Help Center / Expenses Reimbursements

Submitting an Expense for Reimbursement

Submitting an expense in Light is quick: upload your receipt, and Light's AI fills in the details for you. Here's how.

On this page

  • Step 1: Navigate to Expenses
  • Step 2: Attach your receipt
  • Step 3: Let AI fill in the details
  • Step 4: Add details and context
  • Step 5: Submit
  • What happens next
  • Pro tips
  • Troubleshooting
  • Related articles

Step 1: Navigate to Expenses

Log into Light and click Expenses in the sidebar to see all your past expenses and drafts.

Step 2: Attach your receipt

Uploading a receipt creates a new draft expense automatically. You can:

  • Upload a file from your computer
  • Drag and drop a file onto the page
  • Take a photo of your receipt (your phone camera works well)

Supported file types: PDF, JPEG, PNG, HEIC, HEIF, TIFF. Maximum file size is 25MB, and you can upload up to 10 files at once.

The clearer the photo, the better Light's AI can read it, so make sure the receipt is well-lit and the text is legible.

Step 3: Let AI fill in the details

Light's AI reads your receipt and fills in fields like:

  • Merchant Name (the place you bought from)
  • Amount (original and reimbursed/billing amount) and Currency
  • Date
  • Category (one of your company's reimbursement categories)
  • Description
  • City/Country and Tags, when available

Review what the AI filled in. If anything looks wrong, click the field and type the correction.

Step 4: Add details and context

Before submitting, make sure these fields are filled in, either by the AI or manually:

  • Original amount and its currency, and the reimbursed (billing) amount and its currency, both are separate required fields
  • Performed date: when you made the purchase
  • Description: a note on why you bought this (e.g., "Office supplies for Q1 planning meeting")
  • Category: if Light guessed wrong, pick the correct category from the dropdown
  • Cost Center (optional, shown only if your company uses them): assign this expense to a project or department

Step 5: Submit

Click Submit for approval. This sends all of your draft expenses together as a single reimbursement request; you submit them as a batch rather than one at a time. Each expense's status changes to "Submitted for review," and the overall reimbursement request shows as "In progress" in your Expenses list.

What happens next

By default, once you submit, Light's AI reviews your expense report against your company's expense policies (see Company Policies. If everything is compliant, it's approved automatically. If something doesn't comply, it's routed to your finance team's inbox for review rather than blocking your submission outright.

This is Light's standard review flow. Your company's finance or admin team can configure a different process using workflows, agents, or skills, so the exact approval steps can vary by organization. If you're unsure what happens after you submit, check with your finance team.

After approval, the reimbursement is scheduled for payment, and you'll get a notification when it's been paid. Check your Expenses page to track the status. Learn more in Tracking Your Reimbursement Status.

Pro tips

  • Attach a good photo: clear, straight-on photos help Light's AI read your receipt faster
  • Submit soon after purchase: expenses are easier to categorize and approve while they're fresh
  • Check policies ahead of time: review your company's policies so you know what's reimbursable (see Understanding Expense Policies
  • Use categories wisely: the right category helps reviewers understand the expense faster
  • Double-check before you submit: since submitting sends every draft expense together, review each one first

Troubleshooting

Note: To submit expenses for reimbursement, your account needs the Reimbursement access role. If you don't see expense or reimbursement options in Light, ask your admin to assign it. You'll also need a reimbursement profile with your bank details and an address on your profile before you can submit.

"Light can't read my receipt"

Try another photo in better lighting, or upload a digital receipt from your email if you have one. You can also type in the details manually.

"I submitted by mistake"

Once submitted, expenses are locked and can no longer be edited or deleted while the reimbursement is in progress. If the reimbursement request ends up rejected, your Company Admin (or you, as the owner of the request) can reset it back to draft so you can edit and resubmit.

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