---
title: "Expenses approval workflows"
slug: "approval-workflows-1"
description: "Streamline your expense claims with custom approval workflows, featuring single or multi-stage options and easy user assignments for efficient processing."
updated: 2026-08-19T14:21:20Z
published: 2026-08-19T14:21:20Z
canonical: "help.cintra.co.uk/approval-workflows-1"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.cintra.co.uk/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Expenses approval workflows

Approval workflows define how expense claims are routed for approval before they can be exported. You can create single-stage or multi-stage workflows and assign them to users or categories. Capture Expense includes a default line manager workflow which is available as soon as your company is registered.

Workflows can have up to six stages. All approvers within a workflow must approve a claim before it moves to Finance.

> **Note:** A workflow assigned to a category always supersedes a workflow assigned to a user. See [Assigning workflows to categories](/docs/assigning-workflows-to-categories).

### **Creating a single or multi-stage workflow**

1. Go to **Setup > Approvals**.
2. Click **+ Approval**.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/fc2cda72-4645-4b36-96bf-60439ec11f11/Images/Documentation/image(393).png)

![](https://cdn.document360.io/fc2cda72-4645-4b36-96bf-60439ec11f11/Images/Documentation/image-Y9440RND.png)

1. Enter a **Name** and ensure **Active** is selected.
2. Enter a **Description**, e.g. *Line manager approval*. This is useful for distinguishing between multiple workflows.
3. Select *User* or *Manager* from the approver type dropdown.
  - If selecting *User*, click the person icon and select the relevant approver from the list.
  - If selecting *Manager*, the workflow defaults to the user's line manager.
4. Select a trigger, e.g. *Always*, *Amount Exceeds*, or *Older by 3 Months*. If selecting *Amount Exceeds*, enter the threshold amount, e.g. *100*.
5. Select **Allow Edit** if you want the approver to be able to edit claims once submitted.
6. To add further approval stages, click **+ Stage** and repeat steps 6 to 8. Up to six stages are supported.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/fc2cda72-4645-4b36-96bf-60439ec11f11/Images/Documentation/image(394).png)

![](https://cdn.document360.io/fc2cda72-4645-4b36-96bf-60439ec11f11/Images/Documentation/image-L246GCQF.png)

1. Click **Save**.

****Video**: Create an approval workflow**

[Capture Expense how to create an approval workflow](https://app.trupeer.ai/embed/2aNRowCwt)

These videos were recorded in Capture Expense. Some screens and labels may look slightly different in Expenses, but the steps remain the same.

### **Editing a workflow**

1. Go to **Setup > Approvals**.
2. Click the **Edit** icon on the relevant workflow record.
3. Make your changes and click **Save**.

### Assigning workflows

#### Assigning a workflow to a single user

1. Go to **Setup > People**.
2. Click the **Edit** icon on the relevant user record.
3. Select the relevant **Line Manager**, if applicable.
4. Select the applicable workflow from the **Approval Workflow** dropdown.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/fc2cda72-4645-4b36-96bf-60439ec11f11/Images/Documentation/image(395).png)

![](https://cdn.document360.io/fc2cda72-4645-4b36-96bf-60439ec11f11/Images/Documentation/image-6QCZ54N5.png)

1. Click **Save**.

#### Assigning workflows to multiple users in bulk

1. Go to **Setup > People**.
2. Select **Export** from the **Actions** menu, ensure **Include data** is selected, and click **Download**.
3. In the downloaded file, update the **Approval Record Name** column for each relevant user with the name of the applicable workflow.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/fc2cda72-4645-4b36-96bf-60439ec11f11/Images/Documentation/image(396).png)

1. Save the file and import it back into Capture Expense. To do this, select Import from the **Actions** menu.

****Video**: Assign approval workflows**

[Embedded content](https://app.trupeer.ai/embed/OiuneypsS)

These videos were recorded in Capture Expense. Some screens and labels may look slightly different in Expenses, but the steps remain the same.