---
title: "Viewing expense activity"
slug: "viewing-expense-activity"
description: "See the full history of an expense in one place: its comments, approval workflow, change log and export history, both on the web portal and in the mobile app."
updated: 2026-10-22T08:56:35Z
published: 2026-10-22T08:56:35Z
canonical: "payhawk.com/viewing-expense-activity"
---

> ## 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.

# Viewing expense activity

The **Activity** section of an expense lets you view any comments on that expense, its workflow, export history, and change log, with a **Show** filter that lets you tick any combination of these to see exactly the events you need. Thus, you can see all historic events related to that expense.

## Viewing expense comments in the Web Portal

To view the comments for an expense or expense request:

1. [Access the expense](/help/commenting-on-expenses-and-expense-requests).
2. Open its **Activity** section. By default, **Show** is set to **Comments**, **Workflow**. Leave **Comments** ticked and untick **Workflow** if you only want to see comments.

![Bill open in Payhawk Spend with its Activity section showing comments and the Show filter set to Comments.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/navigation-redesign-didi_20261008_ai/viewing-expense-activity-01_20261008_ai.png)

## Viewing expense workflow in the Web Portal

You can view the workflow of an expense or expense request by opening its **Activity** section and ticking **Workflow** in the **Show** filter. Untick **Comments** if you only want to see the workflow.

![Activity section with the Show filter set to Workflow, listing the expense's workflow steps.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/navigation-redesign-didi_20261008_ai/viewing-expense-activity-02_20261008_ai.png)

## Viewing expense history in the Web Portal

You can view the changes that were made to the expense by opening its **Activity** section and ticking **Changes** in the **Show** filter. For deleted expenses, the **Changes** log also shows when the expense was marked as deleted as well as the full history of the expense before its deletion. For more details, see the article about [deleting and viewing deleted expenses](/help/deleting-expenses).

![Activity section with the Show filter set to Changes, listing the changes made to the expense.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/navigation-redesign-didi_20261008_ai/viewing-expense-activity-03_20261008_ai.png)

Alternatively, open the expense's three-dot menu and select **View history**. You'll be directed to the **Activity** section with **Show** set to **All**.

![Bill open in Payhawk Spend with its three-dot menu expanded and View history among the options. The expense is part of an expense report, so the report icon shows next to its title.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/recurring-request-icon_20261021_ai/viewing-expense-activity-04_20261021_ai.png)

## Viewing the export history of expenses in the Web Portal

You can view the export history of an expense by opening its **Activity** section and ticking **Export** in the **Show** filter.

![Activity section with the Show filter set to Export, showing that the expense has no exports yet.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/navigation-redesign-didi_20261008_ai/viewing-expense-activity-05_20261008_ai.png)

## Viewing all expense activities in the Web Portal

To view all combined activities for an expense, open its **Activity** section and tick every option in the **Show** filter: **Comments**, **Workflow**, **Export**, and **Changes**. Once everything is ticked, the **Show** button itself reads **All**.

![Activity section with the Show filter set to All, listing comments, workflow steps, and changes together.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/navigation-redesign-didi_20261008_ai/viewing-expense-activity-06_20261008_ai.png)

You can also view all expense activity in the Payhawk Web Portal from your **Inbox**.

![Payhawk Inbox with an item open and its Activity section shown.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/navigation-redesign-didi_20261008_ai/viewing-expense-activity-07_20261008_ai.png)

## Viewing comments and expense workflows in the Mobile App

From your **Inbox**, you can view all comments for an expense (**Activity** > **Comments**) and its workflow (**Activity** > **Workflow**), or all of these combined (**Activity** > **All**).

![Three Payhawk mobile app screens showing an expense's Activity with the Comments, Workflow, and All tabs.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/navigation-redesign-didi_20261008_ai/viewing-expense-activity-08_20261008_ai.png)

## Sorting activities

In the Payhawk Web Portal, you can sort the expense activities showing either the newest or the oldest on top.

- The sorting order applies to all **Activity** tabs.
- By default, the system shows the newest activities on top.
- Updates in the sorting order will be stored for the following user sessions.

![Bill open in Payhawk Spend with the Activity sort drop-down showing Newest first and Oldest first.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/navigation-redesign-didi_20261008_ai/viewing-expense-activity-09_20261008_ai.png)

> [!TIP]
> In the Payhawk Mobile App, activities cannot be sorted and are displayed starting from the oldest ones.

## Useful resources

- [Commenting on expenses and expense requests](/help/commenting-on-expenses-and-expense-requests)