How to bulk import expenses for team members

You can save time by uploading multiple team expenses at once using the bulk upload feature in Remote. This is especially helpful when managing approved expenses from an external tool and importing them into Remote for payroll processing.

Only company admins with permission to review and approve expenses have access to this feature.

See also: What can the different company admin users do on Remote?

Step 1: Prepare your file

You can upload expenses using the Remote CSV template, or use your own CSV export directly from a third-party tool. If you use your own file, you'll map your column names to Remote's fields during the upload.

Option A: Use the Remote CSV template

1. In Remote, go to the Expenses tab and select Add expense.

2. Download the CSV template from the upload screen.

3. Fill in one expense per row. Remove the sample rows and support column before saving.

Option B: Use your own CSV export

Export directly from your expense tool. The only required addition is a column with each employee's Remote employment ID (short_slug) or their Remote email address — used to match employees during upload. All other columns can be mapped in Step 3.

Field reference

These are the fields Remote uses. If you're using the template, fill these in directly. If you're using your own file, you'll map your columns to these during upload.

• employee_email: The employee's email registered with Remote.
• short_slug: The Employment ID, found on the employee's profile. e.g. ZS8FJ9.
• expense.title: A brief title for the expense.
• expense_date: The expense date (YYYY-MM-DD; no earlier than 2 years ago).
• expense.currency: Use the 3-letter ISO code (e.g., USD, EUR).
• expense.amount: Total amount including tax (e.g., $10,640.00).
• expense.tax_amount: Tax portion of the expense (0 if not applicable).
• expense.category: Select an expense category.
• expense.notes: Additional comments (optional).
• expense.receipt: Publicly accessible URL linking to the receipt (optional — see Step 2).

Step 2: Add receipt information

You can attach receipts in one of two ways:

Option 1: Add receipt URLs to your CSV (recommended for large uploads)

Add a receipt_url column to your CSV with a publicly accessible link to each receipt. Remote fetches these automatically during upload — no manual matching needed.

Note: Links must be accessible to anyone with the URL and must not expire before the upload completes. If receipts are stored in a shared drive, check that link-sharing permissions allow external access.

Option 2: Upload receipt files directly

Upload PDF or image files as receipts after the CSV scan completes. Remote will prompt you to attach files and match them to the corresponding expenses.

1. Leave the receipt_url column empty or omit it from your CSV.

2. After the scan completes, Remote will prompt you to attach receipt files.

3. Upload one PDF, JPG, or PNG per expense line that requires a receipt and match it to the corresponding expense.

Important: Do not use both a URL and a file for the same expense. Remote will only process one method per line.

Step 3: Upload your file and map columns

1. In Remote, go to Expenses and select Bulk upload expenses.

2. Drag and drop your CSV file or use the upload tool.
   

3. If you're using your own CSV, Remote will show a Map fields screen. Match each of your column names to Remote's fields using the dropdowns, then select Confirm and continue.
   

4. Remote will scan your files. You'll see a Scanning your files... screen — you can safely leave the page at this point. Remote will save your upload as a draft in your expense upload history when scanning is complete.
   

5. Review the preview screen. You can fix any errors flagged by Remote or select valid entries and continue.
   

6. To edit an expense before submission, select the three-dot menu and open the expense in the side drawer.
7. Once you're satisfied with the details, click Continue.
   
   
   

Step 4: Review and submit expenses

1. Review all uploaded expenses and confirm everything is correct.

2. Submit the batch for processing.

3. If any expenses fail to upload, you can export the CSV with errors, correct the issues, and upload again.