---
title: "Overview of company expenses for employees"
slug: "overview-of-company-expenses-for-employees"
description: "Find out which expense types you can create in Payhawk, from card expenses and bills to reimbursements, mileage, and per diem, and when you can submit them."
updated: 2026-10-19T10:34:14Z
published: 2026-10-19T10:34:14Z
canonical: "payhawk.com/overview-of-company-expenses-for-employees"
---

> ## 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.

# Overview of company expenses for employees

You can create multiple spend types and submit expense requests for them by using the options in the Payhawk Mobile App and Payhawk Web Portal.

## Spend types

The following table summarizes the spend types you can create and submit expense requests for in Payhawk.

| **Spend type** | **Detail** |
| --- | --- |
| Card expense | Company expenses you have paid with your corporate card on behalf of your company. |
| Bill payment | Company expenses your company has to pay through a bank transfer. |
| Company cash | Company expenses you have paid with cash provided by your company. |
| Reimbursement | Company expenses you have paid with your own money, which your company will return to you with a bank transfer. |
| Mileage | - Expenses for traveling with your vehicle on a company assignment, for example, when on a business trip with your car. - Mileage expenses are reimbursable. |
| Per diem | - Expenses for travel-related costs on a company assignment, for example, hotel costs and daily allowance when staying overnight in a foreign country. - Per diem rates and rules vary based on the duration of stay and location. - Depending on your company policy and local legislation, per diems may be paid in advance or afterwards. |

## Notes on company expenses

When you upload expenses in Payhawk, note the following:

- A card expense is automatically created upon paying with your Payhawk card.
- You can submit expenses only if a Payhawk Administrator has switched on the submit option as part of your [company workflows](/help/workflows). Otherwise, your expense will be automatically logged for review by the authorized people.
- Spend types other than card expenses can be created and submitted both from the Payhawk Mobile App and the Payhawk Web Portal.
- You can [upload an expense document by taking a photo with your mobile phone camera](/help/managing-receipts-and-invoices-in-the-app) and using Payhawk's data extraction tool or upload it as an image from your phone gallery, PDF file from your phone **File** folder, or [directly share them with Payhawk](/help/managing-receipts-and-invoices-in-the-app).

## Lifecycle of company expenses for employees

Each expense in Payhawk goes through different stages starting from its automatic (for card transactions) or manual creation (for the other spend types) in the system until it's been processed by the authorized people at your company.

Payhawk Administrators can additionally configure each step in the expense lifecycle at your company and the different people in your company may be assigned various roles. For example, employees may not be explicitly required to submit their expenses but be logged directly for approval, or a Team Manager may not have the right to approve bills for their team members but only per diems or mileages.

To learn more about the specifics of the expense lifecycle and what actions are available under each expense tab, see the [overview article of company expenses for accountants](/help/overview-of-expenses-for-accountants).

## Useful resources

- [Uploading documents and using the camera](/help/managing-receipts-and-invoices-in-the-app)
- [Creating and submitting expenses with Payhawk on mobile](/help/submitting-expenses-in-bulk)
- [Creating and submitting expenses with Payhawk in the browser](/help/creating-and-submitting-card-expenses)
- [Lifecycle of company expenses in Payhawk](/help/overview-of-expenses-for-accountants)