Sales management · Sales expenses
Padded claims leave patterns, and three months of bills is enough to find them.
An expense red flag review is a periodic check of claim data for patterns that point to padding, such as consecutive bill numbers or round totals. This page lists the checks, how to put suspect claims side by side, how to talk to the rep and what to change afterwards.
Scope, fee, reporting and term are agreed in writing after we have read your brief and spoken to you.
In one paragraph
An expense red flag review is a periodic check of claim data for patterns that point to padding, such as consecutive bill numbers or round totals. This page lists the checks, how to put suspect claims side by side, how to talk to the rep and what to change afterwards.
An accounts clerk at a stationery wholesaler in Indore notices that two reps' restaurant bills from different towns share the same pad design and run in sequence: 0412, 0413, 0414. The towns are three hours apart. Nobody had looked at the bills together before, because each claim passed on its own.
The review is a spreadsheet exercise. Pull together the last three months of expense claims, listing the bill number, vendor, date and amount for each. Run the checks below, mark whatever fails, and put the suspect bills next to each other. Then ask the rep to explain. A flag has a dull explanation more often than a guilty one, and the conversation clears it.
Accounts runs the checks. The sales manager asks the questions. The owner decides outcomes and updates the controls. Where the amounts are large, or a pattern points to dismissal, talk to your labour-law adviser before saying anything to the rep.
It follows the claim workflow and audit, whose sample catches single claims, and this page catches patterns across claims.
Where this sits
Topic 8 of 14 in sales management: sales expenses. Policies and controls for the cost of selling.
- The topic before
- Compensation
- The topic after
- Quotas and targets
If you want this done for you
Nobody outside the sales team can say why deals are won or lost here.
The work
What this is actually like.
“Sequential bill numbers are the loudest flag”
Two bills from different restaurants cannot be numbered one after the other. Sort claims by vendor and bill number and look at the runs. One run is a coincidence, since two reps may eat at the same dhaba. A rep with several is a conversation worth having.
“Round amounts and just-under-limit amounts”
Real meals come to odd totals. A column of bills ending in zero, or each sitting a few rupees under the pre-approval limit, suggests the amount was written to fit the rule. Sort the claims by amount against the limit and look for a pile just below it.
“Kilometres above the map”
Compare claimed distance for each trip with map distance between the customers visited. A small excess covers detours and a wrong turn. A steady excess of the same size on every trip, week after week, is a rate being collected.
“Dull explanations come first”
A duplicate may be a re-scan. A weekend claim may be a trade fair. Put the bills side by side and ask first. The aim is an accurate record and a tighter control, not a catch, and a rep who feels hunted stops filing.
What we do
What you end up with.
The documents this topic produces, what each one is for, and how you know it is finished.
The claim dataset
Three months of claims in one sheet: rep, date, vendor, bill number, amount, line, city, bill photo link. Accounts builds it by exporting from the form or tool.
Result: Finished when every claim for the period has a bill number or a recorded reason for none.
The flag list
One row per flag: rep, claim, check that failed, and the evidence. Checks: sequential numbers, repeated vendor, round totals, duplicates, weekend or holiday, missing receipts, just under a limit, kilometres over map.
Result: Finished when each flag has a rep, a claim reference and the check named.
The explanation record
What the rep said when shown the bills together, and what supports it. Record this in writing on the same day, signed by the sales manager.
Result: Finished when each flag has either an explanation on file or an open question with a date.
The outcome log and control changes
For each flag: explained, corrected, recovered, warning or disciplinary. Then the change to the policy or the form, such as a lower limit before pre-approval or a vendor list. The owner signs.
Result: Finished when every flag has an outcome and every pattern found has a control that addresses it.
Why us
Why owners pick GullySales over an agency.
Marketing and sales, as one job
Most agencies stop at the enquiry. We also fix what happens after it: the reply, the follow-up, the quote and the CRM.
The person on the first call does the work
No account managers in between. You are never handed to someone you have not met.
A baseline before anything starts
Your numbers are written down on day one, so every later report compares against something honest.
The fee in writing, split three ways
Our time, your media spend and production on separate lines. You always see what goes to us.
No guarantees we cannot keep
The term is agreed in writing and never a default twelve months. We never promise a ranking or a lead count, because nobody controls those.
One office, and we say so
Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru. We work across India by call and WhatsApp and travel when a session needs to be in person.
#257, 3rd floor, Sri Nanjundeshwara Complex, Nagarbhavi 8th Block, Outer Ring Road. How we work.
Your brief
Tell us what you need, and we will read it before we call.
Eight short steps about your business, what you want and who decides. Most questions are a tap, and you can skip any you would rather answer on the call.
FAQ
Questions owners ask before they call.
Not here? More answers, or ask on WhatsApp.
How often should we run this review?
What do we do if we find real fraud?
Is it worth doing for a team of three?
How do we check that a vendor bill is genuine?
How much does it cost?
How long is the contract?
How soon will we see results?
Who will actually do the work?
What do you need from us?
What if we are not happy with the work?
Where to go next
The work that carries this topic further.
The rest of sales expenses
Or read all of sales management.
Your next practical step
Tell us what you are trying to grow, and we will read it before we call.
Eight short steps, mostly taps. Skip anything you would rather answer on the call.