Alerts help you to define verification rules for expenses reported by your company's users. Captio will automatically detect cases that do not meet these standards, and mark them as potentially problematic. This tool is essential to help you comply with your company's expense policy.
It is important to keep in mind that the calculation of these rules is done when the report goes from one review phase to another, and that the type of alerts calculated will vary depending on the alerts configured for each one of them.
In this article, you'll find information about the following topics:
What types of alerts there are there and how to configure them
To create a new alert, just click on the "new type of alert" button to open the wizard. Depending on the type of alert you select, you will have to provide one type of information or another, but, in general, you can program them to be triggered:
- For all users, or for specific users. You can also check the option to assign new users.
- All stages of approval flows, or for specific stages
- All categories, or for specific categories. You can also check the option to assign to the new categories.
- All forms of payment, or for specific forms of payment. You can also check the option to assign it new forms of payment.
Now let's see what types of alerts you can configure and how to do so.
Basic alerts:
Checking for repeated receipts:
What it’s for:
The alert will be triggered if there are duplicate receipts. To do so, Captio compares the amount and date of the receipts that it has recognised.
Configuration:
Minimum amount: serves to indicate the amount above which you want alerts to be sent. If you put, for example, €10, the system will not take into account expenses less than that amount. If you want to include all the receipts, you can indicate €0.
Include receipts from other users: You can activate the checking of the user's receipts or of all the receipts of all the users of the environment; we only recommend this if you have this need in a specific category, due to a requirement of your expense policy, as it affects the time between stages, and approval could take longer than usual.
Include supplier: you can also program the analysing of the suppliers in the calculation. Again, keep in mind that the more information there is to compare, the longer the reading and approval time.
Checking for edited receipts
What it’s for:
This alert tells you if a user has modified the fields automatically recognised by Captio (date, amount). Remember that you can bar your users from modifying this information when you configure your environment.
Configuration:
Mark which edited fields will trigger the alert: date, amount.
Checking for back receipts
What it’s for:
This alert compares the date extracted from the receipt with the date on which a report passes from one stage to another (that is, the review)
Configuration:
Set a limit of days to calculate the alert.
Receipt required
What it’s for:
Alert, at the receipt level, that informs you that an expense does not include an image of the receipt.
Configuration:
Minimum amount: It is possible to set a amount below which this check is not performed.
Include mileage receipts: If you check this option, mileage expenses must include receipts, using the Google Maps option through the website. Make sure you have informed your users of this.
Mandatory fields
What it’s for:
This alert warns of missing obligatory fields to fill in when they seemed optional upon uploading the expense, but are mandatory according to company policy.
Configuration: Select which of the mandatory fields will trigger the calculation of this alteration: category, payment method or observations.
Advanced features alert:
Maximum report amount check
What it’s for:
Alert, at the report level, triggered when the maximum amount allowed is exceeded.
Configuration:
You must designate the maximum amount allowed per report.
Maximum receipt amount check
What it’s for:
Alert, at the receipt level, that informs you if the expense exceeds the maximum amount allowed.
Configuration:
You must set the maximum amount allowed per receipt
Weekend expenses check
What it’s for:
Alert, at the expense level, that informs us if the expense was incurred on a weekend (Saturday and/or Sunday).
Holiday check:
What it’s for:
Alert, at the expense level, that informs us if the expense was incurred on a holiday.
Configuration:
You will have to add the holidays included on your work calendar. To do this, click on the calendar selector, select a date, and click on "Add". If you make a mistake, select the day in the list on the left and click to remove it.
Maximum distance check
What it’s for:
Alert, at the mileage expense level, that will be triggered if the distance entered exceeds the limit configured.
Configuration:
You must establish what maximum distance you allow for this type of expense.
Maximum amount by date check:
What it’s for:
Alert, at the report level, that informs you that in the time period configured the user has exceeded the predefined amount. The period can be daily, weekly or monthly.
Configuration:
You will only have to add the maximum amount and the period of time that applies: daily, weekly or monthly.
Payment method restriction
Payment method restriction: alert that informs us if a receipt in a specific category has been saved with a payment method that is not allowed.
Category/Day receipt category
Category/Day receipt category: Alert, at the report level, that informs us if the maximum number of receipts allowed for a category has been exceeded; that is, the maximum number of daily receipts.
Display of alerts
Once you have established the alerts of interest to you, Captio will analyse the expenses that are reported (henceforth) to detect possible rule breaches. When this is the case, there will be a warning in the header of the report, and the specific expense (if it is an alert at the expense level) in the report received by the supervisor will be flagged.