Simplify employee expense management with virtual cards

Virtual cards are a form of payment that has grown in popularity over the last few years. They allow users almost instant access to their cards (and associated funds), meaning cardholders can pay for goods and services more quickly and without delay. Virtual cards also let cardholders pay for things easily, even if they leave their wallets at home.

At Payhawk, our customers can issue their cardholders corporate visa cards in both physical and virtual formats, meaning their employees can spend as they need in just seconds.

How do virtual cards for employees work?

Virtual cards are digital representations of company cards that cardholders can use to purchase online or in person. Businesses can control spending limits, track real-time transactions, and automate expense reporting and reimbursement by using virtual cards for employees.

With virtual cards, employees can easily pay for things on the go, such as travel expenses or office supplies, without reaching for their wallets, or waiting for reimbursements. They can also help make expense tracking and reporting a synch, providing they are connected to expense management software, ideally via an intelligent all-in-one spend management solution.

In addition, some of the best spend management solutions also provide innovative spend controls and security across their physical and virtual cards offering greater control and peace of mind. These include enhanced security features that help prevent fraud and unauthorised purchases, spending limits, and real-time alerts for suspicious transactions, providing greater control and peace of mind.

Overall, virtual cards for employees can offer simple and effective ways to manage employee expenses as part of a more extensive spend management solution. And by automating the expense management process, businesses can save time and money while improving accuracy and reducing the risk of fraud.

Benefits of virtual cards for business

Virtual cards are an excellent solution for companies that want to:

Reduce the cost of expense management: At Payhawk, our virtual cards for business provide a more efficient, cost-effective way of managing employee expenses. Employees can use their virtual cards to pay for travel, meals, and entertainment expenses without carrying a physical corporate card or paying out of pocket.

Prevent fraud: You gain better visibility into payments when employees use corporate cards. With our real-time reporting capabilities, you'll always know where your money is going, who paid for what, and why.

Automate accounting processes: Finance and executive teams must focus on higher-value activities, such as analysing data trends and creating new business opportunities. Automated expense management processes, like receipt chasing and reconciliation, save finance teams hours every day. No more manual data entry and receipt hunting.

How virtual company cards keep your money safe?

Virtual company cards also make tracking your spending and keeping your budget in check easier. And since you can issue each card for a separate employee, team, or purpose, you can always see how much money the company has spent and track your expenses better.

Overall, virtual company cards are an excellent tool for keeping your money safe and secure while making online transactions.

Payhawk's innovative virtual card solution

Our virtual card solution is a game-changer for businesses looking to streamline their financial processes. Integrations with internal accounting systems, team expense management, and automated data entry make it easy to manage your finances in one place.

Plus, with company-wide reimbursements and the ability to manage subscriptions in just a few clicks, we help you save time and stay on top of your spending. And with complete visibility into every online purchase, you can be sure that your team is making intelligent financial decisions.

Our innovative virtual card solution offers many advantages over traditional payment methods, including:

1. Integrations with internal accounting systems
You can easily integrate our virtual card solution with your existing accounting system or ERP. This allows you to enjoy a seamless flow of spend data, easy reconciliations, and no data entry. Meaning you spend less time on data entry and more time on expense management, and more on growing your business.

2. Team expense management
With our innovative virtual cards for employees, you can set individual spending limits for each employee and monitor their purchases in real time. You can also track team spending with detailed reports that show what each employee spent when they spent it. And monitor and control company expenses with an easy-to-use dashboard (even across your multiple entities).

3. Automated receipt and invoice capture (OCR)
At Payhawk, our automated receipt and invoice entry via OCR technology lets you capture and process your spend data automatically, saving time and money on manual entry. With our OCR feature, you can import your receipts and invoices into the system with just a few clicks.

4. Company-wide cashback
Your business can earn cashback on every transaction made with a Payhawk card (both physical and virtual). Every time an employee uses their card, you can earn a percentage of that transaction in cashback. Not only does this program help create even better ROI, but it also incentivises employees businesses to encourage adoption and therefore spend policy compliance.

5. Manage subscriptions in a few simple clicks

With just a few simple clicks, you can easily manage your subscriptions with our subscription management features:

• Set up recurring payments for your subscriptions and never worry about missing a payment again
• Track subscription expenses and analyse your spending to ensure you're getting the most value for your money
• Customise your subscription management settings, tailoring our software to the specific business needs of your organisation
• Set up alerts for upcoming subscription renewals or cancellations to make sure you don't miss an important payment

6. Get visibility into every online purchase

No more sorting through receipts or remembering where you made a purchase. Finance teams can see all the company’s transactions in real time within the platform. What’s more, they can remove the burden of categorising spend and set custom fields directly into the same platform from which the cardholder spends.

For example, let’s say your number one marketing manager, Maksim has to buy a new display banner for an event. All he needs to do is pay for the banner via his virtual card. He can’t overspend, as the limits are already built into his cards. And when he uploads his digital receipt, he simply selects from a list of categories (pre-populated by the finance team x senior team leaders) to define what his spend was for. Now his spend data is captured and correctly coded — meaning no manual data entry, more straightforward VAT reclaims, and easier project spend tracking for ROI and budgeting.

“Each cardholder codes up the job themselves to see where their costs are going,” Finance Manager at MDM Props Ltd, Uchenna, explained. “This is important because it keeps all the information in one place and pulls all the project budget spend info together to see what we can improve. Also, we now have the time to proactively do project analysis because we’re no longer chasing receipts!”

How to get a hold of a Payhawk virtual card

With the rise of online shopping and digital payments, using virtual cards online has become a convenient and secure way to make purchases. At Payhawk, we understand the importance of having reliable and easy-to-use company cards for your online expenses. That's why we deliver your virtual cards to your mobile in seconds, meaning you start using them within just a few clicks.

Here's what our customers have to do to get their hands on a Payhawk virtual card:

• Open the Payhawk mobile app and click the card button on the bottom right-hand side
• From there, you can view your virtual card information and use it for all your online expenses
• Trust Payhawk's virtual card for a seamless and secure online shopping experience

"I haven't even seen my physical card because I pay for everything with my mobile. And I don't want to see it either... I just want it to work and be able to do it all instantly. And Payhawk gives me everything I need!" Benoît Menardo, Co-founder at Payflow said.

Cardholders no longer have to wait days for their corporate cards to arrive through the letterbox. Instead, the finance team can issue company cards that can be used immediately through virtual cards for their employees.

Ready to try it for yourself?

Don't let outdated expense management slow your business down. Try our innovative virtual card solution and streamline your operations. Schedule a demo now.