The PDF DocMake makes from the Expense Report template

The first page of the document DocMake makes from the sample values on this page.

Finance

Expense Report

Expenses land in one tidy table: date, category, description, amount, growing with however many rows the trip produced.

Approval lines at the bottom make the sign-off explicit, on paper or on the PDF.

Blanks to fill

report_number	Report number
submit_date	Submitted
period	Period
employee_name	Employee
employee_number	Staff number
department	Team
purpose	Purpose
total	Total claimed
notes	Anything to explain
reimbursement_details	How it will be paid
approver_name	Approver
approval_date	Approved on
company_name	Company
expenses[]	One per item, so a row is added for every item in the list

The data behind the preview

This is the exact JSON that produced the document above. Change the values, POST them to the API, and you get your version back as DOCX or PDF. Lists grow and shrink with your data; the layout adapts.

01 Sign up free and duplicate this template into your workspace.
02 Adjust the wording and branding in the visual editor.
03 Fill it in the app, share it as a form link, or call the API.

sample-data.json

{
  "company_name": "Kestrel Analytics",
  "report_number": "EXP-2026-0188",
  "submit_date": "August 8, 2026",
  "period": "August 1 to August 7, 2026",
  "employee_name": "Jamie Rivera",
  "employee_number": "EMP-0311",
  "department": "Design",
  "purpose": "Client workshop in Berlin, two days on site with the Helvetia team",
  "expenses": [
    {
      "date": "Aug 2",
      "kind": "Travel",
      "description": "Return flight, Portland to Berlin",
      "amount": "$742.00"
    },
    {
      "date": "Aug 2",
      "kind": "Travel",
      "description": "Airport train, both ways",
      "amount": "$18.40"
    },
    {
      "date": "Aug 2",
      "kind": "Lodging",
      "description": "Hotel near the client office, two nights",
      "amount": "$276.00"
    },
    {
      "date": "Aug 3",
      "kind": "Meals",
      "description": "Workshop lunch, four people",
      "amount": "$61.20"
    },
    {
      "date": "Aug 3",
      "kind": "Meals",
      "description": "Dinner with the client team, four people",
      "amount": "$96.40"
    },
    {
      "date": "Aug 4",
      "kind": "Supplies",
      "description": "Whiteboard markers and sticky notes for the workshop",
      "amount": "$23.90"
    }
  ],
  "total": "$1,217.90",
  "notes": "The dinner on August 3 covered four people, two of them from the client. The attendee list is on the back of the receipt.",
  "reimbursement_details": "Paid into the account on file, ending 4471, with the next payroll run on August 28, 2026.",
  "approver_name": "Sam Chen, Design Director",
  "approval_date": "August 11, 2026"
}

Generate this document via the API

One template plus changing data is the whole point. The list of blanks above is the contract, and every new set of values comes back in the same layout: fill it in the app, hand someone a form link, or POST the JSON and get the file straight back.

The request below carries this page's own values, so it runs as soon as the template exists in your workspace. Swap the values for yours and the response is your document.

make-expense-report.sh

curl -X POST https://app.docmake.io/api/v1/render \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $DOCMAKE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  --output expense-report.pdf \
  --data-binary @- <<'JSON'
{
  "template_id": "tmpl_your_template_id",
  "format": "pdf",
  "data": {
    "company_name": "Kestrel Analytics",
    "report_number": "EXP-2026-0188",
    "submit_date": "August 8, 2026",
    "period": "August 1 to August 7, 2026",
    "employee_name": "Jamie Rivera",
    "employee_number": "EMP-0311",
    "department": "Design",
    "purpose": "Client workshop in Berlin, two days on site with the Helvetia team",
    "expenses": [
      {
        "date": "Aug 2",
        "kind": "Travel",
        "description": "Return flight, Portland to Berlin",
        "amount": "$742.00"
      },
      {
        "date": "Aug 2",
        "kind": "Travel",
        "description": "Airport train, both ways",
        "amount": "$18.40"
      },
      {
        "date": "Aug 2",
        "kind": "Lodging",
        "description": "Hotel near the client office, two nights",
        "amount": "$276.00"
      },
      {
        "date": "Aug 3",
        "kind": "Meals",
        "description": "Workshop lunch, four people",
        "amount": "$61.20"
      },
      {
        "date": "Aug 3",
        "kind": "Meals",
        "description": "Dinner with the client team, four people",
        "amount": "$96.40"
      },
      {
        "date": "Aug 4",
        "kind": "Supplies",
        "description": "Whiteboard markers and sticky notes for the workshop",
        "amount": "$23.90"
      }
    ],
    "total": "$1,217.90",
    "notes": "The dinner on August 3 covered four people, two of them from the client. The attendee list is on the back of the receipt.",
    "reimbursement_details": "Paid into the account on file, ending 4471, with the next payroll run on August 28, 2026.",
    "approver_name": "Sam Chen, Design Director",
    "approval_date": "August 11, 2026"
  }
}
JSON

tmpl_your_template_id is a stand-in: build this template in the visual editor and copy the id it shows, or create one with POST /api/v1/templates. Keys, formats, strict mode and batches are in the API reference.

Or let an AI assistant do it

The DocMake MCP server lets Claude and other assistants make this document the same way. Install it once:

claude mcp add docmake \
  --env DOCMAKE_API_KEY=dm_your_api_key \
  -- npx -y @docmake/mcp@latest

Then ask for the document in plain words:

Make a PDF from my Expense Report template with report number "EXP-2026-0188" and submitted "August 8, 2026".

How the MCP server works →

Expense Report

Blanks to fill

The data behind the preview

Generate this document via the API

Or let an AI assistant do it

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