Using Light with Slack and Microsoft Teams

What is this page about: How to manage expenses, receipts, approvals, and purchase requests in Light, directly from Slack or Microsoft Teams, without opening the Light web app.

On this page

• What you can do
• Getting started in Slack
• Getting started in Microsoft Teams
• Tips for better answers
• What Light can see (and what it can't)
• Privacy
• Troubleshooting
• Related articles

# What you can do

Light's AI assistant, @Light, lives in your Slack workspace or Teams environment. From there, you can:

Ask about your finances

Ask "Do I have any pending reimbursements?" or "What's the status of my expenses?" for an instant answer. With the right role, ask company-wide questions too, like "Show me all pending bills from Acme Corp."

Submit receipts

Upload a photo of a receipt to @Light. If you're a cardholder, Light tries to match it to a recent card transaction. If there's no match, or you only have the reimbursement role, Light asks if you want to create a reimbursement from it. Light extracts the description and amount automatically.

Attach receipts to card transactions

When you use your Light card, Light sends a notification asking for the receipt. Upload it in that thread and Light attaches it to the transaction.

Handle approvals

Managers and invoice approvers get approval notifications in Slack or Teams. Ask questions about the bill in the thread, then approve or reject it without opening Light.

Create purchase requests and orders

Ask @Light to create a purchase request or purchase order by describing what you need, for example "Create a purchase request for new office chairs, $2,500" or "Create a PO for Acme Corp for 100 units at $50 each." This requires the purchase requester or admin role.

Request a vendor card

With the purchase requester role, ask @Light for a new vendor card by giving the vendor name, spending limit, and reason, for example "Request a vendor card for AWS with a $5,000 monthly limit for cloud infrastructure." Light creates it as a purchase request and routes it for approval.

Submit expenses for reimbursement

Once you've uploaded and reviewed your receipts, tell @Light "Submit my expenses" to send everything in one step. Light checks your address and reimbursement setup first, then submits. You'll get a notification when it's paid or rejected.

Look up company policies

Ask "What's our travel expense policy?" or "What are the approval thresholds for purchases?" Light answers from your company's uploaded policies and links to the source.

Check your reimbursement status

Ask "What's the status of my reimbursements?" for an instant update.

Get directed to the right page

If a task needs the full Light interface, ask @Light and it links you straight to the right page: your expenses, a bill, a card transaction, or your profile.

Get notified about updates

Light proactively messages you when a receipt is processed, a reimbursement is paid or rejected, or, if you're a cardholder, a card transaction is missing a receipt.

# Getting started in Slack

# Find @Light

1. Open Slack.
2. Search for @Light in the search bar.
3. Open a direct message with the Light bot.
4. Say "Hi" or ask a question.

The first time you open the @Light app home, Light sends a welcome message. If you don't have a Light account yet, Light prompts you to sign up.

If you don't see @Light in your workspace, ask your admin to enable it under Settings (gear icon) → Integrations → Slack.

# Send a message

Type your question as a plain message. Light shows "thinking..." while it works, then updates with the answer. Ask follow-up questions freely. Light keeps the conversation context for up to one hour.

# Mentioning @Light in a Channel

You're not limited to direct messages — you can also @mention Light in a public or private channel, for example when a question comes up in a team discussion. Light replies in a thread under your message rather than posting directly to the channel, so the conversation stays contained.

If you @mention Light again inside that same thread, it reads back through the thread (including its own earlier replies) to understand what's already been discussed. This means several teammates can @mention Light in one thread and get answers that build on each other's questions, without each person needing to re-explain the context.

Note: thread conversations don't use the one-hour memory that applies to direct messages — Light's context for a channel thread comes only from the messages actually posted in that thread.

# Submit a receipt in Slack

What happens depends on your roles:

• Cardholder and reimbursement roles: Light tries to match the receipt to a card transaction first. No match? Light asks: "We couldn't match the receipt to a card transaction. Do you want to create a reimbursement from this item?" Click Reimbursement to proceed, or Discard to cancel.
• Reimbursement role only: Light routes the file to the expense handler, extracts the description, original amount, and reimbursement amount, and gives you a link to review and submit in the Light web app.
• Cardholder role only: Light tries to match the receipt. If it can't, it tells you it found no match.

# Attach receipts to card transactions

Light notifies you: "We are missing a receipt from your card transaction." Upload the receipt in that thread and Light matches it, confirming with a checkmark.

# Approve bills in Slack

When a bill needs approval, Light sends a notification with Approve, Reject, and Add a comment buttons.

1. Click Approve or Reject to act immediately.
2. Click Add a comment to leave a note.
3. Reply in the thread to ask Light about the bill first, for example "What are the line items on the Acme Corp bill?"

# Create purchase requests

Describe what you need, for example "Create a purchase request for new office chairs, $2,500." Light gathers the vendor, amount, and business justification, then asks you to confirm before creating the request. This requires the purchase requester or admin role.

# Request a vendor card

With the purchase requester role, message @Light with the vendor name, spending limit, and business justification, for example "Request a vendor card for AWS with a $5,000 monthly limit for cloud infrastructure." Light creates it as a purchase request and routes it for approval.

# Submit expenses

After reviewing your extracted receipt details in the Light web app, message @Light "Submit my expenses." Light checks your address and reimbursement configuration, submits everything, and notifies you once it's processed.

# Getting started in Microsoft Teams

# Find the Light bot

1. Open Microsoft Teams.
2. Click the Apps icon in the sidebar.
3. Search for Light.
4. Start a direct message with the Light bot.
5. Say "Hi" or ask a question.

If Light isn't available in your Teams workspace, ask your admin to install it under Settings (gear icon) → Integrations → Microsoft Teams.

# Send a message

Message the Light bot the same way as in Slack. Light replies "thinking..." then updates with the answer. Light keeps context for up to one hour here too.

# Submit a receipt in Teams

The same role-based routing applies. Upload a receipt to the Light bot and it routes based on your roles: matching card transactions for cardholders, creating reimbursements for reimbursement-eligible users, or asking you to choose if you have both.

# Attach receipts to card transactions in Teams

Works the same as Slack. When Light asks for a missing receipt, upload it in the conversation and Light attaches it to the transaction.

# Approve bills in Teams

Bill approvals arrive as adaptive cards with Approve, Reject, and Add a comment buttons. Click a button to act, or message the bot to ask questions first.

# Create purchase requests in Teams

Works the same as Slack. Describe what you need and Light handles it. Requires the purchase requester or admin role.

# Request a vendor card in Teams

Works the same as Slack. Describe the vendor, spending limit, and business justification.

# Submit expenses in Teams

Message the Light bot "Submit my expenses" to send all draft expenses for reimbursement, same as in Slack.

# Tips for better answers

• Say what's yours. "My pending bills" returns your data. "Pending bills" without "my" returns all company bills.
• Include time periods. "What did I spend last month?" beats "What did I spend?"
• Name vendors or categories. "Show me expenses from Uber" works better than "show me ride expenses."
• Ask follow-ups. If the first answer isn't right, clarify: "No, I meant the EMEA entity." Light remembers the context.

# What Light can see (and what it can't)

Your role sets what tools are available to you in Slack and Teams, matching your permissions in the Light web app.

As an employee, you can typically:

• View your own expenses, reimbursements, and card transactions.
• Submit receipts, routed by your roles.
• Attach receipts to card transactions.
• Submit draft expenses for reimbursement (reimbursement role).
• Request vendor cards and create purchase requests or orders (purchase requester or admin role).
• Check your reimbursement and expense status.
• Get notified when receipts process, reimbursements pay out or get rejected, or card transactions are missing receipts.
• Ask about company policies, with links to the source.
• Get directed to specific pages in Light.
• View help articles.

As a manager or approver, you can also:

• View your approval queue.
• Approve or reject bills directly from Slack or Teams.
• Ask about a bill before deciding.
• Ask broader questions about team spending.

You typically can't, unless you have an admin or controller role:

• Access organization-wide financial reports.
• Change accounting settings or the chart of accounts.
• Create journal entries.
• Generate custom SQL reports.

If you ask about something outside your access, Light tells you and suggests what to do instead.

# Privacy

Direct messages with @Light are private. Only you and Light can see them. Mention @Light in a shared channel, and anyone in that channel can see the question and answer. If that mention is part of a thread, Light only uses the messages within that thread as context, so separate threads in the same channel don't share information with each other.

Light maps your Slack or Teams identity to your Light account through your company's integration setup. The same access controls that apply in the Light web app apply in Slack and Teams.

Tip: Use direct messages with @Light for anything involving your personal expenses or financial details.

# Troubleshooting

• I can't find @Light in Slack or Teams. Your admin needs to enable the integration under Settings (gear icon) → Integrations.
• Light didn't understand my question. Rephrase with more detail. Try "Show me my pending expense reports" instead of "Show me my stuff."
• The receipt details were wrong. Review and correct the details before confirming. Your corrections improve extraction for future receipts.
• Light said it can't do that. Your role may not have access to that tool. Approving bills, for example, requires the Invoice Approver role. Check with your Light administrator about your permissions.
• I submitted a receipt but nothing happened. Confirm the routing path when Light asks. If you have both the cardholder and reimbursement roles and there's no card match, Light asks you to choose: click Reimbursement or Discard. Light won't process the file until you respond.
• Light says I'm missing required roles. Uploading receipts requires the reimbursement or cardholder role. Contact your Light administrator to have the role assigned.
• Light couldn't match my receipt to a card transaction. This happens when the receipt doesn't match any recent card transaction by amount, date, or merchant. With the reimbursement role, Light offers to create a reimbursement instead. With only the cardholder role, upload the receipt directly in the card transaction notification thread.

# Related articles

• Welcome to Light
• Navigating Light as an Employee
• Submitting an Expense for Reimbursement
• Submitting Expenses via Slack
• Submitting Expenses via Microsoft Teams
• Tracking Your Reimbursement Status

Also searched as: Light Slack bot, submit expenses via Slack, approve bills in Microsoft Teams, Light Teams integration, request a vendor card via Slack.