How to Play Fair When Choosing Which Employees Win the Jackpot of a Business Expense Card

Trusting employees with your cash used to mean handing them a big wad of notes and hoping that they’d use it for the intended purpose. Understandably, back then, companies had to think hard about which team members were trusted with the task, and even then, they sometimes got it wrong!

Luckily, it’s now much easier to sign up for a business account that comes complete with its very own fully trackable expense card. But you still can’t trust expense cards to just any employee. As well as making it easier to keep track of that card’s location at any time, tailored permissions are key to ensuring professional and honest usage at all times. But, how exactly do you choose which employees win the expense card jackpot without offending the whole office? Keep reading to find out!

Consider Role-Based Needs

Making inoffensive expense card allocations typically means sticking to the facts, and the best fact in your corner is simply whether or not an employee has a need for expense card access. After all, not everyone in your office will be making in-company purchases, and if they’re not... well, what good could possibly come from trusting them with company cash?

The only employees who need access to your expense card include drivers who might need to refuel, employees who regularly travel for work, or in-office workers who regularly host client lunches or complete coffee runs. These are requirements that no other employee could argue with, and which mean easy access to your expense card will make everyone’s lives easier.

Trust Has to Come Into It

You simply can’t trust every employee to use your expense card well. Yet, saying that you trust one employee over the other is both legally inadvisable and sure to make your working environment a little tricky. So, how do you stay fair and inoffensive when choosing which employees you trust to manage your company cashflow?

Your best option here is to simply set clear criteria, such as the need to reach a certain level in the company, or to have worked with you for a set number of years, before expense cards come into things. These are clear, office-wide rules, which no one could contest, and which ensure that only your longest-standing, most revered employees ever get their hands on that card.

Stick to Your Own List

It might not seem like a huge deal if Sarah from HR takes the expense card to stock up on stationery one time, but never underestimate the mistake of going against your own expense card rules.

As mentioned, clear, concise policies are the only way to both choose the best employees for this privilege, while still avoiding any resentment. Whether it’s easier or not, never slip up or let an employee who doesn’t meet the aforementioned criteria get their hands on your card. Otherwise, you’ll face an endless list of requests that you can’t reasonably deny!

Expense cards are a minefield, but you can avoid explosions by allocating usage according to these simple rules.