Submit and Manage Expenses in greytHR ESS Portal

Updated in September -2026 | Subscribe to watch greytHR how-to video

The redesigned Expense Management System in greytHR brings a more intuitive and unified experience to the ESS portal. This enhancement enables employees and reviewers to efficiently submit, review, and track expenses through a seamless, role-based workflow with improved visibility, automation, and configurability.

To view the Expenses page, log in to your greytHR ESS portal and click Expenses. The Expenses page opens in a new tab. 

On the Expenses page, you can:

1. Create a new expense request by:

   • Adding new bills (expense types)

   • Adding the bills under Draft to an existing expense request, or to a trip. 

2. Create and manage a trip

3. Create a new expense request using bills only from Drafts. 

4. Track the submitted expense request status.

5. Withdraw an expense request.

Create a new expense request by adding new bills

Raising a single expense request allows you to create requests for multiple expenses of various expense categories under one request. 

1. From the greytHR ESS portal, click Expenses. 

2. On the Expenses page, click Add Expenses. The apply form opens. 

3. On the apply form, you can upload or drag and drop the required attachment. 

4. Select the Expense Type. Once selected, the entitlement details as per the policy would appear.

5. Enter the Bill Number and Bill Date.

6. From the Bill Amount dropdown, select the currency in which you want to claim the amount. The entitlement would update as per the selected currency. Add a note if needed. 

   • The currency types are displayed based on the policy configuration done by the admin. If it is an amount based expense, then the currency is displayed as configured in the policy.

   • If it is mileage based expense, then the currency is displayed as configured in the mileage. 

   • If trip-based expense submission is enabled for your organization, you can also choose to attach this expense to a new or existing open trip instead of submitting it standalone.

7. Click Submit.
   Note: If you select multiple currencies in a single request, a pop-up appears displaying all expense types along with their amounts, along with a note informing you that the payout will be processed in the base currency.

8. Click Confirm. Once done, the expense request would appear under the Pending tab.

Add draft bills to an existing expense request

You can attach bills or receipts to an existing expense request whenever needed.

1. From the greytHR ESS portal, click Expenses. 

2. On the Expenses page, in the Drafts tab, drag and drop single/multiple bills from the Bills section to the required existing expense request under the Request section or directly onto an open trip to add them as expenses under that trip.

Alternatively, you can click on the → option to view the existing expense request. Once the apply form opens, click + Add > Choose from Drafts on the left panel. 

1. Choose the bill/attachment that you want to add to the existing expense request. 

2. Select the Expense Type. Once selected, the entitlement details as per the policy would appear.

3. Enter the Bill Number and Bill Date.

4. From the Bill Amount dropdown, select the currency in which you want to claim the amount. The entitlement would update as per the selected currency. Add a note if needed. 

   • The currency types are displayed based on the policy configuration done by the admin. If it is amount based expense, then the currency is displayed as configured in the policy

   • If it is mileage based expense, then the currency is displayed as configured in the mileage. 

5. Click Submit.
   Note: If you select multiple currencies in a single request, a pop-up appears displaying all expense types along with their amounts, along with a note informing you that the payout will be processed in the base currency.

6. Click Confirm. Once done, the expense request would appear under the Pending tab.

Create and manage a trip

1. From the greytHR ESS portal, click Expenses. The Expenses page opens in a new tab.

2. Click the Add Expenses dropdown and select the Add to a new trip option. The New Trip form opens.

3. Enter the trip details such as, Trip Name, Trip Duration (start and end date), and Description.

4. Click Create. You can edit these details later if needed.

Once a trip is created, you can add expenses to it directly from the trip, attach an expense to it while creating a new expense request, or drag and drop bills from the Drafts tab directly onto the trip.

Each trip has two tabs:

• Open - shows expenses you've added to the trip but haven't submitted yet.

• Closed - shows expenses you've submitted under this trip, along with their approval status.

Click the three-dot menu next to an expense to view its details — Expense Type, Bill Date, Bill Amount, and Status — in a slider. From here, you can also filter, report on, and download your trip's expense data.

Note: 

• A trip doesn't close automatically. You can end a trip only once every submitted expense under it is Paid, Rejected, or Withdrawn. 

• If any expenses are in Drafts, you'll need to submit or delete them first.

• Once a trip is ended, it becomes read-only, you can view its expense and approval history, but you can't add new expenses to it.

Create a new expense request using bills only from Drafts 

Under the Drafts tab, you can view all the bills and attachments that you have uploaded from your greytHR mobile app. You can easily submit an expense request later using the bills from the Drafts tab whenever needed. 

To create a new expense request using the bills from the Drafts tab:

1. From the greytHR ESS portal, click Expenses. 

2. On the Expenses page, under the Drafts tab, click Add Expenses. The apply form opens.

3. To upload the bills/attachments from Drafts, click + Add and select Choose from Drafts from the left panel. 

4. Choose the required bills/attachments and click Confirm. 

5. Select the Expense Type. Once selected, the entitlement details as per the policy would appear.

6. Enter the Bill Number and Bill Date.

7. From the Bill Amount dropdown, select the currency in which you want to claim the amount. The entitlement would update as per the selected currency. Add a note if needed. 

   • The currency types are displayed based on the policy configuration done by the admin. If it is amount based expense, then the currency is displayed as configured in the policy

   • If it is mileage based expense, then the currency is displayed as configured in the mileage. 

8. Click Submit.
   Note: If you select multiple currencies in a single request, a pop-up appears displaying all expense types along with their amounts, along with a note informing you that the payout will be processed in the base currency.

9. Click Confirm.

Alternatively, from the Expenses page, you can create a new expense request:

• Select a single bill/attachement, click on the three dots > Create as New Request. Fill in the details in the same way in the apply form and submit the details. 

• Select multiple bills/attachments and click + Create as New Request. 

Track a submitted expense request status

To track the status of an expense request, from the greytHR ESS portal, click Expenses. 

1. On the Expenses page, select the Pending tab to view the Expense Type, Total Amount, with whom the request is currently with, and the Submitted On date. 

2. To view the details, click on the → button.

3. Under the Request Details tab, you can see the detailed information about the expense request, such as the Expense Category, Bill No., Bill Date, Overridden Amount, if any. The PDF Viewer helps you to zoom in and out of the attachments, preview the attachment without downloading it, and view multiple attachments.

4. Under the Timeline tab, you can view the actions taken and the status with respect to each expense item. 

Note:

• Once the expense request has been accepted and the status is marked as Paid, you can check the exchange rate under the Payment Details tab below the Billed Amount.

• After the amount has been released, under the Payment Details tab, you can view the Payment Method, Payment Date, and Remarks.

Withdraw an expense request

To withdraw an expense request, from the greytHR ESS portal, click Expenses. 

1. On the Expenses page, select the Pending tab. 

2. Click on the three dots on the expense request and select Withdraw and click Confirm. 

   • Alternatively, you can open the expense request by clicking on the → button and then select Withdraw > Confirm. 

Export your expense request as PDF

Employees can export their expense request as a PDF along with all the attached bills. You can print the Summary Sheet, sign it, and submit it for further processing.

Export a single expense request

1. From the greytHR ESS portal, click Expenses.

2. Open the required expense request by clicking the → button.

3. Click the Download button (hovering shows Export as PDF).

A ZIP file named [Request ID].zip (for example, EXP-23.zip) is downloaded.
Note:

• The ZIP file contains a Summary Sheet PDF and all attached bills. The Summary Sheet displays request information in a header section and an expense details table.

• The displayed fields may vary depending on whether the request is in the Pending or Completed tab. It also includes Acknowledgement and Signature sections, allowing you to print the document and obtain the required approvals or confirmations, if needed.

• If two attachments in the same request share the same file name, greytHR automatically adds a numeric suffix — for example, Receipt.pdf, Receipt-1.pdf, Receipt-2.pdf. If the request has no attachments, the ZIP will contain only the Summary Sheet PDF.