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Overview

Advanced Search in New Expensify provides a powerful way to locate and filter financial data across your entire workspace. With an advanced query language, autocomplete suggestions, and 40+ filter types, you can quickly find specific expenses, reports, invoices, chats, and trips using keywords or precise filter combinations.
  • Locate specific transactions - Find expenses, invoices, or other financial data using keywords or filters
  • Filter by status - View items based on their current state (Open, Submitted, Approved, Paid, etc.)
  • Save frequent searches - Store commonly used search parameters for quick access
  • Export and analyze - Filter data for reporting and analysis
  • Customize results - Adjust columns and grouping to view data your way
1

Open Search Router

Click the search icon in the top navigation bar or press Cmd/Ctrl + K to open the search interface.
2

Start Typing

Begin typing your search query. The autocomplete modal appears with suggestions as you type.
3

Execute Search

Press Enter or click the magnifying glass icon to execute your search.
The search interface is available on all platforms (web, iOS, Android, desktop) and works consistently across devices. The simplest way to search is by typing keywords. Keywords search across multiple fields including merchant names, descriptions, and other text fields. Examples: 
Starbucks
Finds all transactions containing “Starbucks” 
coffee meeting
Finds transactions containing both “coffee” AND “meeting” 
"team lunch"
Finds exact phrase “team lunch” (use quotes for exact matches)

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Quick Filters

Each data type (Expenses, Reports, Invoices, Chats, Trips) offers predefined quick filters:
  • All - Shows all items (default)
  • Drafts - Items not yet submitted
  • Outstanding - Items awaiting action
  • Approved - Items that have received approval
  • Done - Completed items
  • Paid - Items that have been reimbursed or paid
Available quick filters vary depending on the selected data type.

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Advanced Filters

Advanced filters let you construct precise search queries using a powerful query language. Filters can be combined using spaces (AND logic) to narrow results.

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Filter Syntax

All filters follow this basic pattern: 
filterName:value
or for ranges: 
filterName>value
filterName<value
filterName>=value
filterName<=value
You can negate most filters using the - prefix: 
-merchant:Starbucks

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Status Filters

Filter transactions by their workflow status:
FilterValuesExample
statusopen, submitted, approved, paid, reimbursed, pending, rejectedstatus:approved
Examples: 
status:submitted
Show all submitted expenses 
status:approved,paid
Show expenses that are either approved or paid (comma = OR)

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Date Filters

Search by transaction or workflow dates:
FilterDescriptionExample
dateTransaction datedate:2024-01-15
submittedDate submittedsubmitted>2024-01-01
approvedDate approvedapproved:2024-01-15
paidDate paidpaid<2024-02-01
exportedDate exportedexported>=2024-01-01
postedDate postedposted:2024-01-15
withdrawnDate withdrawnwithdrawn>2024-01-01
Date Formats:
  • Specific date: date:2024-01-15
  • After date: date>2024-01-01
  • Before date: date<2024-02-01
  • Date range: date>2024-01-01 date<2024-01-31
  • Relative dates: date:today, date:yesterday, date:thisWeek, date:lastWeek, date:thisMonth, date:lastMonth
Examples: 
date>2024-01-01 date<2024-01-31
Expenses from January 2024 
submitted:thisWeek
Expenses submitted this week 
approved>2024-01-01 paid<2024-02-01
Approved in January, paid before February

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Amount Filters

Filter by transaction amounts:
FilterDescriptionExample
amountIndividual expense amountamount>100
totalReport totaltotal>=1000
purchaseAmountOriginal purchase amount (before conversion)purchaseAmount<50
Operators:
  • : or = - Equal to
  • > - Greater than
  • < - Less than
  • >= - Greater than or equal to
  • <= - Less than or equal to
Examples: 
amount>100
Expenses over $100 
amount>=50 amount<=200
Expenses between 50and50 and 200 
total>1000
Reports with total over $1000

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Merchant & Description Filters

Search by merchant name or expense description:
FilterDescriptionExample
merchantMerchant namemerchant:Starbucks
descriptionExpense descriptiondescription:"client meeting"
Examples: 
merchant:Starbucks
All Starbucks transactions 
merchant:Amazon,Walmart
Transactions from Amazon or Walmart 
description:"client dinner"
Expenses with “client dinner” in description 
-merchant:Starbucks
All transactions EXCEPT Starbucks

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Category & Tag Filters

Filter by workspace categories and tags:
FilterDescriptionExample
categoryExpense categorycategory:Travel
tagExpense tagstag:Project-A
Examples: 
category:Travel
All travel expenses 
category:Travel,Meals
Travel or meals expenses 
tag:Project-A
Expenses tagged with Project-A 
category:Travel tag:Client
Travel expenses tagged as Client-related

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Currency Filters

Filter by transaction currency:
FilterDescriptionExample
currencyTransaction currencycurrency:USD
purchaseCurrencyOriginal purchase currencypurchaseCurrency:EUR
groupCurrencyGroup/report currencygroupCurrency:GBP
Examples: 
currency:USD
All USD transactions 
purchaseCurrency:EUR currency:USD
Euro purchases converted to USD

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Card Filters

Search by payment card:
FilterDescriptionExample
cardID or cardCard used for paymentcard:1234
feedCard feed/bankfeed:expensify
Examples: 
card:1234
Transactions on card ending in 1234 
feed:expensify
Transactions from Expensify Cards

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Report Filters

Filter by report properties:
FilterDescriptionExample
reportID or report-idSpecific report IDreportID:12345
titleReport titletitle:"Q1 Expenses"
inSearch within specific chat/reportin:"Project Alpha"
Examples: 
reportID:12345
Expenses from report 12345 
title:"Q1 Expenses"
Reports titled “Q1 Expenses” 
in:"Engineering Team"
Search within the Engineering Team chat

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People Filters

Filter by people involved in transactions:
FilterDescriptionExample
fromExpense submitterfrom:[email protected]
toExpense recipient/approverto:[email protected]
assigneeTask assigneeassignee:[email protected]
attendeeExpense attendeesattendee:[email protected]
payerWho paidpayer:company
exporterWho exportedexporter:[email protected]
createdBy or created-byWho createdcreatedBy:[email protected]
Examples: 
from:[email protected]
Expenses submitted by John 
to:[email protected]
Expenses sent to manager 
from:[email protected] status:approved
John’s approved expenses

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Expense Type Filters

Filter by the type of expense:
FilterDescriptionExample
expenseType or expense-typeType of expenseexpenseType:card
Values:
  • card - Card transactions
  • cash - Cash expenses
  • distance - Distance/mileage expenses
  • perDiem - Per diem expenses
Examples: 
expenseType:card
All card expenses 
expenseType:distance date:thisMonth
Distance expenses from this month 
expenseType:card,cash
Card or cash expenses

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Withdrawal Filters

Filter by withdrawal information:
FilterDescriptionExample
withdrawalType or withdrawal-typeType of withdrawalwithdrawalType:ach
withdrawalID or withdrawal-idWithdrawal batch IDwithdrawalID:WD12345
Examples: 
withdrawalType:ach
ACH withdrawals 
withdrawalID:WD12345
Specific withdrawal batch

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Boolean Filters

Toggle-style filters:
FilterDescriptionExample
billableBillable to clientbillable:true
reimbursableReimbursable to employeereimbursable:true
Examples: 
billable:true
Billable expenses only 
reimbursable:false
Non-reimbursable expenses 
billable:true category:Consulting
Billable consulting expenses

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Metadata Filters

Additional filters for special cases:
FilterDescriptionExample
hasCheck for presence of fieldshas:receipt
isCheck boolean statesis:held
actionFilter by available actionsaction:approve
taxRate or tax-rateTax rate appliedtaxRate:0.08
exportedTo or exported-toExport destinationexportedTo:quickbooks
Examples: 
has:receipt
Expenses with receipts attached 
is:held
Held/flagged expenses 
action:approve
Expenses requiring approval

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Workspace Filter

Filter by specific workspace: 
workspace:MyCompany
or using policyID: 
policyID:ABC123

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Combining Filters

Combine multiple filters with spaces (AND logic) to create precise queries: Example 1: Complex expense search 
category:Travel date>2024-01-01 amount>100 status:approved
Travel expenses over $100 from 2024 onwards that are approved Example 2: Reimbursable expenses 
from:[email protected] reimbursable:true status:paid date:thisMonth
John’s reimbursable expenses paid this month Example 3: Audit query 
amount>500 -has:receipt status:approved
Approved expenses over $500 without receipts (potential audit items) Example 4: Billable client work 
billable:true category:Consulting from:[email protected] date:lastMonth
Sarah’s billable consulting expenses from last month

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Saved Searches

Save frequently used searches for quick access.
1

Execute Your Search

Run the search query you want to save.
2

Click Save

Click the “Save Search” button in the search results header.
3

Name Your Search

Enter a descriptive name for your saved search (e.g., “Q1 Travel Expenses” or “Pending Approvals”).
4

Access Saved Search

Your saved search appears in the left-hand navigation (LHN) under “Saved Searches” for quick access.

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Managing Saved Searches

  • Rename: Click the three-dot menu next to a saved search and select “Rename”
  • Delete: Click the three-dot menu and select “Delete”
  • Reorder: Drag and drop saved searches in the LHN to reorder them
Create saved searches for common tasks like “Weekly Expense Review”, “Pending Approvals”, or “Exported This Month” to streamline your workflow.

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Search Results

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Understanding Results

Search results display in a table format with these key elements:
  • Selection checkboxes - Select multiple items for bulk actions
  • Column headers - Click to sort results (toggles ascending/descending)
  • Row details - Click any row to view full transaction details
  • Footer totals - Shows count and sum of selected or all results

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Customizing Columns

Adjust which columns appear in your results:
1

Open Column Settings

Click the columns icon in the search header.
2

Select Columns

Check/uncheck columns to show or hide them in results.
3

Save Layout

Your column preferences are saved automatically.
Available Columns:
  • Date
  • Merchant
  • Amount
  • Category
  • Tag
  • Description
  • Receipt
  • Tax
  • Card
  • From
  • To
  • Report ID
  • And more…
You can also specify columns in your search query: 
category:Travel columns:date,merchant,amount,from

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Grouping Results

Group results by common fields: 
groupBy:category
Available groupings:
  • from - Group by submitter
  • card - Group by payment card
  • category - Group by category
  • tag - Group by tag
  • merchant - Group by merchant
  • month - Group by month
  • week - Group by week
  • quarter - Group by quarter
  • year - Group by year
  • withdrawal-id - Group by withdrawal batch
Example: 
date:thisYear groupBy:month category:Travel
Travel expenses from this year, grouped by month

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Chart Views

Visualize grouped data with chart views: 
groupBy:category view:bar
Available views:
  • table - Default table view
  • bar - Bar chart
  • line - Line chart (best with time-based grouping)
Example: 
date:lastYear groupBy:month view:line
Line chart showing expenses by month for last year

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Sorting Results

Control sort order in your query: 
sortBy:amount sortOrder:desc
Common sort fields:
  • date - Transaction date (default)
  • amount - Transaction amount
  • merchant - Merchant name
  • category - Category name
  • groupFrom, groupCategory, etc. - For grouped results
Sort orders:
  • asc - Ascending (A-Z, low to high, oldest to newest)
  • desc - Descending (Z-A, high to low, newest to oldest)

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Limiting Results

Limit the number of results returned: 
category:Travel limit:50
Returns only the first 50 matching results.

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Search Syntax Reference

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Basic Query Structure

[type:dataType] [status:value] [filter1:value1] [filter2:value2] ... [sortBy:field] [sortOrder:order] [groupBy:field] [view:type]

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Data Types

Specify what kind of data to search: 
type:expense
type:expenseReport
type:invoice
type:chat
type:trip
type:task
Example: 
type:invoice status:outstanding date:thisMonth
Outstanding invoices from this month

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Complete Filter Reference

CategoryFilters
Datesdate, submitted, approved, paid, exported, posted, withdrawn
Amountsamount, total, purchaseAmount
Textmerchant, description, keyword, title
Categoriescategory, tag
Currencycurrency, purchaseCurrency, groupCurrency
CardscardID/card, feed
ReportsreportID, title, in
Peoplefrom, to, assignee, attendee, payer, exporter, createdBy
TypeexpenseType, withdrawalType
Booleanbillable, reimbursable
Metadatahas, is, action, taxRate, exportedTo, withdrawalID
WorkspacepolicyID/workspace
Structuretype, status, sortBy, sortOrder, groupBy, view, columns, limit
Some filters cannot be negated with - prefix: type, keyword, groupCurrency, groupBy, columns, limit, view

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Use Cases & Examples

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Expense Management

Find large expenses without receipts: 
amount>500 -has:receipt
Review pending approvals: 
status:submitted to:me
Monthly expense summary: 
date:thisMonth groupBy:category view:bar

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Reimbursement Tracking

Unpaid reimbursables: 
reimbursable:true status:approved -status:paid
This month’s reimbursements: 
status:paid date:thisMonth from:me

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Billable Client Work

Billable hours this quarter: 
billable:true date:thisQuarter groupBy:category
Client project expenses: 
tag:Client-ABC billable:true status:approved

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Auditing & Compliance

High-value transactions: 
amount>1000 date:lastYear sortBy:amount sortOrder:desc
Flagged expenses: 
is:held
Exported to accounting: 
exportedTo:quickbooks date:lastMonth

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Team Management

Team member expenses: 
from:[email protected] date:thisMonth
Department spending: 
category:Travel from:[email protected] date:thisQuarter groupBy:month

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Card Reconciliation

Reconcile card transactions: 
card:1234 date:lastMonth
Unmatched card expenses: 
expenseType:card status:draft

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Tips & Best Practices

Use autocomplete: As you type, the search interface suggests filters and values. Accept suggestions with Tab or Enter to speed up query building.
Start broad, then narrow: Begin with a simple search, then add filters to refine results rather than starting with a complex query.
Save common searches: Create saved searches for queries you run frequently, like weekly expense reviews or month-end reconciliation.
Use relative dates: Filters like date:thisWeek or date:lastMonth automatically adjust, making saved searches evergreen.
Combine with grouping: Use groupBy with chart views for visual analysis of spending patterns.
Search operates on snapshots of data, not live data. For real-time updates to to-do items and tasks, use the dedicated Tasks view.

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Keyboard Shortcuts

ShortcutAction
Cmd/Ctrl + KOpen search router
EscClose search router
EnterExecute search
TabAccept autocomplete suggestion
↑ ↓Navigate suggestions

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Troubleshooting

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Search returns no results

  • Check filter spelling and syntax
  • Ensure date formats are correct (YYYY-MM-DD)
  • Verify you have access to the workspace/data
  • Try removing filters one by one to isolate the issue

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Slow search performance

  • Use more specific filters to reduce result set
  • Add date ranges to limit search scope
  • Consider using limit: to cap results

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Can’t find expected transactions

  • Check workspace filter - you may be searching the wrong workspace
  • Verify transaction status matches your filter
  • Ensure you have permissions to view the data
For additional help with search, contact your workspace administrator or visit the New Expensify Help Center.

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