---
title: "Approving and declining expenses from Spend"
slug: "approving-and-declining-expenses-from-the-expenses-app"
description: "Approve expenses one by one or in bulk in the Expenses app of the Payhawk Web Portal, and find out how to return or delete unpaid expenses and return paid ones."
updated: 2026-10-22T08:55:17Z
published: 2026-10-22T08:55:17Z
canonical: "payhawk.com/approving-and-declining-expenses-from-the-expenses-app"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://payhawk.com/help/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Approving and declining expenses from Spend

Based on the [defined approval workflows at your company](/help/workflow-conditions-and-custom-workflows), you might be designated as an approver for expenses submitted by your teammates.

Whenever an expense requiring your approval is submitted, you will receive an expense request in your Payhawk Inbox and an [email notification](/help/submission-and-approval-notifications).

From **Spend** in the Payhawk Web Portal, you can:

- Approve expenses individually
- Approve expenses in bulk
- Delete unpaid expenses
- Return unpaid expenses to the respective employees for update
- Return paid expenses for review

## Specifics

For details, see the article on [approving and declining expense requests from the Payhawk Inbox](/help/approving-and-declining-expense-requests-from-the-payhawk-inbox).

## Accessing expenses for approval

You can approve, return, and delete expenses from the **Spend** > **Approve** tab in the Payhawk Web Portal.

![Spend in the Payhawk Web Portal with the Approve tab open, listing the expenses waiting for approval. Expenses that are part of an expense report show the report icon next to their amount.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/recurring-request-icon_20261021_ai/approving-and-declining-expenses-from-spend-01_20261021_ai.png)

## Approving expenses associated with budgets

If you are a Budget Owner, you can view budget details from the expense **Budget** section and, from there, navigate to both the budget for more information.

![The Amount and Budget sections of an expense pending approval, showing the budget utilization and a warning that approving it will put the budget over its limit.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/Navigation%20images%20Desi_20261015/Approving_and_declining_expenses_from_Spend_20261015_ai.png)

## Approving expenses individually

To approve expenses one by one from **Spend** in the Payhawk Web Portal:

1. Go to **Spend**.
2. Select the desired expense.
3. Click on **Approve**.

![An expense opened from the Approve tab in Spend, with the Approve button at the top of its details](https://cdn.payhawk.com/Navigation%20images%20Desi_20261001/approve_individually_spend.png)

## Approving expenses in bulk

To approve multiple expenses in bulk from **Spend** in the Payhawk Web Portal:

1. Go to **Spend**.
2. To select multiple expenses for bulk approval, check the **SPEND** checkbox. Selecting the **SPEND** checkbox marks only the visible expenses on the screen. To select more expenses, scroll down the page. Alternatively, hover over a specific expense and select its checkbox.

Either way, a flyout dialog will appear, displaying a summary of all selected expenses.
3. Click on **Approve**.

![Two expenses selected in the Approve tab of Spend, with the flyout showing the selection summary and the Approve button](https://cdn.payhawk.com/Navigation%20images%20Desi_20261001/approve_bulk_spend.png)

## Returning unpaid expenses to employees

To return an expense to the employee from **Spend** in the Payhawk Web Portal:

1. Go to **Spend**.
2. Select the desired expense.
3. Click on its three-dot menu:
  1. If an approver, select **Decline** and, then, **Return to employee**.
  2. If an authorized person, select **Return to employee**.
4. Under **Comment**, enter the reason for declining with the additional details the employee needs to provide.
5. Click on **Return**.

![The expense three-dot menu with Decline highlighted, next to the Decline this request dialog with Return to employee selected and a comment entered](https://cdn.payhawk.com/Navigation%20images%20Desi_20261001/decline_return_spend.png)

## Deleting unpaid expenses

> [!WARNING]
> Selecting **Reject** will remove the expense with the following specifics:
> 
> - For card expenses, the action will not delete the expense but will display the reason for your action to the Payhawk Accountant.
> - For other types of expenses, the action will delete the expense unless it's been paid already without approval.

To delete an unpaid expense from **Spend** in the Payhawk Web Portal:

1. Go to **Spend** and select the desired expense.
2. Click on its three-dot menu and select **Decline**.
3. In the dialog that opens:
  1. Click on **Reject**.
  2. Under **Comment**, enter the reason for your action.
  3. Select the checkbox to confirm your choice.
  4. Click on **Reject**.

![The expense three-dot menu with Decline highlighted, next to the Decline this request dialog with Reject selected, a comment entered and the confirmation checkbox ticked](https://cdn.payhawk.com/Navigation%20images%20Desi_20261001/decline_reject_unpaid_spend.png)

## Returning paid expenses for review

Although paid expenses cannot be deleted in Payhawk, they can be returned for review. This ensures that, despite the payment being processed, the Finance team can take the necessary actions - such as deducting the amount from the employee's payroll or arranging a reimbursement by bank transfer to the company account.

To return a paid expense for review in the Payhawk Web Portal:

1. Go to **Spend** and select the desired expense.
2. Click on its three-dot menu and select **Decline**.
3. In the dialog that opens:
  1. Select **Reject**.
  2. Under **Comment**, enter the reason for your action.
  3. Click on **Reject**.

![Decline this request dialog for a subscription expense opened from the three-dot menu, with the Reject option selected and a note.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/Help%20desk%20images%20moved/Approving_and_declining_expenses_from_Spend_20240715_manual.png)

## Useful resources

- [Deleting expenses](/help/deleting-expenses)