Card Blocking automatically blocks a team member's budget cards when their expenses become overdue, so finance teams don't have to chase down missing receipts. It creates a natural incentive for employees to stay on top of their expense reporting. It's a rules-based automation, not AI, that admins configure under business settings, and it's available on Premium plans and above.
Businesses using Card Blocking see a significant uplift in the number of expenses submitted within 7 days.
How It Works
- Automatic blocking: Cards are blocked once an expense report is overdue or marked Changes Requested, so you're not stuck chasing late receipts.
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Configurable rules:
- Overdue window: The number of days an expense can remain incomplete (between 1 and 14 days).
- Effective start date: Any expenses before this date will not be considered overdue.
- User exclusions: Specific team members can be excluded from Card Blocking entirely.
- Uncleared transaction handling: Admins can choose whether uncleared transactions (such as hotel holds or car rental deposits) count as overdue.
- Budget cards only: Subscription cards, bill payments, and reimbursements are never affected, so everyday payments keep running.
- Clear notifications: An email and push alert land when a card's blocked or unblocked, plus an early warning in the Expenses and Cards areas.
- Instant self-service unblocking: Cards unblock automatically once you complete outstanding expenses in the Weel app, no admin action needed.
- Built-in oversight: Admins can see exactly who's currently blocked using the Employees with Blocked Budget Cards report.
- If someone uploads an invalid receipt to unblock their card, use Decline > Request Changes to return it to Changes Requested. This re-blocks the card until they resubmit with a valid receipt.
Key Benefits
- Fewer overdue expenses: Automatic card blocking motivates employees to complete expense reports promptly, reducing the backlog finance teams need to manage.
- Less manual chasing: Instead of sending follow-up reminders, the system enforces your expense policy automatically.
- Flexible, configurable rules: Admins control the timeframe and can exclude specific users or uncleared transactions to suit how your business operates.
- Instant self-service unblocking: Employees can unblock their own cards the moment they complete their outstanding expenses, without needing to contact anyone.
Common Use Cases
- Enforcing receipt submission deadlines: Finance teams set a custom window (1 to 14 days) for how long a card expense can remain incomplete before the employee's budget cards are blocked.
- Reducing holding transaction confusion: For businesses with employees who frequently incur hotel deposits or car rental holds, uncleared transactions can be excluded so staff aren't penalised for pending charges they haven't yet resolved.
- Managing exceptions: Specific users, such as company executives, can be excluded from Card Blocking where needed.
- Closing off backdated issues: Admins can set a start date so that only expenses after a certain point are considered overdue, avoiding disruption from older, pre-existing transactions.
How do I know if my budget cards are blocked?
Once an expense meets the overdue criteria, the team member's budget cards are temporarily blocked across all budgets. Subscription cards are never affected and remain active at all times. Bill payments and reimbursements are also unaffected.
- Employees are notified before and when their cards are blocked via a warning in the Expenses and Cards tabs of the Weel mobile app, an email notification, and a push notification.
- Blocked employees can unblock their cards at any time by completing their overdue expenses through the Weel mobile app or web app. No admin action is required.
Before your budget cards are blocked, you’ll see a warning in the Expenses tab of the Weel mobile app. If your budget cards do become blocked, you’ll be notified in these ways:
A warning in the Expenses and Cards tabs of the mobile app
An email notification
A push notification from the mobile app
Pro Tips and Best Practices
- Start with a longer window and tighten over time. If your team is new to Card Blocking, beginning with a 7 to 10 day overdue window gives employees time to adjust before moving to a shorter timeframe.
- Exclude uncleared transactions if your team travels frequently. Hotel deposits and car rental holds can take several days to resolve. Excluding these prevents unnecessary blocks and confusion.
- Communicate the change before enabling it. Giving your team advance notice of when Card Blocking will go live reduces frustration and helps employees understand what's expected of them.
- Review your exclusion list periodically. As team structures change, make sure the right people are (or aren't) excluded from the feature.
- Block invalid receipts with Decline Comments. If an employee uploads an invalid receipt to unblock their card, use Decline > Request Changes to return the expense to 'Changes requested'. This re-blocks their card until they resubmit their expense with an updated invoice.
Common questions
What cards will be blocked by this feature?
Any team member with overdue, incomplete expenses (based on the admin-configured rules) will have all of their budget cards blocked.
Note: Subscription cards are never affected and will remain active.
Will subscription cards be blocked?
No. Subscription cards are always excluded from Card Blocking and stay active.
Will bill and reimbursement payments be affected?
No. Card Blocking only applies to budget cards. Bill and reimbursement payments can continue as usual.
Can I exclude specific users or budgets from Card Blocking?
Yes, you can exclude specific users.
Are uncleared transactions excluded from Card Blocking?
- Yes, you can exclude uncleared transactions from being considered as overdue.
What if an employee uploads a fake receipt to bypass Card Blocking?
- Use Decline > Request Changes on the expense. This returns it to 'Changes requested' status, re-blocking the employee's cards until it is resubmitted and approved.