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Expenses

Expenses are costs attached to a contract: out-of-pocket costs a candidate incurs while on assignment, agreed costs charged to the client, or costs split between parties. RecSphere captures each expense, sets who it is charged to, runs it through approval where required, and then routes it into pay or onto the client invoice.

You will find these on the Financials page (Financials > Expenses), and on an individual contract.

You can also add expenses against a contract before it is finalised, so the agreed costs are in place from the start of the assignment. See Adding expenses to a contract.

Types of expense​

The four built-in categories cover most claims:

  • Mileage. Distance travelled in a personal vehicle.
  • Travel. Train, bus, taxi, parking, fuel for hire cars.
  • Accommodation. Hotel stays for distance placements.
  • Equipment. Tools, uniform items or PPE bought by the candidate.

Custom categories can be added in Company settings if the defaults do not fit.

Submitting an expense​

A candidate (or recruiter on their behalf) goes through these steps:

  1. Choose the contract the expense relates to.
  2. Pick the date and category.
  3. Enter the amount, or for mileage enter the distance in miles or kilometres.
  4. Attach a photo or PDF of the receipt.
  5. Add a short note (for example, "Taxi from train station to Birmingham Children's Hospital").
  6. Submit.

See Submitting expenses for the candidate's walkthrough.

Adding expenses to a contract​

You can add expenses against a contract before it is finalised, so agreed costs are set up from the start. For each expense you set:

  • Charge target. Who the expense is charged to: the client, the recruiter, the candidate, or a split between them.
  • GST/VAT handling. How tax applies to the expense (GST in Australia, VAT in the UK).
  • Amount. A fixed amount, or a percentage split (see below).
  • Type. For example travel, flight or accommodation.
  • Date or frequency. A one-off date, or a recurring frequency such as per timesheet.
  • Proof. An upload supporting the expense.

Splitting an expense​

An expense does not have to sit with one party. You can split it between parties, for example client and recruiter 50-50, or by fixed amounts where a client has agreed a capped contribution. If auto-recalculate is enabled, RecSphere calculates the split percentage. If it is disabled, enter the amounts manually.

Planned and forecast expenses​

An expense added before the contract is finalised shows as planned. When the contract is finalised the expense is created in the system to be claimed, and approved by payroll where required.

An expense set to recur per timesheet (for example an agreed accommodation amount per timesheet) is added automatically as a claim line on the candidate's timesheets in the candidate portal, ready for them to claim against (see Timesheets).

Use Actual when the cost has already been paid or invoiced and the receipt or invoice can be uploaded. Use Forecast when you know a cost is expected but the final receipt, invoice or exact value will be added later.

Logistics (contract-stage agreed costs)​

At contract stage, the agreed-cost mechanism is called logistics on the contract. From as early as contract creation you can set up a logistics expense that:

  • Recurs on a frequency (for example monthly).
  • Deducts from the contract value, so the projection knows what to expect.
  • Pushes receipts forward into future timesheets.

This is the contract-level capability for agreed costs that run across the assignment. The deeper walkthrough is covered separately.

Logistics expenses can be routed as either timesheet or standalone expenses. Timesheet routing is useful when the cost should be approved or invoiced with labour for a period. Standalone routing is useful where the expense should be invoiced independently, such as a flight paid before the first timesheet.

Approval workflow​

How an expense is approved depends on who it is charged to:

  • Charged purely to the client. This can skip internal approval.
  • Involving a recruiter or candidate split. This must be approved by payroll and is never auto-sent to the client.

You can attach approval evidence, such as an email or a signed document, or choose "use signed contract" as the evidence.

If approval has already been received outside RecSphere, for example by email, upload that approval as evidence and use Skip Digital approval only where your process allows it. Upload the supplier receipt or invoice separately from the approval evidence.

For candidate-submitted claims the approver opens the claim, reviews the proof, and either approves the expense forward into pay or invoicing, or rejects it with a feedback note for correction or withdrawal.

Mileage auto-calc

Mileage expenses calculate the rate using the workspace mileage rate where configured. Update the rate in the relevant finance or payroll settings and new mileage claims pick it up automatically.

How expenses are routed​

The charge target on each expense determines where it lands:

  • Candidate. The expense appears on the next payslip, typically non-taxable (so it does not affect PAYE or NI).
  • Client. The expense lands on the next client invoice as a separate line, often with a small handling margin.
  • Recruiter, or a split. The expense is apportioned by the split and goes to payroll for approval before it flows.

You can adjust the charge target on an individual expense before approval.

Xero account mapping (AU)​

In Australia, expense types map to Xero accounts:

  • A logistics sale account is used on the sales side: when reimbursing or deducting from the candidate, or on-charging to the client.
  • A logistics cost account is used for the cost to the business.

Reimbursements and deductions map the same way, and subtypes inherit their parent type's mapping. See Xero for the wider integration.

Rejecting an expense​

If a receipt is missing, the amount is wrong, or the claim is outside policy, use Reject with a clear reason. The candidate can re-upload the receipt or withdraw the claim. Rejected claims do not flow to payroll or invoicing.

Reporting on expenses​

Use the Reports page to filter expenses by candidate, contract, client or category. Export to CSV for any out-of-app reconciliation.