expense report stuck in pending approval error

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR

A stuck report is waiting on someone who is not acting: on leave, a deactivated account, or a delegate that was never set. Find the current approver on the report's audit trail, nudge them, and if they cannot act, have an admin reassign the approval step.

Error

expense report stuck in pending approval

Steps

1. Open the report's approval history or audit trail. Expected: it names the current approver and how long the step has been pending.
2. Check whether that approver is on leave or has left: look at their out-of-office status or ask your admin. Expected: you know why the step is stalled.
3. Nudge the approver directly with the report link and the amount awaiting them. Expected: many stuck reports clear within a day of a direct nudge.
4. If the approver cannot act, ask your expense admin to reassign the step to the approver's delegate or manager. Expected: the report moves to someone who can approve.
5. For repeat stalls, set up delegate approvers and escalation reminders in the approval policy. Expected: future reports escalate automatically instead of stalling.

When to use

• A report has been in pending approval longer than your approval SLA.
• The audit trail shows a single approver step not moving.

When not to use

• The report was rejected or returned (fix the flagged content).
• The report never submitted (check for submission validation errors).

Tool compatibility

• Expensify, Concur, Ramp, Brex, Float, and most expense tools with multi-step approval.

Variant phrasings

Report awaiting approval for weeks

Same stall, described by duration.

Approval step not progressing

The workflow-level view of the same problem.

Why it happens

Approval chains are people-dependent. Leave, turnover, and missing delegates all park a report on one step indefinitely because most systems wait passively instead of escalating.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_eUTzJ8Whwtna5YtiDonJgQ

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_eUTzJ8Whwtna5YtiDonJgQ

Thread query: "expense report stuck in pending approval" error

TL;DR: A stuck report is waiting on someone who is not acting: on leave, a deactivated account, or a delegate that was never set. Find the current approver on the report's audit trail, nudge them, and if they cannot act, have an admin reassign the approval step.

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR

Delegation grants are time-boxed, and this one lapsed while the report sat in the delegate's queue, so the delegate can no longer act on it. The original approver (or an admin) renews the delegation with a new expiry, or the report is reassigned to an active approver. Then the report is re-pushed into the approval queue.

Error

concur: delegate approval rights expired mid-report

Steps

1. Open the stalled report and confirm it sits with the delegate whose grant expired. Expected: the approval history shows the delegation and its expiry.
2. Ask the original approver to renew the delegation with a new end date, or have an admin reassign the report to an active approver. Expected: a valid approver or delegate is assigned.
3. Confirm the renewed delegation covers the report's current step. Expected: the delegate can see and act on the report.
4. Nudge the delegate to approve or return the report. Expected: the report moves forward in the workflow.
5. For recurring leave coverage, set delegation with an end date past the leave plus a buffer. Expected: future reports do not stall the same way.

When to use

• A Concur report stalls because delegate rights expired mid-flight.
• An approver's leave ended and their delegate lost access.
• Time-boxed delegations lapse on slow-moving reports.

When not to use

• The delegate actively rejected the report (a decision, not an expiry).
• The original approver is inactive (reassign, do not delegate).
• The report never reached the delegate's queue.

Tool compatibility

SAP Concur Expense with delegate approvals (current 2026 releases).

Variant phrasings

concur "delegation expired" on a pending report

Same lapse in short form. Renew the delegation or reassign.

report stuck with an ex-delegate in concur

The delegate's window closed. A fresh delegation reopens the queue item.

leave cover ended and reports stalled in concur

Delegations tied to leave dates lapse on return. Extend or reassign.

Why it happens

Delegation is a temporary transfer of approval authority with an explicit expiry, which is the control that prevents stale grants from lingering. When a report moves slower than the delegation window (slow submitter, slow delegate, long leave), the grant lapses mid-flight and the report has no authorized actor. Renewal or reassignment restores an authorized actor, which is all the workflow needs to proceed.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_NhhWRGop6kiG9NKEl4y9tQ

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_NhhWRGop6kiG9NKEl4y9tQ

Thread query: concur: delegate approval rights expired mid-report

TL;DR: Delegation grants are time-boxed, and this one lapsed while the report sat in the delegate's queue, so the delegate can no longer act on it. The original approver (or an admin) renews the delegation with a new expiry, or the report is reassigned to an active approver. Then the report is re-pushed into the approval queue.

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR

Zoho Expense throws a workflow error when the approval chain is misconfigured: an approver role is empty, a user is deactivated, or a condition has no matching path. A Zoho admin must open the approval workflow, fill or fix the broken step, and then you resubmit the report.

Error

Zoho Expense: report approval workflow error

Steps

1. Note exactly when the error appears: on submit, on approve, or on auto-forward. Expected: you know which workflow step is breaking.
2. Ask your Zoho Expense admin to open Settings, then Approval Workflows, and run the workflow in test mode for your report. Expected: the admin sees the step that fails.
3. The admin fixes the broken step: assign an approver where the role is empty, replace a deactivated user, or add a fallback path for unmatched conditions. Expected: the workflow validates cleanly.
4. Resubmit the report. Expected: it routes to the first approver with no workflow error.
5. If the error recurs for other users, the admin audits all workflows for empty approver roles. Expected: no workflow has an unassigned step.

When to use

• Zoho Expense shows an approval workflow error on submit or approve.
• The error affects multiple users (points at configuration, not one report).

When not to use

• The report is rejected for policy content (fix the expense lines).
• One approver is on leave (use delegation instead).

Tool compatibility

• Zoho Expense; admin access required to edit approval workflows.

Variant phrasings

Approval workflow failed to trigger

The workflow never started; same configuration cause.

No approver found in workflow

An approver step resolves to nobody; the admin must assign someone.

Why it happens

Zoho evaluates the approval workflow at submit time. Any step that resolves to no valid approver, or any condition branch with no matching path, aborts the submission with a workflow error.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_aD1MvW18svLwvxdqqu6-ug

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_aD1MvW18svLwvxdqqu6-ug

Thread query: "Zoho Expense: report approval workflow" error

TL;DR: Zoho Expense throws a workflow error when the approval chain is misconfigured: an approver role is empty, a user is deactivated, or a condition has no matching path. A Zoho admin must open the approval workflow, fill or fix the broken step, and then you resubmit the report.