ME Expense Implementation Guide

Module Overview

This guide explains the configuration required to enable and manage the MESuite Expense Claims module within Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.

The Expense Claims module provides employees with a controlled method of capturing, submitting, approving, and reimbursing business expenses. Once configured, the module integrates with Business Central to create Purchase Orders or Purchase Invoices, allocate expenses to the appropriate General Ledger accounts, apply financial dimensions, and route claims through the configured approval workflow.

This guide covers the Business Central configuration required before users can begin submitting expense claims through MESuite.

Configuration Overview

Expense Claims rely on several Business Central records working together. The recommended configuration order is shown below.

Completing the setup in this order ensures that each configuration is available for subsequent steps and reduces the likelihood of configuration errors.

1. API User Setup

Overview

The API User is responsible for creating Purchase Orders or Purchase Invoices in Business Central when approved expense claims are submitted from MESuite.

Before the Expense Claims module can be used, the API User must be configured with the required permissions and default purchasing values. Incorrect configuration will prevent expense claims from synchronizing successfully between MESuite and Business Central.

Configuring the API User

Navigate to API Users.
Open the API User used by MESuite.
Verify that the following fields have been configured:

Field	Description
Authorize Exp. Purch. Orders	Enables the API User to create authorised Expense Purchase Orders in Business Central.
Sundry Order	Specifies the default Sundry Purchase Order used during expense processing.

Save the changes.

Both fields must be configured before Expense Claims can be successfully submitted. If either field is missing or incorrectly configured , MESuite will be unable to create the Purchase Order and an error will be returned during submission.

How the API User is Used

When an employee submits an approved Expense Claim, MESuite communicates with Business Central using the configured API User.

The API User performs the following functions:

Creates the Expense Purchase Order.
Applies Vendor information.
Applies the configured G/L Account Allocations.
Creates the financial transaction.
Returns the Purchase Order Number to MESuite.

Because every submitted expense claim passes through the API User, it is recommended that this account be dedicated exclusively to MESuite integrations and not used for daily operational activities.

Best Practice

Use a dedicated API User account for MESuite integrations rather than assigning these permissions to an individual employee account. This simplifies auditing, improves security, and prevents integration failures if employee accounts are disabled or modified.

Resource Configuration

Overview

Resources represent employees within Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and form the foundation of the MESuite Expense Claims module.

Every employee who submits expense claims must have an associated Resource record. The Resource stores employee information used throughout the Expense Claims process, including workflow notifications, vendor linking, approval routing, and financial processing.

Before an employee can submit an Expense Claim, the following must be configured:

A Resource record
A Staff Vendor
A linked Vendor Number
User security within MESuite

Without a Resource record, the employee cannot be recognized by the Expense Claims module.

Creating a Resource

Create a Resource for each employee who will submit Expense Claims.

To create a Resource

Navigate to Resources.
Select New.
Complete the required fields on the Resource Card.
Save the Resource.

Personal Data

Under the Personal Data Fast Tab, populate the employee's email address.

Field	Description
Email Address	Stores the employee's email address used for workflow notifications and system communications.

The email address is used by MESuite when sending:

Expense Claim submission confirmations
Approval notifications
Rejection notifications
Workflow updates
Other automated system communications

Employees without a valid email address may not receive workflow notifications generated by MESuite. It is recommended that every Resource has a unique business email address.

Resource Behaviors

Once created, the Resource becomes the primary employee record used by MESuite.

During Expense Claim processing, MESuite retrieves information from the Resource to:

Identify the submitting employee
Determine the linked Staff Vendor
Route approvals
Apply user permissions
Generate reimbursement transactions

The Resource itself does not receive payments.

Instead, it provides the link between the employee and the Staff Vendor that will ultimately receive the reimbursement.

Relationship Between Resources and Staff Vendors

Each Resource should be linked to a single Staff Vendor.

The relationship is illustrated below.

Employee Card

Resource Card

Vendor No.

Staff Vendor

Purchase Orders

Vendor Ledger Entry

This relationship allows approved Expense Claims to be posted against the correct Vendor while still identifying the employee who incurred the expense.

Best Practice

Create Resources using your organization’s standard naming convention.

For example:

Resource No	Employee
EMP00015	Naledi Mofokeng
EMP00016	Tenille Leukis

Common Mistakes

The following issues commonly prevent employees from submitting Expense Claims.

Issue	Result
No Resource created	Employee cannot access Expense Claims
Email Address missing	Workflow notifications are not delivered
Resource not linked to a Staff Vendor	Purchase Orders cannot be created
Resource inactive	Employee cannot submit claims

Creating a Resource does not automatically enable the employee to use MESuite.

Additional configuration is required, including:

Creating a Staff Vendor
Linking the Vendor to the Resource
Assigning Vendor G/L Account Allocations
Configuring Company Security
Granting MESuite module access

These configurations are covered in the following sections.

Creating a Staff Vendor

Overview

Every employee who submits Expense Claims must also have a corresponding Staff Vendor within Business Central.

The Staff Vendor represents the employee as a payable Vendor and is used during reimbursement. When an Expense Claim is approved, MESuite creates the financial transaction against the linked Staff Vendor, allowing the employee to be reimbursed through the standard Business Central purchasing process.

A Staff Vendor is not used for procurement or supplier purchasing. Instead, it exists solely to support employee reimbursements generated from approved Expense Claims.

Before You Begin

Before creating a Staff Vendor, ensure that:

A Resource has already been created for the employee.
General Posting Groups have been configured.
Vendor Posting Groups have been configured.
G/L Account Allocations have been created (recommended).
The employee exists as a Resource in Business Central.

Creating a Staff Vendor

To create a Staff Vendor

Navigate to Vendors.
Select New from the ribbon.
Choose the appropriate Vendor Template (if applicable).
Complete the required fields on the Vendor Card.
Save the Vendor.

Completing the Vendor Card

The Vendor Card stores the financial information required to reimburse employees.

The following Fast Tabs should be completed before linking the Vendor to a Resource.

General Fast Tab

Complete the employee's general information.

Typical fields include:

Field	Purpose
Vendor No.	Unique Vendor identifier
Name	Employee name
Search Name	Used during searches
Address	Employee or company address (if required)
Phone Number	Contact information
Email	Vendor correspondence

Your organization’s standard Vendor creation procedures should be followed when completing these fields.

Invoicing Fast Tab

The Invoicing Fast Tab determines how Expense Claims are posted to the General Ledger.

Populate the following fields:

	Description
Gen. Bus. Posting Group	Determines the General Business Posting Group used during posting.
VAT Bus. Posting Group	Determines how VAT is treated when the expense transaction is posted
Vendor Posting Group	Determines the Vendor Ledger account used when creating payable entries.

These fields are mandatory and should align with your organization’s financial configuration.

Understanding the Posting Groups

General Business Posting Group

The General Business Posting Group identifies the business relationship between the organization and the Vendor.

During Expense Claim posting, Business Central combines the General Business Posting Group with the General Product Posting Group configured on the G/L Allocation to determine which General Ledger accounts will be used.

Incorrect configuration may result in posting errors or transactions being allocated to the wrong accounts.

VAT Business Posting Group

The VAT Business Posting Group determines how VAT is calculated during posting.

For Staff Vendors, this configuration depends on your organization’s financial policies and local tax legislation.

Best Practice

Where employees are being reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses rather than supplying taxable goods or services, many organizations configure Staff Vendors as VAT Exempt.

This is because:

Employees are not VAT vendors.
The reimbursement represents repayment of business expenses rather than payment for taxable supplies.
VAT recovery is generally determined by the original supplier's tax invoice rather than the employee.

VAT treatment should always be configured in accordance with your organizations accounting policies and applicable tax legislation.

Vendor Posting Group

The Vendor Posting Group determines which Vendor Ledger Account is used when Expense Claims create payable transactions.

Once an Expense Claim has been approved, Business Central uses the Vendor Posting Group to create the Vendor Ledger Entry that will later be paid through the standard payment process.

Staff Vendor ~~Behaviour~~Behavior

Once the Staff Vendor has been created, it becomes the employee's financial record for reimbursements.

During processing, MESuite performs the following sequence:

Expense Claim Submitted

Approval Workflow

API User

Linked Staff Vendor

Purchase Order

Vendor Ledger Entry

Employee Reimbursement

The employee never selects the Vendor directly.

Instead, MESuite automatically retrieves the Vendor linked to the employee's Resource.

A staff vendor should not be shared between multiple employees.

Each employee should have:

One Resource
One Staff Vendor

This ensures:

Accurate reimbursements
Correct audit trails
Proper financial reporting
Correct approval history

Common Configuration Issues

Issue	Result
Vendor not linked to Resource	Expense Claims cannot create Purchase Orders
Posting Groups missing	Posting errors occur during synchronization
Incorrect Vendor Posting Group	Vendor Ledger Entries are posted incorrectly
Duplicate Staff Vendors	Incorrect reimbursement history
Missing Vendor Email	Remittance notifications may fail

What's Next?

Creating the Staff Vendor is only the first part of the reimbursement setup.

The next step is to configure G/L Account Allocations, which determine how different expense types (such as Travel, Accommodation, Meals, and Fuel) are posted to the General Ledger.

These allocations also control which Expense Types are available to employees when capturing Expense Claims in MESuite.

Configuring G/L Account Allocations

Overview

G/L Account Allocations determine how Expense Claim transactions are posted to the General Ledger within Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.

Each allocation represents an Expense Type that employees can select when capturing an Expense Claim in MESuite. During posting, the selected allocation identifies the General Ledger account, posting setup, and validation rules that should be applied to the transaction.

For example, organizations may configure separate allocations for:

Travel

Accommodation

Fuel

Meals

Parking

Entertainment

Telephone

Office Supplies

Using G/L Account Allocations ensures that expenses are categorized correctly for financial reporting and reduces the need for manual coding during processing.

Before You Begin

Before creating G/L Account Allocations, ensure that:

The required General Ledger Accounts have been created.

Posting Groups have been configured.

Expense categories have been defined by the finance department.

Staff Vendors have been created.

Creating a G/L Account Allocation

To create a new allocation:

Navigate to G/L Account Allocations.

Select New.

Complete the required fields.

Save the allocation.

Understanding the G/L Allocation Fields

Each field contributes to how Expense Claims are processed and posted.

Allocation Code

The Allocation Code uniquely identifies the Expense Type within MESuite.

Employees do not see the underlying General Ledger Account. Instead, they select an Expense Type that references the Allocation Code.

Examples include:

Allocation Code	Expense Type
TRAVEL	Business Travel
ACCOM	Accommodation

When an employee selects an Expense Type, MESuite retrieves the corresponding Allocation Code and uses it to determine the posting configuration.

Best Practice

Use short, meaningful Allocation Codes that clearly identify the expense category.

Avoid generic codes such as:

EXP001

CODE01

TEST

Descriptive codes make troubleshooting and reporting significantly easier.

Description

The Description provides a user-friendly explanation of the Allocation Code.

Unlike the Allocation Code, the Description is intended to be meaningful to both administrators and end users.

For example:

Allocation Code	Description
FUEL	Fuel Expenses
TRAVEL	Business Travel
HOTEL	Accommodation

Descriptions should accurately describe the type of expense being claimed.

Best Practice

Use consistent naming conventions across all Expense Types.

For example:

Business Travel

Business Accommodation

Business Meals

Business Parking

rather than mixing terminology such as:

Travel

Hotel

Meals

Parking Fees

Consistency improves reporting and the employee experience.

G/L Account Name

The G/L Account determines where the expense will be posted within the General Ledger.

When the Expense Claim is approved and synchronized to Business Central, the selected allocation identifies the corresponding G/L Account.

Examples include:

Expense Type	Example G/L Account
Fuel	Motor Vehicle Expenses
Accommodation	Accommodation Expenses
Air Travel	Travel Expenses
Meals	Staff Subsistence
Telephone	Communication Expenses

The selected account forms part of the accounting entry created during posting.

General Posting Type

The General Posting Type controls how the transaction is posted when the Purchase Order or Purchase Invoice is created.

When configured on the G/L Allocation, these values override the default posting setup defined on the General Ledger Account.

This provides greater flexibility by allowing different posting behavior for different Expense Types without modifying the underlying G/L Account configuration.

If the Posting Type is left blank, Business Central uses the default posting configuration from the selected G/L Account.

Important

Incorrect Posting Type configuration may result in:

Posting errors

Incorrect VAT calculations

Incorrect General Ledger postings

Financial reporting inconsistencies

Posting Types should therefore be reviewed by the finance team during implementation.

Requires Attachment

The Requires Attachment option determines whether supporting documentation must be uploaded before an Expense Claim can be submitted.

When enabled, employees cannot submit the claim until a supporting document has been attached.

Typical supporting documents include:

Fuel receipts

Hotel invoices

Flight confirmations

Parking receipts

Toll slips

This validation helps organizations enforce their Expense Claim policies.

Best Practice

Enable Requires Attachment for all reimbursable expenses unless there is a valid business reason not to.

Doing so improves compliance, simplifies auditing, and reduces the likelihood of unsupported claims being approved.

How G/L Account Allocations are Used

The following diagram illustrates how allocations are applied during the Expense Claims process.

Employee

Select Expense Type

G/L Allocation

General Ledger

Purchase Order

Financial Posting

The employee only selects an Expense Type.

MESuite performs the remaining allocation automatically using the configured G/L Account Allocation.

Expense Type Behavior

Every Expense Type displayed in MESuite is driven by a G/L Account Allocation.

For example:

Employee Selects	MESuite Uses
Fuel	Fuel Allocation
Meals	Meals Allocation
Accommodation	Accommodation Allocation

Employees never select a General Ledger Account directly.

This protects the integrity of the financial system while simplifying the claim submission process.

Auto Dimension Setup

Purpose

Auto Dimension Setup automatically assigns financial dimensions to expense transactions when they are created in MESuite Expenses. This ensures that expense claims are consistently allocated to the correct departments, cost centres, projects, business units, or other reporting dimensions without requiring users to manually select them.

By automating dimension assignment, organizations can improve data accuracy, reduce user input errors, and ensure expenses are posted correctly for financial reporting.

How it works

Dimensions are used in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central to categorize financial transactions for reporting and analysis.

When an employee submits an expense claim, MESuite evaluates the configured Auto Dimension Setup and applies the appropriate dimension values to the expense transaction before it is transferred to Business Central.

The assigned dimensions are then carried through to the Expense Purchase Order and the resulting General Ledger entries, ensuring that all expense-related transactions are reported against the correct financial categories

Before you begin

Before configuring Auto Dimension Setup, ensure that:

The required dimensions have been created in Business Central.

All required dimension values exist.

The organization's financial reporting structure has been agreed upon.

Resources and Staff Vendors have been configured.

Open Auto Dimension Setup

To configure automatic dimension assignment:

Search for Auto Dimension Setup.

Select Auto Dimension Setup from the search results.

Create a new setup line or edit an existing configuration.

Specify the dimension rules that should be applied during expense processing.

Save your changes.

Understanding the fields

Same Code

The Same Code option restricts the dimension to a specific value.

When enabled, the expense transaction must use the configured dimension value. The user cannot select an alternative value during expense capture.

Use this option when all expenses of a particular type should always be posted against the same dimension.

Example

If all fuel expenses must always be allocated to the Fleet cost center, configure the dimension using Same Code so that every fuel expense is automatically assigned to that cost center.

Mandatory

The Mandatory option determines whether users are required to provide a value for the configured dimension.

When enabled:

The dimension becomes compulsory.

Users cannot submit an expense claim without selecting a valid dimension value.

Validation occurs before the expense claim can be processed.

If this option is not enabled, the dimension may be left blank unless it is automatically populated by another configuration.

Configuration examples:

Business Requirement	Recommended Configuration
Every expense must be allocated to a Cost Centre.	Configure the Cost Centre dimension as Mandatory.
All travel expenses should be charged to the Travel department.	Configure the Travel dimension using Same Code.
Employees may select the project they worked on.	Leave Same Code disabled and make the Project dimension Mandatory, if required.

Best practices

Configure only the dimensions required for financial reporting.

Use Same Code when a dimension should never vary.

Use Mandatory when users must choose from multiple valid dimension values.

Review dimension configurations whenever new departments, projects, or cost centers are introduced.

Test the configuration by creating a sample expense claim before deploying it to production.

Result

After Auto Dimension Setup has been configured:

Dimensions are automatically assigned to expense transactions where applicable.

Users spend less time entering financial information.

Expense claims are posted consistently.

Financial reporting becomes more accurate and reliable.

The risk of missing or incorrect dimensions is significantly reduced.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Possible cause	Resolution
Dimension is not applied automatically.	No Auto Dimension Setup exists for the transaction.	Verify that the appropriate Auto Dimension Setup record has been created.
Users cannot submit an expense claim.	A mandatory dimension has not been populated.	Ensure a valid dimension value has been assigned or selected before submitting the claim.
Incorrect dimension is applied.	The Same Code configuration is pointing to the wrong dimension value.	Review and update the Auto Dimension Setup configuration.
Dimension values are unavailable.	The required dimension values do not exist or are inactive in Business Central.	Create or activate the required dimension values before processing expense claims.

MESuite Configuration – MEPlan

Purpose

After the Business Central configuration has been completed, users must be configured within MEPlan to access the MESuite Expenses module. This includes assigning company security, defining customer and vendor access, granting module permissions, and configuring approval hierarchies.

Correct user configuration ensures that employees can submit expense claims, managers can approve them, and administrators can manage the expense process securely.

Create or Select a User

Purpose
Before access can be granted, a user account must exist in MEPlan. Existing users can be updated, while new employees must first be created.
Procedure
1. Open MEPlan.
2. Navigate to System > Users.
3. Locate the required user or create a new user.
4. Open the user's profile.

Result

The user profile is available for security and access configuration.

Configure Company Security

Purpose

Company Security determines which Business Central companies a user can access and defines the level of access available within each company.

Users cannot work within a company unless they have been granted the appropriate company permissions.

Configure Company Security

Open the required user.

Select Update User Security.

Select Update Company Security.

Add the required company.

Configure the appropriate security settings.

Save your changes.

Field descriptions

Field	Description
Company	Specifies the Business Central company the user is permitted to access.
Customer Access Type	Determines whether the user can access all customers or only selected customers.
Vendor Access Type	Determines whether the user can access all vendors or only selected vendors.

Understanding Access Types

Inclusive

Selecting Inclusive grants, the user access to all available records for the selected access type.

For example:

Customer Access Type = Inclusive allows access to all customers.

Vendor Access Type = Inclusive allows access to all vendors.

This option is typically used for administrators or users who require unrestricted access.

Exclusive

Selecting Exclusive limits, the user to only the customers or vendors that have been explicitly assigned.

Any customer or vendor that has not been assigned will not appear to the user.

This option is recommended when users should only work with a defined group of customers or vendors.

Best practice

Use Exclusive access whenever possible to reduce unnecessary visibility of customer and vendor information.

Apply Inclusive access only where a business requirement exists.

Result

After Company Security has been configured, the user can access only the companies, customers, and vendors permitted by their assigned security settings.

Manage MESuite Access

Purpose

After Company Security has been configured, the user must be granted access to the MESuite Expenses module.

The Manage MESuite Access page controls which MESuite modules a user can access, the permissions assigned to those modules, and the approval hierarchy used during the expense claim process.

This configuration determines whether a user can submit expense claims, approve claims, administer the module, or act on behalf of another employee.

Before you begin

Ensure that:

The user has been created in MEPlan.

Company Security has been configured.

The appropriate Business Central setup has been completed.

The user has been assigned the required Resource and Staff Vendor (if they will submit expense claims).

Open Manage MESuite Access

To configure MESuite permissions:

Open MEPlan.

Navigate to System > Users.

Select the required user.

Select the More options (...) menu.

Select Manage MESuite Access.

Select New (+) to create a new access record.

Configure MESuite Access

Complete the required fields before saving the record.

Module Type

Purpose

The Module Type field determines which MESuite module the access record applies to.

This is a mandatory field.

For expense users, select the Expenses module.

Without a Module Type, the system cannot determine which permissions should be applied.

User Has Access

Purpose

This option grants the user access to the selected MESuite module.

When enabled, the user can open and use the module according to the permissions assigned.

If this option is not selected, the user cannot access the module even if all other configuration has been completed.

A user must have User Has Access enabled before they can submit or approve expense claims.

User Has Super Access

Purpose

User Has Super Access grants elevated permissions within the selected MESuite module.

Super Users are typically responsible for administration, configuration, troubleshooting, and supporting other users.

Depending on the organization's implementation, a Super User may be able to:

View all expense claims.

Override standard restrictions.

Perform administrative functions.

Assist users with expense processing.

In some environments. User Has Access and User Has Super Access may provide similar functionality. Review your organizations security design before assigning Super Access.

Manager

Purpose

The Manager field identifies the Level 1 approver for the expense workflow.

When an employee submits an expense claim, the Manager receives the first approval request.

The Manager can:

Review submitted expenses.

Approve or reject claims.

Return claims for correction.

Supervisor

Purpose

The Supervisor field identifies the Level 2 approver.

If a second approval is required, the Supervisor receives the approval request after the Manager has approved the claim.

This allows organizations to implement multi-level approval processes.

Approval workflow example

Approval Level	User
Employee	Creates and submits the expense claim.
Manager	Performs the first approval.
Supervisor	Performs the final approval before processing.

If the same user is assigned as both Manager and Supervisor, only one approval notification is sent to that individual, preventing duplicate approval requests.

Delegate

Purpose

A Delegate is a user who is authorized to capture and manage expense claims on behalf of another employee.

Delegates are commonly used when an employee is:

On annual leave.

Travelling.

Temporarily unavailable.

Supported by an administrator or personal assistant.

The delegate can create, edit, and submit expense claims for the assigned employee, subject to the organization's security policies.

How delegation works

When acting as a delegate:

The expense claim is created for the original employee.

The delegate performs the data entry.

The approval workflow continues as normal.

The employee remains the owner of the expense claim.

The system maintains an audit trail of delegate activity for reporting and auditing purposes.

Best practices

Grant Super Access only to system administrators or designated support personnel.

Assign Managers and Supervisors according to the organization's approval policy.

Review delegate assignments regularly and remove them when they are no longer required.

Apply the principle of least privilege by granting users only the permissions they require.

Result

After the MESuite Access configuration has been completed:

The user can access the MESuite Expenses module.

Permissions are applied according to the assigned access level.

Approval requests follow the configured Manager and Supervisor hierarchy.

Delegates can submit expense claims on behalf of authorized employees.

The user's permissions take effect after refreshing the application.

After saving the configuration, perform a hard browser refresh (Ctrl +F5) to reload the users permissions. Once the refresh is complete, the MESuite Expense module will appear in MESuite navigation menu, provided the user has been granted access.

Appendix A: Glossary of Terms

Term	Definition
G/L Account	A General Ledger account used to record financial transactions.
G/L Account Allocation	The configuration that links Expense Types to General Ledger accounts for financial posting.
Manager	The first-level approver responsible for reviewing and approving an employee's expense claims.
Mandatory Field	The first-level approver responsible for reviewing and approving an employee's expense claims.
MEPlan	The MESuite web application used by employees, managers, and administrators to access MESuite modules
Posting Group	A Business Central configuration that determines how financial transactions are posted to the General Ledger.
Resource	The Business Central record that represents an employee within MESuite.
Staff Vendor	The vendor record linked to a Resource that is used to reimburse employee expenses through Business Central.

Term	Definition
Allocation Code	A predefined code that determines which General Ledger (G/L) account an expense will be posted to. Allocation Codes are used when employees select an expense type during expense capture.
Approval Workflow	The process through which an expense claim is reviewed and approved before it can be reimbursed.
Business Central (BC)	Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system used by MESuite for financial processing.
Cost Centre	A financial dimension used to allocate expenses to a department, business unit, or operational area.
Delegate	A user who is authorised to create and submit expense claims on behalf of another employee.
Dimension	A value used to classify financial transactions for reporting purposes, such as Cost Centre, Department, Project, or Branch.
Expense Claim	A request submitted by an employee for reimbursement of business-related expenses.
Expense Purchase Order (Expense PO)	The purchasing document automatically created in Business Central after an expense claim has been approved and transferred from MESuite
Expense Type	The category selected by an employee when capturing an expense (for example, Travel, Accommodation, Fuel, or Meals). Each Expense Type is linked to an Allocation Code.