User Guide for Cash Advances
Video Walkthrough
Watch the full cash advance lifecycle — from request to settlement — in about 2 minutes.
Fr8Claims-Cash-Advances-StageTest.mp4
What is a cash advance?
A cash advance is money your company gives you before you incur an expense — for example, before a port collection run or a business trip. You receive the funds upfront, spend what you need, then settle the advance by submitting receipts for your actual expenses afterward.
This is the opposite of a regular expense claim, where you pay out of pocket first and get reimbursed later.
When to use a cash advance vs a regular claim
Cash Advance | Regular Claim | |
|---|---|---|
When | Before you spend | After you've already paid |
Why | You don't want to use your own cash for company expenses | You've already paid out of pocket and need reimbursement |
Settlement | Submit receipts after your trip to close out the advance | Attach receipts at the time you submit the claim |
Job-related | Optional — can link to a specific job number | Optional — can link to a specific job number |
The lifecycle of a cash advance
Every cash advance moves through a defined set of stages:
Draft → Pending L1 → Approved → Settle Now → Settlement Review → Settled
At any approval stage, an approver can reject the advance — you'll see the rejection reason on the detail screen and can resubmit with corrections. Admins can also force-close an advance that's been abandoned or is no longer needed.
Note: The status badges in the app use shorthand labels: "Pending L1" means waiting for your Level 1 approver, "Settle Now" means funds have been disbursed and it's time to submit receipts, and "Settlement Review" means your receipts are being reviewed by your approver.
Requesting a cash advance
Tap the Advances tab in the bottom navigation bar.
Tap the + button to open the Request Cash Advance form.
Choose the advance type:
General (OPEX) — for office or operational expenses not tied to a specific shipment.
Job Related — ties the advance to a shipment job number. An optional HBL number field appears for house-bill-level tracking.
Enter a clear Purpose (e.g. "Client site visit — transport, parking & meals") and the Amount Needed. Your tenant's currency (e.g. SGD) is pre-filled.
Tap Request Advance to submit.
In the walkthrough, an advance of S$150.00 was submitted for "Client site visit — transport, parking & meals". Because the amount exceeded the auto-approval threshold, it moved to Pending L1 status immediately.
Tracking approval status
Your Advances list shows each advance as a card with a colour-coded status badge:
Badge | Meaning |
|---|---|
Draft | Created but not yet submitted |
Pending L1 / Pending L2 | In your approver's queue (Level 1 or Level 2 depending on amount) |
Approved | Approved — waiting for finance to disburse funds |
Settle Now | Funds have been disbursed — submit your receipts |
Settlement Review | Your settlement receipts are under review |
Settled | Fully closed and reconciled |
The summary bar at the top of the Advances tab shows your Total, Pending, and Settled counts at a glance. You'll receive notifications via WhatsApp or email when your advance changes status. Approvers can also approve directly from their notification.
Receiving the advance
After your approver approves the advance, your finance team processes the disbursement through the Accounting Module. Once posted, the advance status changes to Settle Now in your app — time to use the funds.
In the walkthrough, the pending S$150.00 advance is visible in the approver's queue in the admin panel, waiting for Level 1 approval from Aishah Rahman. The approved advance detail shows the Approved badge with the S$150.00 amount in the claimant's view.
Settling the advance with receipts
This is the most important step — every disbursed advance must be settled with receipts.
Open your Advances list and tap the advance showing Settle Now.
Tap + Add Receipt.
For each expense, enter:
Description (e.g. "Petrol — Shell Jurong")
Amount (e.g. S$80.00)
Date of the expense
Optionally: vendor name and a receipt photo
Repeat for each expense. The amounts bar at the top updates as you add receipts, showing Disbursed vs Settled vs Difference.
When all receipts are added, tap Close & Settle — Submit for Approval.
Your approver reviews the receipts. If approved, the advance moves to Settled.
In the walkthrough, a settled advance shows its reconciliation outcome: S$150.00 disbursed against S$120.00 in receipts, with one receipt — "Transport to client site" (S$120.00) — from Grab Transport.
A fully settled advance shows a read-only view with the reconciliation outcome. In the walkthrough, the settled advance displayed Disbursed S$150.00, Settled S$120.00, Difference S$30.00, with an "Underspent — excess to return" banner indicating the claimant spent less than was advanced.
What happens if I don't settle?
Your company sets a settlement deadline (configurable by your admin). If you miss it:
An overdue banner appears on the advance in your app.
Depending on your company's settings, overdue advances may block new claims and new advance requests until you settle.
Your admin can force-close the advance or extend the deadline if needed.
Job-related vs office expenses
When requesting an advance, choose Job Related if the expense is tied to a specific shipment. This links the advance to a job in the Job Module, letting finance track unsettled advances per shipment.
Choose General (OPEX) for office or operational expenses not tied to a specific job — things like office supplies, team meals, or general travel.
HBL-level cash advances
For freight forwarders managing consolidated shipments: if your advance covers expenses tied to a specific House Bill of Lading (HBL), enter the HBL number when requesting the advance. This provides cost tracking at the house-bill level within a consolidated shipment.
If your expense applies to the entire shipment (MBL level) or isn't job-related, leave the HBL field blank.
Common questions
When do I get the money? After your approver approves the advance AND your finance team processes the disbursement. The status changes to "Settle Now" once funds are posted.
Can I edit an advance after submitting? No. Ask your approver to reject it, then resubmit a corrected advance.
I lost a receipt — what do I do? Note the missing receipt in the description field when adding that expense. Your approver decides whether to accept the settlement without it.
I spent less than I was advanced. Submit only the receipts you have. The difference is automatically reconciled — the app flags the excess as "Underspent — excess to return."
I spent more than I was advanced. Submit all your receipts including those exceeding the advance amount. File a separate regular expense claim for the overage.
My settlement was rejected — what now? Check the rejection reason on the advance detail screen. Fix the issue (e.g. add a missing receipt or correct an amount), then resubmit.
Need help?
Ask your tenant admin or message the Fr8Claims WhatsApp bot.