# How to build a wellness stipend on Brex Build a wellness stipend program with embedded controls, automated accounting, and no reimbursement overhead. Better wellness benefits begin with Brex. **URL Source:** https://www.brex.com/journal/how-to-start-a-wellness-stipend-with-brex --- ### Text How to build a wellness stipend on Brex Brex makes it easy to set up a wellness benefit that employees love, without the typical admin overhead. [Research this topic with AI](http://chatgpt.com/?q=Based+on+Brex's+blog+post+https://www.brex.com/journal/how-to-start-a-wellness-stipend-with-brex,+what+are+the+main+administrative+challenges+companies+face+when+managing+employee+wellness+benefits,+and+how+can+modern+expense+management+and+corporate+card+platforms+like+Brex+help+automate+wellness+benefit+administration,+reimbursements,+and+tracking?+Feel+free+to+question+me+to+get+more+information+about+my+business+afterwards.) ### Image ### Wellness stipends are table stakes for recruiting talent these days, but running them can be a major burden on finance teams, requiring manual reviews, reimbursements, GL entries, and other repetitive tasks. Spend limit programs on Brex can remove all that overhead, enabling you to build a wellness benefit that runs itself. ### Set up a wellness stipend in 7 steps Tens of thousands of companies use Brex for their employee benefit programs, including ourselves! The key is Brex’s versatile [spend limits](https://www.brex.com/platform/spend-limits) that let you issue spend for specific purposes with policies baked in, such as merchant restrictions, transaction caps, allowable categories, and more. Superhuman even set up a [food stipend on Brex](https://www.brex.com/resources/customer/superhuman). ![Articles-wellness-stipend-inline-1](https://brand.brex.com/transform/5a9d6a4c-0635-4688-bc19-231cddc6693f/Articles-wellness-stipend-inline-1) Setting up benefit stipends on Brex is a great way to save time and money, while delighting employees. Here’s how it’s done. ### 1. Set a wellness stipend amount Create a spend limit called “Wellness Stipend” for an amount that matches your benefit policy. We find that customers most often do $200/month. You can set a hard or flexible limit and configure it to recur so funds refresh automatically. You can also set funds to expire or roll over. These customizations help you control the timing of how employees spend, such as ensuring they use or lose it monthly vs. storing it up for big purchases at year end. ![Articles-wellness-stipend-inline-2](https://brand.brex.com/transform/9a648644-2bf9-4ebd-914b-57aedbd3a5dd/Articles-wellness-stipend-inline-2) ### 2. Set spend controls and restrictions This is where spend limits really earn their keep. You can embed category and merchant controls directly into the spend limit so that off-policy purchases are declined at the point of sale, not caught weeks later through manual review. For a wellness stipend, you'd typically allow categories like: - Health and fitness clubs / gyms - Spas and massage services - Sporting goods - Health and wellness apps And block everything else. Employees will be able to easily see the policy associated with the limit in the Brex dashboard or app, so it’s easy to know what’s allowed. This will spare you from endless “Can I expense this?” questions and perhaps stop employees from trying to pass off a flight to Vegas as self-care. ![Articles-wellness-stipend-inline-3](https://brand.brex.com/transform/d11affd3-e707-4c8d-b382-13a4402b086e/Articles-wellness-stipend-inline-3) ### 3. Issue and assign the spend limit to employees Once you set the amount, cadence, and controls, you can assign the spend limit to the relevant employees. You can also set it to be auto-assigned to all new employees, even easier when your [HRIS](https://www.brex.com/product/integrations) is linked to Brex. Virtual cards linked to the wellness spend limit are issued automatically; employees don't have to request anything. You can also allow them to use their existing Brex card and assign expenses to their Wellness Stipend Limit. If they prefer (and you allow), they can also submit a reimbursement against the spend limit for out-of-pocket purchases, like a gym class they paid for in cash. ![Articles-wellness-stipend-inline-4](https://brand.brex.com/transform/4c3636cf-4a83-4b99-b9a9-6bbb3dc3048f/Articles-wellness-stipend-inline-4) ### 4. Automate approvals and expense reporting In Brex, you can use preconfigured policies with common rules around receipts, memos, and approvals, or [build custom policies](https://www.brex.com/support/policy-rule-builder#create-or-edit-a-policy) to get as granular as you want. For example, for a wellness stipend, you can forgo requiring receipts and memos, or require them for expenses over a certain amount. Transactions that fall within the approved categories will be auto-approved by [Brex AI](https://www.brex.com/platform/intelligent-finance). No manual review or micromanagement required. For internal auditing, you can run a [quarterly report](https://www.brex.com/platform/reporting) on the spend limit to review usage, check for necessary [employee repayments](https://www.brex.com/support/employee-repayments), or export your spend limits to leverage the data in other systems. ![Articles-wellness-stipend-inline-5](https://brand.brex.com/transform/272fdc45-48a1-4124-a904-7d965692577c/Articles-wellness-stipend-inline-5) ### 5. Automate accounting fields **** Brex can automatically tag every wellness stipend transaction with the correct GL code, so transactions are ready to sync to your accounting system without manual intervention. This enables [accounting automation](https://www.brex.com/platform/accounting-automation) and makes the month-end faster for everyone. ![Articles-wellness-stipend-inline-6](https://brand.brex.com/transform/51bb3047-5183-4099-a282-38c8e8d60ae9/Articles-wellness-stipend-inline-6) ### 6. Prep for tax reporting Wellness stipends are typically treated as a taxable employee benefit, so you'll need to report the amounts to payroll each quarter for proper withholding. The workflow is straightforward: 1. Filter transactions by your "Wellness Stipend" spend limit in Brex. 2. Export the quarter's transactions to CSV. 3. Pivot by employee. 4. Import the totals into your payroll system. Check with your tax advisor on the specifics for your company. ### 7. Use your wellness stipend for recruiting Remember to list the wellness stipend on your careers page under benefits and perks. Benefits like this move the needle for candidates, and a dedicated [Brex card](https://www.brex.com/product/credit-card) makes it feel like a real perk, not a reimbursement hassle. ### Simplify your wellness benefit with Brex **** The old way of running a wellness benefit where employees submit receipts, finance reviews and reimburses, accounting closes the loop manually is slow and error-prone. The Brex spend limits approach flips it: controls are embedded upfront, spend is auto-approved when it's in-policy, and the accounting happens automatically. Finance gets real-time visibility. Employees get a card that just works. And nobody's chasing receipts for a gym membership. To learn more or watch a quick demo, [get in touch here](https://www.brex.com/signup). ## Related Articles ### [The essential guide to ERP integration](https://www.brex.com/journal/finance-erp-integration) Connecting your ERP software with your spend management system is essential for reducing human error and clunky processes. ### [Beating economic headwinds — is your growth strategy ready?](https://www.brex.com/journal/beating-economic-headwinds) Three CFOs share which financial strategies they are using to set their companies up for growth in any market. ### [Business banking reimagined](https://www.brex.com/journal/business-banking-reimagined) See how Brex's direct model allowed us to build a banking solution that delivers returns with same-hour liquidity. ### [Super case study](https://www.brex.com/journal/accounting-automation-benefits) Want to close the books in minutes vs. days? Eliminate manual expense reports? Brex customers share the top accounting automation benefits. ### [How CFOs are thinking about software purchases today](https://www.brex.com/journal/how-cfos-are-thinking-about-software-purchases-today) As they do more to control spend, CFOs should be asking these questions before approving a new SaaS tool. ### [5 ways fast-growing startups optimize their cash management](https://www.brex.com/journal/startup-cash-management-optimization) Optimize your cash, and maximize your growth. Explore five proven ways startups are improving their cash management with Brex.