MCES Expense Portal — how it works

The portal replaces the paper and email process for CME, license, dues and other reimbursements. Filing a report takes a few minutes, and you can do it from your phone. This page covers everything you need; most people only read it once.

Go to expenses.mcesgroup.org and choose either button. Both lead to the same account:

Sign in with Microsoft — your @mcesgroup.org account.
Sign in with Google — your @mcemergency.org account.

There is no separate portal password; you use whichever of those two you already sign in with. Personal Gmail or other addresses won't work. If you see "Access not set up", email mgilson@mcesgroup.org.

2. Your allowance

Your dashboard shows your annual allowance, what has been deducted, and your current balance. The reimbursement year closes in early December (the exact date is announced each year and shown on your dashboard). Unused balance does not carry over; it is paid out through incentive compensation. A few things to know:

Approved reports deduct from your balance as soon as they are approved, before they are paid.
Reports awaiting approval show as pending and are not deducted yet.
Business Expense items (MAPA/AAPA dues, office supplies, MCES business costs) are reimbursed outside the allowance. They appear in your report but never reduce your balance. Cell phones and computers do come out of the allowance (see the limits in section 8).
After the year turns, last year's ledger stays available from a View [year] link on the card.

3. Filing a report

On the dashboard click Create Expense Report. Give it a short name that tells us what it is (ACEP 2026 Las Vegas, DEA renewal, Q4 cell phone). The report date defaults to today.
Click + Add Expense, pick the expense type (Airfare, Hotel, Conference Registration Fees, Michigan Physician License, DEA Certificate, Books and Journals, Cell Phone, and so on), then attach the receipt. The portal reads the receipt and fills in the date, amount and vendor for you; check them and correct anything it got wrong.
Repeat for each expense. One report can hold everything from a single trip or a single purpose.
Click Submit Report. The button stays disabled until every expense has a receipt. You can keep a report unsubmitted as long as you like and add to it over time.

Reports can be edited or deleted until you submit. After submitting, only an approver can send it back to you.

4. Receipts

Every expense needs a receipt except per-diem (Daily Allowance) rows. JPG, PNG, or PDF.
The receipt must show your name (order confirmation, registration, hotel folio, license renewal). If the portal can't find your name it flags the expense as "Name not found"; you can still submit, but the approver will take a closer look.
Emailed receipts — just forward them. Forward the confirmation email (from the address you sign in with) to expenses@mcesgroup.org. Within a few minutes it shows up in the Receipts Inbox on your dashboard; when you add the expense, tap From email to attach it. Attached PDFs and images come through as-is; if the receipt is only in the body of the email, the email itself is saved as the receipt. Forwarding from a personal address won't work — the portal only accepts mail from your MCES accounts.
Or save it yourself: on your phone, open the email → Share → Print → pinch out on the preview to make a PDF → Share → Save to Files, then upload it. A screenshot of the email also works.
Credit-card statements are not receipts on their own; attach the merchant's receipt or confirmation.
CME statement: when a report involves a conference or travel, an Attach CME statement button appears above the expense list — add your certificate or transcript of credits there. Optional, but approvers appreciate it.

5. Travel allowance (per diem)

For conference travel you can claim a daily meals-and-incidentals allowance instead of individual meal receipts. Open the report and click Travel Allowance: enter departure city and date, destination and return date, and the portal creates one Daily Allowance line per day at the GSA rate for that city, with the first and last travel days at 75% (federal travel regulation). Those lines need no receipts. You can still add hotel, airfare, registration and ground transport as normal expenses on the same report.

6. What happens after you submit

Submitted — an approver is notified and reviews it.
Approved — you get an email; the amount is deducted from your balance and the report goes to the payment queue.
Returned — you get an email with the reason. Fix the report and click Resubmit Report.
Paid — you get an email when the reimbursement is issued. Allow a few business days for it to arrive.

Emails come from expenses@mcesgroup.org; replies go to the administrator.

7. On your phone

The portal works in Safari or Chrome on a phone with no app to install. When adding an expense, Take Photo opens the camera so you can shoot the receipt on the spot; the photo is sized down automatically. For quick access, open the site in Safari, tap Share, and choose Add to Home Screen.

8. Reimbursement guidelines

MCES policy (Orientation Manual). The portal applies the dollar limits automatically and flags the rest for the approver; this is what the approver is checking against.

Conferences (attendee or speaker)

Registration: receipt or confirmation showing dates, place, cost and agenda. Speakers: the agenda is enough.
Airfare: the ticket/itinerary in your name, not a credit-card slip. Travel is reimbursed only when its primary purpose is educational, by the most direct route.
Driving: gas or mileage, not both, for the most direct route. The Mileage type calculates the amount at the IRS rate; no receipt needed.
Hotel: the folio must be in your name and show the dates, the nightly rate and that it was paid (attach the card receipt if it doesn't). Nights covered: the conference dates plus the night before it starts. Health-club fees and room movies are not reimbursable.
Meals: up to $50 per meal and $75 per day. If a receipt covers more than one person, write the names of your party on it if they are registered attendees; if they are family or friends, circle your meal and only that is reimbursed. Or skip meal receipts entirely and use Travel Allowance (per diem).
Taxi, parking, other ground transportation: receipts must be dated and show the amount paid.
Reservations and card slips should be in your own name and signed by you, not a spouse or friend.
CME statement: get proof of credits before you leave the conference and attach it to the report (section 4).
Honorarium: if you were paid to speak or present, add an Honorarium Received line; it is deducted from the claim, since an expense reimbursed from another source can't be claimed again.

Books, journals, courses and exams

Books and journals: the receipt must show the title and cost; for a journal, the order form with name and cost.
Courses, classes and tuition: submit after the course, with a receipt showing the course name and cost plus a copy of the grade or certificate.
Board exams: same rules as a conference.

Dues and licenses

MCES prefers to pay SAEM, ACEP and DMC hospital staff dues directly; if you paid one yourself it will be reviewed. Other organizations' dues are reimbursed: attach the application or invoice showing the organization and the amount.
Licenses (Michigan physician, controlled substance, DEA): same as dues — the invoice or confirmation showing the amount.

Equipment and software

A cell phone needed for the job is reimbursed up to $1,000, and a computer up to $2,500, deducted from your annual allowance.
Software: CME software only.

9. Questions

How long do I have to submit?: Until the year closes in early December. A report counts against the year of its report date; once the close date passes, reports dated on or after it count against the next year, and reports dated before it can no longer be submitted. Expenses from the rest of December simply come off next year's allowance. A report that was returned to you before the close can still be fixed and resubmitted.
Can someone file for me?: Yes. The administrator can prepare a report on your behalf; it is recorded as prepared by them and belongs to you.
I filed under the old process before the portal launched. Where is it?: Previously paid reports were loaded into the portal and show on your ledger as Paid, so your balance is accurate.
Something looks wrong with my balance.: Click any line on the allowance card for the detail behind it, or email mgilson@mcesgroup.org with the report name.
Who do I contact?: mgilson@mcesgroup.org — Matt Gilson, Chief Administrative Officer.

Go to the portal