center
   :alt: Select the expenses to submit, then create the report.

.. note::
   Any expense can be selected from the :guilabel:`My Expenses` list, except for expenses with a
   status of :guilabel:`Approved`.

   The :guilabel:`Create Report` button is visible as long as there is a minimum of one expense on
   the list with a status of either :guilabel:`To Report` or :guilabel:`To Submit`.

   When the :guilabel:`Create Report` button is clicked, all expenses with a status of :guilabel:`To
   Submit` that are *not* currently on another expense report appears in the newly-created expense
   report.

   If all expenses on the :guilabel:`My Expenses` report are already associated with another expense
   report, an :guilabel:`Invalid Operation` pop-up window appears, stating :guilabel:`You have no
   expenses to report.`

Once the expenses have been selected, click the :guilabel:`Create Report` button. The new report
appears with all the expenses listed in the :guilabel:`Expense` tab. If there is a receipt attached
to an individual expense, a :icon:`fa-paperclip` :guilabel:`(paperclip)` icon appears between the
:guilabel:`Customer to Reinvoice` and :guilabel:`Analytic Distribution` columns.

When the report is created, the date range for the expenses appears in the :guilabel:`Expense Report
Summary` field, by default. It is recommended to edit this field with a short summary for each
report to help keep expenses organized. Enter a description for the expense report, such as `Client
Trip NYC`, or `Office Supplies for Presentation`, in the :guilabel:`Expense Report Summary` field.

The :guilabel:`Employee`, :guilabel:`Paid By`, and :guilabel:`Company` fields autopoulate with the
information listed on the individual expenses.

Next, select a :guilabel:`Manager` from the drop-down menu to assign a manager to review the report.
If needed, update the :guilabel:`Journal` field, using the drop-down menu.

.. image:: expense_reports/expense-report-summary.png
   :align: center
   :alt: Enter a short description and select a manager for the report.

If some expenses are missing from the report, they can still be added from this report form. To do
so, click :guilabel:`Add a line` at the bottom of the :guilabel:`Expense` tab.

An :guilabel:`Add: Expense Lines` pop-up window appears, displaying all the available expenses (with
a :guilabel:`To Submit` status) that can be added to the report.

If a new expense needs to be added that does **not** appear on the list, click :guilabel:`New` to
:ref:`create a new expense <expenses/new>` and add it to the report.

Tick the checkbox next to each expense being added, then click :guilabel:`Select`.

Doing so removes the pop-up window, and the items now appear on the report.

.. image:: expense_reports/add-an-expense-line.png
   :align: center
   :alt: Add more expenses to the report before submitting.

.. note::
   Expense reports can be created in one of three places:

   #. Navigate to the main :menuselection:`Expenses app` dashboard (also accessible, via
      :menuselection:`Expenses app --> My Expenses --> My Expenses`)
   #. Navigate to :menuselection:`Expenses app --> My Expenses --> My Reports`
   #. Navigate to :menuselection:`Expenses app --> Expense Reports`

   In any of these views, click :guilabel:`New` to create a new expense report.

.. _expenses/submit:

Submit expense reports
======================

When an expense report is completed, the next step is to submit the report to a manager for
approval. To view all expense reports, navigate to :menuselection:`Expenses app --> My Expenses -->
My Reports`. Open the specific report from the list of expense reports.

.. note::
   Reports must be individually submitted, and **cannot** be submitted in batches.

If the list is large, grouping the results by status may be helpful, since only reports with a
:guilabel:`To Submit` status need to be submitted; reports with an :guilabel:`Approved` or
:guilabel:`Submitted` status do not.

The :guilabel:`To Submit` expenses are identifiable by the :guilabel:`To Submit` status, and by the
blue text, while all other expense text appears in black.

.. image:: expense_reports/expense-status.png
   :align: center
   :alt: Submit the report to the manager.

.. note::
   The status of each report is shown in the :guilabel:`Status` column. If the :guilabel:`Status`
   column is not visible, click the :icon:`oi-settings-adjust` :guilabel:`(additional options)` icon
   at the end of the row, and tick the checkbox beside :guilabel:`Status` from the resulting
   drop-down menu.

Click on a report to open it, then click :guilabel:`Submit To Manager`. After submitting a report,
the next step is to wait for the manager to approve it.

.. important::
   :doc:`Approving <../expenses/approve_expenses>` expenses, :doc:`posting
   <../expenses/post_expenses>` expenses, and :ref:`reimbursing <expenses/reimburse>` expenses are
   **only** for users with the appropriate :doc:`access rights documentation
   </applications/general/users>`.