Employee Expense Card

How do employee expense cards work?

The company issues a card to an employee, in plastic or as a virtual card, and sets rules for it: a spending limit, the kinds of merchant it works with, and sometimes an expiry date. The employee pays for approved costs with the card. Each transaction appears in the company's finance system, where the employee attaches a receipt and the cost is coded to the right category.

Types of employee expense cards

• Prepaid: the company loads a fixed amount, and the card stops when it is spent. See prepaid card.
• Debit: the card draws on a company bank account.
• Credit or charge: the card spends against the company's credit line and is paid on a statement.
• Virtual: a card number with no plastic, often created for one employee, one supplier, or one purchase.

Employee expense card vs. reimbursement

With reimbursement, employees pay from their own pocket, file an expense report, and wait to be repaid. With an expense card the company's money is spent from the start. Employees are not out of pocket, and finance sees the spending when it happens, not weeks later.

Employee expense card vs. corporate card vs. p-card

The terms overlap. A corporate card is the traditional name for a company-liable card given to staff, mainly for travel and entertainment. A p-card is aimed at buying goods and services from suppliers. "Employee expense card" is the broader, newer label and often refers to cards with tighter, software-set controls.

Where expense cards stop and ad spend starts

Expense cards are built for many small purchases spread across many employees. Advertising is the opposite pattern: a few platforms, large charges, many times a month, and for agencies, spend that has to stay separate for each client. Running ad spend on employee expense cards usually means limits that are too low and statements that are hard to split.

How Opal differs

Opal is a charge card built for ad spend, not for general employee expenses. Credit limits go up to $10 million and are sized on managed ad spend and cash flow, and unlimited free virtual cards give each client or ad platform its own card and spending limit. See how Opal works for agencies.