Fr8Claims — User Guide (submitting claims & cash advances)

Video Walkthrough

Watch the walkthrough to see the full cycle: creating an expense claim, submitting it, tracking progress with the progress strip, how an approver reviews line items and rejects, duplicating a rejected claim to fix and resubmit, and final approval.

Fr8Claims-User-Guide-v2.mp4

What is Fr8Claims

Fr8Claims is your company's expense claim app. Submit a claim for anything you paid out of pocket — attach a receipt photo and the app reads the amount, vendor, and date automatically. Claims route to your approver based on the amount, and once approved they post directly to your company's Accounting Module for reimbursement.

The progress strip on each claim tracks your claim's journey from submission to reimbursement. If a claim is rejected, the rejection reason is shown with a one-tap path to duplicate as a draft, fix the issue, and resubmit — no need to start from scratch.

Need money before spending it? Use Cash Advances to request funds upfront for job-related expenses, then settle with receipts later.

Logging in for the first time

There are no passwords. Fr8Claims uses magic links.

Email magic link — Open your Fr8Claims URL, enter your registered email, and tap Send Link. Check your inbox and tap the link. It expires in 15 minutes; request another if it does.
WhatsApp magic link — Phone-only users get the link delivered to WhatsApp. See Claims on WhatsApp.

Install as a PWA — Add Fr8Claims to your home screen for one-tap access:

iPhone: Share > Add to Home Screen
Android: Tap the install banner, or browser menu > Add to Home Screen

Submitting a claim

Tap + New Claim on the home screen. If you already have claims, tap the + button in the bottom-right corner.
Enter a description (e.g. "Team lunch — client meeting") and pick a category (e.g. Transport), then tap Create Claim. The claim is created in Draft status with S$0.00.
Add line items with + Add Item. Fill in the amount, a short description of the expense, the date, and optionally the vendor. You can also attach a receipt photo — the app reads it and pre-fills the amount, vendor, and date automatically.
Review the total. Each line item you save updates the claim total. In the walkthrough, a single line item of S$45.50 for "Lunch at Lau Pa Sat" brings the total to S$45.50.
Tap Submit for Approval when all items are added. The Submit button stays disabled until you add at least one line item — you cannot submit an empty claim.

Travel & Entertainment categories

Some categories are set up by your admin as Travel & Entertainment — for hosting, meals, drinks, or client-entertainment spend that needs an audit trail. You'll know one of these categories because, when you add a line item under it, the app asks for a few extra details that a normal category doesn't.

How it's different from a normal category:

	Normal category	Travel & Entertainment category
Line-item fields	Amount, description, date, vendor (optional)	The same, plus five required audit fields
Can you submit without them?	Yes	No — the extra fields must be filled in first

When you add a line item to a Travel & Entertainment claim, you'll be asked for:

Company / customer hosted — who the spend was for
Where / venue — e.g. the restaurant or venue name
# of pax — how many people attended
Attendees — who was there
Business purpose — why (e.g. "customer relationship dinner")

All five are required. The claim can't be submitted until every Travel & Entertainment line item has them — whether you're using the app or the WhatsApp bot. (On WhatsApp, after you send a receipt that looks like a meal or hosting expense, the bot asks whether it's an entertainment expense and, if so, collects these details before creating the claim.)

If you photograph a restaurant, bar, or hotel receipt under a normal category, the app may gently suggest switching to a Travel & Entertainment category so the details get captured — it's only a suggestion, it won't change the category for you.

Your approver sees these details when they review the claim, so filling them in accurately helps it get approved faster.

What happens after you submit

After you submit, the claim detail screen shows a progress strip with four steps:

Submitted — your claim is in the queue.
Approval (N of M) — waiting on approver review. If your company uses multiple approval levels, N shows which level you're at (e.g. "Approval 1 of 1" or "Approval 2 of 2").
Approved — all approvers have signed off.
Sent to finance — posted to your company's Accounting Module for reimbursement.

The active step is highlighted so you always know where your claim stands. In the walkthrough, the S$45.50 claim shows "Approval 1 of 1" immediately after submission — one approver needs to review it.

How claims route depends on the amount:

Auto-approve — Claims under your company's threshold are approved instantly and skip the approval step.
Single-level approval — Above the threshold, your direct manager reviews the claim.
Two-level approval — Very large claims may also require department-head approval.

Thresholds are set by your tenant admin and vary per company.

When your claim is rejected

If an approver rejects your claim, the detail screen shows:

A red callout with the rejection reason and who rejected it — for example, "Please split lunch and taxi into separate line items."
A Duplicate as draft & fix button below the reason.

Tap Duplicate as draft & fix to create a new draft with all your line items and receipt photos already copied over. Fix the issue the approver flagged, then resubmit. No re-keying amounts, no re-photographing receipts.

Note: The duplicate is a fresh claim with its own claim number. The original rejected claim stays in your history as a record.

Tracking claim status

Open the Claims tab to see all your claims with status badges. The summary bar at the top shows your total claim count and how many are pending.

The progress strip on each claim shows you at a glance where it is in the pipeline — no more guessing.

Status	What it means	What you do
Draft	Not yet submitted	Finish adding items, then Submit
Pending approval	Waiting for your approver(s)	Nothing — they're notified
Approved	All approvals complete	Nothing — payment is on the way
Rejected	Returned with a reason	Open it, see the reason, tap Duplicate as draft & fix, then resubmit
Sent to finance	Posted to your Accounting Module	Done

Requesting a cash advance

Cash advances are for job-related expenses when you need money before you spend it — for example, port charges or transport costs for an upcoming job.

Tap Advances in the bottom navigation bar.
Tap + New Advance (the + button).
Enter the job number (required — this links the advance to a specific job in the Job Module). The HBL number is optional if the advance relates to a specific house bill.
Enter the amount and description, then submit.

After the advance is approved and disbursed, you settle it later by attaching receipts to show how the funds were used. Any unspent balance is returned.

Settlement deadlines. Once disbursed, each advance card shows Settle by <date> · N days left. When the deadline is within 3 days, the badge turns amber. After the deadline passes, it shows OVERDUE in red. You receive WhatsApp and email reminders as the deadline approaches.

Close & Settle. When you tap Close & Settle, the confirmation screen tells you upfront: how much you spent vs. the disbursed amount, whether you owe money back (underspent), or whether a reimbursement claim will be created for you automatically (overspent).

For the full advance lifecycle — requesting, settling, and reconciliation — see User Guide for Cash Advances.

Requesting a travel budget

If your company uses Travel Budget Control, you can ask for a travel budget before a business trip — a pre-approved spending limit for that trip. (If you don't see this option, your company hasn't turned it on.)

How it's different from a cash advance: a cash advance is money paid to you up front; a travel budget is a plan for what the trip should cost. No money moves when it's approved — it just sets the limit your trip claims are measured against.

To request one:

Open Travel Budgets in the app and start a new request.
Enter your destination and travel dates.
Add your expected costs line by line — flights, hotel, meals, ground transport, and so on.
Submit it. It goes to your approvers, just like a claim.

Once it's approved, you have your budget for the trip. As you spend, submit your claims as normal and link them to the budget — the app keeps a running total of how much you've used and how much is left.

Going over? You'll see a heads-up if your claims add up to more than the approved budget, but it won't stop you from submitting — your finance team just gets visibility so they can follow up if needed.

Approving claims (for approvers only)

If your tenant admin has set you as an approver, you see an Approvals tab with a badge showing how many claims are waiting for your review.

Three ways to approve or reject:

In the app — Each approval card shows the claim number, claimant name, description, and amount. Tap View items & receipts to expand the card and see every line item — description, amount, date, and tappable receipt photo chips. Review the evidence before you decide. In the walkthrough, claim RC-2026-0068 from Glenn Lai shows "Lunch at Lau Pa Sat" at S$45.50 with Approve and Reject buttons below the expanded detail.
On WhatsApp — Reply A to approve or R to reject when the bot notifies you. See Claims on WhatsApp.
Via email — Click the magic link in the approval notification email to review and act.

Rejections require a reason — the claimant sees it on their claim detail screen with a one-tap path to duplicate, fix, and resubmit.

Using WhatsApp with Fr8Claims

Fr8Claims works with WhatsApp so you can submit claims and get updates without opening the app.

Plain-language commands — Type words like status, help, or cancel. Indonesian equivalents work too: batal, bantuan.
Flexible amounts — Enter amounts in local formats: "45000 makan siang", "1.500.000 bensin", "45rb parkir", "$45 lunch".
Direct links — Bot replies include a link that opens straight to the relevant claim in the app.
Rejection follow-up — If your claim is rejected, the WhatsApp message tells you to submit a new one. Open the app and tap Duplicate as draft & fix to reuse your items and receipts.
Expired approvals — Approvers who reply A or R to an old notification are told it has expired and directed to the app.

For setup and the full command reference, see Claims on WhatsApp.

Notifications

You receive notifications on both WhatsApp and email (whichever you have registered) for key events:

Approval decisions — When your claim is approved or rejected (rejections include the reason).
Cash disbursements — When a cash advance is disbursed, with the settlement deadline.
Settlement reminders — Daily reminders as the settlement deadline approaches.
Settlement outcomes — Confirmation when a cash advance is closed and settled.

No need to check the app constantly — notifications come to you.

Common questions

I didn't receive the login email — Check spam. Make sure the email matches the one your admin registered. Ask your admin to resend if needed.

I can't edit my submitted claim — Submitted claims are locked. If your claim was rejected, open it and tap Duplicate as draft & fix to create an editable copy with all your items and receipts. If it's still pending, contact your approver.

My claim has been pending for days — Your approver may not have seen the notification. Ping them directly or ask your admin to check the approval queue.

Where do I see why my claim was rejected? — Open the rejected claim from the Claims tab. A red callout shows the rejection reason and who rejected it. Below it, tap Duplicate as draft & fix to create a new draft with your items already copied.

What does the progress strip mean? — The four steps are: Submitted → Approval (N of M) → Approved → Sent to finance. The active step is highlighted. N shows which approval level your claim is at, and M is the total number of levels required.

Can I delete a draft claim? — Yes. Open the draft and tap Delete Draft. Only claims in Draft status can be deleted.

What currency are amounts in? — Amounts are in your tenant's configured currency. The currency is shown on the new-claim form (e.g. "Amounts will be entered as line items in SGD") and on all totals.

Can I claim an expense I paid in another currency? — If your company has turned on overseas expense capture, yes — record the expense in the currency you actually paid:

In the app — pick the currency at the top of the new-claim form before you add items.
On WhatsApp — start the amount with the currency, for example RM79 lunch, ฿250 taxi, or $70 fuel.
From a receipt photo — the app reads the currency off the receipt (and asks you if it can't tell).

Fr8Claims converts it to your company's currency at the current exchange rate and shows both — for example MYR 79.00 → S$23.70 — while keeping your original amount on record. A plain number with no currency is always in your company's currency. If you don't see a currency option, your company hasn't turned this on — check with your tenant admin.

What happens if I overspend a cash advance? — When you close and settle an advance and your receipts exceed the disbursed amount, a reimbursement claim is created for you automatically for the difference.

Need help?

Your first stop is your tenant admin — the person who set up Fr8Claims for your team. They can check your account, the approval pipeline, and your claim history from the admin panel.