Give each claim a reference
Record the employee, claim period, amount and supporting evidence required by policy. Keep the claim's review status visible. A spreadsheet row without a source reference makes it difficult to tell whether a repeated amount is a new claim or a duplicate.
Separate approval from inclusion
An approved claim may be paid through payroll or another process. Record the chosen route and avoid importing the same claim into both. Do not assume that a label alone determines its payroll or tax treatment; use the organisation's reviewed configuration for the relevant claim type.
Reconcile the payment status
After processing, mark the claim against its payment reference or payroll period. Review held and rejected claims separately. If a payment fails, keep it distinguishable from a new reimbursement request so resubmission does not create a second entitlement.
Worked example
A travel claim appears in an approved export and a manual email. Matching the claim reference before import prevents the same expense from being included twice.
Practical checklist
- Require a unique claim reference.
- Record the payment route and approval status.
- Reconcile processed claims after each run.