What this feature does and when to use it?
Recruit CRM’s Reimbursements feature enables contractors to submit and manage expense claims directly within timesheets while giving agencies and clients full visibility into the approval process.
Once enabled, contractors can raise reimbursement requests for expenses such as travel, accommodation, meals, and fuel. Agencies can review, approve, and manage these reimbursements, while also choosing which expense claims are shared with client approvers. This helps streamline expense tracking, simplify approvals, improve invoice accuracy, and provide greater control over client visibility.
Note-
This feature is currently in beta release and will be gradually rolled out to all users over the next few weeks.
Enabling reimbursements in timesheets
This is an individual feature that can be enabled on a Contractor basis, while enabling Timesheets for a Contractor, in a Contract/contract-to-permanent type job.
While enabling Timesheets from any place on the app, you can turn ON the Toggle of “Enable Expense claim.”
When Enable Expense Claim is turned on, a Share expenses with client checkbox appears below it. This setting is enabled by default and determines whether newly created expense claims are automatically shared with client approvers. You can change this setting at any time, and it will only affect expense claims created after the change.
Once enabled:
An Expense Claim tab appears in newly generated timesheets.
Contractors can submit reimbursement requests.
Agencies can review and manage all reimbursement requests.
Expense claims are shared with client approvers based on the Share expenses with client setting, which can be overridden for individual claims.
Managing reimbursements through the Contractor Portal
Contractors can raise reimbursement requests directly from the Expense Claim tab within their timesheet.
They can:
Add multiple reimbursement requests in a single timesheet
Upload receipts or supporting documents
Track reimbursement status
View remarks and reimbursement history
Edit and resubmit rejected reimbursements
NOTE: Reimbursements can only be edited while they are still under review or rejected.
Managing Reimbursements from the Agency Portal
Agency users can review and manage reimbursement requests from Recruit CRM.
Each reimbursement includes a Share with Client toggle that allows agency users to control whether an individual expense claim is visible on the Client Portal. The toggle can be updated at any time, regardless of whether the reimbursement is Pending, Approved, or Rejected, and whether or not an invoice has already been created.
Reimbursements move through the following statuses: Pending, Approved & Rejected
Only designated timesheet approvers can approve or reject reimbursements. Other users can still view reimbursement details.
Once approved, reimbursements are automatically marked as Payable and Billable. Approvers can choose not to mark them as Payable or Billable. The Share with Client setting does not affect the Payable or Billable status of a reimbursement.
Reopening Reimbursements
Timesheet Approvers at Recruit CRM can reopen approved reimbursements.
Once reopened:
The reimbursement status changes back to Pending
Payable and Billable options are automatically disabled
The reimbursement goes back through the approval process
Remarks and status history remain visible for tracking purposes.
Please note that reimbursements cannot be reopened, updated or deleted once a client invoice is linked to the timesheet.
Managing Reimbursements from the Client Portal
Clients can review reimbursement details only for expense claims that have been shared with them by the agency.
Only approvers can approve or reject reimbursement requests, but they cannot edit or delete them.
If an expense claim is not shared, it will not appear on the Client Portal, even if the timesheet itself has been shared.
Note: If an expense claim was previously shared and later hidden by turning off the Share with Client toggle, clients will no longer be able to view that reimbursement, even if they had already received an in-app notification for it.
Exporting Reimbursements
Approved reimbursements can be exported along with timesheets in Excel or CSV format.
During export, approved reimbursements appear in a separate sub-sheet, with each reimbursement listed as an individual row for easier tracking and reporting.
Reimbursement Attachments for Reimbursements
When you click Save & Send to Client while sending an invoice, any reimbursement attachments associated with that invoice are automatically included in the email.
You can remove attachments before sending the email if required.
Removing an attachment from the email does not delete it from the reimbursement or the timesheet.
When exporting reimbursements, any available attachments are sent to your email as a downloadable ZIP file. The reimbursement data itself continues to download separately as a CSV or Excel file.
Please Note:
Reimbursement attachments included in invoice emails follow the existing 25 MB attachment size limit.
Reimbursement attachments are downloaded separately as a ZIP file and are not bundled with the CSV or Excel export.
FAQs
1. Why isn't an expense claim visible on the Client Portal?
1. Why isn't an expense claim visible on the Client Portal?
The expense claim may not be shared with the client. Check the Share with Client toggle for that reimbursement. If it is turned off, the claim will remain visible only to agency users.
2. Why can’t a reimbursement be edited or deleted?
2. Why can’t a reimbursement be edited or deleted?
Reimbursements cannot be updated once they are approved or linked to an invoice.
3. Why are Payable and Billable options disabled?
3. Why are Payable and Billable options disabled?
These settings only become available after the reimbursement is approved.
4. Can rejected reimbursements be submitted again?
4. Can rejected reimbursements be submitted again?
Yes. Rejected reimbursements can be edited and resubmitted for approval.
5. Is currency conversion supported automatically in invoices?
5. Is currency conversion supported automatically in invoices?
No. Currently, if the pay currency and bill currency are different, reimbursement amounts are not automatically converted as of yet. The reimbursement amount will be added directly using the bill currency without any currency conversion.
6. If I change the Share expenses with client setting, will it affect existing expense claims?
6. If I change the Share expenses with client setting, will it affect existing expense claims?
No. The setting only applies to expense claims created after the change, including new claims added to existing timesheets. Existing claims keep their current sharing status.
7. Can I override the sharing setting for an individual expense claim?
7. Can I override the sharing setting for an individual expense claim?
Yes. Each reimbursement has its own Share with Client toggle, allowing agency users to show or hide individual expense claims regardless of the default setting.
8. Can I change the sharing setting after a reimbursement has been approved or rejected?
8. Can I change the sharing setting after a reimbursement has been approved or rejected?
Yes. The Share with Client toggle can be updated at any time, regardless of the reimbursement status or whether an invoice already exists.
Conclusion:
Recruit CRM’s Reimbursements feature simplifies contractor expense management by allowing reimbursement claims to be submitted and tracked directly within timesheets.