Finance and accounting · Sample scenario
Expense document categorization
A receipt uploaded by an employee is read, AI suggests an expense category, company rules are checked and the accountant approves.
Problem
Employees submit receipts mixed up, incomplete and late; the accountant has to ask separately what each receipt was for.
How it works today
Receipt photos are collected by message or on paper, the accountant types the amount and date by hand, guesses the category and writes to the employee separately about anything unclear.
What this scenario changes
The employee uploads the receipt to the expense form together with its purpose. OCR and AI extract the merchant, date, amount and VAT, suggest a category and show the reasoning. Limit and allowed-category rules are checked. If the category is clear, the expense goes to the accountant for approval; if not, the employee is asked to clarify.
The process step by step
- Receipt uploaded: The employee fills in the expense form
- Receipt is read: Merchant, date, amount, VAT
- Category suggested: Together with the reasoning
- Company rules checked: Limit, allowed category, duplicate
- Is the category clear?: The suggestion is well founded and within the rules
- Accountant approval: Category and account code are checked
- Expense recorded: Posted to the accounting system
Exception path
- Clarification from the employee: The accountant forwards the question to the employee
- Expense on hold: Not approved until a reply arrives
The role of AI
Extracts the merchant, date, amount and VAT from the receipt, suggests a category based on the purpose note and writes which signal it used.
Human approval and exceptions
The accountant approves every expense. If the category is uncertain or does not fit the rules, the expense is not finalized automatically and the employee is asked to clarify first.
Frequently asked questions
What if AI picks the wrong category?
The suggestion is only a suggestion; the accountant can change it during approval. Changes can be tracked to improve the rules.
What should the employee do if the receipt cannot be read?
The system shows the unreadable fields and asks the employee for a clearer photo or to fill in the fields manually.
How is an expense above the limit handled?
It is flagged as a rule violation and is not rejected automatically; the accountant or the responsible manager decides.