When using Pleo, all card expenses draw from the Wallet. So as long as there's money in there, everyone can use their Pleo cards. That said, some of our customers like to set spending limits to help people stay within a budget. It's always possible to adjust anyone's limits if larger purchases become more common or if total expenses increase.
This article explains:
Who can set and adjust spending limits
Spending limits are available to our customers on paid plans.
Admins and extended-access bookkeepers have access to default spending limits.
Admins, extended-access bookkeepers, and reviewers can set individual spending limits (with reviewers only having access to their assigned team).
How to set and adjust default spending limits
These limits will apply to all new cardholders added to your Pleo account. You can always adjust their individual limits later (see next section).
Click on "Settings".
Click on "General".
Click on "Card defaults".
Follow the on-screen instructions.
How to set and adjust individual spending limits
Click on "People."
Click on the name of a cardholder.
Click on "Limits." This is where you can set or adjust spending limits:
You can set two types of spending limits:
Card limit: This limit decides how much someone can spend before their cards get frozen, and can be set either as a "monthly" (calendar month) or "total" amount. This is a "soft" limit, meaning that it's only possible to go over once before the cards are disabled. Let's say my monthly limit is 500 pounds per month and I've already spent 450. If I try to make a purchase of 51 pounds, it will work even though I've exceeded my monthly limit by 1 pound, but then my cards will get frozen.
Per Purchase limit: This limit decides how big purchases someone can make, and refers to individual transactions. This is a "hard" limit, meaning that any purchase over this amount is automatically declined. Let's say that my Per Purchase limit is 500 pounds. If I try to make a purchase of 501 pounds, the transaction will be declined since it is exceeding my limit.
An additional option (that can be set for card and/or per-purchase limits) is:
Temporary limit: This is useful if someone needs to spend more money than usual (e.g., a flight ticket and/or hotel booking). When the temporary period is over, the limit will go back to the regular amount.
How to unfreeze a card when a spending limit is reached
When someone reaches a monthly or total spending limit, both their plastic and virtual Pleo cards are automatically frozen. When they view the "Cards" tab in either the mobile or web version of the Pleo app, they'll see a message saying "Limit reached". The cardholder and Pleo admin both receive an automated email letting them know that the limit has been reached.
In order to unfreeze the cards, spending limits need to be extended. Alternatively, monthly limits will automatically re-set at the beginning of the next calendar month (at midnight GMT). Cards with total spending limits can only be set live again if the limit is increased or reset manually.
If you want to extend a cardholder's limits, please follow the same steps as in the previous section. Limits can be extended either:
a. Temporarily: If the employee has reached their limit because of something out of the ordinary (e.g., a one-off business trip), then a good option is to set a higher temporary limit. This will allow the employee to spend more than usual in the current and/or following month. After the period ends, their limit will automatically go back to the normal amount.
b. Permanently: If a cardholder's work expenses have generally gone up, then a good option is to increase their normal limit(s) so that their cards are not regularly blocked.
How cardholders can view their limits
If you have a Pleo card, here's how you can check if you have set spending limits.
In the mobile app:
Go to "My cards" by clicking the icon in the bottom left corner.
Click on "View limits."
In the web app:
Go to "My cards."
Any limits will be automatically visible.
If you would like to see more on limits from an Employee perspective, check out this article on spending limits.
Can't see the limits option?
Find out if your pricing plan gives you access to this feature: