Enforce your exact T&E policy without rigid software limitations.
40+ rule templates mapped to your handbook clauses, tiered by role, aware of per diems, VAT and IRS substantiation timing.
rules / meals / dinner-cap
- rule
- Dinner cap, Sales US
- when
- category = Meals.Dinner
- and
- per_person(total + tax + tip) > 75.00 USD
- tier
- Staff, Manager (Director 125.00)
- then
- flag severity=medium
- cite
- Handbook 5.1
- draft
- tone=friendly, channel=slack
- send
- after AP approval
Toggle a rule. Eight expenses re-audit instantly.
This is the rule builder your controller uses. Switch rules off, change a cap, and see which submissions pass or fail and how many dollars are held.
Policy: Sales, US
6 of 6 active
Dinner cap per person $75
Total incl. tax and tip, divided by attendees
Alcohol requires a client attendee
Internal-only meals: alcohol is personal
Business class only on flights over 6h
Scheduled segment duration, Staff tier
Lodging cap per night $250
Before occupancy tax, tier-1 cities
Weekend spend needs a business purpose
Saturday and Sunday transactions
Itemized receipt required at $75+
Treas. Reg. § 1.274-5(c)(2)(iii)
Expenses
8
Flagged
5
Dollars held
$3,070.88
Priya Raman, Staff
Ostra, Boston, 3 guests incl. 1 client
$105.41 per person
$316.23
Fail 1Rohan Desai, Staff
United ORD to SFO, business, 4h 20m
business on 4.3h segment
$1,486.20
Fail 1Grace Odum, Director
BA JFK to LHR, business, 7h 05m
$3,212.40
PassDaniel Brandt, Staff
Tavola, Denver, 2 internal attendees
$38.00 alcohol, no client
$142.60
Fail 1Ravi Menon, Staff
Midtown hotel, NYC, $312.80/night
$312.80 per night
$938.40
Fail 1Leah Novak, Staff
The Gilded Rail, Saturday 11:48 pm
$187.45 alcohol, no clientSaturday, no purposeno itemized receipt
$187.45
Fail 3Owen Pratt, Staff
Sweetgreen lunch, no receipt
$64.10
PassSofia Marchetti, Staff
Uber, LGA to Midtown
$84.20
Pass
42 rule templates, ready on day one
Each template ships with a default clause, a severity, and a drafted pushback. Turn them on, tune the numbers, or write your own.
Meals & per diem
- Dinner cap per person
- Lunch and breakfast caps
- GSA M&IE per diem by city
- 75% first and last travel day
- Meals provided by conference deducted
- Tip over 22% flagged
- Team meal attendee minimum
Air & ground
- Cabin class by flight duration
- Advance booking window
- Out-of-tool airline bookings
- Seat and bag fees
- Rideshare premium tiers
- Rental car class
- Mileage at the IRS standard rate
Lodging
- Nightly cap by city tier
- Minibar and pay-per-view
- In-room dining split
- Laundry on short stays
- Resort and destination fees
- Preferred hotel programs
- Weekend stay-over justification
Alcohol & entertainment
- Alcohol requires client attendee
- Alcohol share of bill
- Solo-travel alcohol
- Entertainment tickets
- Gift limit of $25 per recipient
- Golf and club fees
- Late-night bar tabs
Documentation & timing
- Itemized receipt at $75+
- Lodging receipt always
- 60-day substantiation
- 120-day return of excess
- Business purpose required
- Attendee list required
- Receipt date matches transaction
Card, vendor & fraud
- Cross-system duplicates
- Split purchases under limits
- Weekend and holiday spend
- Blocked merchant categories
- Personal card used with corporate card issued
- Round-dollar cash claims
- Vendor velocity spikes
IRS Accountable Plan
Substantiation checks that keep reimbursements off the W-2
Under IRC § 62 and Treas. Reg. § 1.62-2, a plan that fails its business connection, substantiation or return-of-excess requirements can see reimbursements treated as wages subject to income tax withholding and FICA.
Treas. Reg. § 1.62-2(d)
Business connection
- Business purpose captured on every expense
- Attendee names and relationship for meals
- Personal lines split out before reimbursement
Treas. Reg. § 1.62-2(e), (g)(2)
Substantiation within 60 days
- 60-day timer from the date incurred
- Itemized receipt at $75 or your stricter $25
- Lodging receipts required at any amount
Treas. Reg. § 1.62-2(f), (g)(2)
Return of excess within 120 days
- Advances and per diem excess tracked per employee
- 120-day timer with reminders at day 90 and 110
- Unreturned amounts listed for payroll treatment
Role tiers that are written down, not negotiated
Stricter limits for general staff and transparent allowances for leadership, so a VP's flight passes because the policy says so and AP never has to make the call alone.
| Rule | Staff | Manager | Director | Executive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dinner cap per person | $75 | $90 | $125 | $175 |
| Hotel nightly cap, tier-1 city | $250 | $275 | $325 | $450 |
| Business class allowed | Segments over 6h | Segments over 6h | Segments over 4h | All segments |
| Alcohol | Client present | Client present | Client present | Client or board event |
| Pre-approval above | $500 | $1,500 | $5,000 | CFO review over $10,000 |
| Who approves the pushback | AP | AP | AP lead | Controller |
Multi-currency and foreign VAT, evaluated in the currency it was spent in
Caps are set per currency, so a London dinner is judged against your pound limit, not a dollar figure that moves with the exchange rate. VAT lines and supplier VAT numbers are captured for reclaim.
- Original currency, card settlement amount and the rate used are all kept on the line.
- Discretionary service charges are separated from VAT-bearing items.
- Missing supplier VAT numbers are flagged before the reclaim deadline, not after.
Larder & Vine, London WC2
- Mains x2£58.00
- Sides£9.50
- Sparkling water£5.20
- Coffee x2£7.40
- Dessert£5.59
- Service 12.5% (discretionary)£10.71
- VAT included at 20%
- £14.28 reclaimable
- Supplier VAT no.
- GB 284 6612 09
- Card settlement
- $122.76 at 1.2734
- Per person (2)
- £48.20 vs £60 cap
Rules engine questions
No. Upload the handbook PDF and Phyto Nex AI maps each clause to one of its 40+ rule templates, with the clause number attached so pushbacks can cite it. You review and adjust the mapping in the rule builder before anything runs.
Yes. Meal and lodging rules can reference GSA CONUS rates by city and fiscal year, State Department rates for foreign travel, or your own city tiers. The first and last travel day can be set to 75% of the M&IE rate, matching the federal convention.
Executives get their own tier with explicit limits, so a VP's business-class flight passes because the tier allows it, not because someone waved it through. Every tier change is logged with who made it and when.
Phyto Nex AI tracks the 60-day and 120-day timers from the fixed-date safe harbor and reminds the employee and AP before each deadline. Amounts still unsubstantiated after the window are listed for payroll so they can be treated as wages, which keeps the rest of the plan intact. Your tax advisor confirms the treatment.
Yes. Policies stack: a global base, entity or country overrides, and department or role tiers on top. The rule builder shows which layer set each limit.
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