Reviewing & Approving Expense Reports

Once a volunteer submits an expense report (see Expense Reports), a treasurer or other reviewer approves or rejects it in BeeKeeper. This article covers that review, approval, and payment workflow.

Viewing Pending Reports

1. Go to Expense Reports to see all submitted reports
2. Click the Status column header to sort, grouping reports at the same stage together
3. Review reports awaiting action

A submitted report sits at one of three stages before you approve or reject it:

You never set these by hand — a report moves to In Review the moment you request a review, and to Reviewed once that review closes. If your organization doesn’t use Electronic Approvals, every report simply stays Pending until you approve or reject it.

Reviewing a Report

For each report, verify:

• [ ] Reporter information is complete
• [ ] Each expense has a receipt
• [ ] Receipts are readable and match amounts — the AI Receipt Verification badges can help (see Expense Reports)
• [ ] Expenses are appropriate for the organization
• [ ] Total is within budget/policy limits

If your bylaws call for a second person to sign off before a report is paid, see Sending a Report for Board Sign-Off below — you can request that review before or after you approve.

Approving a Report

Submitters now say how they’d like to be paid when they submit their report (Check to pick up, Check mailed, Zelle, or Direct Payment to Vendor) — see Expense Reports. When you open Approve, BeeKeeper pre-selects the option matching their request, so most of the time all you need to do is confirm it. You can still change it to anything your organization offers - the submitter’s choice is a request, not the final word.

If everything looks good:

1. Open the report
2. Click Approve
3. Confirm or change how you’d like to handle payment:
   • Approve only: Marks the report approved without creating a check or journal entry; you’ll record payment separately
   • Write a check: BeeKeeper creates a journal entry recording the payment from a selected account, and you can enter your own check number
   • Print a check: BeeKeeper creates the journal entry and queues a check for printing from the selected account - the check number is assigned automatically when you print it (only available for accounts with check printing enabled)
   • Pay with Zelle: BeeKeeper creates the same balanced journal entry as writing a check, and records the Zelle confirmation number you enter as the entry’s reference (shown as “Zelle 123456” in your register, so it’s never confused with a check number). This option only appears once an admin has turned on Zelle under Settings > Update Settings > Expense Report Payment Methods - it’s off by default for every organization.
4. The submitter is notified via email

If a report requested Direct Payment to Vendor, the check and journal entry are made out to the vendor’s name and mailing address instead of the submitter’s - it isn’t a reimbursement, it’s the organization paying the merchant directly. This option only appears if an admin has turned on Direct Payment to Vendor under Settings > Update Settings > Expense Report Payment Methods, and a report using it can only include a single receipt.

You can approve or reject a report at any of the three stages — Pending, In Review, or Reviewed — as long as the Approve button isn’t grayed out for the reason below.

If the Approve Button Is Grayed Out

If your organization uses Electronic Approvals and a board review is still open — or a reviewer rejected the report — the Approve button is disabled with a tooltip explaining why. This stops a report from being paid out from under an in-progress or failed sign-off. Once the review is resolved (or withdrawn), the button becomes available again.

Rejecting a Report

If there are issues:

1. Open the report
2. Click Reject
3. Provide clear explanation:
   • What’s missing?
   • What needs correction?
   • Can they resubmit?
4. The submitter is notified

Processing Payment

After approval:

1. If you used the write-check, print-check, or Zelle option during approval, the journal entry is already created - and, for a printed check, it’s waiting in the account’s check print queue
2. Otherwise, write a check or initiate payment manually
3. Record the journal entry in BeeKeeper if not auto-created

Sending a Report for Board Sign-Off

If your bylaws require a second (or third) person to formally sign off on a reimbursement before it’s paid, use Electronic Approvals:

1. Open the expense report
2. Scroll to the Approvals section and click Request Review
3. Pick who should review it and whether everyone needs to agree or any set number is enough
4. Click Send

Each reviewer gets an emailed link and answers Accept, Reject, or Abstain — no BeeKeeper account needed. While that review is open, or if it comes back rejected, the Approve button stays disabled. Once it’s approved, the reviewers’ names print right on the expense report PDF in place of a blank signature line.

The report’s status follows along on its own: it reads In Review while your reviewers are deciding, and Reviewed once the round closes — however it closed. Withdrawing the request puts the report back to Pending, since nothing was actually decided.

See Electronic Approvals for the full walkthrough, including how to resend a link, withdraw a request, and what happens if something on the report changes mid-review.

Approvals is on by default; an admin can turn it off under Settings > Update Settings > Advanced Options.

Activity Log

Need to leave a note for your board, or flag something about a submission without emailing the person who submitted it? Every expense report has an Activity Log near the bottom of the page - a single timeline of everything that’s happened to the report (submitted, approved, rejected, edited, reviewed) merged with your team’s discussion about it:

1. Open the expense report
2. Scroll to Activity Log and type your comment
3. Click Comment

Comments in the Activity Log:

• Are never emailed or shown to the submitter - they’re for your team’s (and any reviewers’) eyes only
• Show who wrote each comment and when
• Can be deleted by the person who wrote them (look for the delete option on your own comments)
• Update instantly for anyone else viewing the report at the same time

Use them to record things like “Called the vendor to confirm this receipt” or “Board approved this at the March meeting” without cluttering the submitter-facing status and emails.

Email Notifications

BeeKeeper sends automatic email notifications:

• On submission: Confirmation to the submitter with report details
• On approval: Notification to the submitter that their report was approved
• On rejection: Notification with the reason for rejection

Sending a report out for board sign-off does not email the submitter — the In Review and Reviewed stages show on their status page, but they only hear from BeeKeeper when you approve or reject. Activity Log comments are never included in these emails.

Tips for Reviewers

• Process timely: Volunteers shouldn’t wait weeks for reimbursement
• Be consistent: Apply the same standards to everyone
• Communicate: If rejecting, explain clearly how to fix
• Track patterns: Notice if certain areas overspend budget
• Use the Activity Log: Keep a running record of anything worth remembering about a report, without emailing the submitter

Tips for Organizations

Set Clear Policies

Document and share:

• What expenses are reimbursable
• Maximum amounts or limits
• Required documentation
• Submission deadlines
• Approval process

Train Volunteers

At the start of the year:

• Show how to submit reports
• Explain receipt requirements
• Share the submission URL
• Designate who to contact with questions

Budget for Accuracy

When creating budgets:

• Anticipate reimbursable expenses
• Don’t assume volunteers will donate costs
• Include realistic estimates

Limitations

• No batch approval (each report reviewed individually)
• Activity Log comments can only be deleted by the person who wrote them
• Direct Payment to Vendor reports are limited to one receipt

Common Questions

What’s the difference between Pending, In Review, and Reviewed? Pending means the report is waiting on you. In Review means you’ve sent it to board members for sign-off and they haven’t all answered. Reviewed means that round is finished and the report is back in your hands. If you don’t use Electronic Approvals, you’ll only ever see Pending.

A report I sent for review says “Reviewed” but the Approve button is still grayed out. Why? Reviewed only means the round finished — it doesn’t say what your reviewers decided. If one of them rejected the report, the Approve button stays disabled so it can’t be paid over their objection. Hover the button to see the reason, and check the Approvals section for who said what.

Will the submitter see the comments in the Activity Log? No. Comments are only visible to your team and any reviewers inside BeeKeeper - they’re never emailed and never shown on the submitter-facing status page.

Can I delete someone else’s comment? No, only the person who wrote a comment can delete it.

Can members get reimbursed electronically? Yes. Submitters can request Zelle as their payment method when they submit their report, and you’ll see it pre-selected when you approve - just confirm and enter the confirmation number from your bank. Turn Zelle on for your organization under Settings > Update Settings > Expense Report Payment Methods; it’s off by default.

What is Direct Payment to Vendor, and why does the check say the vendor’s name instead of the submitter’s? It’s for expenses where your organization is paying a merchant directly rather than reimbursing a volunteer - for example, an order a volunteer placed on the organization’s behalf. Because it isn’t a reimbursement, the journal entry and check are made out to the vendor, not the person who submitted the report. Turn it on under Settings > Update Settings > Expense Report Payment Methods; a report using it is capped at one receipt.

A report from before this shipped doesn’t show a payment method - is anything wrong? No. Reports submitted before payment method requests existed simply show “not specified.” Nothing was lost, and you can review, approve, and pay them exactly as before.

Are there spending limits? BeeKeeper doesn’t enforce spending limits - that’s set by your organization’s own policy. Reviewers should check submissions against that policy before approving.

Why is the Approve button disabled? Either a board review requested through Electronic Approvals is still open, or a reviewer rejected the report. Hover the button to see which. Withdraw or resolve the review to unlock it — see Electronic Approvals.