Documentation
Cash Advances and Settlements
Cash Advances track money issued before an employee incurs expenses, then reconcile the advance through Expense Claims, cash return and supported recovery paths.
Purpose
Use Cash Advances when the organization gives an employee money before travel, field work or another business activity. The advance remains an employee asset/control balance until it is settled by expenses, returned cash or an integrated recovery process.
Lifecycle
- DRAFT -> Confirm (when no approval template) or Submit (when approval is configured).
- Confirmed/Approved -> Record Issue when money is physically disbursed.
- ISSUED -> Post Issue Accounts.
- Add settlement lines -> Save Settlements.
- Post Expense Claim and/or Cash Return settlement accounting.
- PARTIALLY_SETTLED -> SETTLED when outstanding reaches zero.
- SETTLED + accounting POSTED -> Close Advance.
Tabs
Tabs
| Tab | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Advance Request | Employee, request date, purpose, requested amount and request context. |
| Issue & Balance | Issue date, payment method, Cash/Bank account, issued amount/reference and live settled/outstanding/reserved/available balances. |
| Settlements | Expense Claim, Cash Return and recovery settlement lines. |
Action: Confirm or Submit
With no active Cash Advance approval template, Confirm moves the Draft request to CONFIRMED.
With an active template, Submit moves it to the approval boundary. Record Issue is then allowed only after the request reaches APPROVED; the server does not permit the UI to bypass that requirement.
Action: Record Issue
Use Record Issue only when the money has actually been disbursed. Review Issue Date, payment method, issue Cash/Bank account, Issued Amount and reference.
Recording the issue establishes the operational issue. Use Post Issue Accounts afterward for the GL.
Record Issue dialog
The Record Advance Issue confirmation is the operational acknowledgement that money has been issued. Cancel leaves the advance unchanged. Confirm records the issue; General Ledger posting still requires Post Issue Accounts afterward.
Action: Post Issue Accounts
Posting debits Employee Advance and credits the selected issue Cash/Bank account. The issue Journal Entry is stored on the advance and can be opened with View Issue Journal.
Settlement Types
Settlement type workflows
| Type | Current accounting behavior | How to use |
|---|---|---|
| EXPENSE_CLAIM | Uses the Expense Claim's own posted JE; no duplicate settlement JE | Create/record the matching claim settlement and post the claim from My Expenses. |
| CASH_RETURN | Creates Cash Return JE: Dr original issue Cash/Bank, Cr Employee Advance | Use when the employee returns unused cash. |
| PAYROLL_RECOVERY | Accounting intentionally blocked until payroll-recovery integration exists | Do not force-post; use the later dedicated integration. |
| OTHER_RECOVERY | Accounting intentionally blocked until a dedicated recovery path exists | Do not use as a generic bypass for unsupported accounting. |
Action: Save Settlements
Settlement rows use the standard editable line grid. Save after adding or changing eligible unposted rows.
Once a settlement row is accounting-posted, it is audit-locked against edit/delete/resequence. Reverse the accounting first when a supported correction is required.
Action: Post Settlement Accounts
This action reconciles recorded settlement rows. Expense Claim rows reference the claim's posted Journal Entry; Cash Return rows create their own Journal Entry.
Unsupported Payroll/Other Recovery rows fail closed with an explicit message instead of producing guessed accounting.
Actions: Reversal
Reverse Issue Accounts is allowed only before settlement activity exists. A successful issue reversal creates a reversing JE and cancels the advance for audit safety.
Reverse Cash Return Accounts reverses posted Cash Return settlement journals and refreshes the advance outstanding/operational status.
Expense Claim settlements are reversed from the Expense Claim itself so the expense and advance settlement remain one source-controlled correction.
Action: Close Advance
Close is available only when the advance is fully settled and accounting status is POSTED. Closing is the final business state, not a shortcut for unresolved balances.
Close Advance dialog
Close Advance asks for confirmation before moving a fully settled, fully accounted advance to CLOSED. Cancel leaves it open.
Balance meanings
Balances
| Balance | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Settled | Total recorded settlement amount. |
| Expense Settled | Amount represented by Expense Claim settlements. |
| Cash Return | Unused cash returned. |
| Recovered | Recovery-type settlement amount. |
| Outstanding | Issued amount not yet settled. |
| Reserved Claim | Amount reserved by linked claims that has not yet completed settlement/accounting. |
| Available to Claim | Advance amount still available for eligible claim linkage. |
Troubleshooting
- Record Issue disabled with approval configured: request must reach APPROVED.
- Claim accounting blocked: issue JE/matching settlement/equal amount is missing.
- Cannot edit a settlement: it is already accounting-posted and audit-locked.
- Cannot close: outstanding or accounting is incomplete.
- Payroll/Other Recovery will not post: dedicated integration is intentionally required.
Related pages
Frequently asked questions
Why isn't a second JE created for an Expense Claim settlement?
The expense claim itself already posts Dr Expense / Cr Employee Advance. The settlement reuses that source journal so the advance is not cleared twice.
Can I reverse an issued advance after settlements exist?
No. Reverse/remove the supported settlement effects first; issue reversal is protected once settlement history exists.