> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://support.pexcard.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Reviewing and approving transactions: statuses, tags, receipts and notes

> What each review status means, how the approval route decides who can approve, when tags receipts and notes can still be edited and what you can do from the PEX mobile app

Everything that happens on the transaction details page — what each review status means, how the approval route decides who can approve, when transaction information can still be edited and what you can do from the PEX mobile app.

<Note>
  **For Admins, Approvers & Cardholders:**

  This guide explains the review workflow for a single card purchase, from the moment it appears in your account until it is approved — and what to do when something needs to be changed after a decision has been made.
</Note>

## 1. Transaction statuses

Every settled card purchase carries one review status. It is shown as a label in the top-right corner of the transaction details page and in the **Review Status** column of your transactions list.

| Status           | What it means                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **No status**    | The transaction is still missing information your business requires, so it has not been sent for review yet. A blue banner at the top of the page tells you exactly what is missing, for example: *"Please add the required tags, attachment and user note to send this transaction for review."* |
| **Not reviewed** | All required information is in place and the transaction is waiting for an approver to make a decision.                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| **Approved**     | The transaction has completed its approval route. It is locked for editing.                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
| **Rejected**     | An approver sent it back. The rejection reason appears as a read-only note in the Notes section, together with the reviewer's name and the date and time.                                                                                                                                         |

What counts as "required" is defined in your [business settings](/administrator-guide/how-to-review-transactions-with-receipts-tags-and-user-notes):

* **Tags** marked as required are always checked.
* A **receipt (attachment)** becomes mandatory once the transaction amount reaches the attachment threshold.
* A **user note** becomes mandatory when required notes are enabled and the amount reaches the notes threshold.

Each time you save a tag, note or receipt while something is still missing, PEX shows a reminder such as *"Tags saved. Additional info is required to send this transaction for review."*

<Tip>
  **Pending transactions:**

  A transaction that has not settled yet shows the authorization amount, has no review status and cannot be approved, rejected or split. You can still add tags, notes and receipts to it — the review status appears as soon as it settles.
</Tip>

## 2. How approval works

The right-hand side of the transaction details page shows the **approval route** generated by the [approval policies](/administrator-guide/configuring-multilevel-approval-policies) configured for your business, displayed as a timeline.

* Each step of the timeline is an **approval level**, and each level lists the **approver groups** allowed to act at that level.
* Completed steps show who acted and when — for example *"Approved by Jane Doe"* with a timestamp, plus a comment icon if the approver left a note. If the step was completed outside the normal route, the line reads *"through a manual approval override"*.
* While the transaction is waiting, the widget shows **"Awaiting Approval by \<group names>"**, so you always know who the next approver is.
* Routing can be **linear** (level 2 can only act after level 1 has approved) or parallel (all levels can act at any time).

### Action buttons

The buttons at the bottom of the page depend on the current status and on your position in the approval route.

#### Approve / Reject

Available when the status is **Not reviewed** and you are an eligible approver — that is, pending at the current level or a member of the [override group](/administrator-guide/how-to-configure-approval-override-rules).

* **[Reject](/administrator-guide/rejecting-a-cardholder-transaction)** always requires a **reason**. The reason is saved and displayed as a note on the transaction.
* **Approve** normally needs no comment. When you approve through an **override**, a confirmation dialog appears where you may optionally explain why you are bypassing the standard route.
* If more levels remain, you see *"Your approval has been accepted."* When yours is the final approval, the transaction becomes **Approved** and you see *"Transaction marked as approved."*
* Any unsaved tags, notes or receipts on the page are saved automatically before the decision is submitted.

<Note>
  **Looking for a "Mark as reviewed" button?**

  Marking a transaction as reviewed is done with the **Approve** button. The reverse action is **Mark as not reviewed** (called **Unapprove** in the bulk **Actions** menu of the transactions list).
</Note>

#### Mark as not reviewed

Available when the status is **Approved** or **Rejected**, for users who are in the approval route or in the override group. It returns the transaction to **Not reviewed** and re-opens it for editing.

#### Edit

Shown to Cardholders on their own **Rejected** transactions. It moves the transaction back to **Not reviewed** so the Cardholder can correct the tags, receipt or note and send it through the approval route again.

Cardholders who are not designated approvers never see Approve or Reject — they only manage their own transaction information and, where applicable, use **Edit**.

### Reviewing several transactions at once

The same decisions are available from the transactions list:

* **Actions → Approve / Reject / Unapprove** for all selected transactions.
* Clicking the status label in the **Review Status** column: a not-reviewed transaction offers *Approved* and *Rejected*; an approved or rejected transaction offers *Not Reviewed*.

Card transactions → select transactions → **Actions**

## 3. When tags, receipts and notes can be edited

<Warning>
  **The rule in one sentence:**

  Tags, receipts and notes can be added, changed or deleted while the transaction has **no status yet** or is **Not reviewed**. As soon as it is **Approved** or **Rejected**, the page becomes read-only.
</Warning>

Once a decision is made, the Add and Save buttons, the receipt drop zone and the edit/delete icons all disappear. To change something afterwards the transaction has to be re-opened first:

* an approver or administrator uses **Mark as not reviewed** (or **Reset approval**), or
* for a rejected transaction, the Cardholder uses **Edit**.

After that the fields are editable again and the transaction goes back through the approval route. Editing is also temporarily blocked while a save or a status change is in progress, and if you try to leave the page with unsaved changes PEX asks you to confirm that you want to discard them.

### Tags

* Tags marked as required by your business must be completed before the transaction can be sent for review.
* A settled transaction can be **split**, allocating the amount across several tag sets so different departments, projects or GL codes can share one purchase. Splitting is not available for pending transactions.
* If your business uses **AI-powered tag suggestions**, proposed values (and the reason behind them) appear automatically, and are refreshed after you upload a receipt. You are always free to accept, change or ignore them.

### Receipts and attachments

* Accepted formats are **PNG, JPEG, PDF, HEIC and WEBP**. The maximum number of attachments per transaction and the maximum file size are set by your business.
* You can upload a new receipt, replace an existing one or delete one — deleting asks for confirmation.
* Uploaded files are scanned before they can be opened. A just-uploaded receipt is briefly unavailable, and files that fail the scan or are flagged as malware are reported so you can remove and replace them.
* Receipts that arrived by SMS or email and have not been matched yet are offered in an **unmatched** list, so you can attach one with a single click. PEX may also propose a [suggested match](/administrator-guide/receipt-matching-admin-guide) for the transaction.

<Tip>
  **Lost receipt affidavit:**

  When your administrator has enabled it, a transaction with no receipt shows an **"I don't have a receipt"** link that opens a short [affidavit form](/administrator-guide/lost-receipt-affidavit) to use in place of the receipt. Affidavits are only allowed up to an amount limit set by your business; above that limit PEX explains that an affidavit is not available and suggests obtaining a duplicate receipt.
</Tip>

### Notes

* Each note is limited to **200 characters**; the remaining characters are counted as you type. Use **Add**, then **Save note** (or **Cancel**).
* You can edit or delete **your own** notes only. Administrators can additionally remove system-generated notes.
* Notes can only be modified by users with the note permission — Cardholders on their own transactions, and administrators allowed to modify transaction notes.
* Administrators can tick **"Visible to cardholder"** on a note. Notes without this flag remain internal to the administrator side.
* PEX also writes its own notes for status changes and automated actions. They are hidden by default — tick **"Show all notes"** to display them. Notes received through [Text to PEX](/administrator-guide/text-to-pex-admin-guide) are marked *"via SMS"*.
* Approval and rejection reasons appear in the same list as read-only notes, stamped with the reviewer's name, the date and time and the resulting status.

## 4. On the mobile app

The PEX mobile app mirrors the Dashboard behavior for the same transaction:

* Open a transaction to see the amount, merchant, card, status and full details — including the rejection reason.
* Add a receipt from the **camera, photo gallery, the PEX folder or a file**, view or delete existing receipts and see the same scan states. The app also warns you inline when the receipt you just uploaded doesn't appear to match the transaction.
* Edit tags (including required tags) and add or edit notes, with the same option to show system notes.
* Cardholders cannot add or change receipts on transactions that are already **Approved** — the same rule as in the Dashboard.
* Administrators and designated approvers get **Approve**, **Reject** and **Mark as not reviewed** right on the transaction, with the same prompts: a mandatory reason for a rejection and a reason prompt when approving through an override. Confirmations read *"Transaction marked as approved / rejected / not reviewed."*
* Push notifications about a transaction open its details screen directly, and receipts or notes sent by SMS (Text to PEX) appear on the transaction just as they do in the Dashboard.

## Frequently asked questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Why can't I edit the tags on a transaction?">
    It has most likely already been approved or rejected. Ask an approver or administrator to use **Mark as not reviewed**, or — if it was rejected and it is your own transaction — use the **Edit** button.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why is there no status on my transaction?">
    Required information is still missing. Read the blue banner at the top of the transaction details page: it lists exactly what is needed before the transaction can be sent for review.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I approved the transaction but it is still 'Not reviewed'. Why?">
    Your business uses a multi-level approval policy and additional levels still have to approve. The approval route shows who is next.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can an approval be undone?">
    Yes. Approvers in the route and members of the override group can use **Mark as not reviewed** (or **Unapprove** in bulk) to return the transaction to **Not reviewed**.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>


## Related topics

- [How to review transactions with receipts, tags and user notes](/administrator-guide/how-to-review-transactions-with-receipts-tags-and-user-notes.md)
- [How to Attach Receipt to Transaction (Administrator)](/administrator-guide/how-to-attach-receipt-to-transaction-administrator.md)
- [Deleting receipts from transactions (for cardholders)](/cardholder-guide/deleting-receipts-from-transactions-for-cardholders.md)
- [How to manage permissions](/administrator-guide/how-to-manage-permissions.md)
- [Receipt matching (Admin guide)](/administrator-guide/receipt-matching-admin-guide.md)