diff --git a/Marco.Pms.Services/Service/ExpensesService.cs b/Marco.Pms.Services/Service/ExpensesService.cs
index 9411443..9ea150f 100644
--- a/Marco.Pms.Services/Service/ExpensesService.cs
+++ b/Marco.Pms.Services/Service/ExpensesService.cs
@@ -250,6 +250,8 @@ namespace Marco.Pms.Services.Service
         public async Task<ApiResponse<object>> CreateExpenseAsync(CreateExpensesDto dto, Employee loggedInEmployee, Guid tenantId)
         {
             _logger.LogDebug("Starting CreateExpense for Project {ProjectId}", dto.ProjectId);
+            // The entire operation is wrapped in a transaction to ensure data consistency.
+            await using var transaction = await _context.Database.BeginTransactionAsync();
 
             try
             {
@@ -299,7 +301,14 @@ namespace Marco.Pms.Services.Service
                     .Include(s => s.Status)
                     .Include(s => s.NextStatus)
                     .AsNoTracking()
-                    .Where(es => es.StatusId == Draft && es.Status != null).ToListAsync();
+                    .Where(es => es.StatusId == Draft && es.Status != null)
+                    .GroupBy(s => s.StatusId)
+                    .Select(g => new
+                    {
+                        Status = g.Select(s => s.Status).FirstOrDefault(),
+                        NextStatus = g.Select(s => s.NextStatus).ToList()
+                    })
+                    .FirstOrDefaultAsync();
                 });
 
 
@@ -327,10 +336,11 @@ namespace Marco.Pms.Services.Service
                 if (paidBy == null) validationErrors.Add("Paid by employee not found");
                 if (expenseType == null) validationErrors.Add("Expense Type not found.");
                 if (paymentMode == null) validationErrors.Add("Payment Mode not found.");
-                if (!statusMapping.Any()) validationErrors.Add("Default status 'Draft' not found.");
+                if (statusMapping == null) validationErrors.Add("Default status 'Draft' not found.");
 
                 if (validationErrors.Any())
                 {
+                    await transaction.RollbackAsync();
                     var errorMessage = string.Join(" ", validationErrors);
                     _logger.LogWarning("Expense creation failed due to validation errors: {ValidationErrors}", errorMessage);
                     return ApiResponse<object>.ErrorResponse("Invalid input data.", errorMessage, 400);
@@ -355,13 +365,14 @@ namespace Marco.Pms.Services.Service
                 // 5. Database Commit
                 await _context.SaveChangesAsync();
 
-                var status = statusMapping.Select(sm => sm.Status).FirstOrDefault();
-                var nextStatus = statusMapping.Select(sm => sm.NextStatus).ToList();
+                // 6. Transaction Commit
+                await transaction.CommitAsync();
+
                 var response = _mapper.Map<ExpenseList>(expense);
                 response.PaidBy = _mapper.Map<BasicEmployeeVM>(paidBy);
                 response.Project = _mapper.Map<ProjectInfoVM>(project);
-                response.Status = _mapper.Map<ExpensesStatusMasterVM>(status);
-                response.NextStatus = _mapper.Map<List<ExpensesStatusMasterVM>>(nextStatus);
+                response.Status = _mapper.Map<ExpensesStatusMasterVM>(statusMapping!.Status);
+                response.NextStatus = _mapper.Map<List<ExpensesStatusMasterVM>>(statusMapping.NextStatus);
                 response.PaymentMode = _mapper.Map<PaymentModeMatserVM>(paymentMode);
                 response.ExpensesType = _mapper.Map<ExpensesTypeMasterVM>(expenseType);
 
@@ -370,6 +381,7 @@ namespace Marco.Pms.Services.Service
             }
             catch (ArgumentException ex) // Catches bad Base64 from attachment pre-validation
             {
+                await transaction.RollbackAsync();
                 _logger.LogError(ex, "Invalid argument during expense creation for project {ProjectId}.", dto.ProjectId);
                 return ApiResponse<object>.ErrorResponse("Invalid Request Data.", new
                 {
@@ -386,6 +398,7 @@ namespace Marco.Pms.Services.Service
             }
             catch (Exception ex) // General-purpose catch for unexpected errors (e.g., S3 or DB connection failure)
             {
+                await transaction.RollbackAsync();
                 _logger.LogError(ex, "An unhandled exception occurred while creating an expense for project {ProjectId}.", dto.ProjectId);
                 return ApiResponse<object>.ErrorResponse("An internal server error occurred.", new
                 {