Frequently asked questions about expense claims in the UK

Business records generally need to be kept for six years from the end of the accounting period, and HMRC can ask to see them in that time. Digital copies are acceptable if they stay legible and unaltered for the full period. 4expenses stores each receipt with its capture date and approval history, but keeping the records is still your responsibility. Confirm the exact period with your accountant.

Possibly, if the digital copy is a faithful, legible and unaltered record for the full retention period. Check the procedure with your accountant before destroying originals.

To reclaim VAT on a business expense you generally need a valid VAT invoice that shows the supplier's details and the VAT amount. For smaller amounts a simplified receipt can be enough. Your accountant confirms what each category requires. 4expenses proposes the amount and VAT rate; you check both before approval.

4expenses calculates mileage from the distance you enter, using the rate you set for each category, and flags subsistence above the limits you configure. The rates you use and their tax treatment should be agreed with your accountant.

Whether a subsistence payment is taxable depends on HMRC rules and the circumstances of the trip. 4expenses does not decide that: you set the limits, and your accountant confirms the treatment.

An advance is linked to the claims submitted against it and stays open until those claims are approved. Any difference between the advance and actual spending is settled.

You set approval routes by department, expense category and amount threshold. Above a threshold the claim moves to a higher approval level. The approver sees the receipt and the remaining budget on the same screen.

You set budgets per department and project. The approver sees the remaining budget on the same screen as the receipt.

Yes. The approved batch exports as CSV, with nominal codes, VAT rates, cost centres and the receipts attached. Your accountant imports the file into the accounting software you use.

No. 4expenses works with the cards your bank already provides. Card transactions are not imported automatically: you attach the receipt to each expense.

Employees photograph the receipt at the moment of payment, check the category and amount and submit it. The claim then goes to the approvers you have set. The OCR is tuned to English-language receipts; for receipts in other languages, check the fields before submitting.

Not if the receipt is set as required for that category: a claim cannot be submitted while a required document is missing.