# How the Accounting page works Get answers to all of your questions regarding Brex **URL Source:** https://www.brex.com/support/brex-dashboard-accounting-page --- ## Overview Account admins, bookkeepers and any other users with the [specific product capability](https://www.brex.com/custom-roles) can expedite accounting workflows by leveraging our direct ERP integrations or by downloading transactions via CSV files. In the Accounting tab of your dashboard, you can categorize your expenses and export them—along with receipts and memos—directly to your accounting software. Depending on the ERP, this may include journal entries, expenses, or other record types. Alternatively, you can download your data as a CSV to import it manually. The process can be completed in as little as three steps: 1. **Prepare**: Fill out required fields in your ERP, such as GL account and department, to categorize your transactions and move them to the _Review_ tab. 2. **Review**: Make sure your transactions are coded correctly, because once exported, you can only edit them from within your ERP. Select the transactions you want to either push to your ERP as journal entries or download as a CSV, after which you can find them listed individually in your _Export_ tab. Exports will be grouped up on the _Export history_ page. 3. **Export**: Audit historic exported transactions that you’ve already exported to your ERP. ## Getting started as a first-time user To set up your accounting tab for the first time, please follow our guidelines below. **Step 1: **In your dashboard, go to _Accounting > Connect._ **Step 2: **Select your integration from the list of options and press _Continue_. If you don’t see your integration, select _I don’t use any of these_ to use Custom Accounting. **Note:** You can access the list of supported ERPs [here](https://www.brex.com/brex-erp-integrations). Integrating Brex with your ERP won’t affect your data without your approval. **Step 3: **Follow the prompts on the screen to enable token authentication and review your connection. **Step 4: **You’ll be redirected to the _Integrations _page in your dashboard. Confirm that your integration has been successfully connected. **Step 5: **Go back to _Accounting _and check that your fields were successfully imported. Once the importing is complete, you’ll see a green banner at the top of the page: ![HC - Accounting Tab Guide01](https://brand.brex.com/m/23510b42f9305efa/webimage-HC-Accounting-Tab-Guide01.png) **Step 6**: Click _Get started _at the top of the page and set up your GL mappings. **Step 7**: Choose the integration setting GL accounts to determine how your transactions will be posted. These include accounts payable, card collections, or rewards credit, which are configured in the integration’s entity settings. **Step 8**: [Optional] You can create mappings and custom rules to help you auto-categorize your transactions. You can also set these later in _Accounting > Manage automations. Learn more [here](https://www.brex.com/accounting-automation)._ ## Importing fields from your ERP If you connect an ERP, we’ll automatically import your fields. To view fields brought in from your ERP integration or edit any existing custom accounting fields, go to _Accounting_ > _Fields library_. You can find more details about accounting and other fields in our fields library [here](https://www.brex.com/accounting-fields). ## Refreshing changes on your ERP Changes made in your ERP will periodically auto-sync with Brex. If you make any changes to your ERP, such as adding or deleting accounts that you want to sync right away, go to _Accounting > ERP settings_. Go to the three dots > click _Refresh_. If the changes to your ERP don’t sync, please contact Support. **Note:** The ERP settings section is accessible to account admins, card admins, bookkeepers, and any other users with the Manage accounting integration product capability. If you do not see the ERP settings or Refresh option in your Accounting tab, your role may not have this permission — contact your account admin to confirm your access level or request a refresh on your behalf. ## Accounting journal Admins have access and can delegate access to the Brex accounting journal, where you’ll find tools to help you close the books. From your dashboard, go to _Accounting_ to view your transactions (including Brex card expenses and reimbursements) and complete tasks like preparing, reviewing, and exporting transactions to your ERP. The accounting journal is optimized for accounts payable (AP) workflows across two tasks: preparing transactions for export (coding, categorizing, resolving exceptions) and exporting finalized transactions to your ERP. Whether one person completes both tasks or different teammates handle each, the workflow helps ensure every transaction is coded correctly before export. ![Accounting 1](https://brand.brex.com/m/2892270924757f82/webimage-Accounting-1.jpg) **Note:** You can streamline your accounting process with **automated workflows** using the _Manage Automation_ page. Set up rules to auto-categorize transactions based on transaction metadata such as merchant, memo, or user, directly within the **Prepare** tab. Learn more about it [here](https://www.brex.com/accounting-automation). ### Accruals for expenses Save time at month's end by managing your accruals within Brex. Skip the chase for not yet compliant expenses and eliminate spreadsheets and manual journal entry creation. Once accruals are enabled, you can prepare and export card and reimbursement expenses as accruals when they aren’t yet compliant. We’ll post the accrual and create the auto-reversing journal in your ERP automatically. Learn more about it [here](https://www.brex.com/accrued-spending). ### Prepare tab Accounting teams can use this table to categorize their transactions and get them ready to post in their ERPs. To prepare transactions, go to _Accounting_ > _Prepare_. In this tab, you can search and filter for transactions. You can edit accounting fields (such as GL account, Department, Location, Class, etc.) by clicking on the field in the dashboard. Clicking on the row or on a non-editable field (such as Posted date, User or Merchant) will open the transaction details sidebar. Here you can categorize it, add a Receipt, access an Audit Log for the transaction, as well as commenting and tagging your teammates. ![Accounting 2](https://brand.brex.com/m/54ecd52b8485b126/webimage-Accounting-2.jpg) ### Use Brex Assistant for field suggestions Brex Assistant can suggest values for common accounting fields (such as **GL account** and other coding fields) based on patterns it detects in your recurring transactions. Suggestions appear directly in the picker under the _Suggested by Assistant_ section and can be applied with a single click. #### Apply a suggestion **Step 1: **Open the transaction you want to code in your accounting dashboard **Step 2: **Click a field (for example, Debit GL account) to **review** the option shown under Suggested by Assistant. **Step 3: **Select the suggested value to apply it to the transaction. You can insert values into fields through Brex Assistant. Suggestions are displayed based on similar-pattern recurring transactions. ![HC - Accounting Tab 03](https://brand.brex.com/m/68070090933f87b2/webimage-HC-Accounting-Tab-03.png) #### Create a rule from a suggestion (optional) **Step 1: **Next to a suggested value, click _Create rule._ **Step 2: **Confirm the conditions (e.g., merchant or description pattern) and save. The rule will automatically apply this value to transactions that match the pattern. #### Bulk actions on transactions You can bulk edit your transactions in _Prepare_ by following the steps below. **Step 1: **Select Transactions for Bulk Editing. Begin by selecting the transactions you want to edit. You can either click the checkbox next to each transaction individually or select all visible transactions at once by clicking Select all [#] at the top of the table. The number in brackets reflects how many transactions are currently displayed on the page. ![Accounting 3](https://brand.brex.com/m/87c35f259d80464/webimage-Accounting-3.jpg) **Step 2: **Initiate Field Editing. To trigger a bulk edit, you must first edit a field (such as GL Account or Category) for one of the selected transactions. Click on the field you want to change for any of the selected transactions—this will open the field’s editing interface. **Step 3: **Apply Changes to Selected Transactions. Once you make the change, a prompt will appear asking if you'd like to apply the new value to all selected transactions or only the one you just edited. Choose the option that fits your intent, and the transactions will be updated accordingly. #### Sending transactions to review You can send transactions for review by selecting one or multiple transactions and clicking _Prepare as actual or Prepare as accrual _(if accrual is enabled). This moves them to the _Review tab_. We’ll confirm the number of transactions that were sent successfully. ![Accounting 20](https://brand.brex.com/m/6cde620741639fb4/webimage-Accounting-20.jpg) ### Review tab Transactions that you’ve sent to review will show up on the _Review_ tab. These transactions are ready for a final review before exporting. Go to _Accounting > Review _to view all transactions that are ready for review and export_. _To export transactions, select one or more transactions and click _Export_. You have the option to export to your ERP directly or download a CSV. If you choose to export as CSV, you can edit an export template with your desired columns. We remove exported transactions from the Review tab and transfer them to the _Exported_ tab. A banner on the top of the page will indicate the status of your export. You cannot edit transactions in the _Review_ tab. To re-categorize a transaction, select it and click _Send back to prepare_. After a transaction is sent back to prepare, it will be flagged on the _Prepare _tab with a _Sent back for review_ flag. You can filter these using the _Sent back for review _option in the _Accounting flag_ filter. ![Accounting 4](https://brand.brex.com/m/1526b6718689fac2/webimage-Accounting-4.jpg) **Note: **Once a transaction is marked as an _Actual_ and moved to the _Review tab_, employees can no longer make edits to that transaction, including its accounting fields. This restriction applies to both card and reimbursement expenses. If a correction is needed, an account admin, bookkeeper, or any other user with the [specific product capability](https://www.brex.com/custom-roles) must send the transaction back to Prepare, where changes can then be made. ### Exported tab The _Exported_ tab displays all transactions exported from Brex. Here, you’ll see all the individual transactions that have been successfully exported. You can click on any of them to view the transaction details. You can’t edit accounting fields for exported transactions, but you can still add documentation (memos, receipts) to exported transactions. Go to the _Accounting > Export history_ page to see the different groups of transactions exported in the past, **Note: **We do not sync changes made to transactions in the Exported tab with your ERP. You must make these edits manually in your ERP. ### Downloading transactions without exporting Admins can download transactions from the accounting journal as a .csv, .xlsx, or .txt file by following the steps below. **Step 1:** Go to _Accounting _and choose one of the existing tabs_: Prepare, Review, or Exported. _**Step 2: **Select the set of transactions you want to download and click the download icon on the top right of the table: ![Accounting 6](https://brand.brex.com/m/461ff6d09d7c4170/webimage-Accounting-6.jpg) **Step 3:** Choose the format that you want and click_ Download_. ![HC - Accounting tab 05](https://brand.brex.com/m/318da0a04ebdd318/webimage-HC-Accounting-tab-05.png) ### Customizing your accounting experience Within the Accounting Journal, you can customize your experience using any of the following options. #### Rows per page At the bottom right of the table, you can click on the tab to choose the number of records to be displayed per page from the available options. ![HC - Accounting tab 06](https://brand.brex.com/m/eee3de0eca61508/webimage-HC-Accounting-tab-06.png) #### Quick filters At the top left of the table, we have some suggested filter options that help visualize common situations for various users. ![Accounting 19](https://brand.brex.com/m/6221395c06f7bbb6/webimage-Accounting-19.jpg) #### Custom filters You can combine more than one criterion to help locate and categorize records. To remove a filter individually, click on the 'x' next to it, or click on_ Clear filters_ to remove all active filters. ![Accounting 13](https://brand.brex.com/m/4597144677ab16a/webimage-Accounting-13.jpg) You’ll find filters related to the status of the transaction, such as: - Accounting flag: Common characteristics of a transaction that might require review ![Accounting 8](https://brand.brex.com/m/61238cad57b50208/webimage-Accounting-8.jpg) - Compliance flag: Based on documentation attached to a transaction ![Accounting 9](https://brand.brex.com/m/4d315bad4b9d3854/webimage-Accounting-9.jpg) You can filter your transactions to identify those that are compliant (approved and have documentation completed), or non-compliant (require documentation before they are categorized and exported). - You can save the current filter by clicking on _Save view > Save as new view, _adding a name to the current set of filters. ![Accounting 14](https://brand.brex.com/m/79aebfaa569e19c8/webimage-Accounting-14.jpg) - After that, by clicking on the _view bar_, you can _access_ or _edit_ the saved views later. ![Accounting 15](https://brand.brex.com/m/5bb9b8a9f943964e/webimage-Accounting-15.jpg) #### Filtering by card statement Use the Card statement filter to show transactions belonging to a specific statement period for a given billing entity. This helps you in reconciling your statement with your accounting transactions before you export. **Step 1:** Go to _Accounting_, click _‘Add filter’_ and choose _‘Card statement’_. ![Card statement 1](https://brand.brex.com/m/675962465908a5bb/webimage-Card-statement-1.jpg) **Step 2:** Select a statement period for a given entity to filter for. ![Filter statement](https://brand.brex.com/m/65709de1dfaefb10/webimage-Filter-statement.jpg) **Step 3:** (Optional) Combine with other filters, such as _Spending Entity_ or saved views, to narrow results. ![Card statement 3](https://brand.brex.com/m/d49fec3daa36559f/webimage-Card-statement-3.jpg) **Step 4:** Compare the filtered transactions to your Brex statement and review any discrepancies. #### Visible columns and display options Click the gear icon in the top right of the table to customize the column settings. Here, you can choose which columns will be displayed (by checking the checkbox to the right of each one) and customize the order in which they appear in the table (by dragging the fields when clicking and holding on the dots to the left of the name of each column). You can also pin columns to the left of your screen by dragging a column all the way up to _Pinned_. ![Accounting 10](https://brand.brex.com/m/6b246a16881efa11/webimage-Accounting-10.jpg) You can choose the best display format by clicking _Display options_ or the gear icon. ![Accounting 11](https://brand.brex.com/m/1b0fb5ac29be4c1b/webimage-Accounting-11.jpg) ### ERP posting date Users can use the ERP posting date column to choose the date on which a given transaction will be booked to your ERPs. You can choose to display this column in the Accounting Journal by clicking on the gear icon on the top right of the table and selecting the corresponding toggle. ## Export history Export history displays all past attempts to send transactions to your ERP, whether they were successful or failed. To access it, go to _Accounting_ > _Export history_. **Note:** Export history is available to account admins, bookkeepers, and users with a custom role that includes the accounting management permission. In the table, each export batch displays a status: - _Exported_ — The batch was successfully sent to your ERP. - _Export failed_ — The export did not complete. Click the batch to review the error details and resolve any issues before re-exporting. - _Sent back_ — The batch was previously exported but has been returned to Prepare. ![Accounting 21](https://brand.brex.com/m/4116df573b5e3bfe/webimage-Accounting-21.jpg) Click a record to open the side menu to see more information. ![Accounting 16](https://brand.brex.com/m/2cd42068e641edd4/webimage-Accounting-16.jpg) **Reviewing a batch and downloading an error log** **Step 1:** Go to _Accounting_ > _Export history_ and click the export batch you want to review. **Step 2:** In the side panel that opens, choose from the following options: - _View exported_ — Shows all transactions included in the selected batch. - _Download CSV_ — Downloads a file with all transactions in the batch, which you can use to review error details offline or share with your ERP support team. - _ERP Links_ — Opens the corresponding entry in your ERP directly (where supported). **Note:** If an export shows a failed status, reviewing the batch details and downloading the CSV are recommended to identify the specific transactions and error messages that caused the failure. #### Sending exported transactions to prepare_ _ Account admins can re-export transactions that were previously exported, by sending them back to your accounting journal. **We won’t delete exported entries from your ERP. Step 1**: Go to _Accounting _> _Export history, _and click on an export row with a green _Exported_ status that you want to re-categorize and re-export. **Step 2**: In the details window, click the three dots and select_ 'Send back to transactions to prepare'_. ![Accounting 17](https://brand.brex.com/m/1d4b2c726b65b301/webimage-Accounting-17.jpg) **Step 3**: Carefully read the warning sign and click _Send back to prepare_. The transactions that comprised this export will now appear on the _Prepare_ tab of your accounting journal. ![Accounting 18](https://brand.brex.com/m/11d2dd43b2fe4946/webimage-Accounting-18.jpg) **Step 4**: The transactions you sent back will have a _Previously exported_ tag to reduce the risk of posting duplicate entries on your ERP.