Track overdue reviews

If your company uses approvals (reviews) in Pleo, it’s a good idea to set an internal Approval SLA (service-level agreement) so expenses don’t get stuck waiting for review. This article shows how to spot overdue reviews, understand what’s blocking them, and follow up.

Track expenses that are waiting for review

In the Pleo web app, go to Review and look for expenses that are still Pending review (or the equivalent status in your workflow).

Define what “overdue” means internally

Pleo doesn’t enforce a universal review timer (for example, “overdue after 3 days”), so you’ll typically define “overdue” based on your own process, like:

• Still in review after X business days
• Not fully reviewed before month-end export

Identify what’s blocking review

If reviews are consistently overdue, the most common causes are reviewer setup, sequential review order, or “Needs details” loops.

Check whether the right reviewers are set up

Reviews can be configured on different levels, depending on your setup:

• Team review
• Tag review
• Company review

If an expense seems “stuck”, check for:

• Missing reviewer assignment for the expense’s team or tag
• Threshold settings (min/max amounts) routing the expense differently than expected
• Too few reviewers assigned, creating a bottleneck

Check whether sequential reviews are enabled

If you use multiple review levels, Sequential reviews can be enabled so team/tag reviews are completed before company review.

If sequential reviews are on, an expense can’t move forward until the earlier step is done. This means an “overdue” review is often blocked at the first review level.

Check for “Needs details” delays

If a reviewer marks an expense as Needs details, it stays pending until the cardholder updates it and it’s reviewed again.

Follow up on overdue reviews (recommended workflow)

1) Set an internal Approval SLA

Decide what “on time” means for your company. For example:

• “Team/Tag reviewers approve within 2 business days”
• “All expenses must be fully reviewed by the 3rd working day of the month”

2) Review and follow up on a cadence

1. Check Review daily (or on your chosen cadence)
2. For anything overdue (based on your internal SLA), follow up with:
   • The assigned reviewer (if the expense is waiting for review)
   • The cardholder (if the expense is marked Needs details)

3) Use Admin override when needed

If you need to unblock month-end processes, Admins can override reviews by reviewing expenses in Expenses or Export.

Troubleshooting

I can’t find the expense in Review

1. Confirm approvals (reviews) are enabled and configured (Team/Tag/Company review)
2. If you’re an Admin, try finding the expense via Expenses or Export

The wrong person is getting the review request

1. Check whether the expense has a tag that triggers Tag review
2. Check team membership and Team review setup
3. Check thresholds (min/max amounts) for team/company reviewers
4. If sequential reviews are enabled, confirm which review level the expense is currently waiting on

Reviews are always overdue

• Add more reviewers to reduce bottlenecks
• Review whether sequential reviews are necessary for your workflow
• Align your month-end process with internal SLAs and recurring reminders

Can reviewers review their own expenses?

No — reviewers can’t review their own expenses (including Team and Tag reviewers).

Can I re-open an expense that was reviewed too early?

Yes. An Admin or Controller can reopen it by changing the review status back to a status that requests changes (for example, Needs details).