When you turn on the Expenses Agent, it doesn't start from a blank page. RemotePass loads a set of built-in checks for you, and you can add your own on top. This article explains the difference between the two, and how to adjust each.
RemotePass instructions
These are 8 built-in checks that come switched on the moment you activate the Expenses Agent, covering the most common things worth flagging on an expense claim:
No receipt attached — high severity
Duplicate expense — invoice ID, amount, and date all match an already-approved expense — high severity
Stale receipt — receipt is more than 31 days old — high severity
Amount mismatch — the claim exceeds the receipt by more than 5%, after FX — high severity
Miscategorisation — the submitted category doesn't match the receipt — medium severity
Receipt from a previous month — still within 31 days, so not stale, but outside the current month — medium severity
Expense on a terminated contract — medium severity, and this one never auto-approves regardless of any other instruction
Approval ceiling — expenses of $500 or more are never auto-approved, whatever your other instructions say
Each one can be turned off with its toggle, or opened with Edit to change its severity or its threshold (like the 31-day or 5% figures above). Turning one off just removes that flag going forward, it doesn't touch decisions already made.
Custom instructions
These are the instructions you write yourself, in plain language, from the agent's setup screen ("Approve any SaaS expense under €100," "Flag anything that looks like alcohol"). Unlike the RemotePass instructions, nothing is pre-filled here. You can set the action to approve, decline, or flag (high, medium, or low), and build conditions around country, category, amount, receipt age, contract type, and more.
Custom instructions run alongside the RemotePass ones, not instead of them. Both are checked against every expense, and an expense can pick up flags from either. See how to set them up here.
Where you see this
On the agent's instructions screen, use the All / RemotePass / Custom tabs to filter the list: RemotePass shows only the built-in checks, Custom shows only the ones you've added, and All shows everything together.
The takeaway
RemotePass instructions are your starting safety net, on by default and yours to tune or switch off. Custom instructions are how you encode the judgment calls specific to your company. Together, they're what the agent checks every expense against before deciding what needs your attention.