Payhawk is ideal for hospitality businesses because we provide control and visibility (and segmented spend categorization) across both spending in HQ and spending per store or venue. The custom fields and categorization that you can set up in Payhawk (and match and sync with your ERP) means you can segment spending in order to track it across different entities (venues) or teams (like marketing, IT, sales, etc.).

Stephen Wilkinson, Finance and Operations Director at Astrid & Miyu, describes it best:
"The finance team loves the flexibility of different categories and locations within Payhawk. We use custom workflows for venue teams as well as the Head office. Now, we've given the venues ownership of their spend (monitored by venue managers). And the same for Head Office teams."

Payhawk gives businesses complete control over employee expenses — no matter whether the employee is on the road, in the office, or in-store — making it ideal for customer-facing roles in retail and hospitality. You can:

• Set spend limits in the solution that roll out across the cards and app: Define daily, monthly, or per-transaction limits for travel, meals, or procurement that are almost impossible to break. Limits and controls appear where cardholders spend, so everything is clear and straightforward.
• Advanced card controls: Restrict card use by location, merchant type, or category to prevent unauthorised spending as above
• Customise policies: Create tailored expense policies by role or department, ensuring compliance across the board
• Real-time approvals: Enable instant approvals within set limits and set workflows with different levels for bigger spend
• Real-time visibility: Track spending as it happens and monitor budgets with up-to-date reports

Payhawk simplifies expense approvals with automated workflows that route requests to the right person in real-time based on custom rules like spend limits or team budgets.

Venue teams, marketing, and HQ teams can submit expenses directly through the app, where approvals are instant and hassle-free. This eliminates manual follow-ups, reduces delays, and ensures compliance across all locations.

With advanced card controls, Payhawk empowers teams while also helping finance maintain oversight. Managers can assign transaction limits, restrict spending by category, or create temporary cards for one-time purchases. Cards are tailored to specific needs — such as venue teams managing vendor payments or marketing teams tracking campaign budgets. Combined with real-time visibility, these features allow finance teams to centralize control while empowering employees to manage their own spend efficiently. David Watson, Group Financial Controller at State of Play, calls this integration with systems like NetSuite “a game changer” for managing multi-entity spend.

Astrid & Miyu, report:

• By reducing processing time by two-thirds and spreading expense workloads across the month, Payhawk alleviates the stress of month-end close
• They have cut AP ledger closures by two days and gained visibility across all locations
• With 15,000 expenses processed this year across four states, Payhawk has supported seamless approvals, fewer delays, and smarter spending decisions

Payhawk is very highly rated by both finance and non-finance employees (see G2), making it incredibly intuitive for venue managers and team members to submit expenses and manage budgets. With features like mobile receipt scanning, employees can quickly upload receipts on the go, while AI-powered OCR automatically categorizes expenses and eliminates manual data entry. Custom workflows ensure venue teams can handle their budgets autonomously, with pre-set rules guiding approvals and spending limits.

Melina Bale, Head of International Brand Marketing & Communications at Astrid & Miyu, says:
"A huge change for me with starting to use Payhawk was the app. I travel a lot, so being able to just look on the app, and do my expenses on the go has meant that I now don't need to block out hours at the end of the month to do all of my expenses. I don't lose receipts either!... And it also means approve all team's expense on the go too... it saves so much time."

Expense management is crucial in the hospitality industry because businesses operate with tight margins, high transaction volumes, and diverse spending needs across multiple locations and channels. Efficient expense management helps businesses maintain control over costs, ensure accurate budget tracking, and streamline vendor payments while empowering teams to manage their own spend. With real-time visibility, automated workflows, and seamless integrations, businesses can reduce errors, eliminate manual processes, and make data-driven decisions to optimize profitability and growth.