---
title: "Managing expense reports in the portal"
slug: "managing-expense-reports-in-the-portal"
description: "Edit expense reports that are still open and delete the ones you no longer need in the web portal, and learn how approvers can decline or return a report."
updated: 2026-10-27T16:02:34Z
published: 2026-10-27T16:02:34Z
canonical: "payhawk.com/managing-expense-reports-in-the-portal"
---

> ## 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.

# Managing expense reports in the portal

The lifecycle of an expense report mirrors that of individual expenses. Once an expense report is created, its expense owner can submit it for approval. Approvers can either approve the report, advancing it to the review step, or decline it. If declined, the approver can delete or return the report to the expense owner for further updates and resubmission.

## Editing expense reports

Expense reports in Payhawk can be edited before they have been paid by different roles at your company, and depending on the stage of their lifecycle:

- Expense report owners can edit a report during one of these stages:
  - Before the expense report has been submitted.
  - After the expense report was sent for approval, but editing the report at this stage will cancel any existing approvals and restart the approval process.
  - When the expense report has been returned to them for updates.
- Employees assigned as reviewers, as well as Payhawk accountants and administrators, can also edit an expense report.

As an expense report owner, you can edit your expense reports before they've been submitted or after they've been returned for updates, by following these steps:

1. In the [Payhawk Web Portal](https://portal.payhawk.com), open the app switcher in the top-left corner and go to **Spend** > **Expense reports** and select the report.
2. Click on its three-dot menu and select **Edit report**.
3. In the dialog that opens, modify the desired details.
4. Click on **Save**.

![The three-dot menu of an expense report and the Edit report panel with Note, Start date and End date.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/navigation-redesign-didi_20261009_ai/managing-expense-reports-in-the-portal-01_20261009_ai.png)

If you've submitted your expense report for approval and at least one expense has already been approved, you can recall and edit the expense report in the following way:

1. In the [Payhawk Web Portal](https://portal.payhawk.com), open the app switcher in the top-left corner and go to **Spend** > **Expense reports** and select the report.
2. Click on its three-dot menu and select **Edit report**.
3. Click on **Confirm**.
4. In the dialog that opens, modify the desired details.
5. Click on **Save**.

![The three-dot menu of an approved expense report and the warning that asks you to confirm changes to an approved report.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/navigation-redesign-didi_20261009_ai/managing-expense-reports-in-the-portal-02_20261009_ai.png)

## Deleting expense reports

Expense reports in Payhawk can be deleted as long as they haven't been paid. When a report is deleted, any linked expenses will be unlinked and, if they are still in the approval process, automatically resubmitted for approval.

While expenses and expense reports cannot be deleted after payment, they can still be [returned for review](/help/managing-expense-reports-in-the-portal#h_f6e8f264a1). This allows the Finance team to take appropriate actions, such as deducting the amount from the employee's payroll or arranging a reimbursement via bank transfer to the company account.

At the different stages of their lifecycle, expense reports can be deleted by different roles at your company:

- Expense owners can delete a report before it's been submitted or if it has been returned to them for updates.
- Employees assigned as reviewers, as well as Payhawk accountants and administrators, can delete an expense report from the **Delete** option of the three-dot menu.

As an expense owner, you can delete your expense report before submitting it, or if it's been returned to you.

1. In the [Payhawk Web Portal](https://portal.payhawk.com), open the app switcher in the top-left corner and go to **Spend** > **Expense reports** and select the report.
2. Click on its three-dot menu and select **Delete**.
3. In the dialog that opens, click on **Delete** to confirm your choice.

![The three-dot menu of an expense report and the Delete expense report dialog.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/navigation-redesign-didi_20261009_ai/managing-expense-reports-in-the-portal-03_20261009_ai.png)

> [!TIP]
> - Deleting an expense report will unlink all associated expenses. Expenses that were already submitted will be automatically resubmitted for approval, while the rest will remain in their current state.
> - You can still [delete the included expenses individually](/help/approving-and-declining-expenses-from-the-expenses-app).

If you are assigned as an expense reviewer, you can delete an expense report in the following way:

1. In the [Payhawk Web Portal](https://portal.payhawk.com), open the app switcher in the top-left corner and go to **Spend** > **Expense reports** > **Review**.
2. Select the desired report.
3. Click on its three-dot menu and select **Delete**.
4. In the dialog that opens, select **Delete** to confirm the action.

![A report to review with its three-dot menu, Return to employee and Delete, and the Delete expense report dialog.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/navigation-redesign-didi_20261009_ai/managing-expense-reports-in-the-portal-04_20261009_ai.png)

## Useful resources

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