---
title: "Setting approval workflows for spend types"
slug: "setting-approval-workflows-for-expense-types"
description: "Set up approval workflows for reimbursable, card, bill and purchase expenses in Payhawk spend management to align with your company’s policies."
updated: 2026-10-27T15:55:44Z
published: 2026-10-27T15:55:44Z
canonical: "payhawk.com/setting-approval-workflows-for-expense-types"
---

> ## 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.

# Setting approval workflows for spend types

You can define a specific workflow for each type of spend - for example, invoices with or without purchase orders - or set [custom conditions](/help/workflow-conditions-and-custom-workflows) for card transactions, per diem, or mileage expenses.

By setting thresholds and defining a specific approver, you can fully customize the processes for the different steps of the [expense lifecycle](/help/overview-of-expenses-for-accountants).

## Specifics for spend-type workflows

- The **Submit** step requires employees to submit their expenses before they are approved, reviewed, and paid.
- If the **Submit** step is disabled (**Submit** **Off** selected), the **Approve** step will also be disabled and the expense will move straight to the **Review** tab when created.

![Spend type workflow with Submit off, a Review step, and a Reimburse step for any accountant or administrator.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/Help%20desk%20images%20moved/Setting_approval_workflows_for_spend_types_20240507_manual.png)
- To be able to define an approval workflow for the expenses at your company, you have to enable the **Submit** step.

![Spend type workflow with a Team manager approval step with amount-based approvers, followed by Review and Reimburse.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/Help%20desk%20images%20moved/Setting_approval_workflows_for_spend_types_2_20240507_manual.png)
- For the **Review**, **Pay** > **Confirm details**, and **Pay** > **Authorize** steps, you can select specific employees, roles, or role extensions.

## Notes on approvals for bills

You can set up approvals for bill payments by defining workflows for bills that are either linked or not linked to purchase orders. Depending on the triggered approval, the workflow that will be applied can be any of the following:

- A workflow for bills linked to purchase orders where the approved and billed amount, and the approved and delivered quantity match.
- A workflow for bills linked to purchase orders where the approved and billed amount, and the approved and delivered quantity don't match.
- A workflow for bills not linked to any purchase orders.

## Applying segregation of duties

You can enforce segregation of duties when configuring the approval workflows for bill payments in Payhawk. This means that employees who confirm payment details for an expense cannot also authorize its payment, even if they have the necessary permissions defined in the workflow.

> [!WARNING]
> Currently, the segregation of duties option is available by default for bill payments only. To enable it for reimbursable, mileage, or per diem expenses, you must first disable automatic payment details confirmation for those spend types.

If an employee who confirmed payment details attempts to pay that expense in bulk along with others, they must first deselect the restricted expenses to proceed with authorizing the remaining payments. This restriction supports the four-eyes principle and helps prevent potential fraud.

By default, the segregation of duties option is enabled and is available at the individual and group level.

## Setting workflows for bill payments

For this example, let's assume you haven't defined any workflows for bill payments (invoices) yet, and that you want to create approval for bill payments with no purchase orders:

1. In the [Payhawk Web Portal](https://portal.payhawk.com), go to the **Settings** > **Workflows** > **Spend types** tab.
2. In the **Bills** field, click on **Edit** **workflow**.
3. Click on **Submit** and select the **Submit On** option to allow employees to submit expenses that will be paid over bank transfers.
4. Click on **Save**.

![Bill workflow with branches for no request, matched request, and request with discrepancy, and the Submit details panel with the Submit On and Submit Off options.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/Help%20desk%20images%20moved/Setting_approval_workflows_for_spend_types_20240425_manual.png)
5. For the approval step of the bill spend type, follow the **NO PO** option and click on **+ Add approval step**. Choose to add your custom approval or use the default template suggestion. For this example, click on **+ Custom**.

The **Template** option displays any previously defined roles for your company, for example, Custom Field Manager, so that you don't need to manually select from the drop-down list of available approvers.
6. In the dialog that opens, name the step by clicking on the **Pencil** (edit) icon. Fill in the content and click on the **✔** button.

![Payhawk workflow builder: the Step details panel with the step name and the Pencil icon, and the step name being edited with the check mark button.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/Navigation%20images%20Desi_20261001/workflow_step_name.png)
7. From the drop-down with available approvers, select the **Team Manager** role extension. Then, define the desired condition by clicking on **+ Add condition** - for example, **Amount**.
8. To specify the amount for which approval will be required, define the quantity limit from the drop-down - for example, less or equal to (**<=**). On the next line, set the amount - for example, **200**.
9. Click on **Save**.

![Adding an approver to an approval step: choosing Team Manager from the roles and adding an amount condition.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/Help%20desk%20images%20moved/Setting_approval_workflows_for_spend_types_20250507_manual.png)

To define [single-step](/help/workflow-conditions-and-custom-workflows), [multi-step sequential](/help/workflow-conditions-and-custom-workflows), or [non-sequential approvals](/help/workflow-conditions-and-custom-workflows), follow the guidelines and apply the same steps as above.
10. To set the rights for reviewing expenses, click on the **Review** step. From the **Review** drop-down menu, select the specific employee, role, or role extension that will be allowed to review the bill payments at your company - for example, any Payhawk Accountant. Click on **Save**.

![Payhawk workflow builder: the Review step, the Review panel with the drop-down of roles open, and the Review panel with Any accountant selected and the Save button.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/Navigation%20images%20Desi_20261001/workflow_review_step.png)
11. To set the rights for confirming expense details, click on the **Confirm details** step. From the **Confirm details** drop-down menu, select the specific employee, role or role extension that will be allowed to confirm the expense details and the payment execution methods at your company - for example, any Payhawk Accountant. Click on **Save**.

![Payhawk workflow builder: the Confirm details step, the Confirm details panel with the drop-down of roles open, and the panel with Any accountant selected and the Save button.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/Navigation%20images%20Desi_20261001/workflow_confirm_details_step.png)
12. To set the rights for authorizing payments, click on the **Authorize** step. From the **Authorize** drop-down menu, select the specific employee, role, or role extension that will be allowed to authorize (pay) bank transfers for immediate or scheduled bill payments with no purchase orders linked to them - for example, any Payhawk Administrator.
13. Choose whether to apply the **Segregation of duties** option by keeping the toggle on, or not, by disabling the toggle.
14. Click on **Save**.

![Payment authorization details with roles and segregation of duties highlighted for security.](https://storage.googleapis.com/payhawk-cdn/Adm%3AWorkflows/segregation%20of%20duties%20workflow.jpg)
15. Click on **Publish workflow** to apply all the changes you've made.

Alternatively, you can set approval workflows for bills from the **Bill** spend type:

1. Go to **Settings** > **Spend** > **Spend types** > **Bill**.
2. Navigate to the **Workflow** tab.
3. Click on **Edit workflow.**

## Setting workflows for other types of expenses

You can set up approvals for card transactions, mileage, per diem, reimbursements, and company cash, similarly to how you do for bills, except for **Card payments** and **Company cash**.

Card expenses are paid at the time of the transaction (when the card is used), and company cash is paid out directly in cash. As a result, **Card payments** and **Company cash** approvals include only the **Submit** and **Review** steps, without the additional payment step required for the other spend types.

## Best practices for setting up workflows

- Skip auto-approval steps you don't need. If an expense doesn't require approval, you don't have to add an auto-approval step. When an expense doesn't meet the approval conditions, it moves straight to the **Review** step.
- Rename approval steps for clarity. When you create custom steps or roles, rename each approval step box so the workflow is easier to follow.
- Rely on fallbacks. Payhawk applies default [fallback mechanisms](/help/workflow-fallbacks) when an approver is not available, so no request goes unapproved, for example, when a Team Manager is not assigned or an approver has been offboarded.
- Turn on segregation of duties. The four-eyes toggle in the **Authorize** step makes sure the person who confirms payment details cannot also authorize the payment. Assign at least two approvers, or a group, to the **Authorize** step to avoid bottlenecks.
- Remember card and request workflows. You can require approval before a card is issued through **Card requests**. Request and purchase order workflows run before the expense workflow, when a request or purchase order is active, the expense workflow only starts once the request generates an expense.

## Useful resources

- [Defining custom approval workflows](/help/workflow-conditions-and-custom-workflows)
- [Lifecycle of expenses at Payhawk](/help/overview-of-expenses-for-accountants)