How do I create or request a budget?

Admins can create new budgets for both themselves or other users within the dashboard. While employees cannot create their own budget, they can put in a budget request for an admin to review.

Creating a budget

Note: If you want to set your budget as non-USD, first create an expense policy in your currency of choice. For more information, read How can I create an expense policy?.

Step 1: In your dashboard, go to Budgets and click Create a new budget at the top right.

Step 2: Add your budget’s details, including a name, purpose, and parent budget. If this budget is meant for other users, make sure to add Budget owners and Budget members.

Step 3: If you want advanced limit settings in place, you can check or uncheck the following:

• Allow limit increase requests: If you want to allow members of the budget to submit requests for higher limits.

• Hide limit from members: If you want to hide the limit from members and disable requests for limit increases.

  • Admins and the budget’s owners can still view the budget limit.

• Allow member expense visibility: If you want employees to see the other budget members’ expenses, or if budget members should be restricted to seeing only their own expenses.

Step 4: Choose your global expense policy from the dropdown.

Step 5: If you want advanced budget settings in place, you can check or uncheck the following:

• Create a virtual card for recurring payments: This will create a new, dedicated virtual card for this budget. If this is toggled on, you won’t be able to use your physical card with this budget.

• Block specific merchants and categories: If you want to restrict the type of expenses that can be made on this budget.

• Override expense categories: If you choose this option, you’ll be prompted to input the Legal entity, Department, Location, and Cost Center that you want to override.

Step 6: Select a budget currency. This is the currency that all expenses on this budget will appear in, even for those who have a different local currency.

Note: The currency of your budget will need to match that of your policy.

Step 7: Click Submit.

Following this, a popup window will appear asking if you’d like to Undo the budget creation. You’ll have six seconds to click this option, should you need to adjust the budget for any reason.

You can edit most of your budget information later on after the budget’s creation. The only exception to this is your budget’s currency, which cannot be changed after creation.

Requesting a budget

In your dashboard

Step 1: At the top right of your dashboard, navigate to New request > New budget.

Step 2: Add your budget’s details, including a name, purpose, and parent budget. Choose the currency you’d like the budget to appear in.

Step 3: Click Submit.

In your app

Note: Please make sure you’ve updated your Brex app to the latest version.

Step 1: Tap on Wallet at the bottom of your screen.

Step 2: Tap on Manage > Request new budget.

Step 3: Add your budget’s details, including a name, purpose, and parent budget. Choose the currency you’d like the budget to appear in.

Step 4: Click Submit.