What Emburse Assurance Does
Emburse Assurance uses AI-powered checks to help your organization identify potential compliance risks in expenses and receipts.
Unlike standard policy rules, which rely on required fields and static thresholds, Emburse Assurance can detect patterns and risks that are difficult to capture through traditional configuration alone. Examples include receipt irregularities, unusual spending amounts, or vendor concerns.
Your organization controls which Emburse Assurance checks are enabled and where they run in the workflow.
How Administrators Enable Emburse Assurance
Emburse Assurance is not enabled by default. To enable Emburse Assurance, submit a demo request or contact your Emburse Spend representative.
Once Emburse Assurance is enabled, your organization can configure which checks run on the Expense Policies page. Available checks and behavior may vary depending on your organization’s policy configuration.
How Emburse Assurance Works
Emburse Assurance runs at multiple points in the expense lifecycle to help users identify and resolve issues early.
1. Proactive Alerts (Mobile)
Audience: Users
When It Runs: During receipt capture, when a user uploads a receipt to the Receipt Gallery or attaches a receipt to an expense (on web or in the mobile app)
What Users See:
- A push notification for missing itemization when a receipt is uploaded to the Receipt Gallery
- An in-app alert when a receipt is attached to an expense
What Users Should Do:
- Review the alert details.
- Upload a complete, itemized receipt or add a comment upon submission to provide context.
2. Pre-Submission Review
Audience: Users
When It Runs: When the user selects Submit
What Users See: A modal titled Potential Issues to Review that lists all triggered checks
What Users Should Do:
- Review each flagged issue.
- Select Return to Edit or provide a required explanation for each item to proceed with submission.
Pre-submission checks do not run in the following scenarios:
- Split Expenses: Pre-submission checks are not triggered when an expense is split.
-
Additional Receipts After Submission: Adding
a second
receipt to an already submitted expense does not trigger the
pre-submission
review modal.
- To trigger checks, the user must edit the expense and select Save.
3. Post-Submission Review
Audience: Users and Approvers (Managers and Admins)
When It Runs: After the expense is submitted
What Users and Approvers See: A yellow Warning box in the expense detail view
What Approvers Should Do: Review the warning details and the submitter’s comments, then approve or return the expense based on policy and judgment.
How the Yellow Warning Works
When an Emburse Assurance check is triggered after submission, the system displays a yellow Warning box in the expense detail view.
The yellow Warning box:
- Identifies the triggered Emburse Assurance check
- Appears to approvers and may also appear to submitters, depending on the check type
- Distinguishes AI-generated guidance from standard policy messaging via the purple shield icon
What Approvers See
Approvers see both pre-submission and post-submission Emburse Assurance results in the yellow Warning box during review.
User responses to pre-submission checks are recorded in the Activity Log on the Expense Details view to provide additional context for flagged issues.
Approvers can:
- Review the triggered check details.
- Read the submitter’s responses in the Activity Log.
- Approve or return the expense based on policy and judgment.
Emburse Assurance Checks Available in Emburse Spend
Your organization’s policy configuration determines which of these checks are enabled.
Emburse Assurance Check |
When It Runs |
How It Appears |
What It Checks |
What It Means for Users |
What It Means for Approvers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Itemized Receipt Check | Mobile, pre-submission, post-submission | Push notification, pre-submission review modal, expense detail warning box | Detects missing line-item detail on qualifying meal receipts | Attach an itemized receipt or provide required context | Request documentation before approval |
| Fake Receipt Detection | Post-submission | Expense detail warning box | Detects signs that a receipt may be forged, altered, or suspicious | Provide additional context if requested | Review closely and follow escalation procedures if needed |
| Alcohol Detection | Pre-submission and post-submission | Pre-submission review modal, expense detail warning box | Scans receipt line items to detect alcohol and calculate spend | Provide justification if required by policy | Confirm alcohol policy compliance |
| Vendor Legitimacy Verification | Post-submission | Expense detail warning box | Flags vendors that may be suspicious or cannot be validated through public sources | Confirm business purpose if prompted | Request clarification or documentation |
| Unusual Amount or Price Anomaly | Post-submission | Expense detail warning box | Flags amounts that appear unusual based on merchant, category, or location patterns | Confirm accuracy and provide context | Validate business purpose and policy alignment |
| Excessive Tip Anomaly | Pre-submission and post-submission | Pre-submission review modal, expense detail warning box | Flags tips that exceed 25% of the transaction total | Correct the tip or provide justification | Validate tip compliance before approval |
How Users Benefit from Emburse Assurance
Emburse Assurance helps you:
- Identify receipt and expense issues earlier
- Reduce back-and-forth with approvers
- Submit more complete and policy-aligned expenses
When issues are addressed before submission, expenses move through review more efficiently.
How Approvers Benefit from Emburse Assurance
Emburse Assurance helps approvers:
- Focus review time on higher-risk submissions
- Identify patterns that may require additional scrutiny
- Maintain consistent compliance standards
Emburse Assurance does not replace your organization’s policies or approval workflows. It provides additional insight to support informed decision-making.