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Data Source

The Expensify API connector enables you to ingest expense reports, policy data, employee records, and transaction data from your Expensify account into Nexla. Follow the instructions below to create a new data flow that ingests data from an Expensify API source in Nexla.
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Expensify API

Create a New Data Flow​

  1. To create a new data flow, navigate to the Integrate section, and click the New Data Flow button. Then, select the desired flow type from the list, and click the Create button.

  2. Select the Expensify API connector tile from the list of available connectors. Then, select the credential that will be used to connect to the Expensify Integration Server, and click Next; or, create a new Expensify API credential for use in this flow.

  3. Expensify API sources can be configured to ingest data from any valid Expensify Integration Server endpoint. All Expensify API requests are made via HTTPS POST to a single endpoint (https://integrations.expensify.com/Integration-Server/ExpensifyIntegrations), with the specific operation determined by the requestJobDescription JSON parameter included in the request body. Configuration options allow Expensify sources to be fully customized for any use case — including exporting expense reports, downloading policy data, retrieving employee records, or running reconciliation queries.

    First, select POST from the Method pulldown menu, as all Expensify Integration Server requests use the HTTP POST method.

API Endpoint URL​

  1. Enter the Expensify Integration Server URL in the Set API URL field. For all standard Expensify accounts, this value is:

    https://integrations.expensify.com/Integration-Server/ExpensifyIntegrations

This is the single universal endpoint for the Expensify Integration Server. The specific operation performed is determined by the requestJobDescription parameter in the request body, not by the URL path. Nexla will POST all API requests to this URL.

Date/Time Macros (API URL)​

Optional

Optionally, the API URL can be customized using macros — all macros added to the API URL will be converted into values when Nexla executes the API call. Macros are dynamic placeholders that allow you to create flexible API endpoints that can adapt to different time periods or data requirements.

Date/time macros are particularly useful when constructing Expensify report export requests that include date range filters. For example, you can use macros to dynamically set startDate and endDate parameters in your requestJobDescription to fetch only reports from a specific time window.

  1. To add a macro, type { at the appropriate position in the API URL (within the Set API URL field), and select the desired macro from the dropdown list.

    • {now} – The current datetime
    • {now-1} – The datetime one time unit before the current datetime
    • {now+1} – The datetime one time unit after the current datetime
    • custom – Datetime macros can reference any number of time units before or after the current datetime — for example, enter (now-4) to indicate the datetime four time units before the current datetime

  2. Select the format that will be applied to datetime macros from the Date Format for Date/Time Macro pulldown menu. This format will be applied to the base datetime value of the macro — i.e., the value of {now} in {now-1}.

  3. Select the datetime unit that will be used to perform mathematical operations in the included macro(s) from the Time Unit for Operations pulldown menu — for example, for the macro {now-1}, when Day is selected, {now-1} will be converted to the datetime one day before the current datetime.

Lookup-Based Macros (API URL)​

Optional

Column values from existing lookups can also be included as macros in the API URL. Lookup-based macros allow you to reference data from previously configured data sources or lookups, enabling dynamic API endpoints that can adapt based on existing data.

Lookup-based macros are useful when you need to reference specific Expensify policy IDs, report IDs, or other identifiers stored in other Nexla data sources when constructing your API request.

  1. To include a lookup column value macro, select the relevant lookup from the Add Lookups to Supported Macros pulldown menu.

  2. Type { at the appropriate position in the API URL, and select the lookup column-based macro from the dropdown list. Lookup-based macros are automatically populated into the macro list when a lookup is selected in the Add Lookups to Supported Macros pulldown menu.

Path to Data​

Optional

If only a subset of the data returned by the Expensify API is needed, you can designate the part(s) of the response that should be included in the Nexset(s) produced from this source by specifying the path to the relevant data within the response. This is particularly useful when Expensify API responses include metadata, pagination data, or nested structures that you want to parse individually.

For example, when using the Expensify Report Exporter job type, the API returns a structured JSON response that may include an array of expense reports at a specific path. By entering the path to the relevant data, you can configure Nexla to treat each element of the returned array as a separate record.

Path to Data is essential when working with Expensify's structured JSON responses. The Expensify Integration Server typically returns data nested within response objects, and specifying the correct path ensures Nexla can parse and organize your expense data into usable records.

  • To specify which data should be treated as relevant in responses from this source, enter the path to the relevant data in the Set Path to Data in Response field.

    • For responses in JSON format, enter the JSON path that points to the object or array that should be treated as relevant data. JSON paths use dot notation (e.g., $.data.items[*] to access an array of items within a data object).

    • For responses in XML format, enter the XPath that points to the object/array containing relevant data. XPath uses slash notation (e.g., /response/data/item to access item elements within a data element).

    Path to Data Example:

    If the Expensify API response is in JSON format and returns an array of expense reports in a top-level field named reports, the path to that data would be entered as $.reports[*].

Autogenerate Path Suggestions​

Nexla can also autogenerate data path suggestions based on the response from the API endpoint. These suggested paths can be used as-is or modified to exactly suit your needs.

  • To use this feature, click the Test button next to the Set API URL field to fetch a sample response from the API endpoint. Suggested data paths generated based on the content and format of the response will be displayed in the Suggestions box below the Set Path to Data in Response field.

  • Click on a suggestion to automatically populate the Set Path to Data in Response field with the corresponding path. The populated path can be modified directly within the field if further customization is needed.

    PathSuggestions.png

Metadata​

If metadata is included in the Expensify API response but is located outside of the defined path to relevant data, you can configure Nexla to include this data as common metadata in each record. This is useful when you want to preserve Expensify-specific contextual information — such as report status fields, policy identifiers, or export job IDs — that applies to all records but is not part of the main data array.

Metadata paths are particularly useful for preserving Expensify API response context like policy IDs, report statuses, or export timestamps that apply to all expense records in the response.

  • To specify the location of metadata that should be included with each record, enter the path to the relevant metadata in the Path to Metadata in Response field.

    • For responses in JSON format, enter the JSON path to the object or array that contains the metadata, and for responses in XML format, enter the XPath.

Request Headers​

Optional

  • If Nexla should include any additional request headers in API calls to this source, enter the headers and corresponding values as comma-separated pairs in the Request Headers field (e.g., header1:value1,header2:value2). Additional headers may be needed for specific content type requirements or API versioning.

    You do not need to include authentication headers in this field. The Expensify Integration Server uses the partnerUserID and partnerUserSecret credentials from the configured credential, which Nexla includes automatically in each requestJobDescription payload. Common headers like Authorization and Content-Type are handled automatically.

Endpoint Testing​

After configuring all settings for the selected endpoint, Nexla can retrieve a sample of the data that will be fetched according to the current configuration. This allows you to verify that the source is configured correctly before saving.

  • To test the current endpoint configuration, click the Test button to the right of the endpoint selection menu. Sample data will be fetched and displayed in the Endpoint Test Result panel on the right.

  • If the sample data is not as expected, review the selected endpoint and associated settings, and make any necessary adjustments. Then, click the Test button again, and check the sample data to ensure that the correct information is displayed.

Save & Activate the Source​

  1. Once all of the relevant steps in the above sections have been completed, click the Create button in the upper right corner of the screen to save and create the new Expensify API data source. Nexla will now begin ingesting data from the configured endpoint and will organize any data that it finds into one or more Nexsets.