How to create an expense policy that works – and enforces itself
- Introduction
- Why most expense policies struggle
- What your expense policy should include
- Quick checklist: what your expense policy must include
- Make your policy usable in the real world
- Enforcing expense policies with automation
- Expense automation + AP automation = total spend control
- Final tips for writing a policy that works
- Expensya by Medius
Hear what's covered in this article:
Managing employee spending can feel like navigating a messy web of numbers, receipts, and charges. Let’s be real—tracking expenses is tedious, and employees often don’t know what’s actually allowed. That confusion leads to unauthorized purchases, frustration, and inefficiency, especially for the team handling expense management.
If you are still using spreadsheets or outdated tools to manage expenses, you’ve probably already felt the pain: wasted time, duplicate payments, and costly errors.
The key to getting expenses under control is having a clear, automated, and enforceable policy. But figuring out how to write one that people actually follow? That’s the tricky part.
In this post, we’ll break down how to create an expense policy that not only reduces compliance hurdles but also works with expense automation to save time, money, and frustration.
Why most expense policies struggle
Most corporate expense policies fail because they’re either too vague, too rigid, or too hard to enforce.
Here are the most common problems:
- Lengthy, word-stuffed documents that no one reads
- Lack of clarity around what is and isn’t reimbursable
- Manual workflows that rely on human oversight
- No integration between AP, finance, and ERP systems
- Inconsistent enforcement, which leads to exceptions and distrust
In high-expense industries, these issues snowball into real financial risks, like duplicate payments, mismatched invoices, or reconciliation delays.
What your expense policy should include
A good expense policy is clear, fair, and easy to follow. It sets expectations, protects the company from misuse, and makes life easier for everyone, from employees to auditors.
Purpose & objectives
Clearly state the purpose of the policy: to guide employees in making reasonable, compliant spending decisions—and define its goals:
- Help employees understand what can and can’t be claimed
- Support consistent approval decisions by managers
- Speed up processing by the finance team
- Provide a paper trail for auditors and tax authorities
Tip: Include visuals and real-world scenarios to improve readability.
Roles & responsibilities
Break down expectations for both employees and managers:
Employees must:
- Make cost-conscious, honest decisions
- Submit claims promptly
- Include receipts and documentation (who, what, when, why)
- Retain receipts for IRS compliance
Managers must:
- Review and approve claims in a timely manner
- Ensure expenses align with the policy
- Reject non-compliant expenses and flag repeated issues
Tip: Be sure to include consequences for misuse.
Code of conduct
Reinforce your zero-tolerance policy around fraud, bribery, and corruption. Reference compliance with relevant laws (e.g., FCPA), and state clearly that making false claims or engaging in bribery is grounds for disciplinary action.
Reimbursable expenses
Be specific about what’s allowed and under what conditions. Common categories include:
- Travel: Preapproved flights, hotels, internet, visas, and GPS. Economy class unless exceptions apply.
- Additional travel costs: Checked bags, seat selection, foreign currency fees, and reasonable tips (e.g., up to 15%).
- Accommodation: Use approved booking tools, cancel unused reservations, and follow local per diem rules if applicable.
- Meals & entertainment: Only reimbursable if traveling or entertaining clients. Must document who attended and why.
- Other expenses: postage, shipping, and professional memberships, if approved.
Use corporate cards for travel and meals to simplify approvals and minimize employee out-of-pocket expenses.
Tip: Specific is terrific. Don’t leave your employees guessing.
Non-reimbursable items
Call out what's never reimbursable to reduce disputes. This may include:
- Parking tickets or fines
- Personal clothing
- Gifts like alcohol or flowers
- Personal mileage or daily commute
Tip: Transparency builds trust and eliminates gray areas.
Quick checklist: what your expense policy must include
An effective policy balances control and trust. Make sure it defines:
Pre-approval expectations for travel, accommodations, and large purchases
Spending limits by category (meals, transportation, etc.)
Documentation standards (itemized receipts, dates, descriptions, attendees)
Reimbursement timelines and submission methods
Non-reimbursable items to avoid misunderstandings
Review and escalation processes for disputes or non-compliance
Your policy should be easy to access, simple to understand, and flexible enough to adapt to your company’s size, industry, and geography.
Make your policy usable in the real world
A policy only works if people can actually follow it easily, from anywhere. Today’s workforce is mobile, global, and expects intuitive tools that support, not slow down, their work.
Support your expense policy with smart technology that helps guide decisions before, during, and after spending:
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Before spending: Give managers control to set dynamic limits by category, vendor, or budget. Employees get clarity upfront on what’s within policy—no guessing, no unnecessary back-and-forth.
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During spending: Offer mobile-friendly tools that guide users in real time. Automatic receipt capture, currency conversion, and real-time alerts can prevent out-of-policy transactions before they happen, even when traveling or offline. Issue company payment cards with spend limits and category restrictions to ensure compliance, simplify employee spending, and provide finance teams with real-time purchase visibility.
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After spending: Use built-in chat or AI assistants to help employees fix missing info or clarify rules, reducing the finance team’s workload and speeding up reimbursement.
This kind of smart, proactive approach makes compliance the path of least resistance and builds trust across the organization.
Enforcing expense policies with automation
A clear policy is only half the battle. Without the right expense automation tools, enforcement becomes manual, slow, and prone to error.
That’s where automation helps. AP and expense automation tools make it so much easier to:
- Flag invoice discrepancies automatically
- Prevent duplicate payments
- Route expenses through multi-level approval chains
- Integrate seamlessly with your ERP and logistics systems
- Detect anomalies using AI before payments are made
Automation turns your policy from a static document into a living system. It tells employees what’s allowed and it helps enforce it in real time, without adding extra burden to your team. Doesn’t that sound nice?
Expense automation + AP automation = total spend control
Expense management is about employee spend. AP automation handles vendor invoices, contractors, and services. But when these two systems are integrated, magic happens. Together, they:
Ensure accurate invoice matching and approval
Provide full visibility into company-wide spend
Speed up reconciliation and close processes
Strengthen supplier relationships through fewer disputes
Help your teams scale without adding headcount
The result? A system that enforces policy automatically, without micromanaging.
Final tips for writing a policy that works
Ready to update or overhaul your expense policy? Keep these tips in mind:
- Involve AP, finance, and department leaders in shaping it
- Use simple language and clear examples
- Review and update the policy at least once a year
- Embed automation into the process—not as an afterthought, but as a core part of enforcement
At the end of the day, an expense policy only works if it’s easy to use, enforceable, and fits with the tools your team already uses.
Expensya by Medius
With Expensya by Medius, your expense policy becomes more than a set of rules—it becomes a smart, automated system that enforces itself and keeps your team moving.
