Creating an expense report

An expense report groups professional expenses advanced by an employee from their own funds and submitted for reimbursement by the company. SynkriaOps manages the complete workflow: submission → approval → accounting entry → reimbursement.

What is an expense report?

An employee advances a professional expense (fuel, client meal, travel ticket) and submits the expense report with supporting documentation. After approval by the accountant or administrator, the company reimburses the employee via bank or cash.

SYSCOHADA accounts involved:

• Employee account: 421xxx (e.g. 421001 for a specific employee)
• Expense account: 6xxx based on the nature of the expense
• Payment account: 52xxx bank or 57xxx cash

Creating an expense report

1. Access the form

   Main menu → Purchases → Expense reports → New expense report button.

2. Select the employee

   Choose the employee in the Employee field. SynkriaOps loads the 421xxx sub-account associated with that employee.

   Tip

   Each employee must have a 421xxx sub-account in the chart of accounts. If the employee doesn’t have an account yet, create it in Contacts → Employees before submitting the report.

3. Fill in general information

   Field	Description
   Title / purpose	Short description (e.g. “Customer trip Douala — May 2026”)
   Period	Month or week covered by the expenses
   Submission date	Today’s date (automatic)

4. Add expense lines

   Each line represents an individual expense:

   Field	Description
   Date	Date of the expense
   Category	Transport / Meals / Accommodation / Communication / Other
   Description	Detail (e.g. “Taxi Nsimalen airport → Yaoundé city centre”)
   Total amount	Amount paid in XAF
   Expense account	SYSCOHADA account selected automatically by category
   Receipt	Photo of receipt or PDF (required for any line ≥ 5,000 XAF)

   Category to SYSCOHADA account mapping:

   Category	Account	Example expense
   Transport	624100	Taxi, fuel, plane ticket
   Meals	625100	Business meal, client lunch
   Accommodation	625200	Hotel while travelling
   Communication	626100	Phone credit, data plan
   Supplies	606100	Office equipment purchased while travelling
   Other	658100	Miscellaneous uncategorized expenses

   Example complete expense report:

   Date	Category	Description	Total amount
   15/05/2026	Transport	Taxi Nsimalen → Yaoundé centre	12,000 XAF
   15/05/2026	Meals	Lunch with client SARL Bâtir	35,500 XAF
   15/05/2026	Accommodation	Merina Hotel (1 night)	65,000 XAF
   16/05/2026	Transport	Bus Yaoundé → Bafoussam	8,000 XAF
   16/05/2026	Communication	Orange credit for client calls	5,000 XAF
   Total			125,500 XAF

5. Attach supporting documents

   For each line, click Attach receipt and upload:

   • Receipt photo (JPG, PNG)
   • Invoice PDF
   • Scanned till receipt

   Caution

   Any missing receipt will block approval. Photograph your receipts immediately after the expense to avoid losses.

6. Submit for approval

   Review the total and click Submit. The report moves to SUBMITTED status and a notification is sent to the accountant or administrator responsible for approval.

Tracking my expense report

From Purchases → Expense reports, view your list of reports with their status:

Status	Meaning
DRAFT	Being written
SUBMITTED	Awaiting approval
APPROVED	Validated, awaiting reimbursement
REJECTED	Refused with reason
REIMBURSED	Payment made

Editing a submitted report

A SUBMITTED report can no longer be directly edited. If you made an error:

1. Contact the accountant to reject it with a reason
2. Correct the report that returns to DRAFT
3. Resubmit

Common errors

Error	Cause	Solution
”Employee has no 421 account”	Sub-account not created	Create the 421xxx sub-account in the chart of accounts
”Missing receipt”	Line without attachment	Attach the receipt or invoice
”Inconsistent amount”	Amount doesn’t match receipt	Enter exactly the amount shown on the receipt
”Category required”	Line without selected category	Choose a category for each line

Further reading

• Approving and reimbursing expense reports — approval process from the accountant’s perspective
• Recording a supplier invoice — for company purchases (not employee advances)
• Configuring a bank account — accounts used for reimbursements