Clear definitions of the terms finance teams and auditors use when they talk about expense submission, compliance, and audit readiness.
Expense submission correctness
The practice of ensuring an expense report is complete, currency-explicit, receipt-backed, policy-compliant, and explicitly confirmed before it is submitted for approval. It treats submission — not approval — as the point where data quality is established. See the full guide.
Replacement receipt (Eigenbeleg)
A self-generated document that substitutes for a missing or lost original receipt. It records what was bought, when, for how much, and why, so the expense can still be documented for accounting and tax purposes. See how to create one.
Hospitality receipt (Bewirtungsbeleg)
In Germany, documentation for business entertainment expenses. It records the occasion, attendees, date, venue, and amounts, and is required for the expense to be tax-deductible.
Audit readiness
The state in which an expense report contains all the evidence and fields an auditor would require, so it can be verified later without reconstruction. See audit-ready expense reports.
Deterministic workflow state
A clearly defined, traceable status in a process where each transition is explicit and unambiguous. There are no implicit or in-between states — every claim is always in exactly one known state.
Multi-tenant separation
The isolation of data and rules between distinct organisational entities within the same system, so each entity's approval limits, workflows, and records remain separate.
Approval limit
A threshold — often per entity or category — above which an expense requires additional or higher-level approval.
Per diem (Verpflegungsmehraufwand)
A fixed daily allowance for meals and incidental costs during business travel, used instead of itemising individual expenses. Rates vary by destination and trip duration.
GoBD
German principles for the proper keeping and retention of books, records, and documents in electronic form, including requirements for the traceability and immutability of accounting data.
Floating number
An amount that no one has explicitly confirmed — for example a silently converted currency value. Floating numbers create ambiguity that an auditor may question, which is why correct systems require explicit confirmation.