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Refunds — Transactions

Overview

Refunds is the expense reimbursement module in SARA. Collaborators submit out-of-pocket expenses for approval and reimbursement. The module has two screens: the employee-facing submission screen (/refunds) and the manager/finance administration screen (/refunds-administration).

For the end-to-end approval process, see: Workflow.

Note

For common UI patterns used across SARA (tables, filters, dynamic columns, naming conventions), see: Common Features

Refunds

Overview

The Refunds screen (/refunds) is the employee-facing side of the module. Each collaborator sees only their own reimbursement requests — all statuses, from pending through paid.

What you will see

  • Code — each refund is assigned a sequential code in the format RF.XXXX (e.g., RF.2699).
  • Internal company — the internal company under which the refund was submitted, derived from the collaborator's active company assignment.
  • Dept/Proj — shows the project internal code (e.g., P.1.1644 - Customer - Description) for project-linked refunds, or the department name and budget item (e.g., IT - Licencias) for department-linked ones.
  • Status filters — REJC, PAID, and CANC records can be toggled on or off via checkboxes at the top of the list. PEND and APPR records are always visible.
  • Review row action — appears only on REJC records, allowing the collaborator to correct and resubmit the request.

What you can do here

  • New refund — opens a form to submit an expense for reimbursement. Required fields:

    • Category (selected from a catalog of expense types, e.g., Services, Toll, Equipment and work tools)
    • Amount and tax percentage
    • Currency
    • Expense date (past dates only; cannot be future-dated)
    • Budget source — either Project + budget item, or Department + department item
    • Type of payment: Credit card, Debit card, Cash, or Check. Card payments reveal a "Last 4 digits" field.
    • Expense made in Mexico checkbox — when checked, enables the XML file upload slot (for Mexican CFDI fiscal receipts).
    • Details (optional free-text description)
    • Files — Receipt (PDF), Account statement (PDF, hidden for cash payments), and XML (if Mexico-based expense).

  • Review (REJC records only) — opens an edit form pre-filled with the rejected refund's data. The rejection reason is shown at the top. The collaborator corrects any fields, optionally removes individual files from the existing list or uploads new ones, and resubmits. On submit, the record returns to PEND status for manager review.

Note

There is no draft state for refunds. Submitting the New refund form sends the record directly to PEND status.

Refunds Administration

Overview

The Refunds Administration screen (/refunds-administration) is for managers and finance staff. It shows all refunds within the reviewer's scope — either the refunds for departments and projects they manage, or all refunds organization-wide if they have the payment permission.

What you will see

  • All the same columns as the Refunds screen, plus a Collaborator column showing the submitter's abbreviated name with their full name in a tooltip.
  • There are no status filter checkboxes — all statuses are visible simultaneously.
  • The Review row action appears conditionally based on status and permissions (see Permissions).

What you can do here

  • View — read-only modal with the full refund details, all attached files available for download, and an audit log panel.

  • Review (PEND records) — opens a review form showing the expense details with two action buttons:

    • Approve — checks available budget for department-assigned refunds before approving. If sufficient, sets status to APPR and notifies the collaborator by email. The internal company can be updated directly in this form before approving.
    • Reject — requires entering a rejection reason. Sets status to REJC and notifies the collaborator by email with the reason included.

  • Review (APPR records, requires payment permission) — opens a payment form with a Pay button. Collects the payment method, paying company, optional notes, and a proof-of-payment PDF. On submit, sets the record to PAID.

Permissions

Permissions

Access and actions are permission-driven. See: Permissions