Automatically freeze cards when receipts are missing

Automatically freeze employee cards when receipts are missing, so your team stays compliant without manual follow-up. Automatic Card Freeze restricts card usage only after a configurable grace period — and unfreezes cards automatically once receipts are added.

What is automatic card freeze

Automatic Card Freeze is an optional company-level control that automatically freezes an employee’s Pleo card(s) if they have too many missing receipts for too long.

You can configure:

• Missing-receipt threshold (X): how many expenses can be missing a receipt
• Grace period (Y): how long an employee has to upload receipts after reaching the threshold

How it works

1. Threshold reached - When an employee reaches X or more expenses missing receipts, the grace period starts (Y days)
2. Reminders during the grace period - Before a freeze, the employee receives reminders to upload receipts
3. Automatic freeze - If the employee is still above the threshold when the grace period ends, their card(s) are frozen automatically
4. Automatic unfreeze - When the employee uploads receipts and drops below the threshold, their card(s) are automatically unfrozen

Defaults and customisation

By default:

• Threshold: 3 missing receipts
• Grace period: 3 days (minimum grace period)

Both values can be customised for your company. It’s also possible to:

• Set employee-specific overrides
• Exempt specific employees from Automatic Card Freeze

Which cards are affected

• Affected: employee physical and virtual cards
• Not affected: vendor cards

What notifications are sent

Employees receive:

• Mobile push notifications before the freeze (for example, 48h and 24h before)
• An in-app callout with a link to their missing receipts

Common questions

Can employees spend during the grace period? Yes. Employees can keep spending during the grace period. Cards are only frozen after the grace period ends if the threshold is still exceeded.

Do past expenses count toward the threshold? No. Counting starts when Automatic Card Freeze is enabled for your company. Expenses made before enablement don’t count.

Do exported expenses without receipts count? No. Exported expenses that are missing receipts aren’t counted toward the Automatic Card Freeze threshold.