--- title: "Overview of exporting and downloading expenses and payments" slug: "overview-of-exporting-and-downloading-expenses-and-payments" description: "Export or download expenses and payments in the Payhawk spend management platform: integrate with your ERP or generate Excel, CSV, PDF, MT940 or custom reports." updated: 2026-10-26T11:12:16Z published: 2026-10-26T11:12:16Z canonical: "payhawk.com/overview-of-exporting-and-downloading-expenses-and-payments" --- > ## 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 exporting and downloading expenses and payments In Payhawk, you can export your expenses and payments automatically or manually, or download them. ## Automatic export (live ERP integration) > [!WARNING] > When a live ERP integration is in place, exporting expenses through the **Export** module will not update the export status or export details of those expenses, because the live integration serves as the primary accounting method for expenses, while manual or scheduled exports through the **Export** module are intended for secondary purposes such as reporting or validation. If you are using a live ERP integration in Payhawk, such as [Oracle NetSuite](/help/oracle-netsuite) or [Sage Intacct](/help/sage-intacct), your expenses and payments will be automatically exported to the accounting software if the two systems are connected. The connection to the ERP system happens from **Settings** > **Integrations**, reached from the app switcher in the top-left corner, and can be done by a Payhawk administrator at your company. For more information about which ERP systems Payhawk supports, see the [help articles on live integrations](/help/erp-systems). In terms of export, having a live integration between Payhawk and your ERP (accounting) software means that: - Expenses will be automatically exported from Payhawk to the ERP system once they are reviewed in Payhawk by an authorized person at your company. For example, see the [overview of shared data with Oracle NetSuite](/help/overview-of-shared-data-with-oracle-netsuite) and [exporting expenses and payments to Oracle NetSuite](/help/exporting-expenses-and-payments-to-oracle-netsuite). - Based on the **Exported**, **Not exported**, and **Failed** export statuses, in **Spend**, you can apply the **Exported**, **Not exported**, and **Failed** export filters to your expenses and combine them with other filters. - The payment information for an expense is exported from Payhawk to the ERP system only after the expense has been reviewed and the [transaction has been settled](/help/authorized-and-settled-transactions). - The export event between the two systems can be viewed from **Spend**, in the expense's **Activity** section, with **Export** ticked in the **Show** filter. - The detailed export data for the expense can be viewed from **Spend** in the [**Export** section of that expense](/help/exporting-expenses-and-payments-on-demand). - [Supported ERP (accounting) system integrations by Payhawk](/help/erp-systems). ## Manual file export (for accounting purposes) If you are not using a live ERP integration, you can manually generate expense data reports on demand. The file exports can utilize either the default or customizable accounting templates. Whether default or custom file exports are available for you to use is determined by a Payhawk administrator at your company from **Settings** > **Exports** in the Payhawk Web Portal, reached from the app switcher in the top-left corner. You can [generate default and custom template exports on demand](/help/exporting-expenses-and-payments-on-demand) from the **Export** app. When exporting your expenses and payments manually through the file export option, note the following: - The file export option is intended for accounting (not reporting) purposes. - The generation of a PDF account statement doesn't change the export status of an expense or payment. - [Expenses can be exported on demand](/help/exporting-expenses-and-payments-on-demand) from the **Export** app and in any of the available file formats. - The file export contains the expense and payment data for the selected period, regardless of whether the [payment has been settled or not](/help/authorized-and-settled-transactions). - The update of the export status of an expense or a payment to **Exported** will happen upon the generation of the export file from the **Export** app only. - Based on the export status, you can apply the **Not exported**, **Exported,** or **Failed** export filters to expenses and payments. ### Default file exports The default file exports in Payhawk are labeled as **(legacy)** because they use the first version of Payhawk’s export generator engine. They can be archived or deleted by a Payhawk administrator from **Settings** > **Exports**, reached from the app switcher in the top-left corner. If the [Carbon emissions tracking](/help/enabling-the-carbon-emissions-tracking) has also been enabled for your company, you can also export a carbon emissions report. When using the default file export, you can export your company's expense and payment data in the following formats: - Excel - CSV with document images - CSV without document images - [PDF account statements](/help/exporting-account-statements) - [CAMT.053 account statements](/help/exporting-account-statements) ### Included data in default Excel and CSV exports The on-demand expense reports in Excel and CSV include the following data: - **Balance statement** - The balance of all your Payhawk accounts with their relevant **end** and **reserved** balances. - **Payments** *-* All expenses that have been paid through Payhawk. The exported data is ordered by the date of settlement, transaction ID, transaction description, paid amount, supplier name and VAT number, document date, document number, tax and the total amount, and so on. The payment sheet is always based on the settlement date. - **Unpaid expenses** - The expenses that have been created in Payhawk for the selected period, for example, supplier name and VAT number, document date, document number, tax and total amount, payment reference, payment source, and so on. - **External payments** - All expenses that have been marked as paid but through an external system, for example, supplier name and VAT number, document date, document number, tax and total amount, and so on. - **Deposits** - All incoming account transfers that you have received. ### Including custom fields and values in default Excel and CSV exports For simplicity, when exporting your data in Excel and CSV, Payhawk automatically removes the columns containing empty custom field values, assuming you won't need them. For example, assume you create a **Project** custom field and use it in 10 expenses. Then, you create a new custom field called **NEWProject** and delete the old custom field **Project**. When you make an export in CSV or XLSX formats: - The downloaded file will display any values (if any) that were selected from both custom fields on the expenses. - If the selection of the expenses does not contain any values from the **Project** custom field, then the columns will be automatically removed during the download. ### Custom file exports The custom file exports use Payhawk's custom template builder engine. They are generated based on the Payhawk accounting templates, whose sheets, files, cells, and filters can be tailored to export the data in such a way as to correspond to your company and accounting software's needs. The accounting templates can be added to your account and further customized from **Settings** > **Exports**, reached from the app switcher in the top-left corner, by a Payhawk administrator at your company. For more information, see the articles about the [accounting templates and their supported configuration options](/help/exports). When using the custom file export, you can export your company's expense and payment data in the following formats: - Excel - CSV with document images - CSV without document images ### Included data in custom file exports Out of the box, the on-demand Excel- and CSV-based export with custom accounting templates includes the following data: - **Expenses** - Include all expenses that are paid either from your Payhawk account or the external ERP system or accounting software. - **Payments** - Include all card and bill payments executed through your Payhawk account. - **Deposits** - Include all incoming bank transfers to your Payhawk account. ## Downloading expenses and payments (for reporting purposes) You can also download your expenses and payments from **Spend**. For more information, see the article on [downloading expenses and payments](/help/downloading-expenses). When downloading your expenses and payments, note the following: - Downloading expenses and payments is intended for reporting (not accounting) purposes and, therefore, it doesn't overwrite the [export status of expenses and payments](/help/exporting-expenses-and-payments-on-demand). - The file will contain expenses and payments that are [filtered by certain parameters](/help/searching-and-filtering-expenses-and-payments) that you applied before the download. - Payhawk doesn't keep track of the expense downloads in the expense's **Activity** section. ## Notes on export filters - When the **Exported** and **Failed** filters are applied, the results will include expenses that have ever been exported or whose export has ever failed, and may not correspond to the actual latest export status of the filtered expenses. This behavior of the export status filters is a limitation and will be modified to display the latest export status of an expense when the **Exported** and **Failed** export filters are applied. - The **Exported into** filter is visible and enabled only when there is a live integration with an ERP. ## Useful resources - [Export views and statuses in Payhawk](/help/export-views-and-export-statuses) - [Downloading expenses](/help/downloading-expenses)