Autotask Expense Report Management

Autotask Expense Report Management

Overview

Expense reports track out-of-pocket costs incurred by technicians and staff during service delivery. Unlike time entries (which track labor hours), expense reports capture material costs like mileage, meals, equipment purchases, and travel expenses. Each report contains one or more expense items, and follows an approval workflow before reimbursement or client billing.

Key Concepts

Expense Report vs Expense Item

Entity	Purpose	Relationship
Expense Report	Container/header for a group of expenses	Parent - groups items by period or purpose
Expense Item	Individual expense line item	Child - belongs to exactly one report

Approval Status Codes

Status ID	Name	Description
1	New	Report created, not yet submitted
2	Submitted	Sent for manager approval
3	Approved	Manager approved, ready for processing
4	Paid	Reimbursement processed
5	Rejected	Manager rejected, needs correction
6	InReview	Under review by approver

Approval Workflow

NEW (1) ──────────> SUBMITTED (2) ──────────> IN REVIEW (6)
                                                   │
                                       ┌───────────┴───────────┐
                                       ▼                       ▼
                                 APPROVED (3)            REJECTED (5)
                                       │                       │
                                       ▼                       ▼
                                   PAID (4)              Back to NEW

Field Reference

Expense Report Fields

Field	Type	Required	Description
id	int	System	Auto-generated unique identifier
name	string	No	Report name (e.g., "Feb 2026 Travel")
description	string	No	Report description
submitterId	int	Yes	Resource ID of the person submitting
weekEndingDate	date	No	Week ending date (YYYY-MM-DD)
status	int	System	Current approval status (1-6)

Expense Item Fields

Field	Type	Required	Description
expenseReportId	int	Yes	Parent expense report ID
description	string	Yes	Line item description
expenseDate	date	Yes	Date expense was incurred (YYYY-MM-DD)
expenseCategory	int	Yes	Expense category picklist ID
amount	decimal	Yes	Expense amount
companyId	int	No	Associated company ID (0 for internal)
paymentType	int	No	Payment type picklist ID
isBillableToCompany	boolean	No	Whether billable to client
isReimbursable	boolean	No	Whether reimbursable to employee
haveReceipt	boolean	No	Whether receipt is attached

Expense Categories (Common)

Use autotask_get_field_info with entity ExpenseItem to get the full picklist for your instance. Common categories include:

Category	Typical Use
Mileage	Driving to client sites
Meals	Client meetings, travel meals
Lodging	Overnight travel
Airfare	Flight costs
Parking/Tolls	On-site parking fees
Equipment	Small equipment purchases
Supplies	Office or project supplies
Other	Miscellaneous expenses

Payment Types (Common)

Type	Description
Cash	Out-of-pocket cash payment
Personal Credit Card	Employee's own card
Company Credit Card	Corporate card (usually not reimbursable)
Check	Payment by check

MCP Tool Reference

Create an Expense Report

Tool: autotask_create_expense_report
Args: {
  "submitterId": 29744150,
  "name": "Feb 2026 Client Travel",
  "description": "Travel expenses for on-site visits",
  "weekEndingDate": "2026-02-28"
}

Notes:

• submitterId is the only required field
• name defaults to auto-generated if omitted
• weekEndingDate helps organize reports by period

Add an Expense Item

Tool: autotask_create_expense_item
Args: {
  "expenseReportId": 12345,
  "description": "Mileage to Contoso Ltd - server migration",
  "expenseDate": "2026-02-15",
  "expenseCategory": 1,
  "amount": 45.50,
  "companyId": 67890,
  "isBillableToCompany": true,
  "isReimbursable": true,
  "haveReceipt": false
}

Required fields: expenseReportId, description, expenseDate, expenseCategory, amount

Search Expense Reports

Tool: autotask_search_expense_reports
Args: {
  "submitterId": 29744150,
  "status": 1,
  "pageSize": 25
}

Filters:

• submitterId - Filter by who submitted
• status - Filter by approval status (1=New, 2=Submitted, 3=Approved, 4=Paid, 5=Rejected, 6=InReview)
• pageSize - Results per page (default 25, max 100)

Get an Expense Report

Tool: autotask_get_expense_report
Args: { "reportId": 12345 }

Common Workflows

Submit Expenses for a Client Visit

1. Create the report:

autotask_create_expense_report: {
  "submitterId": <your_resource_id>,
  "name": "Client Visit - Contoso Ltd",
  "weekEndingDate": "2026-02-28"
}

2. Add mileage:

autotask_create_expense_item: {
  "expenseReportId": <report_id>,
  "description": "Round trip to Contoso - 45 miles @ $0.67/mi",
  "expenseDate": "2026-02-15",
  "expenseCategory": <mileage_category_id>,
  "amount": 30.15,
  "companyId": <contoso_company_id>,
  "isBillableToCompany": true,
  "isReimbursable": true
}

3. Add parking:

autotask_create_expense_item: {
  "expenseReportId": <report_id>,
  "description": "Parking at Contoso office",
  "expenseDate": "2026-02-15",
  "expenseCategory": <parking_category_id>,
  "amount": 12.00,
  "companyId": <contoso_company_id>,
  "isBillableToCompany": true,
  "isReimbursable": true,
  "haveReceipt": true
}

Review Pending Expense Reports

autotask_search_expense_reports: { "status": 2 }

Returns all submitted reports awaiting approval.

Track Employee Expenses

autotask_search_expense_reports: {
  "submitterId": 29744150,
  "status": 1
}

Returns draft reports for a specific employee.

Billable vs Reimbursable

Scenario	Billable	Reimbursable	Example
Client site mileage	Yes	Yes	Driving to customer office
Company card purchase	Yes	No	Equipment on company card
Internal travel	No	Yes	Conference attendance
Company event	No	No	Team lunch on company card

Key distinction:

• Billable (isBillableToCompany) = Charge to the client's account
• Reimbursable (isReimbursable) = Pay back the employee

Discovering Picklist Values

To find valid expense category and payment type IDs for your instance:

Tool: autotask_get_field_info
Args: { "entity": "ExpenseItem", "field": "expenseCategory" }

Tool: autotask_get_field_info
Args: { "entity": "ExpenseItem", "field": "paymentType" }

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Resolution
Invalid expenseCategory	Wrong picklist ID	Use autotask_get_field_info to get valid IDs
Invalid paymentType	Wrong picklist ID	Use autotask_get_field_info to get valid IDs
ExpenseReportId required	Missing parent report	Create a report first, then add items
Invalid submitterId	Resource not found	Verify with autotask_search_resources
Cannot modify approved report	Report already approved	Only NEW/REJECTED reports can be edited

Best Practices

1. Name reports descriptively - Include period and purpose (e.g., "Mar 2026 - Contoso Migration")
2. One report per period - Group by week or month for easier approval
3. Always set companyId - Even for internal expenses, set to 0 so billing is clear
4. Mark receipts accurately - haveReceipt helps auditing; attach receipts in Autotask UI
5. Use billable flags - Set isBillableToCompany for client-recoverable costs
6. Discover picklists first - Use autotask_get_field_info before creating items to get valid category/payment IDs
7. Submit promptly - Don't let expense reports age; submit weekly

Related Skills

• Autotask Time Entries - Time tracking and billing
• Autotask Contracts - Service agreements and billing rules
• Autotask API Patterns - Query builder and authentication
• Autotask CRM - Company and contact management