Setting Up Receipt Collection Policies

Relay’s receipt policies help keep your team on track with expense documentation by setting clear expectations on when receipts are required. You can choose a policy that works for your business and send reminders to cardholders to upload receipts — all under your Relay dashboard.

This article walks you through how to set, adjust, and manage your receipt policy in Relay.

What Is a Receipt Policy?

A receipt policy defines the threshold at which your team is required to upload receipts for transactions. Once set, Relay will automatically track receipts and notify cardholders when documentation is needed.

Available Policy Options

When setting up Expense Management, you’ll choose from the following:

No receipts required
No documentation is required for any transaction
Receipts required for transactions over $75
Matches IRS guidelines — a good fit for most small businesses.
Receipts required for all transactions
Great for teams with strict bookkeeping or audit requirements.

You can update your receipt policy at any time. Please note, however, that only a team member with Administrator or Super Administrator permissions can set these receipt policies.

How to Set and Update Your Receipt Policy (Web)

Sign in to your Relay account on your desktop.
Click on the Expenses tab in the main navigation
Select the 3 vertical dots (⋮) on the top-right corner.
Click Receipt policy
Choose your preferred policy from the dropdown
Assign a receipt admin to help manage follow-ups
Click Save

Open the Relay mobile app
Tap the Settings gear icon
Choose Receipt policy
Select your preferred policy
Tap Save to confirm

Assigning a Receipt Administrator

You can designate someone on your team (like a bookkeeper or office manager) to receive updates and manage documentation follow-up.

To assign a receipt admin:

Go to Expenses
Select the 3 vertical dots on the top-right corner.
Click Receipt Policy
Under each card, select the Receipt admin to handle receipts
Confirm changes by selecting Change Receipt Admin

Please note: Receipt admins will get alerts when receipts are missing and can nudge cardholders directly.

What Happens Once a Policy Is Set?

Once your receipt policy is live:

Relay will automatically track which transactions are missing receipts
Cardholders will receive SMS or email reminders to upload documentation
Administrators and managers can filter for missing receipts and follow up as needed

Helpful Tips for Managing Receipt Policies

Start with the $75 threshold if you’re unsure — it meets IRS compliance and avoids overwhelming your team.
Communicate the policy with cardholders so they know what to expect.
Assign a receipt admin if you have a finance person or bookkeeper who handles documentation.
Filter through receipts by selecting filters by date, amount, transaction types and more.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I set up more than one policy?

At the moment, you can only have one policy active on your account.

Will my transaction disappear if no receipt is uploaded?

Your transaction will remain on your dashboard until a receipt is submitted. You can choose to ignore it if you select the transaction and select Ignore Transaction.

Can I attach multiple receipts to one transaction?

You can attach multiple receipts to one single transaction. Additionally, you can also split transactions into line items to categorize them into separate accounting categories. For more information, see Splitting Transactions for Multiple Expense Categories.

If I change my receipt policy from $75 to $0, will it apply to past transactions?

No, changes to the receipt policy only apply to future transactions. Past transactions will follow the policy that was in place at the time of the expense.

Why is a transaction still showing under the "Receipts Required" filter even after I uploaded the receipt?

This view shows transactions that required receipts and now have them, so you can easily confirm which ones are compliant, allowing you to double-check everything's in order.

Still have questions? Our team is ready to help! Talk to our Customer Experience team