You can query for travel expenses to review spending by expense owner, trip, reimbursement status, expense type, date, amount, and notes. This can help your team monitor travel budgets, identify expenses awaiting reimbursement, and review expense records before planning future travel.
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Copy this Suitcase ID and paste it in Database → Suitcase Import to import a pre-made example query:
c92d7007-8847-4d52-918c-cf5b3effb2c8:slate-admissions-showcase💡 Tip
Find this query and other importable examples in the Admissions Showcase environment.
Reviewing travel expenses
A travel expense query can show each expense with the trip, expense owner, date, amount, status, type, and notes. Use this kind of query when you need a working list of expenses for reimbursement review, budget tracking, or audit preparation.
The example includes inactive starter filters for common review scenarios. Activate or adjust those filters when you want to narrow the results to a specific user, reimbursement status, expense type, or minimum amount.
Building the query
Create the query
Go to Queries / Reports.
Select New Query.
Configure the following settings:
Name: Travel expenses
Folder: Select the folder where the query should be saved.
Type: Configurable Joins
Base: Expense
Select Save.
Add joins
The user join makes the expense owner available. The trips subquery join connects each expense owner's trip record to the expense rows so the query can include trip details alongside each expense.
Select Join.
Select User.
Select Save.
Select Subquery Join.
Configure the subquery join to return the matching Trip record where the trip user matches the joined expense user.
Name the join Trips.
Save the subquery join.
Add starter filters
Add filters like these when you want the query to be ready for common review scenarios. In the imported example, these filters are inactive so the query can still return all expense rows until you activate the filters you need.
Filter path | Operator | Value |
|---|---|---|
User / Name | IN | (Current User) |
Expense / Status | IN | Awaiting Reimbursement |
Expense / Type | IN | Car Rental |
Expense / Amount | >= | 100 |
For each direct filter, use this pattern:
Select Filter.
Under Expense or the joined User path, select the field.
Select Continue.
Set the filter operator.
Select or enter the filter value.
Select Save.
Add exports
Exports can vary by database, but this example shows the kinds of columns that are useful for expense review.
Trips / Name
Trip Date, a subquery export that formats the joined trip's start and stop dates as one date range
User / Full Name
Expense / Name
Expense / Status
Expense / Type
Expense / Date
Expense / Amount
Expense / Notes
Adding the Trip Date subquery export
The Trip Date export makes the output easier to scan by combining the joined trip's start and stop dates into one date-range column.
Select Subquery Export.
Name the export Trip Date.
In the subquery, use the joined Trips record.
Export a concatenated value that combines the trip start date, a hyphen, and the trip stop date.
Use the concatenate output setting.
Select Save.
Add a sort
Select Sort.
Under Expense, select Date.
Set the sort direction to ascending.
Select Save.
Customizing the results
Use the starter filters as examples, then adjust them for your local review process. For example, you might filter by a different reimbursement status, a date range, a specific travel folder, or a minimum amount that matches your internal approval threshold.
You can also add or remove exports to match your reporting needs. Common additions include trip location, payment method, staff territory, or other local fields your team uses to review travel activity.