---
title: "Managing field settings for Administrators - Payhawk Help Center"
slug: "managing-the-settings-of-built-in-expense-fields"
description: "Set who can see each Payhawk field, from which step it is required, and under which condition, and show fields only for specific document types in Payhawk."
updated: 2026-10-27T14:44:11Z
published: 2026-10-27T14:44:11Z
canonical: "payhawk.com/managing-the-settings-of-built-in-expense-fields"
---

> ## 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 the settings of fields

You can set the visibility of each Payhawk field and the step from which it is required, always or only when a condition is met.

## Available visibility settings for fields

The available visibility options for the fields differ depending on the field and its function as follows:

| Field | Visibility settings |
| --- | --- |
| **Category** | - Preselected roles: **Accountant** and **Administrator** (cannot be modified). - You can additionally grant visibility to any Payhawk role except **Employee** by adding it in the visibility settings. These roles will then be able to view the field. |
| **Note** | - Preselected roles: **Accountant** and **Administrator** (cannot be modified). - You can add any Payhawk role to the visibility settings to allow those roles to view the fields. The **Note** field supports template creation based on expense data, automatic population from historical expense data, or both. For more information, see the article on [using smart note suggestions and templates](/help/enabling-the-smart-expense-note). |
| **Document** | - Cannot be disabled. - Preselected roles: All Payhawk roles (cannot be modified). |
| **Document date** | - Cannot be disabled. - Preselected roles: **Accountant** and **Administrator** (cannot be modified). - You can add any Payhawk role to the visibility settings to enable those roles to view the field. |
| **Due date** | - Cannot be disabled. - Preselected roles: **Accountant** and **Administrator** (cannot be modified). - You can add any Payhawk role to the visibility settings to enable those roles to view the field. |
| **Document type** | - Preselected roles: **Accountant** and **Administrator** (cannot be modified). - You can add any Payhawk role to the visibility settings to enable those roles to view the expense field. |
| **Document number** | - Preselected roles: **Accountant** and **Administrator** (cannot be modified). - You can add any Payhawk role to the visibility settings to enable those roles to view the field. |
| **Service period** | - Preselected roles: **Accountant** and **Administrator** (cannot be modified). - You can add any Payhawk role except **Employee** to the visibility settings to enable those roles to view the field. |
| **Supplier** | - Cannot be disabled. - Preselected roles: **Accountant** and **Administrator** (cannot be modified). - You can add any Payhawk role to the visibility settings to enable those roles to view the field. |
| **Tax rate** | - Preselected roles: **Accountant** and **Administrator** (cannot be modified). - You can add any Payhawk role to the visibility settings to enable those roles to view the field. |
| **Discount** | - Preselected roles: **Accountant** and **Administrator** (cannot be modified). - You can add any Payhawk role except **Employee** to the visibility settings to enable those roles to view the field. |
| **Amortization** | - Preselected roles: **Accountant** and **Administrator** (cannot be modified). - You can add any Payhawk role except **Employee** to the visibility settings to enable those roles to view the field. |
| **Team** | - Preselected roles: **Accountant** and **Administrator** (cannot be modified). - You can add any Payhawk role to the visibility settings to enable those roles to view the field. - If a user belongs to multiple teams, the field will be visible to them. |

## Setting the visibility of fields

By configuring the visibility settings for the fields, you can control which roles at your company can view them.

For the purposes of this example, you will change the **Document date** expense field visibility settings:

1. In the [Payhawk Web Portal](https://portal.payhawk.com), open the app switcher in the top-left corner and go to **Settings** > **Spend** > **Spend types** > **[Spend type]** > **Fields**.
2. Select **Document date**.
3. From the **Visibility** drop-down list, select the roles you want to have access to that field - for example, **Senior AP Specialist** and **Auditor**.
4. Click on **Save changes**.

![Document date field settings for the Bill spend type, with Senior AP Specialist added under Visibility roles, Submit selected under Required and the Save changes button.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/GA%3AFields%20library/Managing_the_settings_of_fields_document_date_20261021_ai.png)

## Setting from which step fields are required

As a Payhawk Administrator, you can define from which step of the workflow a field is required. If a required field is left blank, the expense cannot move past that step. You can set this, and add conditions, both at group level and for an individual entity.

Under **Required**, select one of the following options:

- **Optional** - The field is not required.
- **Submit** - The field must be filled before the expense is submitted. It stays required at review, so the value cannot be removed later.
- **Review** - The field must be filled before the expense is reviewed. Expense owners can submit the expense without it.

> [!TIP]
> Some fields are always required, so you can select only **Submit** or **Review** for them, for example, **Document date**, and **Supplier** for bills.
> 
> When you select **Submit** or **Review**, you can also add a condition, for example, to require the field only for expenses above an amount you set under **Threshold amount**. For more information, see the next section.

For example, to require expense owners to fill in the document date before they submit an expense:

1. In the [Payhawk Web Portal](https://portal.payhawk.com), open the app switcher in the top-left corner and go to **Settings** > **Spend** > **Spend types** > **[Spend type]** > **Fields**.
2. Select **Document date**.
3. Under **Required**, select **Submit** from the drop-down list.
4. Click on **Save changes**.

![Document date field settings for the Bill spend type of an individual entity, with the Required drop-down open and Submit selected; the other option is Review.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/GA%3AFields%20library/Managing_the_settings_of_fields_required_step_entity_20261021_ai.png)

## Requiring fields only when a condition is met

A required field is always required unless you add a condition. With a condition, the field is required only in specific cases, for example, only for expenses above a certain amount.

You can base the condition on the following parameters:

- **Threshold amount** - The field is required for expenses above the amount you enter.
- **Document type** - The field is required when the document type is one of the values you select.
- Another field with a list of values, such as a custom field - The field is required when that field has one of the values you select.

For example, to require a document only for expenses above EUR 50:

1. In the [Payhawk Web Portal](https://portal.payhawk.com), open the app switcher in the top-left corner and go to **Settings** > **Spend** > **Spend types** > **[Spend type]** > **Fields**.
2. Select **Document**.
3. Under **Required**, select **Submit** from the drop-down list.
4. Click on **Add condition** and select **Threshold amount**.
5. Enter the amount, for example, **50**.
6. Click on **Save changes**.

![Document field settings for the Bill spend type of a group, with Submit selected under Required and the condition Required if Threshold amount is above EUR 50.00.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/GA%3AFields%20library/Managing_the_settings_of_fields_condition_group_20261021_ai.png)

To remove a condition, click on the **X** next to it and save your changes.

## Showing fields only for specific document types

You can show a field only for specific document types, so that users see only the fields that are relevant to the document they upload. You can do this for built-in fields, such as **Tax rate** or **Document number**, and for custom fields.

For example, to show the **Tax rate** field only for invoices and credit notes:

1. In the [Payhawk Web Portal](https://portal.payhawk.com), open the app switcher in the top-left corner and go to **Settings** > **Fields library**.
2. Select **Tax rate** by clicking on it.
3. Open the **Settings** tab.
4. Under **Conditional display**, next to **Show if**, select **Document type** from the drop-down list.
5. From the drop-down list below, select **Invoice** and **Credit note**.
6. Click on **Save changes**.

As a result, the field is hidden from an expense when no document type is selected, or when the document type is not one of the types you selected. Hiding the **Tax rate** field also hides the **Net amount** and **Tax amount** of the expense.

![Settings tab of the Tax rate field in the Fields library, with Conditional display set to Show if Document type is Invoice or Credit note and the Save changes button.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/GA%3AFields%20library/Managing_the_settings_of_fields_tax_rate_document_type_20261022_ai.png)

> [!WARNING]
> If Payhawk is connected to your ERP system, don't hide fields that the ERP system requires. Otherwise, the export of the expense fails and the ERP system shows an error.

## Settings for expense categories

Expense categories provide additional options for suggestion strategies related to the automatic population of expense data into the category field of the expense or request. For more information, see the article about the [suggestion strategies for expense categories and fields](/help/automatic-population-of-expense-field-data).

## Useful resources

- [Automatic population of field data](/help/automatic-population-of-expense-field-data)
- [Creating, editing, and deleting expense categories](/help/creating-editing-and-deleting-expense-categories)
- [Importing and exporting expense categories in bulk](/help/importing-and-exporting-expense-categories-in-bulk)