What is the difference between a prepaid expense card and a corporate credit card?

A prepaid expense card is funded from your business bank account — employees can only spend what has been loaded, eliminating the risk of overspend. A corporate credit card provides a credit facility but requires credit checks and gives less granular control. Prepaid expense card platforms like Pleo and Soldo are typically preferred for their real-time control and spend visibility.

Can I set spending limits for individual cards?

Yes — modern expense card platforms allow you to set spending limits by card, by category, and by merchant type. You can prevent an employee's card from being used at restaurants while allowing it for fuel, for example. Limits can be adjusted in real time from the management dashboard.

How does receipt capture work?

Employees photograph receipts using a smartphone app immediately after making a purchase. OCR technology reads the receipt and automatically matches it to the card transaction — populating the merchant, amount, date, and VAT. This eliminates manual data entry and ensures every transaction has a receipt without the end-of-month chase.

Does it integrate with my accounting software?

Yes — most leading platforms integrate directly with Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, and other major accounting tools. Approved transactions are posted to the correct nominal codes automatically, eliminating manual bookkeeping and significantly reducing the time spent on month-end reconciliation.

What does a business expense card platform cost?

Most platforms charge a monthly fee per card (typically £5–£15/card/month) plus any card transaction fees (usually zero for UK spending). Some platforms also offer a free tier for very small teams. Comparing providers is important as pricing models vary significantly.

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What?

What are business expense cards?

Business expense cards are company-issued payment cards that give employees the ability to make business purchases without using personal funds. Modern expense card platforms — including Pleo, Soldo, Equals Money, and Airplus — go beyond a simple card: they provide real-time spend visibility, per-card spending limits and category restrictions, mobile receipt capture, automatic transaction categorisation, and direct integration with accounting software. They eliminate the traditional expense claim process almost entirely.

Why?

Why are businesses moving away from traditional expense claims?

The average cost of processing a single manual expense claim is estimated at £25–£50 when staff time is accounted for. Traditional expense processes are slow, error-prone, and provide zero visibility of spend until month end. Business expense cards give finance teams real-time visibility of all company spending, enforce policy automatically, and integrate directly with accounting software — reducing processing costs by up to 75% and eliminating the monthly receipt chase.

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