# Expense policies Get answers to all of your questions regarding Brex **URL Source:** https://www.brex.com/support/policies --- ## Overview An expense policy is a set of guidelines and rules established by a company to manage and control employee spending. It helps ensure that expenses are legitimate, reasonable, and compliant with company policies. Account and card admins, bookkeepers, and any other users with the [specific product capability](https://www.brex.com/custom-roles) can create and manage expense policies in the Brex dashboard. The policy can be customized to indicate which transactions need receipts and memos, set deadlines for submission, and send automatic follow-up reminders. Expense policies also allow admins to review out-of-policy transactions and send reminders to employees who need to take action. Brex is [updating our Policy Engine](https://www.brex.com/spring-2025) and you may have access to new features. Please read this [article](https://www.brex.com/policy-rule-builder) on the upcoming changes. ## Expense policy setup and management ### For Essentials To edit your policy, follow the steps below. **Step 1:** In your dashboard, click _Cards and limits_ > _Manage_ _policies_. **Step 2:** Customize your policy by indicating the names and details, receipts and memos, merchant and category rules, and approval chains. Here are some examples of how you can customize your policy: - Toggle on - _Use this policy for Bill Pay_ - _Write this policy in a non-USD currency _to choose from any of the available currencies. - The currency you choose will be the base currency that we write your policy in. Transactions made in any other currencies will be converted. You can choose from any of the available currencies. For more information on available currencies, see the section on Manage Expense Policy Currency. - Require receipts and memos based on merchant or category exceptions. - Flag or block expenses with [customizable merchant and category rules.](https://www.brex.com/brex-merchant-categories) - Add approval chains, which you can read more about [here](https://www.brex.com/approval-chains). - Additional documentation controls: - _Require [accounting field](https://www.brex.com/accounting-fields)_ As soon as you update a policy’s rules, current and future expenses will start referencing the new rules. ### For Premium, Enterprise, and P-card By default, you'll have 3 policies that can be customized to your company’s needs: 1. Travel 2. Stipends 3. General To create and manage your company’s expense policy, follow the steps below. **Step 1:** In your dashboard, click _Cards and Limits_ > _Manage policies_. **Step 2: **Select the policy you wish to manage and click _Edit _next to _Expense policy_. **Step 3:** Customize your policy by indicating the receipts and memos, merchant and category rules, and approval chains. Here are some examples of how you can customize your policy: - Toggle on or off: - Use this policy for - Brex travel - Creating travel and expense rules, such as creating parameters for spend on meals. Read about customizing travel policies [here](https://www.brex.com/managing-brex-travel). - Bill pay - Write this policy in a non-USD currency - The currency you choose will be the base currency that we write your policy in. Transactions made in any other currencies will be converted. You can choose from any of the available currencies. For more information on available currencies, see the section on Manage Expense Policy Currency. - Requiring reviews/documentation for specific merchants or categories. Read about approval chains [here](https://www.brex.com/approval-chains). - Additional documentation controls: - _Require expense category_ - _Require VAT documentation_ - _Require _[accounting field](https://www.brex.com/accounting-fields) - Setting smart [merchant and category blocks](https://www.brex.com/brex-merchant-categories) on Brex cards - Define automated audit rules to flag high-risk items on itemized receipts, such as those that contain alcohol, cigarettes, gift cards, flight upgrades, lottery tickets, or political spend. - Setting role-based dynamic policy exceptions for receipts, memos, and merchant or category rules. - Selecting _Add rule for certain users _allows you to customize exceptions based on employee attributes, including role, department, and cost center or specific employees or [user field](https://www.brex.com/accounting-fields). - Note: You can drag and drop exceptions in the order you wish to take priority if an employee falls into multiple exceptions **Step 4: **Click _Next_.** Step 5: **Review your expense policy before sharing them with your company. As soon as you update a policy’s rules, current and future expenses will start referencing the new rules. ## Set default policy ### Make spend limits optional You can choose whether or not to require spend limits on bills or reimbursements in _Settings _> _Expenses._ If, after you’ve made them optional, a [reimbursement](https://www.brex.com/expense-reimbursements) or [bill](https://www.brex.com/bill-pay-overview) doesn’t have an assigned spend limit, we'll apply the default policy. As a result, any approval chains that policy has will also apply to the expense. You can fully customize your default policy by following the steps below. **Step 1:** In your dashboard, go to _Cards and limits_ > _Manage policies_. **Step 2: **Select the policy you want to define as the default and click the three dots > _Set as default policy_. ## Manage expense policy currency Available currencies are set policy-wide. They dictate how we translate currency policy rules and what currency your employees can choose from when they request spend limits. ![HC - Bill Pay & Expense Policies](https://brand.brex.com/m/bfc6035e0a2b599/webimage-HC-Bill-Pay-Expense-Policies.png) To edit your policy’s currency, follow the steps below. **Step 1:** In your dashboard, go to _Company settings_ > _Expenses_. **Step 2: **Under _Manage currency,_ choose your desired currencies. In this setting, FX rates can be refreshed. ## Turn off receipt/memo request Reminders to add a receipt or memo to a transaction will stop being sent once an account or card admin marks the transaction as reviewed.