If you're tired of chasing expense reports across email threads or hunting down managers for approvals, you're in the right place. This guide is for anyone who wants to actually fix expense approvals—not just automate for the sake of it. We'll dig into setting up a real workflow using Workato that makes sense for people who just want expenses handled, not over-engineered.
Why automate expense approvals in the first place?
Manual expense approvals are a headache. They waste time, get lost, and nobody really wants to be the person nagging for signatures. Automation isn't magic, but if you set it up right, it can:
- Cut down on admin work
- Give you an audit trail (no more “but I never saw that!”)
- Help you spot issues before they become expensive problems
- Make it easier to enforce policies, without being a pain
But: automation doesn't fix broken processes. If your approval logic is a mess, automating it just makes the mess faster. So, sort out your rules first.
What you need before you start
Don't open Workato yet. Do a quick gut check:
- Approval rules: Who needs to approve what? Over what amounts? Is it by manager, department, or something else?
- Expense data source: Where do expenses live now? (ERP, spreadsheet, expense app, etc.)
- Notifications: How do people get notified and respond—email, Slack, Teams?
- Access: Do you have logins and API access for the systems involved?
- Workato account: Obvious, but worth checking.
Write this out, even in plain text. Trust me, it saves time.
Step 1: Map out your workflow (on paper)
Before you build anything, sketch the flow:
- Trigger: What kicks things off? (New expense submitted? Weekly batch?)
- Fetch details: Pull the expense data.
- Route: Who needs to approve? Is it always the manager, or does it escalate?
- Notify: How will the approver get the request?
- Approve/Reject: How does the approver respond? What happens next?
- Record result: Where do you log the outcome?
- Handle exceptions: What if nobody responds? Or someone rejects?
Don’t skip this. You’ll thank yourself when debugging later.
Step 2: Set up your trigger in Workato
In Workato, everything starts with a trigger. Here’s the honest rundown:
- Best triggers: "New record in app" (for expense tools), "New row in spreadsheet," or a webhook if your app supports it.
- Avoid: Polling triggers with long intervals—they’ll slow things down and annoy people.
Example:
Let’s say you use Expensify. Use the “New Expense Report Submitted” trigger from the Expensify connector.
If you’re stuck with spreadsheets, use “New row in Google Sheets.”
Pro tip:
Test your trigger with a real sample. Don’t just trust the schema—expense tools love to hide weird fields.
Step 3: Pull in the expense details
Once your trigger fires, pull all the info you need for the approval—amount, category, submitter, receipts, etc.
- Don’t: Assume the trigger includes everything. Add a step to fetch more data if needed.
- Watch out: Some apps separate attachments (like receipts). Make sure you get these, or you’ll get angry emails from finance later.
If your expense data is messy, clean it up here. It’s easier to fix at this step than after you’ve built the rest.
Step 4: Find the right approver
This is where most automations fall apart. Don’t hard-code manager emails unless you love maintenance.
Options: - Look up in HR system: If you have an HR tool (like BambooHR or Workday), use it to fetch the submitter’s manager. - Maintain a mapping table: Small org? A Google Sheet or simple table mapping users to approvers works. - Static logic: For tiny teams, “all expenses over $X go to the CFO”—just use a conditional step.
Pro tip:
Every approval chain gets weird at some point (vacations, role changes). Build in a fallback—like sending to a finance group if the normal approver is blank.
Step 5: Notify the approver (and collect response)
People ignore emails, so pick a channel they actually use.
Common options: - Email: Reliable, but easy to ignore. Use a clear subject and put approve/reject links front and center. - Slack/Teams: Faster, but only works if your team actually checks these. - Workato Approvals App: Has a built-in approval feature, but the UX isn’t perfect. Good for simple use cases.
How to do it:
- Use a Workato “Send email” or “Post message” step.
- Include key info: amount, description, receipt image, and approve/reject actions.
- For Slack/Teams, use interactive buttons if possible.
Collecting the response:
- For email, use “magic links” or reply-to actions (clunky, but works).
- For chat, use built-in action buttons.
- For Workato Approvals, use their built-in task—just know it’s not customizable.
Don’t:
Send a generic “You have a new approval” with no context. People will ignore it, or worse, approve blindly.
Step 6: Handle the approval logic
Once the approver responds, your Workato recipe needs to:
- Record the response (approved, rejected, or ignored)
- Move to next approver if needed (multi-level approvals)
- Notify the submitter (so they’re not left hanging)
- Log everything somewhere (audit trail)
If rejected:
- Let the submitter know why.
- Give them a way to fix and resubmit.
If approved:
- Send to finance, update your expense tool, or whatever your process calls for.
Pro tip:
Don’t just “mark complete” in Workato—write the result back to your expense tool or a central log. You’ll want that for audits or disputes.
Step 7: Build in escalation and reminders
Most workflows stall because someone forgets to approve. Don’t let your process die in an inbox.
How to add: - After X days with no response, send a reminder. - After Y days, escalate to the next manager or finance. - Log when this happens, so you can spot bottlenecks.
Tools in Workato: - Use the “Wait for response” step with a timeout. - Use conditional logic to handle escalations.
Avoid:
Nagging people every hour. You want to remind, not annoy.
Step 8: Test, test, and then test again
Don’t trust a “successful” run in Workato’s test view. Expense workflows only work if you test real-world edge cases:
- Approvals over and under limit
- Approver out of office
- Missing or broken data (like no receipt)
- Multiple levels of approval
Get a few real users to try it. Watch them. You’ll spot things you never thought about.
Step 9: Roll out carefully
When you’re happy, start small. Roll out to one team first. Collect feedback. Fix what’s broken. Only then add more users.
Why?
Because the first week will always uncover something dumb—like someone whose name is spelled differently in two systems, or a manager who’s left the company.
Step 10: Maintain and improve
Automation isn’t “set and forget.” Plan to:
- Update approval logic as your org changes
- Check logs for failed runs or stuck approvals
- Regularly ask users if the workflow actually helps—or just annoys
Pro tip:
Keep your workflow simple. Fancy features sound cool, but every extra step means more things to break.
What works (and what doesn’t)
Works well: - Pulling manager info from a live HR system - Slack or Teams notifications for quick approvals - Logging every approval/rejection
Doesn’t work well: - Hard-coding approvers or rules - Relying only on email if your org ignores email - Over-complicating escalation logic
Ignore for now: - AI “auto-approvals” unless you trust it fully (most people don’t) - Adding every possible exception up front. You’ll never launch.
Keep it simple and iterate
You don’t need a perfect system on day one. Get the basics working, fix the rough spots, and build from there. Most teams just need approvals to work—not win a design award.
If you hit a weird blocker, don’t be afraid to ask for help or start small. Simple, clear workflows beat fancy, broken ones every time.