How to account for cash withdrawals with out-of-pocket expense

Sometimes you need to pay for a work expense in cash if a merchant (kiosk, taxi, etc.) doesn't accept cards. This articles covers:


How to balance out a cash withdrawal by creating an out-of-pocket expense

  1. When you withdraw cash with your Pleo card, this affects your employee balance. The amount of cash with be registered as funds that you owe to your company.

    This is what you'll see in the mobile app:



    And this is what an admin (or bookkeeper) will see in their view (by going to the Reimbursements page and searching in the "Outstanding" tab):



  2. To balance this out so that you no longer owe your company, submit a out-of-pocket expense.

    And the admin (or bookkeeper) view will be automatically updated as well after the you submit the out-of-pocket expense. The "Outstanding" tab will automatically adjust to show a balance of zero (if the out-of-pocket expense and cash amount match).



    In the example shown in these images, the out-of-pocket expense of DKK 100 matches the cash withdrawal perfectly, meaning that the balance is zero. You don't need to create a "perfect" out-of-pocket expense like this though. It's totally fine to submit multiple out-of-pocket expenses if, for example, you're on a business trip and spend a bit of the cash on a taxi, some at a shop, etc.


How to account for exchange rate fluctuations

When you withdraw cash in a foreign currency, the amount will be converted as soon as your withdrawal is authorised (this usually happens within 24 hours). For example, if you withdraw 100 euro, that might show up in Pleo as about 85 pounds. You spend the cash on business costs over the next days, but in the meantime the currency exchange rate has fluctuated. So when you go to submit you out-of-pocket expenses, the total expenses in euros work out to be, say, 83 pounds. Meaning that you still owe your company two pounds.

  • If the exchange rate makes it look like you owe the company money, submit an additional out-of-pocket expense that's equal to the difference. Skip adding the receipt and input "currency conversion" in place of the store or merchant:


  • If the difference is positive (e.g., it looks like you spent 87 pounds rather than 85), an admin (or bookkeeper) can resolve the difference by clicking "Settle balance" and selecting "Other" as the reimbursement method:


How to account for a cashpoint fee

If a cashpoint fee is added, create a separate out-of-pocket expense for the fee and upload a picture of the cashpoint receipt. Input "cashpoint fee" or "ATM fee" in place of the store or merchant.


External reimbursements when an employee has withdrawn cash

If an employee has either withdrawn cash or marked an expense as personal, the external reimbursements options change. Specifically, an admin or bookkeeper will need to settle the an employee's entire external reimbursements (instead of select out-of-pocket expenses).

This is due to a current limitation on Pleo's side. Please stay tuned for future updates! Once an employee's previous out-of-pocket expenses have been exported and reconciled in your accounting system, their balance will be re-set in Pleo, and it will be possible to manually select specific expenses for reimbursement again.

Was this article helpful?

That’s Great!

Thank you for your feedback

Sorry! We couldn't be helpful

Thank you for your feedback

Let us know how can we improve this article!

Select atleast one of the reasons

Feedback sent

We appreciate your effort and will try to fix the article

Need more help? Contact us.

Chat with us if you have an Essential or Advanced plan, otherwise send us an email!