Welcome to the expenses tool. Whether you need to claim back out-of-pocket costs, log company card spending or track your mileage, this guide shows you how to easily submit your expenses from your computer or phone.
Interactive Walkthrough Video
Expenses: Interactive Walkthrough Video (with sound)
Click here to watch our short employee video on how to submit a claim and manage your expenses.
Finding your expenses dashboard
You can manage your expenses on your computer or on the go using the People Portal mobile app.
On your computer, click My Expenses on the left-hand menu.
Alternatively, you can access it via the MY EXPENSES dashboard tile.
On the People Portal mobile app, tap More and you'll find Expenses under More.
On your computer
Your dashboard gives you a quick overview of your spending limits, monthly totals and the status of your claims.
On the People Portal mobile app
The mobile dashboard gives you a quick overview of your total expenses and claim counts. Simply tap on Draft, Underway, or Completed to see the claims under these statuses.
Understanding your claim status
Draft: You've started the claim but haven't sent it to your manager yet.
Submitted: You've sent the claim to your manager and it's awaiting their approval.
Approved: Your manager has given it the green light.
Rejected: Your manager has sent this back to you. You'll see their reason so you can fix the error and resubmit.
Completed: The claim is fully processed and paid out.
💡 Tip: If you need to change a draft or a rejected claim, just click the pencil icon to edit an item, or the bin icon to delete it.
How to create and submit a claim
Think of a claim as a folder, like "June expenses". Inside that folder, you can add multiple individual expense items like a train ticket, a hotel stay or a lunch receipt.
Step 1: Create the claim folder
On your computer
Head to your dashboard and click Submit expense.
Or head to My Expenses from the left-hand menu, and from your Expenses dashboard, click the Create expense claim button in the top right-hand corner
Give it a clear name, like "July London conference" or "August expenses".
Step 2: Add your expense items
Inside your new claim, click Add an expense and choose one of these three options:
Personal expense: You paid with your own money and need to be reimbursed.
Company expense: You paid using a company-issued card.
Mileage claim: See step 4 below for how to add this.
We'll start by looking at the Personal/Company expenses form, these follow the same format.
Step 3: Upload and scan your receipt
Drag and drop your receipt, or upload a photo straight from your phone.
To use the AI scanner, click Scan receipt. Our tool will automatically pull the date, description, and amount for you. If you prefer to enter details yourself, simply click Skip for now.
💡 Tip: If you use the receipt scanner, always double-check the amount and details before you finish to make sure they are correct.
You can manually edit or fill out all of the following fields:
Date: The date of the expense (this auto-fills if you scanned the receipt, but you can type over it).
Description: A brief note about what was bought (this also-auto fills, but can be customised).
Category: Select the correct expense type from the dropdown menu (e.g., Parking, or Meals & Entertainment).
Project: If your company tracks project spending, select the relevant project from this dropdown menu.
Amount: The total cost of the item (auto-fills if scanned, but can be typed over).
Includes VAT: Tick this box if VAT applies to your expense (check with your manager if you are unsure).
Once ticked, select the correct VAT rate from the dropdown (e.g., 20%), and the system will automatically calculate the exact VAT amount for you.
Chargeable to client: Tick this box if the cost is being billed back to a client.
Once ticked, a Client name field will appear below for you to fill in.
Once you have filled in all the details, click Add expense to save this item to your claim folder.
Adding mileage
If you drove your personal vehicle for work, select Mileage Claim from the + Add an expense drop-down.
You have two ways to calculate your distance: Automatic or Manual.
Option A: Automatic Route (Recommended)
The Automatic route option uses an integrated map to calculate your distance for
you.
Select the Automatic toggle on the mileage claim form.
Fill out the form sections from top to bottom:
Trip Details
Date of travel: Enter the date the journey took place.
Mileage rate: Choose the correct rate from the dropdown menu (e.g., “Cars and Vans - £0.45 per mile”) so the system applies the correct reimbursement rate.
Payment method: Select how any associated trip costs were handled (e.g., Personal card or Company card / Petty cash).
From & To: Enter your start and end locations or postcodes.
Return journey: If you traveled there and back, simply tick the Return journey checkbox, and the system will automatically handle doubling the distance for you.
Additional Details
Description: Type a quick note about the purpose of your trip (e.g., “Client visit to Bristol office”).
VAT (included in amount): Enter the VAT amount here if it applies to your trip.
Project: If your company tracks project spending, select the relevant project from this dropdown menu.
Chargeable to client: Tick this box if the cost is being billed back to a client. Once ticked, fill in the Client name field directly below.
Attachments
Upload a receipt: If your company requires it, drag and drop a supporting file (like a fuel receipt or parking ticket) or click to upload one from your device (up to 10MB).
Finishing your automatic claim:
Once you have filled out all the fields, click the blue Calculate mileage button at the very bottom of the form.
The system will instantly map your journey, calculate the exact miles, and display the total cost.
💡 Took a detour? If there were roadworks or an accident and you had to take a longer route than the map suggests, you can tick the Override mileage box after calculating.
This allows you to manually type in the actual miles you drove. Once ticked, a Reason for override field will appear. just type a quick note here so your manager knows why it changed.
When everything looks correct, click Add expense to save the item to your claim folder.
Option B: Manual Route
If you prefer to enter your distance directly rather than using the live map, select the Manual toggle on the mileage claim form.
The form changes slightly to let you type your distance straight into the system.
Fill out the fields as follows:
Route Details
From & To: Enter your start and end locations or postcodes.
Miles: Type in the exact number of miles you drove.
💡 Note: The Return journey checkbox isn't available in manual mode. If you traveled there and back, just calculate the total combined miles and enter that number right here!
Additional Details
Description: Type a clear note about the purpose of your trip (e.g., “Client visit to Bristol office”) so your manager knows what the journey was for.
VAT (included in amount): Enter the VAT amount if applicable.
Project: If your company tracks project spending, select the relevant project from this dropdown.
Chargeable to client: Tick this box if the cost is being billed back to a client. Once ticked, fill in the Client name field that appears below.
Attachments
Upload a receipt: Drag and drop a supporting file (like a fuel receipt) or click to upload one from your device (up to 10MB) if your company requires it.
Finishing your manual claim: Once you have checked over all your details, click the blue Add mileage button at the very bottom of the form. This will immediately save the item to your claim folder. Easy as that!
Submitting your claim for approval
Your created claims will appear on your My Expenses dashboard under Your expense claims, you'll see the claim status on the right under Status.
Clicking on any expense claim will bring up the claim details showing each item.
You can add as many claim items as needed and will see the total claim amount. Once you've added all your receipts and mileage for that claim, scroll to the top of the screen and click Submit.
You can also edit the claim, download the claim details as a PDF (Download report) or delete the claim here.
Your manager will automatically receive an email to review it. You'll also get an instant email notification the moment they approve or reject it, so you're always kept in the loop.
On the Breathe People Portal mobile app
Claiming on your phone follows the exact same simple flow as the desktop version, just with the added bonus of being able to snap receipts on the go!
Here is how to do it in a few taps:
Create your claim folder: Tap More > HR > Expenses, then tap the blue Create expense claim button at the bottom of the screen.
Give it a clear name (e.g., "June Expenses").
Add your items: Inside your new claim, tap Add expenses
Next, pick your type (Personal, Company, or Mileage).
Snap & scan: Tap Scan receipt to launch your phone's camera. Take a quick photo of your receipt and let the AI scanner automatically fill in the amount and date for you (or fill out manually if preferred), add your description and amount and tap Next
Add a Category, Project (if relevant) and complete the VAT and Chargeable to client details. Once ready, tap Add expense.
Submit: Once all your items are added, check the summary, once happy with your claim details, tap Submit claim to send it straight to your manager.
For more information on the Breathe People Portal mobile app, click here
💡 Are you a manager or admin? If you are responsible for reviewing team spending or managing settings, head over to our Full Expenses Guide to see how to approve, reject, or mark claims as paid.
Quick FAQs
Q: Can I log an expense in a different currency?
A: Your expenses must match your profile's default currency. If you buy something abroad, convert the amount into your usual currency before adding it.
You can write down the original cost and the exchange rate in the description box for your manager.
Q: What happens if I go over the company spending limit?
A: If your company has daily spending limits on certain categories, the system will show you a warning on your screen before you hit submit so you can adjust it.