# Approval chains Get answers to all of your questions regarding Brex **URL Source:** https://www.brex.com/support/approval-chains --- ## Overview You can set different approval rules through your policy for many of the actions your team will take using Brex. From card expenses to reimbursement requests to bill payments, there are plenty of needs for approval. However, sometimes you need more than a single individual signing off. This is an approval chain — a string of individuals that need to approve something in your Brex account before it can be accepted. This is useful if you need multiple sets of eyes on something, or if you want to be sure a manager approves before sending the request on to an admin. This article explains how to set up approvers and view requests. **Note**: To set up approvals for your Brex business account, please refer to [this article](https://www.brex.com/brex-business-account-payment-approvals). ## Approval chain rules ### For Essentials **Step 1: **In your dashboard, click _Cards and limits_ > _Manage policy_. **Step 2: **Click _Add a rule _or _Edit _next to the specific rule you want to update. **Step 3: **[Set up the policy rules](https://www.brex.com/policy-rule-builder) by customizing _Require review_ - For card expenses and reimbursements: - _For expenses:_ X$_ and above_ - _Require review from_ - Add approval step (optional) - For bills: - _For expenses: X$ and above_ - Require review from - Add approval step(optional) - Add rule for expenses above a certain amount (optional) - For travel: - Read more on customizing your travel policy [here](https://www.brex.com/managing-brex-travel). **Note**: If enabled by Brex, guardrails on self-approvals (segregation of duties) help keep your team’s compliance on track by blocking requesters from approving their own expense request in review (i.e card expenses, reimbursements, bill payments, spend limit requests, and spend limit increases) provided there are two or more admins on your Brex account. Any other admin or user with the [specific product capability](https://www.brex.com/custom-roles) can approve your expenses — you don’t need to designate a singular approver. ### For Premium, Enterprise, and Smart card **Step 1: **In your dashboard, go to _Cards and Limits. _**Step 2:** Click _Manage policy_. **Step 3:** Click Add a rule or Edit next to the specific section or rule you want to update._ _**Step 4: **Click _Edit _next to the specific feature you want to update, such as card expenses, reimbursements, bills, and travel. **Step 5: Customize any of** the following fields: - For card expenses and reimbursements: - For expenses: X$ and above - _Require review from_ - Add approval step (optional) - For bills: - _For expenses: $X and above_ - Require review from - (Optional) Add approval step - (Optional) Add approval steps **Note**: If enabled by Brex, guardrails on self-approvals (segregation of duties) help keep your team’s compliance on track by blocking requesters from approving their own expense request in review (i.e card expenses, reimbursements, bill payments, spend limit requests, and spend limit increases) provided there are two or more admins on your Brex account. Any other admin or user with the [specific product capability](https://www.brex.com/custom-roles) can approve your expenses — you don’t need to designate a singular approver. ## View approver ### Of a card expense Some transactions, depending on the policy, will need to be approved. Your account, card admin, or any other users with the [specific product capability](https://www.brex.com/custom-roles) can act as the final approver, but they can also create a chain of approvals by designating a mid-level approver. If you need to reach out to them to discuss the transaction, you can follow the steps below to determine who the approver is. **Step 1:** In your dashboard, as an account, card admin, or any other user with the [specific product capability](https://www.brex.com/custom-roles), you can find the approver of any team member’s card expense in _Expenses_. You can find the approver for a personal expense in _Wallet_. **Step 2: **Click on the specific expense and check the name under _Approvals_. **Note: **If there’s a checkmark next to the expense, that person has already approved it. If there’s no checkmark, the transaction is still pending approval. ## Assign managers Managers can see their direct reports’ card transactions and spend alerts. Only account admins, card admins and any other users with the [specific product capability](https://www.brex.com/custom-roles) can make changes to the company policy, but managers can follow up on out-of-policy transactions and mark them as reviewed. Account admins, card admins, and any other users with the [specific product capability](https://www.brex.com/custom-roles) can now indicate a user's manager in their user details. This gives managers more visibility into and control over their direct reports’ spend, and helps account admins and card admins delegate important expense management tasks. Account admins, card admins and any other users with the [specific product capability](https://www.brex.com/custom-roles) can assign managers by following the steps below. **Step 1: **Navigate to the _Team_ tab in your Brex dashboard and click _Users_. **Step 2: **Click the user's name and in the details section on the right, enter the user’s manager in the Manager field. If the user's manager does not appear in the dropdown, start typing their name into the field to make their name selectable. **Note: **Only active users who aren’t bookkeepers can become a manager. Non-admins can also become managers of any user. ## Outstanding approval requests If you have any outstanding requests assigned to you that need approval, you can find them in your dashboard’s _Tasks _page. Here, click _Requests _to view a list of any items waiting for your action. Tasks will only show for approval after documentation is added and the payment is cleared. Expense approvers and managers receive a weekly summary email every Monday that highlights all pending expenses awaiting your review. Account, card admins and any other users with the [specific product capability](https://www.brex.com/custom-roles) can view requests across your organization from either the _Expenses, Reimbursements _or _Spend limit/ Budgets_, depending on the request type. ## Review expenses Account, card admins and any other users with the [specific product capability](https://www.brex.com/custom-roles) can review expenses that fall outside their company’s policy from the Brex dashboard. We’ll send weekly reminders to account or card admins to review expenses for their direct reports. ### Single expenses ### In the dashboard Account, card admins, and any other users with the [specific product capability](https://www.brex.com/custom-roles) can click on a specific expense under _Tasks > Requests _to review it. Alternatively, you can follow the steps below: **Step 1:** Click _See all _to go to the _Expenses _page. This gives you more details on the expense pending review. **Step 2: **Use the search bar to search for a specific transaction by user, merchant, merchant category, or department. You can review multiple expenses by grouping them based on specific parameters, and then approve or deny them in bulk. **Note:** You can click _Override additional requirements _to override other reviewers and documentation requirements. **Step 3: **After approving or denying an expense, a banner will appear at the top of your screen for several seconds, giving you the option to undo the action. ### In the app **Step 1: **Open your app and locate the expense that needs approval. **Step 2: **Depending on the circumstance, tap either _Mark as reviewed _or _Request repayment and approve_. ### Multiple expenses You can approve or deny more than one expense at a time by checking the box to the left of every transaction in question. Once you’re finished selecting, click either _Deny selected _or _Approve selected_ at the bottom of the screen. Depending on your permission level, you can _o_verride additional requirements, such as pending approvals and documentation to instantly approve the selected expenses yourself. A popup window will summarize the intended changes, where you can click _Confirm _if everything looks correct. ![YouTube Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiEgyLDw298) ### What happens when an expense is denied When a reviewer denies a card expense, the expense is marked _Denied_ in your dashboard. The expense is flagged in the employee’s _Expenses_ view. **Note: **A denial does not automatically reverse the charge — if the spend has already occurred on a Brex card, the employee may need to initiate a repayment. See [Employee repayments](https://www.brex.com/employee-repayments) for steps on how to repay a transaction within the Brex platform. For reimbursements, a denied expense is simply not paid out. ## Review bill payment drafts Admins or any other users with the [specific product capability](https://www.brex.com/custom-roles) can review bill payment requests via the Brex dashboard. Admins can then quickly review bill payment requests via email or the Brex dashboard. ### In your dashboard Admins or any other users with the [specific product capability](https://www.brex.com/custom-roles) can review multiple bill payments in your Brex dashboard. **Step 1: **In your dashboard, go to either _Bills_ or _Tasks_. **Step 2: **Click on a bill (those labeled with Requires approval will be displayed at the top). **Step 3:** Select _Approve_ or _Deny_. **Step 4: **If you choose to deny a payment, you’ll need to provide a reason for your denial of the bill payment and select whether you’d like to notify the submitter. ### Via email Admins or any other users with the [specific product capability](https://www.brex.com/custom-roles) can approve or deny bill payments directly from your email without signing in to your Brex account. **Step 1: **In the email, click _View payment_. **Step 2:** Click _Approve_ or _Deny_. **Step 3: **If you choose to deny a payment, you’ll need to provide a reason for your denial of the bill payment and select whether you’d like to notify the submitter. ### In your app To approve bills from your app, follow the steps below. **Step 1**: In your dashboard, go to _Tasks._ **Step 2**: Click on a bill, and select _Approve _or _Deny_. ## Flagged expenses Guided reviews leverage Brex AI and allow account and card admins to easily find expenses that should have a closer inspection before approving. These expenses will be flagged in both your dashboard's_ Expenses _page and_ Tasks > Expenses. _A flagged expense doesn’t automatically mean the expense should be denied, or that the employee was acting maliciously. It simply indicates that a closer review is recommended. Expenses are flagged with the following icon in the expenses table. When you click on the transaction, you’ll see a banner explaining why the expense was flagged. ![CX - Flagged Expenses 03](https://brand.brex.com/m/38f233c218fda9e7/webimage-CX-Flagged-Expenses-03.png) You can filter to view flagged expenses by clicking _Add filter > Flagged expenses_. ![HC - Flagged Expenses](https://brand.brex.com/m/220b6b22a28e00f0/webimage-HC-Flagged-Expenses.png) Expenses are flagged based on a combination of defined risk rules and a machine learning model that scans for anomalous spend — such as a reimbursement submitted for a higher amount than what’s listed on the receipt. Some flagging rules rely on OCR (optical character recognition), which isn’t 100% accurate. These rules will continue to become more advanced over time.