Overview

Welcome to Expensify! If you are creating an Expensify account for your company, follow the steps below to get started.

You can also schedule a free private onboarding session where one of our Setup Specialists will walk you through the entire process. Check your email and notifications in Expensify for your unique signup link.

1. Meet Concierge

Your personal assistant, Concierge, lives on your Expensify Home page on both desktop and the mobile app.

Concierge will walk you through setting up your account and also provide:

• Reminders to do things like submit your expenses
• Alerts when more information is needed on an expense report
• Updates on new and improved account features

You can also get support at any time by clicking the green chat bubble in the right corner. This will open a chat with Concierge where you can ask questions and receive direct support.

2. Create a workspace

1. Hover over Settings, then click Workspaces.
2. Click the Group tab on the left.
3. Enter a name for the workspace (the name of your business or department is a great choice, if applicable), then click Select next to the workspace type that best fits your needs.

3. Add a business bank account

Connecting your business bank account allows you to:

• Reimburse expenses via direct bank transfer
• Pay bills
• Collect invoice payments
• Issue Expensify Cards

The person who completes this process does not need to be a signer on the account, however they will be required to enter their own personal information as well. If someone other than the Expensify account holder enters their personal information in this section, the details will be flagged for review, and adding the bank account to Expensify will be delayed.

To add a business bank account,

1. Hover over Settings, then click Workspaces.
2. Click the Group tab on the left.
3. Click the desired workspace name.
4. Click the Reimbursement tab.
5. Click the Direct box, then click Add Business Bank Account.
6. Click Connect to your bank.
7. Click Continue to continue to Plaid.
8. Select the bank and log in to your business bank account.
• If the bank is not listed, close the Plaid window and select Connect Manually to enter your account and routing numbers.
9. Select the bank account if multiple are available.
10. Verify the bank account by entering some additional information:
• Enter the legal business name.
• Enter the company address (Must be a physical location in the U.S. Maildrop address, P.O. boxes, or UPS Store addresses are flagged for review and will create a delay verifying the bank account).
• Enter the Tax Identification Number (TIN)
• Enter the company website, formatted like https://www.expensify.com
• Enter the Industry Classification Code. You can locate a list of Industry Classification Codes here.
• Enter your personal information into the Requestor Information section, including your physical U.S. address and SSN issued from the U.S.
• Upload photos of your ID. It must be issued by the U.S. and be current (i.e., the expiration date must be in the future).
• Take a short video of yourself to verify your identity.
• Check the appropriate box under Additional Information to accept the agreement terms and verify that all of the information is true and accurate.
• A Beneficial Owner is an individual who owns 25% or more of the business. If you or someone else is a Beneficial Owner, check the appropriate box. If someone else is a Beneficial Owner, their personal information will need to be provided as well.
• If no individual owns more than 25% of the company you do not need to list any beneficial owners. In that case, be sure to leave both boxes unchecked under the Beneficial Owner Additional Information section.
11. Within 1-2 business days, Expensify will send three test transactions to your bank account that you’ll enter into Expensify to validate your bank account by either:
• Clicking the validate task from Concierge on your Home page.
• Going to Settings > Account > Payments and clicking Enter test transactions.

If after two business days you do not see these test transactions, click the green chat bubble in the right corner to get support from Concierge.

4. Connect your accounting system

If you use an external accounting system like QuickBooks, you can link it with Expensify to help you import accounting data, code expenses, and more.

To add an accounting system integration,

1. Hover over Settings, then click Workspaces.
2. Click the Group tab on the left.
3. Click the desired workspace name.
4. Click the Connections tab.
5. Under Accounting Integrations, click the name of your accounting system, select the “Connect to…” option, and click the related button.
6. Depending on the integration you selected, you’ll either be prompted with a login screen for the accounting system or additional steps for how to proceed.

For a walkthrough for how to set up a specific accounting system, visit our Integrations articles.

5. Set approval rules

Determine the basic guidelines that apply to all submitted expenses. If a submitted expense does not meet these rules, it will be flagged as a violation. You can set rules for expenses, per diem, travel, and reports.

1. Hover over Settings, then click Workspaces.
2. Click the Group tab on the left.
3. Click the desired workspace name.
4. Click the Expenses tab and set the desired rules.
• Determine if expense violations will be enforced. If enabled, expenses that exceed the set number of days or amount will be flagged as an expense violation.
• Determine how cash expenses are treated.
• Determine if expenses can be re-billed to someone else as an invoice.
• Determine if eRecipts can be submitted as proof of an expense.


If eReceipts are enabled, imported credit card expenses of $75 USD or less will be tracked automatically—no paper receipt is necessary.

eReceipts meet IRS documentation requirements as per Publication 463; However, the IRS will not accept an eReceipt for lodging purchases (for example, hotel expenses will require a paper receipt).

• Determine if receipts are visible to anyone with the URL.


If disabled, receipts can be seen only by admins for the workspace or someone who has been sent the report that the receipts are related to.

• Set your mileage rates for distance expenses.
• Determine if time expenses can be submitted as an hourly rate.
5. Click the Reports tab and set the desired rules.
• Set the currency that will be used for all reports.
• Determine if Schedule Submit will be allowed. If enabled, all created expenses will be automatically assigned to a report. Concierge will then submit expenses for approval on the employee's behalf instantly either daily, weekly, etc., based on your frequency setting.
• Determine if a default report title will be required. If enabled, all reports will be named based on the set formula.
• Determine if additional fields should be added to each report or invoice.
6. Click the Travel tab and set the desired rules.
• Determine what flight class and hotel rating Concierge should select when booking travel. Concierge can automatically book flights and hotels for your employees if they have an Expensify card.
7. Click the Per Diem tab and set the desired rules.
• Determine if per diem expenses will be allowed. Then import your per diem expense rules spreadsheet that contains the list of location-based expense amounts (for example, an employee in California might receive a different amount for lunch than an employee in Louisiana).

6. Secure your account

Add an extra layer of security to help keep your financial data safe and secure by enabling two-factor authentication. This will require you to enter a code generated by your preferred authenticator app (like Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator) when you log in.

1. Hover over Settings, then click Account.
2. Under the Account Details tab, scroll down to the Two Factor Authentication section and enable the toggle.
3. Save a copy of your backup codes. This step is critical—You will lose access to your account if you cannot use your authenticator app and do not have your recovery codes.
• Click Download to save a copy of your backup codes to your computer.
• Click Copy to paste the codes into a document or other secure location.
4. Click Continue.
5. Download or open your authenticator app and either:
• Scan the QR code shown on your computer screen.
• Enter the 6-digit code from your authenticator app into Expensify and click Verify.

When you log in to Expensify in the future, you’ll be emailed a magic code that you’ll use to log in with. Then you’ll be prompted to open your authenticator app to get the 6-digit code and enter it into Expensify. A new code regenerates every few seconds, so the code is always different. If the code time runs out, you can generate a new code as needed.