Forward supplier invoices via email on Spendesk
Suppliers and Spendesk users can forward invoices by email, which automatically creates a draft in Spendesk's shared Inbox for review and submission.
For: Account Owners, Controllers, and Requesters on Essentials, Growth, and Premium plans.
Table of Contents
Before you start
Forward an invoice: from a company user to the company
Forward an invoice: from a supplier to your company
Invoice submission roles
What you can see and do in the Inbox
Set up an auto-forwarding rule
View the original email
Duplicate invoices
Troubleshooting
FAQs
Related articles
Before you start
You need the Requester role to submit an invoice from the Inbox.
Controllers without the Requester role can only delete or assign invoices; they cannot submit them.
Do not use this feature for suppliers paid by card or virtual card.
🔒 Access: This feature is not available on the Starter plan.
Forward an invoice: from a company user to the company
Find your company's dedicated invoice email address in the Inbox section of Spendesk, or in the side panel when you click "Submit a new invoice." This address starts with "bills+...".
Send your invoice as an attachment to this address.
Log into Spendesk once the email is received.
Navigate to Expenditures > Inbox > Your inbox.
Review the draft invoice request. Marvin, Spendesk's AI assistant, pre-fills the invoice details and expense analytics.
Click "Submit."
Once submitted, the invoice disappears from your Inbox and moves to "Your Requests."
💡 If you send multiple invoices in one email, Spendesk creates one invoice per attachment.
Forward an invoice: from a supplier to your company
Find your company's invoice forwarding email address in the Inbox section of Spendesk, or in the side panel when you click "Submit a new invoice."
Share this address with your supplier.
Ask your supplier to add the relevant employee in CC if you want the invoice automatically assigned to them.
Log into Spendesk once the email is received.
Navigate to Expenditures > Inbox to review all draft invoices.
Click "Submit" once you've checked the invoice details and expense analytics.
Once submitted, the invoice moves from your Inbox to "Your Requests."
👥 Spendesk assigns the invoice to the first recognized Spendesk user. If the "from" address isn't a recognized user, Spendesk looks for a recognized user in the CC field. If no user is recognized, the invoice appears in the shared Inbox, accessible to all Controllers and the Account Owner.
Invoice submission roles
Role | Can submit invoices | Can assign invoices | Can delete invoices |
Requester | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Controller (without Requester role) | No | No | Yes |
Account Owner | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Employees assigned an invoice by finance cannot delete it, but they can return it to the finance team. The invoice then appears as "disputed" in the Controllers' Inbox.
What you can see and do in the Inbox
From the Shared Inbox, Account Owners and Controllers can:
Assign invoices to a Requester for approval by selecting a user.
Assign invoices to a Purchase Order (PO) owner, if Purchase Orders are enabled. The invoice is then assigned to the user who created the PO.
View invoices assigned to employees that are still awaiting submission.
Reassign invoices that are awaiting submission.
Click a forwarded invoice to view the original email it was forwarded from, directly in the Inbox.
Download the attachments from the original email directly from the Inbox, without opening your mailbox.
💡 Viewing the original email and downloading attachments from the Inbox gives you full context on each forwarded invoice without switching to your mailbox.
From Your Inbox, Requesters can:
Access all invoices assigned to you, including invoices you forwarded yourself or that Spendesk matched to you.
Review the invoice details and analytical information (cost center, expense category), then click Submit.
The invoice will move to Your Requests.
Set up an auto-forwarding rule
If you want invoices automatically forwarded to your Spendesk Inbox, set up an auto-forwarding rule with your email provider.
Go to your email provider's settings and create an auto-forwarding rule to your Spendesk Inbox email address.
Wait for your email provider to send a security code to the Spendesk Inbox email address.
Contact your Account Owner to retrieve this security code. It is automatically forwarded to their company email address.
Enter the security code with your email provider to validate the auto-forwarding rule.
View the original email
For invoices forwarded by email, open the invoice from your Inbox to view the original email it came from. Click View email at the top of the invoice form. You can also download any attachments directly from Spendesk, without opening your mailbox. This gives you additional context when reviewing the invoice.
Duplicate invoices
Spendesk flags duplicate invoices in the Inbox. Click a flagged invoice to see a "Duplicate" tag on the right side of the screen.
Troubleshooting
Symptom: The invoice never appears in the Inbox after forwarding.
Cause: The email was sent to the wrong address, or it contained a download link instead of an attachment.
Resolution: Confirm you used the correct "bills+..." address from the Inbox section. Spendesk cannot retrieve invoices from links requiring authentication (e.g., some supplier billing portals); ask the supplier to attach the invoice file directly.
Symptom: Some attachments from a multi-invoice email did not create a draft, or the extracted data looks wrong.
Cause: Sending more than 10 invoices in a single email can cause the OCR system to struggle processing all documents correctly.
Resolution: Resend invoices in smaller batches of 10 or fewer attachments per email.
Symptom: The invoice was assigned to the wrong user, or ended up unassigned in the shared Inbox.
Cause: Spendesk assigns the invoice to the first recognized user detected in the "from" or "CC" field. If none is recognized, the invoice stays unassigned.
Resolution: Ask the supplier to CC the intended employee's Spendesk email address, or manually reassign the invoice from the shared Inbox if you're a Controller or Account Owner.
FAQs
Can I forward invoices from multiple suppliers in one email?
Yes, but Spendesk creates one invoice per attachment. Make sure each document is a separate file.
How can I assign an invoice to a specific user?
Select the appropriate user, or link the invoice to a Purchase Order if that feature is enabled.
What happens if I send more than 10 invoices in a single email?
The OCR system might struggle to process all documents correctly, which can lead to errors.
What if my suppliers are paid via card or virtual card?
Do not use this feature for suppliers paid via card or virtual card.
Is this feature available on all plans?
No. This feature is not available on the Starter plan.
Who receives the security code when I set up an auto-forwarding rule?
The security code is automatically sent to your Account Owner's company email address.
Can I view the original forwarded email from the Inbox?
Yes. Click the invoice in the Inbox to view the original email it was forwarded from and download its attachments directly.
Related articles