What is itemization?

Itemization is the process of breaking down a single component into a list of individual items. In Mesh, itemization refers to a feature that allows users to convert a single parent expense into multiple child expenses.

Why is it needed? 

Consider a hotel folio with multiple line items such as room charges, minibar, breakfast, parking, and taxes. Without itemization, users would need to:

• Manually explain the breakdown of charges.
• Submit multiple expenses using a single receipt, creating confusion in review and audit processes.
• Risk compliance issues or incorrect categorization, affecting reporting and ERP syncs.

What happens during the itemization?

• Users split a parent expense into child-expenses based on the receipt’s line items.
• Each child-expense is independent (i.e., can be tagged with a specific spend category, budget, or marked as personal) and, as a result, be part of a unique approval flow.
• The original parent expense is replaced by its child-expenses with a link to the parent expense.
• The parent record retains a reference to all child-expenses and displays their statuses.

Who can itemize and when? 

Any Mesh user can itemize their own expenses in 'In Review' or 'Pending' status, while strong users (i.e., Admin and Pro users) can itemize expenses on behalf of others.

What are the benefits of itemization? 

With the option to itemize automatically, the process consumes less time, processed accurately, reduces errors, and becomes easier for finance teams to manage and audit.

How to itemize an expense as a user with an Employee profile?

1. Log in to the Mesh platform.

2. Navigate to the 'Expenses' page.

3. Click an expense with a multi-line item receipt and in status 'In review' or 'Pending'.

4. Click the 3-dots on the upper right part and then 'Itemize expense'.

5. Allow the AI to extract the receipt details and present the results (i.e., line items). If items are missing details, use step 6 to correct the entries. Otherwise, skip to step 7. 

6. Click the pencil of a line item to introduce changes. 

6.1 Change the date, amount, budget, spend category, memo, and relevant expense tags (aka Custom Fields).

6.2 Turn the personal toggle on if the line item is a personal spend. 

6.3 Click 'Save' to store the changes. 

6.4 You can click the '+Add item' to add a line item. 

6.5 Make sure that the itemized amount matches the total amount on your receipt and that the 'Remaining' balance is 0. 

7. Click Submit and then the 'Itemize expenses' button. 

8. To track your expenses, navigate to the 'Expenses' page and use the filters to locate specific items.  

Notes:

• To allow itemization, the relevant setting should be enabled on the Mesh backend.
• The original expense (also known as the parent expense) is no longer relevant once itemized and becomes locked.
• The child expenses remain linked to the parent expense, and the parent expense includes references to its associated child expenses.
• It is possible to itemize a locked expense.
• It is not possible to itemize an expense that is already a child of a parent expense (i.e., you cannot itemize an already itemized item).
• Itemized expenses (i.e., child expenses) are labeled with 'Item' and include a tooltip showing their portion of the total (e.g., '$25 out of $225').
• The AI itemization service requires a receipt to function, but users can itemize manually even if no receipt is attached. When a receipt is missing, the user interface will display the message 'Unable to itemize the receipt by AI' and present the option to 'Itemize manually.'
• The expense may be trip-related, non-trip related, or a result of a charge on an external card (e.g., AMEX) or a Mesh card that is subject to post approval.
• The expense approval flow supports a condition to route an expense to a specific review branch if it is marked as personal.
• Currently, itemization is available for expenses only, not for transactions. Transaction itemization will be added in the near future.