Understanding the adjusted by system expense type
What the System expense type is, how its modal differs from reports and purchases, and when these rows appear in the queue.
Alongside uploaded expense reports and Benefit Store purchases, your queue can contain a third kind of row shown as System in the Type column. Open one and the panel is titled Adjusted by System. This row is a direct adjustment to an employee's benefit balance for the year, not a receipt someone uploaded or a store order, so it looks and behaves a little differently from the other two types.
Where it appears
In the expense queue, the Type column tells the three apart:
- Expense Report, a receipt the employee uploaded and paid out of pocket.
- Purchase, a Benefit Store order.
- System, a balance adjustment recorded against the employee's benefit balance.
The Type filter offers these same options, so you can narrow the queue to just System rows when you want to see only the adjustments.
What the modal shows
Open a System row and you get the Adjusted by System panel. Instead of receipt files and a full cost breakdown, the body shows a single Manual Expense Details card with:
- the Date of the adjustment,
- the Total cost (the amount it counts toward the employee's balance), and
- a Note, when one was added to explain it.
Like an approved expense, the amount counts toward the employee's used benefit balance for the year.
How it differs from a report or purchase
A System row is lighter than the other two types, because there is nothing to verify against a receipt:
- The sidebar shows only the employee's details. There is no review-status card, no approval-flow steps, and no timeline card.
- There are no receipt files to open and no VAT or category breakdown.
- Request changes is not offered. That action exists only for uploaded expense reports, where the employee can correct and resubmit.
A System adjustment is recorded against an employee's balance on their behalf. The employee did not submit it, cannot resubmit it, and has no edit, resubmit, or cancel action for it on their side. It usually arrives already Approved.
Can I still record a decision?
If a System row is still Pending with no assigned approvers, the review form appears in the modal and you can complete it the same way you would any no-approver review. Once the row is Approved, Declined, or marked Changes requested, the decision form no longer shows, because it is already settled. Most System rows are already Approved when you see them.
Troubleshooting
- There are no receipt files. That is expected. A System adjustment is never created from an upload, so it has no receipt and no cost breakdown.
- I cannot request changes on it. Request changes is only for uploaded expense reports. A System adjustment has no employee submission to send back.
- I want to know why it was added. Open the row and read the Note. The note is the place where the reason for the adjustment is recorded.