Stop Out-of-Policy Expense Claims with Claude-Powered Controls

Centralise and Structure Your Travel & Expense Policy for Claude

Claude’s strength is understanding complex text, but it still needs a well-prepared policy foundation. Start by centralising your travel and expense policy, approval rules, and country-specific guidelines into a single source of truth. Clean up contradictions, outdated sections, and ambiguous language (“reasonable”, “appropriate”) wherever possible.

Then, create a concise “AI-ready” version: bullet points for limits, explicit examples of allowed/not allowed, and clearly marked exceptions (e.g. “CEO exceptions”, “client events”, “emergency travel”). This structured document becomes the core reference Claude uses when evaluating each claim.

Example Claude system prompt snippet:

You are an Expense Policy Assistant for the Finance department.
You receive:
1) An excerpt of the Travel & Expense Policy
2) A list of expense line items

For each line item:
- Decide: COMPLIANT, NEEDS_JUSTIFICATION, or OUT_OF_POLICY
- Quote the exact policy section(s) that apply
- Explain your reasoning in 2-3 short sentences
- Suggest a compliant alternative if OUT_OF_POLICY

Expected outcome: Claude’s decisions become traceable back to specific policy clauses, which is critical for transparency with employees and auditors.

Build an Automated Review Workflow Around Expense Exports

Most finance teams can export expenses from their ERP or expense management tool (e.g. CSV with employee, cost centre, category, amount, date, notes). Use this export as the input for a Claude-powered batch review that runs on a set schedule (daily or after each expense run).

Design a small service or script that chunks the export into manageable batches (e.g. 100–200 line items), sends them to Claude with the relevant policy excerpt, and stores the results (status, explanation, recommended action) in a database or back into the ERP via API.

Example Claude request payload structure:

{
  "policy_sections": "[...consolidated relevant policy text...]",
  "expenses": [
    {
      "id": "EXP-10239",
      "employee_level": "Senior Manager",
      "country": "DE",
      "category": "Hotel",
      "amount": 230.00,
      "currency": "EUR",
      "city": "Berlin",
      "notes": "Conference hotel, booked last minute"
    },
    ...
  ]
}

Expected outcome: Finance receives a structured exception list with clear rationales instead of having to scan raw spreadsheets row by row.

Use Claude at the Point of Submission to Prevent Issues Early

While batch reviews are useful, the most effective control is prevention. Integrate Claude into your expense submission flow so that employees see potential out-of-policy issues in real time, before they hit approval.

A simple approach is to call Claude when an employee submits or edits a claim. Provide the expense details, employee role, and destination, plus the relevant policy section. Display Claude’s feedback in the UI: “This meal exceeds the per diem for Paris by 18€” plus suggestions (“Split between two employees”, “Change category to Client Entertainment with attached agenda”).

Example prompt for submission-time check:

You are assisting an employee submitting expenses. 
Given the policy and this expense, answer in JSON:
{
  "status": "COMPLIANT | WARNING | OUT_OF_POLICY",
  "summary": "Short explanation in user-friendly language",
  "required_action": "Any documents or changes needed",
  "policy_reference": "Section/paragraph"
}

Expected outcome: fewer out-of-policy submissions, less back-and-forth between employees, managers, and finance, and faster reimbursement cycles.

Classify Exceptions and Route Them to the Right Owner

Not every exception should land on the same finance inbox. Use Claude to categorise exceptions based on risk and required expertise. For example: “Minor limit exceedance”, “Missing documentation”, “Possible duplicate”, “Potential fraud/suspicious pattern”, “Subscription or recurring charge”.

Extend your prompt so that Claude assigns a risk-based category and a suggested routing target. Combine this with rules in your workflow tool (e.g. ticketing or ERP) so that documentation issues go to a shared finance queue, but suspected fraud routes directly to a designated controller or internal audit.

Prompt extension for exception routing:

For any NON-COMPLIANT item, add:
"exception_type": one of ["LIMIT_EXCEEDED", "MISSING_DOCS", "DUPLICATE_RISK", "SUSPICIOUS_PATTERN"],
"recommended_owner": one of ["FINANCE_ANALYST", "PEOPLE_MANAGER", "INTERNAL_AUDIT"]

Expected outcome: faster handling of real risks, and less time spent by senior staff triaging low-risk exceptions.

Analyse Expense Narratives and Attachments with Claude

Many crucial details live in free-text fields (“client dinner after workshop ran late”) or in attached documents (invitations, agendas, approvals). Traditional tools often ignore this nuance. Use Claude to read and interpret notes and documents alongside structured data.

For each expense line, pass the description text and, where possible, OCR’d content from receipts or attached approvals. Ask Claude whether the justification supports an exception (e.g. client request, emergency, no alternatives), and whether the documentation seems sufficient based on your policy.

Example prompt for narrative & attachment analysis:

For this expense, consider the description and receipt text. 
Answer:
- Is the justification consistent with a valid exception in the policy? (YES/NO)
- Is the level of detail sufficient? (YES/NO)
- What additional documentation, if any, should be requested?

Expected outcome: more consistent handling of exceptions, fewer missing documents, and stronger audit trails without adding manual review steps.

Define Metrics and Dashboards to Track Impact

To prove value, instrument your Claude-based control with clear KPIs. Typical metrics include: percentage of expenses flagged, breakdown by category and entity, average time from submission to approval, savings from reduced out-of-policy spend, and false positive rate (flags that finance later deems acceptable).

Export Claude’s decisions and explanations into your BI tool and build a dedicated expense compliance dashboard. Over time, this will highlight where policy may be unrealistic (e.g. persistent small overages in certain cities) or where specific teams need targeted training.

Expected outcome: realistic improvements such as a 20–40% reduction in non-compliant spend in focus categories within 6–12 months, a meaningful cut in manual line-item checks, and faster, more predictable reimbursement cycles – without sacrificing control or employee experience.