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Issue virtual cards for pre-approved spend budgets

April 9, 2021

3 min read

Picture of Certify Team

Certify Team

Budget owners love when their forecast lines up with actual expenditures. Knowing the total cost upfront helps to manage cash flow better. It also helps control costs.

But pre-approved expenses still need to be paid for, documented, and reconciled. Putting charges on an employee’s personal card isn’t always desired—for the cardholder or finance team. Some might want to rack up reward points at work. Others don’t want to front money on the company’s behalf.

Now your finance team can handle spend requests—and issue virtual cards—from within the Emburse Certify solution.

Cards and pre-approvals give total control

This seamless integration gives finance the ability to issue cards tied to pre-approved requests and have all spend data sync back to Certify.

  • Get ahead of spend - before it’s spent
    Program virtual and physical cards with strict limitations to control purchases at the point of sale.
  • Empower smarter expenses
    Real-time notifications alert users to every expense to maintain compliance.
  • Earn cash back rewards
    Every swipe of an Emburse Card earns the company a cash back reward.

How it works at the employee level

An employee plans and builds their spend request within Certify. Once approved, a physical or virtual Emburse Card is assigned to the user for the duration of the trip. Built-in controls restrict purchases to pre-approved date ranges, merchants, and amounts with transaction details syncing automatically. Flexibility provides peace of mind knowing they won’t be without funds if the trip needs to be modified.

How it works at the finance team level

Finance also reap the rewards with Emburse Cards. They gain more profound levels of control compared to other card programs by rejecting out-of-policy purchases at the point of sale. Real-time spending data helps the finance team make better budgeting and cash flow decisions. They even receive cash back on every purchase.


Ultimately, everyone involved gets more time to focus on finding and adding value instead of reviewing and approving expense reports.


Simplify expenses and improve control

In today’s business climate, flexibility matters. Not just for the systems and processes that keep the business running. Flexibility is also vital for your employees. They, too, want to feel empowered with the tools and guidelines to spend wisely. Issuing cards from spend requests is a straightforward way you can automate expense management and improve control.

Contact us to learn practical ways to maximize the value of pre-approved spend requests and give your organization a technology-based advantage.