When you first join Weel, there's a lot you could do, but only a few things you need to do to get spending. This article explains what "set up" actually means: your required steps, what's simply recommended, and how Weel tracks your progress. Once you know the difference, you'll know exactly what's left before your team can start spending.
How It Works
Your business is set up once you can transfer money into your account and start completing expenses in Weel. From there, Weel captures your receipts, controls spend before it happens, and syncs everything into your accounting system. Getting there comes down to five things:
- Connect your accounting software: your spend syncs to your books automatically.
- Map your chart of accounts: every transaction gets coded correctly from the start.
- Create your first budget: assign an amount of money to a specific use case and cardholders.
- Verify your business: once verified, Weel can issue live cards.
- Fund your account: keep a balance ready for card spend and bill payments.
As an Accountant, you'll typically see four of these five steps, not all five. Weel's default Accountant role has read-only access to budgets, so creating your first budget doesn't apply to you unless your business has customised the Accountant role to allow it. Your required steps are usually just: connect your accounting software, map your chart of accounts, verify your business, and fund your account.
Required vs Recommended
Weel splits your setup journey into two groups so you always know what's essential.
- Required steps are the five steps above. Once you complete these five steps, you've completed set up. Until these steps are complete, some features stay locked. Weel keeps these front and centre until they're completed so you know exactly what you need to do to get spending.
- Recommended steps are ways to get value once you're set up, like inviting your team, adding approval rules, turning on Weel AI, or plying your first supplier invoice through Weel's Accounts Payable product.
Note: What's required depends on your role. If you're a team member, rather than an Admin or Owner, "set up" simply means getting the mobile app, making a card payment, and completing an expense! The account-level setup is handled by your Admin. See Getting started as a team member.
How Weel Keeps You On Track
Weel makes your progress visible in three places, so setup never gets lost:
- Your Dashboard: Until you're set up, the top of your dashboard will show you how far along in the process, the next step to take, and every required step you'll need to take.
- The Weel Academy: Your how-to hub, with a short video or interactive demo for every step, plus the steps you can take get more out of Weel. You can access this from the Dashboard or the Help Menu.
- The Setup Guide: This is a small guide pinned to the bottom-right of your screen. You can open it any time to see what's left and pick up where you left off. This disappears once you've completed all the required steps.
Good to know
- You're set up once you finish your required steps, or as soon as your business makes its first transaction, whichever comes first. A card payment, bill payment, or reimbursement completing is enough, even before your accounting software is connected or your chart of accounts is mapped, since neither blocks a payment from going through. The first qualifying transaction from any cardholder counts, not just your own. Until you clear your required steps, some features stay locked, and Weel keeps them front and centre so you always know what's left.
- Recommended steps help you get more value once you're set up: inviting your team, adding approval rules (Enterprise plan only), turning on Weel AI, or paying your first supplier invoice through Accounts Payable. They're optional, and it's fine to complete only the ones that fit how your business works.
- If you're a team member rather than an Admin, Owner, or Accountant, "set up" simply means getting the mobile app, making a card payment, and completing an expense. Your Admin handles the account-level setup. See Getting started as a team member.
- Weel shows your progress in three places. Your Dashboard shows your progress and the next required step to take while required setup is outstanding, then switches to recommended steps once you clear it, only disappearing once those are done too. The Weel Academy, your how-to hub with a short video or interactive demo for every step, is available from the Dashboard or the Help Menu; as an Accountant, it stays available to you even after required setup clears. The Setup Guide, pinned to the bottom-right of your screen, lets you check what's left at any time, and disappears once your required setup clears.
- Cards and payments become accessible once your business is verified and funded. Until then, you can still explore the platform.