🗂️ Set up a clean financial structure

With the right settings, your company’s financial structure can be mapped precisely and automated in Circula.

Benefits for Accountants:

This results in significantly reduced manual effort and a lower risk of errors for each individual expense.

Note

Admins of your company account can create cost units, cost centers, and categories in the "Settings" tab with just a few clicks.

	Information	⚙️ Available configurations
Cost Units	Consist of a project name and a cost unit number Commonly represent projects assigned to a specific customer	The selection of a cost unit can be made mandatory for submitters when submitting expenses or trips (by default, this field is optional). ⚙️ Note: Activation is handled by the Support team and is free of charge. Reactivation after deactivation is subject to a fee.
Cost Centers	Consist of a cost center name and a cost center number Commonly represent the company structure, such as departments Three ways to assign cost centers: The accountant selects the cost center manually when reviewing an expense The cost center is assigned to an individual user by an Admin in "User Management" and is automatically applied upon submission The cost center is assigned to an expense group by an Admin in "User Management" and is automatically applied to all submissions from group members	By default, the cost center field is only visible to accountants. ⚙️ Note: If the cost center field should also be available to submitters, please contact the Support team.
Categories & VAT rates	Standard categories and VAT rates are predefined in your account → These cannot be edited manually. New categories with booking codes can be created and adjusted by your Admin at any time	Through the Support team, the following is possible: ⚙️ Rename or deactivate standard categories that are not needed. ⚙️ Deactivate existing VAT rates or add additional ones for your account.

🔎 Prevent errors early: detect duplicates and incorrect expenses in time

With the right settings, you can identify potential errors or duplicate expenses at an early stage and make corrections before the expenses are booked.

Benefits for Accountants:
You automatically receive a warning in case of potential duplicates or violations of your travel expense policies. This reduces errors, minimizes manual effort, and ensures maximum transparency during expense review.

	Information	Activation
Duplicate Detection	Duplicate expenses are automatically identified and flagged based on amount, invoice date, invoice number, and travel date. Accountants outside of groups can review the affected receipts side by side for comparison. Accountants assigned to specific groups receive a corresponding warning.	✔️ This feature is enabled by default and does not require separate activation.
Expense Policies	Internal company travel expense policies can be mapped directly in Circula. Spending limits can be defined for individual categories: per expense, or per calendar year. A policy can apply to the entire company or only to selected users. Examples: Single expense: “For the Taxi category, a maximum of EUR 50 per expense may be submitted.” Calendar year: “For the Flights category, a total maximum of EUR 600 per calendar year may be claimed.” Once a defined limit is exceeded, Approvers and Accountants are notified directly within the respective expense.	✔️ Configuration is handled by the Admin in the Circula account under "Settings" and can be completed in just a few clicks.

⚙️ Reduce manual effort: Automate cost centers

As an accountant, you have several options to automate cost centers in Circula. This allows cost centers to be pre-filled on expenses, eliminating the need for manual selection.

Benefits for accountants:

Less manual effort when reviewing expenses
Clear responsibilities through targeted assignments
Reduced complexity thanks to automated processes

	Information	Activation
Assign a cost center per user	An employee’s cost center can be assigned directly to the user by an Admin in "User Management". It will then be automatically pre-filled for every new expense.	✔️ This feature is enabled by default.
Enable the cost center field for Submitters	By default, the cost center field is only visible to Accountants. Optionally, it can also be enabled for Submitters, allowing them to select the cost center themselves.	⚙️ Activation is handled by the Support Team.
Enable the accountant view for Submitters	By default, only Accountants can perform the following actions on expenses: Assign a cost center Adjust tax rates Split amounts Enter an invoice number This accountant view can optionally be enabled for submitters in the web app. ⚠️ Warning: Circula does not recommend this setting, as it may increase the risk of errors and result in additional manual review effort for accountants.	⚙️ Activation is handled by the Support Team.
Create Expense Groups with cost centers	In "User Management", Admins can create Expense Groups with assigned Submitters, Approvers, and Accountants. A fixed cost center can be assigned to a group and will be automatically pre-filled for every expense submitted by Submitters in that group.	✔️ This feature is enabled by default.

📊 Overview & Control: How Accountants Keep Track of All Expenses

As an Accountant, your task is to keep track of all expenses submitted by your employees, structure them efficiently, and prepare them correctly for exports. The Expenses Overview along with the integrated search and filter function supports you in this process.

Benefits for Accountants:

Full overview of all submitted, approved, and exported expenses
Targeted data selection to provide meaningful insights to employees and management
Structured exports for accounting processing

Note

Regardless of the tab, the search and filter function in the top-right corner helps you narrow down expenses and prepare them optimally – both for overview and for exports.

Search and filter function in Circula

	Infos	Filtering & exporting
Tab "All" = Your Central Overview	The "All" tab contains all expenses, regardless of their status: Submitted Approved Controlled Rejected Already exported Purpose of this tab: Purely for overview No report is generated Exports from this tab are not intended for direct accounting processing	Best Practice: If employees request an overview of their expenses, you can: Filter by employee name Export expenses individually or as a batch CSV file This allows you to quickly provide a transparent summary.
Tabs "Expense Export" und "Payroll Export" = Preparing for Accounting	In the "Expense export" and "Payroll export" tabs, you’ll find: Approved and controlled expenses Ready for export to your accounting system	Before exporting: Use the filter function to determine how the expenses should be grouped. Best Practice: You can filter, for example, by: Category Type Payment type (e.g., specifically for credit card expenses)
Tab "Reports" = Managing Exported Datasets	After exporting, expenses appear in the "Reports" tab: Expenses remain fixed in the dataset you selected during export Reports can be exported again in various formats ❗ Individual expenses cannot be regrouped or modified	Therefore: Always define and filter the desired structure before exporting.

Do you still have questions?

Circula Compass - Learning Platform

💬 Chat Support
📞 +49 30 588 491 01
✉️️ support@circula.com

DATEV EO Comfort. Part 1: Import

DATEV EO Comfort. Part 2: Expense items in Circula

Groups and user roles

User roles

Controlling expenses

Best Practices for Accountants

At a glance

🗂️ Set up a clean financial structure

🔎 Prevent errors early: detect duplicates and incorrect expenses in time

⚙️ Reduce manual effort: Automate cost centers

📊 Overview & Control: How Accountants Keep Track of All Expenses

Do you still have questions?