Guide · Updated October 2026
Expense approval workflow examples for small companies
A good expense approval workflow has the manager approve, adds a second approver only above a threshold, and ends with a finance review. Here are three examples for 10, 40 and 100 people, and the rule that applies to all of them.
The one rule
Nobody approves their own expenses. Not the owner, not the CFO, not the finance person who runs the batch. When the usual approver is the submitter, the report goes to someone else. Every other decision in a workflow is a trade-off; this one is not.
Ten people: one approver and finance
At this size the owner knows every expense. The temptation is for the owner to approve everything, including their own. Instead:
| Report | Step 1 | Step 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Anyone except the owner | Owner | Finance (or the bookkeeper) reviews and prepares payment |
| The owner | A named second person, for example the office manager | Finance |
Finance here may be a part-time bookkeeper. Their step is a review, not a second approval, and it keeps the owner's own expenses from being self-approved.
Forty people: manager, threshold, finance
Managers now own budgets. Route by manager and add a second approver above a threshold.
| Report | Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under $500 | Manager | Finance | |
| $500 and over | Manager | Department head | Finance |
| Coded to a client project | Manager | Project or cost center owner | Finance |
| A manager's own report | Their manager | Finance |
Set a reminder after two days and an escalation to the next person after five. Let managers delegate when they are away, and make sure the delegate is recorded.
A hundred people: manager chain and cost centers
With departments and cost centers, routing follows the organization rather than named people, so the workflow survives staff changes.
| Report | Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under $1,000 | Manager | Finance | |
| $1,000 and over | Manager | Cost center owner | Finance |
| Over $5,000 | Manager | Cost center owner, then an executive | Finance |
Keep the number of steps small. Each extra step adds days, not control. Control comes from the policy rules checked before submission and from finance reviewing last.
Mistakes to avoid
Approvers who edit figures. An approver should approve or return. If they can change the amount, the record no longer shows what the employee claimed.
Routing by name. When the named person leaves, every workflow breaks. Route by role, manager or cost center owner.
No deadline. Reports that wait weeks are approved from memory. Reminders and escalation are not nagging; they are control.
Finance approving its own. The finance person who prepares payments must have their own expenses approved by someone else, and must not release a batch that pays them.
This page is general information about running expenses in a business. It is not tax, legal or accounting advice. Check your own obligations with a qualified adviser.
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