Your Expense Management Data Template

The Activity Name describes a single step or status change within the expense management process. Examples include 'Expense Report Created', 'Manager Approved', 'Policy Violation Flagged', and 'Reimbursement Executed'. This sequence of activities forms the process flow for each expense report.

For process mining analysis, this attribute is critical for discovering the actual process model. It allows analysts to visualize the process map, identify bottlenecks where activities take too long, discover rework loops such as 'Report Sent For Revision', and pinpoint non-standard process variations. The clarity and granularity of activity names directly impact the quality of the process insights.

This attribute defines the steps of the process, enabling the visualization of the process map and the analysis of workflow patterns and deviations.

Derived from event logs, status change tables, or transaction records associated with the expense report.

The Event Time, or timestamp, records the moment an activity happened. It provides the chronological order of events for each expense report, which is essential for reconstructing the process timeline accurately.

In process mining, timestamps are the foundation for all time-based analysis. They are used to calculate key performance indicators like cycle times between activities, total end-to-end processing time, and waiting times. By analyzing timestamps, organizations can identify delays in the approval process, measure the efficiency of reimbursement execution, and monitor performance against service level agreements.

This timestamp is crucial for ordering events chronologically and calculating all duration-based metrics, such as cycle times and bottlenecks.

Found in event logs or transaction data, often labeled as 'Creation Date', 'Timestamp', or 'Event Date'.

The Expense Report ID is a unique key assigned to each expense report submitted by an employee. It acts as the central thread that connects all process steps, from creation and submission through approvals, potential rejections, and final reimbursement.

In process mining, this attribute is fundamental for case reconstruction. Each unique Expense Report ID represents a single instance of the expense management process. Analyzing the journey of each ID allows for the visualization of process flows, the calculation of cycle times for individual reports, and the identification of variations in how different reports are handled.

This is the essential case identifier that links all events in the lifecycle of an expense report, making it possible to trace the end-to-end process.

Typically located in the header-level data of an expense report or in the main transaction table for the expense process.

The Last Data Update timestamp specifies the last time the data was extracted or synchronized from the source system. This provides a clear cut-off point for the data included in any analysis, ensuring that all stakeholders are aware of the data's freshness.

In a process mining context, this attribute is vital for data integrity and reporting. It helps users understand if they are looking at real-time information or a historical snapshot. This is particularly important for ongoing monitoring dashboards where timeliness is critical. It also aids in troubleshooting data pipelines by confirming that data refreshes are occurring as scheduled.

Ensures transparency about the data's freshness, which is critical for the accuracy and relevance of any process analysis or monitoring dashboard.

Typically generated and stored by the data integration or ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) tool during the data loading process.

The Source System attribute identifies the origin of the process data. In modern enterprises, expense management might involve multiple integrated systems, for example, an HR system for employee data, a dedicated expense tool for submissions, and an ERP for financial posting. This field helps distinguish data from these different sources.

This information is valuable for data validation and for understanding the technological landscape of the process. If process issues are concentrated in data from a specific system, it can point to integration problems or issues within that application. It also provides context for the data, ensuring that analysts understand the source of truth for different process steps.

Identifies the data's origin, which is crucial for data governance, troubleshooting, and understanding process variations across different platforms.

This information is often part of the data extraction process or metadata, and it may be added during data preparation.

The Currency attribute specifies the unit of money for the Total Amount. In global organizations, employees submit expenses in various currencies, and this field provides the necessary context for all monetary values.

For accurate financial analysis, especially in a multi-national context, this attribute is critical. It ensures that monetary values can be correctly interpreted and converted to a common currency for aggregated reporting. Without it, comparing the 'Total Amount' of a report in JPY to one in USD would be meaningless. It is fundamental for dashboards that show total spending, average costs, and financial KPIs across different regions.

Provides essential context for all monetary values, enabling accurate financial reporting and comparison across different regions or countries.

Usually stored alongside the amount fields in the expense report header data.

This attribute identifies the organizational unit, such as 'Sales', 'Engineering', or 'Marketing', to which the submitting employee belongs. It is often linked to the cost center responsible for the expenses.

Employee Department is a primary dimension for comparative analysis. It enables a view of the process filtered by department, which can highlight significant differences in behavior. For example, one department may have a much higher policy violation rate or a longer approval cycle time than another. These insights can help management identify the need for targeted training, process adjustments, or policy clarifications for specific teams.

Allows for powerful comparative analysis between business units, helping to identify department-specific behaviors, bottlenecks, or compliance issues.

Typically sourced from the employee's master data record, which is linked to the expense report.

The Policy Violation Flag is a simple true or false value that indicates whether an expense report has been automatically or manually identified as non-compliant with company spending policies. Violations could include exceeding spending limits, using unapproved vendors, or lacking proper documentation.

This flag is a key driver for compliance analysis. It allows organizations to calculate the overall policy violation rate and drill down to see which departments, expense categories, or employees have the most violations. Understanding the frequency and nature of policy violations helps in refining policies, improving automated checks, and providing targeted training to reduce non-compliant spending and process exceptions.

Directly supports compliance monitoring by flagging non-compliant reports, helping to measure and reduce policy violations.

A flag or field in the expense report header or line-item data, often set by the system's rules engine.

The Rejection Reason is a text field or a predefined code that explains why an expense report did not pass an approval step. Common reasons include 'Missing Receipt', 'Incorrect Category', or 'Out of Policy Expense'.

This attribute is invaluable for root cause analysis of process rework. By analyzing the most common rejection reasons, a company can identify systemic issues. For example, if 'Missing Receipt' is the top reason, the company might need to improve communication about documentation requirements or make the receipt attachment process easier. These insights lead to targeted process improvements that increase the first-pass approval rate, reduce rework, and shorten the overall cycle time.

Explains the 'why' behind process rework, enabling targeted improvements to reduce rejection rates and improve first-pass yield.

Captured in a comment field or a selection list when an approver performs a 'Reject' or 'Send Back' action.

Report Status provides a snapshot of where an expense report is in the process at any given time, or its final outcome. Statuses typically change as the report moves through different stages like submission, approval, processing, and payment.

This attribute is useful for filtering cases to analyze specific cohorts, for example, focusing only on 'Rejected' reports to understand rejection reasons, or on 'Pending Approval' reports to investigate current bottlenecks. In dashboards, it provides a high-level overview of the current workload and the state of all in-flight expense reports. It can also be used to validate the sequence of activities generated for process mining.

Provides a high-level summary of a report's state, which is useful for filtering cases and for creating operational dashboards on current workload.

A field in the main expense report header table that is updated as the report progresses through its workflow.

The Submitter is the employee who incurred the expenses and initiated the reimbursement process by creating the expense report. This attribute is typically consistent for all events related to a single expense report case.

While the general 'User' attribute identifies the actor for each step, the 'Submitter' provides a consistent case-level attribute for analyzing the behavior of the report's owner. It allows for analysis focused on the employee experience, such as identifying employees who frequently have their reports rejected or who consistently violate policies. This can inform targeted communication or training initiatives to improve overall process efficiency and compliance from the start.

Identifies the owner of the expense report, allowing for analysis based on employee behavior, such as identifying frequent policy violators or sources of rework.

Found in the header data of the expense report, linked to the employee who created the record.

The Total Amount represents the sum of all individual expense lines included in a single expense report. This is the total value that is subject to approval and reimbursement.

This attribute is essential for financial analysis within process mining. It allows for the segmentation of expense reports into value bands, such as high-value versus low-value, which often follow different approval paths. Analysts can use this attribute to calculate the average cost per report, investigate the financial impact of rework and rejections, and identify spending trends. Correlating the total amount with cycle times can reveal if higher-value reports take longer to approve.

Enables financial impact analysis, helps identify spending patterns, and allows for segmenting the process based on report value.

Available at the header level of the expense report data, often calculated as a sum of all line item amounts.

The User attribute identifies the person or automated agent responsible for executing a specific process step. This could be the employee submitting the report, the manager approving it, or a finance team member processing the reimbursement.

Analyzing the process by user is essential for understanding workload distribution, individual performance, and identifying specific actors who may be causing delays. For instance, it can reveal if a particular manager is a bottleneck in the approval chain. It also supports resource allocation analysis and helps ensure accountability and auditability throughout the process.

Identifies the actor for each step, enabling workload analysis, performance comparison, and the pinpointing of bottlenecks tied to specific individuals or teams.

Available in the event log or transaction history, often linked to a user ID or employee ID.

The Approver attribute identifies the individual who performs an approval or rejection step in the workflow. In many processes, there can be multiple levels of approval, such as a direct manager followed by a department head or finance team member.

Similar to the 'User' attribute, the 'Approver' is specifically useful for analyzing the approval stage of the process, which is often a major source of delays. It allows for the measurement of approval times per individual approver, helping to identify bottlenecks. Dashboards can be created to show workloads and performance of different approvers, which can inform resource management and highlight needs for additional training on expense policies.

Pinpoints the specific individual responsible for approvals, enabling analysis of approval delays, workloads, and decision consistency.

Captured in the event log or transaction history for approval-related activities.

The Audit Outcome records the findings of an audit step within the process. This can be an automated system audit checking for compliance rules or a manual review by a finance or audit team. Outcomes typically include 'Passed', 'Failed', or 'Passed with Exceptions'.

This attribute provides a direct measure of internal control effectiveness. By analyzing audit outcomes, a company can assess its risk exposure and the quality of submissions. It helps identify areas where controls are failing or where policies are consistently misinterpreted. Process mining can correlate audit outcomes with other attributes to discover, for example, if certain expense categories or departments have a higher audit failure rate.

Provides a direct measure of compliance and internal control checks, helping to assess risk and the effectiveness of audit rules.

A field updated by an automated rules engine or by a user from the audit or finance team after their review is complete.

The Expense Category is a dimension used to classify the type of spending on an expense report. An expense report can often contain multiple categories if it includes several line items.

Analyzing the process by Expense Category helps organizations understand spending patterns and identify category-specific process behaviors. For instance, 'International Travel' expenses might have a more complex and lengthy approval process than 'Office Supplies'. This attribute enables a more granular analysis of compliance, showing if certain categories are more prone to policy violations. It is a key field for financial planning and budgeting.

Allows for analysis of spending patterns and helps identify if different types of expenses follow different process paths or have different compliance rates.

Typically found at the line-item level of an expense report. For case-level analysis, it may be aggregated or the dominant category can be used.

The Payment Method indicates how the original expense was paid by the employee. This is typically either with a company-issued corporate card or with personal funds, known as 'Out-of-Pocket', which requires direct reimbursement.

This attribute helps differentiate between two major process variants. Corporate card transactions often have a more streamlined verification process since the data comes directly from the card provider. Out-of-pocket expenses, however, require more scrutiny and a direct payment to the employee. Analyzing the process by payment method can reveal differences in cycle times, compliance rates, and processing costs between these two paths, potentially highlighting opportunities to encourage corporate card usage to improve efficiency.

Distinguishes between major process variants (corporate card vs. personal funds), which often have different levels of risk, efficiency, and control.

Usually specified at the expense line-item level and indicates the source of funds for the transaction.