Pre-Approvals

Pre-Approvals

Use Pre-Approvals to request one-time funds for infrequent or occasional purchases, such as flights, hotels, or software. Pre-Approvals act as stand-alone budgets and do not replace traditional budgets (total, daily, weekly, or monthly). Instead, they add an additional budget to a card when a one-off need arises.

Create A Pre-Approval

Use the Pre-Approvals page to create a purchase request and track its status.

Any member of an account can create a purchase request from the Pre-Approvals section under the Personal tab by selecting + Request.

Pre-Approvals page showing the Personal tab and the + Request option.

Filter Pre-Approvals By Status

Use filters to quickly find requests by their current state.

Filter the Pre-Approvals list on the right-hand side by Pending, Approved, or Denied.

Status filter options for Pre-Approvals: Pending, Approved, and Denied.

Complete The Request Details

Enter the required information and apply any restrictions or accounting fields.

Complete the pre-approval request by entering the amount, description, and date. Add any merchant restrictions, custom field or location information, and expense categories related to your request.

Pre-approval request form showing fields for amount, description, dates, and additional restrictions.

Pre-Approval Request Details

The fields below determine the card, purchase context, amount, timing, and where the card can be used.

Card Selection

Choose the card that will receive the approved budget.

Select a new virtual card or a card that is currently assigned to you.

Purchase Description

Describe what you plan to purchase so reviewers can validate the request.

Enter a description of the purchase.

Requested Amount

Specify how much funding is needed for the request.

Enter the amount of the purchase. You can select a set amount or a recurring amount.

Additional Comments

Add context that helps reviewers approve the request.

Write additional comments.

Attachments

Add documentation to support your request.

Attach invoices, purchase orders, or other supporting documents to the request.

Funding Dates

Set the time window when funds should be available.

Set a start date and an end date.

Merchant Restrictions

Limit where the funds can be used to reduce unauthorized spending.

Add merchant restrictions to limit where the funds can be used.

Once submitted, the request can be reviewed or approved by any admin, accountant, or reviewer with spending privileges within your department.

Create A Pre-Approval As An Admin

If the card is not assigned to you, start from the card to create a purchase request.

If you create a purchase request for a specific card as an admin, you might not see that card as an option on the Purchase Request page when it is not assigned to you.

1. Go to the Cards page.
2. Select the card you want to create a purchase request for.
3. Under the card, select More, then select Request Funds.

Card details page showing the More menu and the Request Funds option.

Pre-Approvals List

Use the Pre-Approvals page to view all requests in one place.

Pre-Approvals list view showing multiple requests and their statuses.

All Pre-Approvals can be found on the list on the Pre-Approvals page.

As an admin, you can approve or deny Pre-Approvals and view a list of current Pre-Approvals on cards.

View Pre-Approvals On Cards

Open a card to see which budgets have been approved and applied.

Card page showing approved budgets and allowance checkboxes.

To view a Pre-Approval on a card, go to the Cards page and select the card.

On the card page, any allowance that was pre-approved has a checkbox on the allowance. It is also included in the Spending Restrictions > Approved Budgets section.

Automatically Approve Pre-Approvals

Create rules to automatically approve eligible requests and reduce manual review.

Save time and reduce the potential for unauthorized spending by creating rules to automatically approve purchase requests. Admins, accountants, and reviewers can select Expense Policy to view the Pre-Approvals section.

Expense Policy page showing the Pre-Approvals section.

Admins can select Add Rule to set conditions for automatic approval.

Rule Conditions

Use one or more conditions to define which requests are auto-approved.

  • Under the amount: Set a dollar amount threshold for the request (for example, under $100).

  • With expenses for: Add merchant restrictions for the request.

  • With a category of: Select one category from your list (for example, GL codes).

  • With a custom field of: Automatically approve requests associated with a specific custom field.

  • With a location of: Automatically approve requests associated with a specific location.

Only one condition is required to create a Pre-Approval rule. Create as many rules as needed for your business.

Add Rule screen with condition options for automatic Pre-Approval approval.

Once a Pre-Approval is approved, the funds are available immediately.

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