How do missing receipt affidavits work?

Short answer

A missing receipt affidavit is a signed statement that employees can submit when they cannot provide a required receipt.

On Ramp, affidavits replace free-form notes with a structured, auditable record that attaches directly to the transaction and syncs into your ERP.

When to use an affidavit

A receipt was lost and cannot be retrieved from the vendor
An uploaded receipt image is unreadable or incomplete
Company policy allows affidavits for lower-value transactions
All reasonable attempts to obtain the original documentation have failed

How it works on Ramp

The cardholder opens the flagged transaction in Ramp and selects “Submit affidavit.”
Ramp prompts the employee to provide vendor, date, amount, business purpose, and a signed attestation.
If the transaction requires approval, the affidavit is routed to the designated approver. For auto-approved transactions, it is sent to exception approvers for review.
Once submitted, the affidavit is stored with the transaction as part of the permanent record.
The affidavit is synced into the company’s ERP alongside the transaction, ensuring it appears in financial records and during audits.
Admins can search for transactions with affidavits in the Card Transactions table by applying the “Has Receipt Affidavit” filter.

Availability

Available to businesses on Ramp’s Plus pricing tier
Supported on web, mobile web, and the Ramp mobile app (latest version required)

Best practices

Use affidavits only when receipts cannot reasonably be provided
Limit affidavits to small-dollar transactions through policy thresholds
Review affidavit usage logs to ensure they are not replacing legitimate receipts
Train employees to attempt vendor reissue first before submitting an affidavit

Related questions

Can admins bulk-reassign missing receipt tasks to managers?

Yes. Admins can bulk-reassign outstanding receipt tasks to managers so that follow-up does not fall entirely on finance teams.

How are receipts handled when a charge is refunded?

Receipts always remain attached to the original charge, even if the transaction is later refunded. This ensures the original documentation is preserved for audits and reporting.

How to handle lost or unreadable receipts in compliance reporting?

If a receipt is lost or unreadable, the employee should provide details of the transaction (vendor, date, amount, and business purpose) in place of the document, and a manager or administrator should review and approve the exception. For higher-value expenses, the employee should request a duplicate invoice directly from the vendor.

How to send automated reminders when receipts are overdue?

Ramp automatically reminds employees when receipts are missing past the deadline you set in your expense policy. This takes the manual work out of following up and ensures that cardholders are prompted directly with what they need to do.

What are the receipt requirements for recurring subscriptions and one-time charges?

Receipt requirements often depend on whether the transaction is a recurring subscription or a one-time charge. For recurring subscriptions, companies usually require the initial invoice or contract as documentation, with future charges linked to that same record. For one-time charges, every transaction generally needs its own receipt or invoice.

What happens if an employee uploads the wrong receipt?

If an employee uploads the wrong receipt, the receipt should be flagged as incorrect, and the employee must provide the correct documentation. The incorrect and corrected receipts should both remain tied to the transaction so there is a full record for audits.

On this page

When to use an affidavit
How it works on Ramp