Help Center / Expenses Reimbursements

Submitting Expenses via Slack

If your company connects Light to Slack, you can submit expenses without ever leaving Slack. It's fast, convenient, and perfect for when you're on the go.

How It Works

Light's Slack bot makes submitting expenses easy. You just send a receipt file to the bot in a direct message, and Light's AI does the rest.

Sending a Receipt to @Light

  1. Open Slack and search for the Light bot (your admin sets this up)
  2. Start a direct message with the bot
  3. Attach your receipt file (photo, image, or PDF) and send it
  4. Light reacts to your message with an hourglass emoji while it processes the receipt, then replaces it with a checkmark when it's done (or an X if something went wrong)
  5. Light first checks whether the receipt matches one of your card transactions. If it matches, the receipt is attached to that transaction and you're done
  6. If there's no card transaction match, Light asks: "We couldn't match the receipt to a card transaction. Do you want to create a reimbursement from this item?" with Reimbursement and Discard buttons
  7. Click Reimbursement, and Light's AI reads the receipt and replies "Here's what I got from the receipt:" with the extracted details:
    • Description
    • Original amount
    • Reimbursement amount
  8. The expense is saved as a draft in your Light account. Repeat for as many receipts as you have

If any details are missing or wrong, edit the expense on the Expenses page in the Light web app before submitting — this is best done on a computer.

Submitting Your Expense Report

Once you are done uploading all of your receipts, tell the bot to submit your expense report — for example, "submit my expenses." Light collects all of your draft expenses and submits them as a single reimbursement request for review. Before submitting, Light checks that you have a valid address and an active reimbursement setup (bank details and currency) on file.

You can also submit from the Expenses page in the web app.

After You Submit

Your expense report waits for approval, and you can track it anytime on your Expenses page. Light also keeps you posted in Slack:

  • If your expense report is rejected, the bot messages you with the rejection reason and a link to reset your expense report so you can fix and resubmit it
  • When your reimbursement is paid, the bot sends you a confirmation

You can also ask the Light bot questions directly in Slack — just DM it or mention @Light.

Why Use This Method

  • Fast: No need to switch to the Light app or go to a browser
  • Mobile-friendly: Works great on your phone while you're traveling
  • All in one place: Your team communication and expense submission in the same app

Troubleshooting

"I don't see @Light in Slack" Your admin needs to install the Light Slack app. Ask them to enable it in your Slack workspace.

"The bot says it can't find my user" Your Slack account must match an active user in Light (based on your email address). Contact your admin to make sure you have an active Light user with the same email as your Slack account.

"The AI got my receipt wrong" You can edit the details after Light reads the receipt — open the Expenses page in the web app and fix the fields on the draft expense before you submit your expense report.

"I submitted the same expense twice" Check your Light Expenses page to see if it's there. You can delete the duplicate before it gets approved. If it's already approved, contact your manager or admin.

Was this article helpful?

Book a demo