Help Center / Expenses Reimbursements

Submitting Expenses via Microsoft Teams

What is this page about

This page explains how to submit an expense or reimbursement request from Microsoft Teams using the Light bot, from uploading a receipt to tracking approval and payment. It covers the submission steps, what happens after you submit, and fixes for the most common issues.

On this page

  • How it works
  • Submitting a receipt
  • After you submit
  • Troubleshooting
  • Related articles

If your company has Light connected to Microsoft Teams, you submit expenses without leaving Teams. Attach a receipt, and the Light bot extracts the details and turns it into a draft expense.

How it works

The Light bot in Teams reads your receipt and extracts the description and amounts automatically. You review the details and submit, all inside Teams.

Submitting a receipt

  1. Open Microsoft Teams and find the Light bot in your apps. If you don't see it, ask your admin to install it (see Troubleshooting below).

  2. Open a direct message with the Light bot.

  3. Attach your receipt file, or paste an image directly into the chat. You can send multiple receipts in one message. Light accepts PDF, JPEG, PNG, HEIC, HEIF, and TIFF files.

  4. Light replies "Processing your file(s)..." while it reads the receipt.

  5. If you have a Light card, Light first tries to match the receipt to a card transaction. If there's no match, it 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.

  6. Choose Reimbursement. Light reads the receipt and sends back a card with:

    • Description
    • Original amount
    • Reimbursement amount

  7. Click View expenses on the card to review or edit the details in Light. If Light couldn't read the receipt, the card shows "There was an issue extracting the details" instead, with an Open Light button. Click it to enter the details yourself.

  8. Once you've uploaded all your receipts, tell the bot to submit your expense report, or submit it from the Expenses page in Light.

After you submit

Uploaded receipts appear as draft expenses on your Expenses page in Light right away. Once you submit your expense report, it goes for approval. If it's rejected, the bot tells you the reason. It messages you again once your reimbursement is paid.

Troubleshooting

The Light bot doesn't show up in Teams

Your admin needs to install the Light app for Microsoft Teams and grant admin consent to connect your Microsoft tenant to Light. Your Teams account is matched to your Light user by email address, so use the same email in both.

The receipt details are wrong

Click View expenses on the card the bot sends you, then correct the details on the Expenses page in Light before you submit your expense report.

I submitted an expense by mistake

Open the Expenses page in Light. If the expense hasn't been approved yet, you can edit or delete it there.

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