---
title: "Creating and submitting expense reports in the Mobile App"
slug: "creating-and-submitting-expense-reports-in-the-app"
description: "Create an expense report in the Payhawk mobile app, add existing or new expenses, and submit it for approval. See when reports are submitted automatically."
updated: 2026-10-19T10:33:16Z
published: 2026-10-19T10:33:16Z
canonical: "payhawk.com/creating-and-submitting-expense-reports-in-the-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.

# Creating and submitting expense reports in the Mobile App

You can create and submit expense reports as an employee from the Payhawk Mobile App, thereby becoming an expense owner.

For more information about the available options in the Payhawk Web Portal, see the article on [creating expense reports in the Payhawk Web Portal](/help/creating-and-submitting-expense-reports-in-the-portal).

> [!TIP]
> Payhawk Accountants and Payhawk Administrators can also create expense reports with new expenses on behalf of employees.

## Creating and submitting expense reports

As an employee, you can create an expense report in the same way you create a new expense.

To create expense reports with new expenses:

1. In the Payhawk Mobile App, go to **Spend**.
2. Tap the **+** (plus) button.
3. Select the desired expense report type, for example, **Trip**. Fill in the report description, and its start and end dates.

If the dates overlap with another report or refer to a past period, the system will display an error.
4. Tap **Create report**. As a result, the system will suggest expenses that match the period you've entered. Select the ones you want to add to your report.

If there are no expenses that match the selected period, tap **Add**, select the spend type, for example, **Mileage**, and fill in the expense details. As a result, the expense will be added to your report. The available spend types depend on the report type.
5. When done, tap **Submit report**.

Alternatively, at this step, you can also [add a new expense to your report](/help/managing-expense-report-expenses-in-the-app) by tapping **Add**.

![Creating a Trip expense report in the Payhawk Mobile App: the Add menu in Spend, the New expense report form, the empty report and the report with an expense ready to submit](https://cdn.payhawk.com/Navigation%20images%20Desi_20261009/Creating_expense_reports_app_2_20261009_ai.png)

## Automated submission of expense reports

Expense reports are automatically submitted after a grace period defined by your Payhawk Administrator.

For example, if your Payhawk Administrator has set the grace period to 1 day, the following rules apply:

- For current or future periods, submission occurs one day after the period ends.
- For past periods, submission occurs one day after the report is created.

The same logic applies to any grace period, and the timing will adjust automatically based on the grace period configured by your Payhawk Administrator.

> [!WARNING]
> If any required details are missing and the report cannot be auto-submitted, an error message will appear indicating that the report is overdue.

## Useful resources

- [Managing expense report expenses in the app](/help/managing-expense-report-expenses-in-the-app)