Predictika · Travel expense claims for finance teams

An AI assistant's travel expense claim, checked before it goes to payment

An AI expense assistant prepares a travel claim for a trip of up to four days. Before it is submitted for payment, the claim goes to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of per diem, lodging, travel class, receipt and filing rules, then returns a verdict, every reason and the allowable amounts.

Scope: Trip claims of up to four days, checked against per diem and simplified federal travel rules, for a standard locality and three example localities. See everything this validator covers

This validator models a travel claim of up to four days, claimed line by line: lodging and meals and incidentals for each day, airfare and flight length, a rental car, alcohol, one other expense, and how long after the trip the claim was filed.

  • Meals and incidentals — the daily allowance for the locality, 75 percent on the first and last travel day, less any meal that was provided.
  • Lodging — capped at the locality rate; above it needs actual-expense authorization and above 300 percent of the rate is blocked; no lodging on the return day; lodging always needs a receipt.
  • Travel and other expenses — coach air unless the flight is 14 hours or longer (business class on a shorter flight is blocked), compact rental cars by default, alcohol never reimbursable, a receipt for any expense of $75 or more.
  • Timeliness — a claim filed more than five working days after return needs supervisor sign-off.

Any claim that fits these rules and the four localities is in scope, not only the scenarios pictured here. Not covered: other localities, trips longer than four days, foreign travel, mileage, or any real agency's or employer's travel system. The standard rate ($110 lodging, $68 meals and incidentals) and the meal-breakdown tiers were taken from the U.S. General Services Administration's published tables as read in September 2026; the lodging rates for the example localities are illustrative and are not GSA's published rates; the rules are a simplified reading of the Federal Travel Regulation.

The AI expense assistantBuilds the travel claim from the traveler's receipts and itinerary and asks to submit it for payment.
Predictika validatorChecks every rule at once and returns the verdict, each finding, and the computed figures.

7 scenarios in 3 groups · each group runs from the agent’s first attempt to the outcome · click one to switch

What the agent proposes

The AI expense assistant says

Illustrative agent statement. The validator receives the structured request below.

Proposing agent: AI expense assistant (scripted)

Before sending, the agent must call Recorded run

Predictika validator


      

        
        
        
      

      
Waiting for the call.

      
    

  

  
  

    
Where an ordinary expense tool falls short
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Our assessment of what a typical expense-reporting tool does with the same cases. It is a judgment about effort and reliability, not a claim that nothing can be built. The reimbursable totals are shown only as additional validator output; this page produces no price or quote.

    
What the validator caughtTypical expense toolPredictika
Meals allowance by day: 75 percent on first and last day, less the meals providedOnly with care
Per-day allowances can be set up, but the first-and-last-day rule and the deduction for each provided meal depend on the locality tier and are easy to leave out of date.		The locality tier, the day position and each provided meal are in one request, and the allowance is computed and compared with the claim.
Lodging that needs approval above the rate but is blocked above 300 percentOnly with care
A single limit is easy; two thresholds with different outcomes (approve versus block) per day need separate rules for each.		Both thresholds are checked for every night, so one claim can show an approval on one night and a block on another.
Several problems in one claim returned at once: class of travel, alcohol and a missing receiptOnly with workarounds
Policy checks usually run as the claim is saved or at approval, one rule at a time, so an employee fixes one problem and meets the next.		Every finding comes back together, whatever order the lines were entered in.

  

  

    
What this validator catches: findings from its test cases
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Every rule is checked on every call, in any order the choices arrive; one problem never hides another. Blocking findings stop the action; approval findings need a person to sign off; everything else is computed.

    
1Meals and incidentals claimed above the allowance for the day (75 percent on the first and last day, less meals provided).
2Lodging claimed on the return day.
3Lodging above 300 percent of the locality rate.
4Lodging without a receipt.
5Business class on a flight under 14 hours.
6Alcohol on the claim.
7An expense of $75 or more without a receipt.
8Lodging above the locality rate: needs actual-expense authorization.
9Premium economy, or business class on a flight of 14 hours or more: needs advance approval.
10A midsize or SUV rental car: needs justification.
11Filed more than five working days after the trip: needs supervisor sign-off.

  

  

    
Scenarios and results
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The recorded result of the validator for each scenario on this page: the request the AI agent sent, the verdict, and every finding, in the order they appear above.

    
1. Meals provided: Full meals allowance claimed on a day with a provided lunch

    
The agent's request. Please submit this 3-day Chicago trip claim for payment: lodging of $210 and $215 (none on the return day), and meals and incidentals of $69, $92 and $69 (lunch was provided on day 2); coach class airfare of $420 on a 3-hour flight; a compact rental car for $150.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Meals and incidentals above the allowance. Day 2 meals and incidentals (M&IE) claimed $92 but $66 is allowed (100 percent of the $92 daily rate, less any meals provided).
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2. Meals provided: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please submit this 3-day Chicago trip claim for payment: lodging of $210 and $215 (none on the return day), and meals and incidentals of $69, $66 and $69 (lunch was provided on day 2); coach class airfare of $420 on a 3-hour flight; a compact rental car for $150.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Totals. Meals and incidentals allowed $204; reimbursable total $1,199 (lodging capped at the rate).
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3. Lodging rate: Hotel above the locality lodging rate

    
The agent's request. Please submit this 3-day Chicago trip claim for payment: lodging of $250 and $250 (none on the return day), and meals and incidentals of $69, $92 and $69; coach class airfare of $420 on a 3-hour flight; a compact rental car for $150.

    
Verdict: Needs approval.

    
    
      
  • Lodging above the locality rate. Day 1 lodging of $250 is over the $220 rate for Chicago IL (illustrative) and needs actual-expense authorization.
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  • Lodging above the locality rate. Day 2 lodging of $250 is over the $220 rate for Chicago IL (illustrative) and needs actual-expense authorization.
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  • Totals. Meals and incidentals allowed $230; reimbursable total $1,240 (lodging capped at the rate).
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4. Lodging rate: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please submit this 3-day Chicago trip claim for payment: lodging of $220 and $220 (none on the return day), and meals and incidentals of $69, $92 and $69; coach class airfare of $420 on a 3-hour flight; a compact rental car for $150.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Totals. Meals and incidentals allowed $230; reimbursable total $1,240 (lodging capped at the rate).
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5. Flights, alcohol and receipts: Business class, wine and an unreceipted taxi fare

    
The agent's request. Please submit this 3-day Chicago trip claim for payment: lodging of $210 and $215 (none on the return day), and meals and incidentals of $69, $92 and $69; business class airfare of $1,300 on a 4-hour flight; $25 of wine from the dinner receipt; a $90 taxi fare.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Business class on a short flight. Business class on a 4-hour flight; coach is required unless a flight is 14 hours or longer.
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  • Alcohol is not reimbursable. $25 of alcohol is never reimbursable; remove it from the claim.
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  • Expense without a receipt. The $90 expense has no receipt; receipts are required for $75 or more.
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6. Flights, alcohol and receipts: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please submit this 3-day Chicago trip claim for payment: lodging of $210 and $215 (none on the return day), and meals and incidentals of $69, $92 and $69; coach class airfare of $420 on a 4-hour flight; $25 of wine from the dinner receipt; a $90 taxi fare.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Alcohol is not reimbursable. $25 of alcohol is never reimbursable; remove it from the claim.
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  • Expense without a receipt. The $90 expense has no receipt; receipts are required for $75 or more.
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7. Flights, alcohol and receipts: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please submit this 3-day Chicago trip claim for payment: lodging of $210 and $215 (none on the return day), and meals and incidentals of $69, $92 and $69; coach class airfare of $420 on a 4-hour flight; a $90 taxi fare.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Totals. Meals and incidentals allowed $230; reimbursable total $1,165 (lodging capped at the rate).
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Narration transcript
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The text of the narrated walkthrough, step by step.

    
    
      
  1. Welcome to a demo of Predictika's Validator. An AI expense assistant prepares a travel claim for a trip of up to four days. Before it is submitted for payment, the claim goes to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of per diem, lodging, travel class, receipt and filing rules, then returns a verdict, every reason and the allowable amounts.
    2. 
      
  2. I will start with the first request by the agent.
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  3. The agent says. Please submit this 3-day Chicago trip claim for payment: lodging of $210 and $215 (none on the return day), and meals and incidentals of $69. The rest of the request is on screen.
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  4. Before it goes out, the agent calls the validator.
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  5. Blocked, with three findings, all in one answer. Business class on a 4-hour flight; coach is required unless a flight is 14 hours or longer. $25 of alcohol is never reimbursable; remove it from the claim. The $90 expense has no receipt; receipts are required for $75 or more.
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  6. The validator returned three blocking findings in one answer. A check that reads one field at a time would pass most of this; it shows only when the choices in the expense claim are checked against each other.
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  7. What this shows: for several problems in one claim returned at once: class of travel, alcohol and a missing receipt, an expense tool can do this only with workarounds.
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  8. Now the agent resubmits.
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  9. The corrected request. It changes the air class to coach and the airfare to $420.
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  10. It calls the validator again.
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  11. Still blocked, with two findings, all in one answer. $25 of alcohol is never reimbursable; remove it from the claim. The $90 expense has no receipt; receipts are required for $75 or more.
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  12. One finding cleared. Still blocking: alcohol is not reimbursable and expense without a receipt.
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  13. The agent resubmits once more.
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  14. The revised request. It changes the receipt for the other expense to yes. It removes the alcohol on the receipts.
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  15. It calls the validator once more.
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  16. This time the validator clears it.
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  17. Both earlier findings are cleared.
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  18. Three problems caught in one call, fixed in two passes, and a clean claim. That is the value of Predictika's validator: catching mistakes before the claim is approved. Now you can try the other scenarios yourself.
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