ApproveThis manages your Pleo Integration approvals.

When Expense Management Meets Approval Automation

Let’s be real: expense approvals suck. You’ve got receipts lost in Slack, managers chasing down signatures, and finance teams playing detective every month. Pleo’s smart company cards solve half the problem by tracking spending in real time. But approvals? That’s where things still get messy.

ApproveThis cuts through the chaos by automating approval workflows right where your money moves. Connect the two via Zapier, and you’ve got a system where every Pleo expense automatically triggers the right approvals – no spreadsheets, no nagging, no “I thought you handled it.”

Why This Combo Works (Beyond Just Saving Time)

Pleo gives you control over spending. ApproveThis gives you control over decisions. Together, they handle the entire lifecycle:

• No more rogue spending: Auto-create approval requests for every Pleo transaction over $X
• Stop playing middleman: Approvers get emailed requests directly with one-click approve/deny
• Audit trails that don’t lie: Every approval decision ties back to the exact Pleo transaction

But the real win? Your approvers don’t need Pleo accounts. Finance can route requests to department heads, external clients, or legal teams without buying more software seats. Everyone stays in their lane, but the process keeps moving.

Use Cases That Actually Matter for Mid-Sized Companies

This isn’t about automating for the sake of it. These are workflows that fix real pain points:

1. “Why Did We Even Buy That?” – Controlling Team Spending

The Problem: Marketing teams swiping cards for “urgent” software tools without IT’s sign-off. Sales expensing client dinners that violate policies.

The Fix: Connect Pleo to ApproveThis so any expense over $500 needs IT + Legal approval before the card is charged. Use Pleo’s spend limits and ApproveThis’ conditional thresholds to auto-approve small stuff (like $20 office supplies) but flag big purchases.

Who This Helps: Finance teams reduce reimbursement fights. Department heads prevent budget blowouts. Employees get instant feedback on what’s allowed.

2. Onboarding Without the Paper Avalanche

The Problem: New hires need Pleo cards on day one, but HR waits weeks for approvals from managers who never check their inbox.

The Fix: When HR adds someone to Pleo, ApproveThis pings their manager, IT (for access), and Finance (for budget assignment) in a sequence. Until all three approve, the card stays inactive. Bonus: Use calculated fields to auto-set spending limits based on role.

Who This Helps: HR speeds up onboarding. Managers retain control without micromanaging. New employees don’t start with a corporate IOU.

3. Killing the Monthly Expense Report Sprint

The Problem: Pleo tracks everything, but you’re still stuck herding approvals at month-end when everyone’s OOO.

The Fix: Auto-send Pleo expenses to ApproveThis as they happen. Approvers get real-time emails they can OK from their phone. If someone’s on vacation, requests auto-reassign. Finance closes the books in 2 days, not 2 weeks.

Who This Helps: Finance stops chasing people. Employees avoid paycheck delays. Auditors get a clear paper trail.

Setup That Doesn’t Require an IT Degree

If you can use Zapier, you can connect Pleo and ApproveThis in 15 minutes:

1. Trigger: New expense in Pleo (or new employee, or whatever)
2. Action: Create approval request in ApproveThis – attach the Pleo transaction details
3. Bonus: Add conditional logic (e.g., route $10k+ requests to CFO)

Pro tip: Use ApproveThis’ calculated fields to auto-flag expenses that exceed department budgets. No manual checks needed.

What Makes This More Than Just Another Integration

Other tools handle approvals. ApproveThis handles how your company makes decisions. When paired with Pleo:

• Approval groups prevent bottlenecks (require 2/3 managers to approve, not all)
• Real-time dashboards show which Pleo expenses are pending, approved, or stuck
• Email approvals mean even non-tech execs can sign off without logging in

It’s the difference between having a process and having a process people actually follow.

Who Should Care (Besides Your CFO)

This isn’t just a finance play. Different teams get different wins:

Operations: Approve vendor payments faster by linking Pleo invoices to PO approvals.
IT: Auto-approve routine SaaS renewals under $1k but require checks for new tools.
Legal: Review high-risk expenses (client gifts, travel to restricted regions) before they hit Pleo.

The Bottom Line: Control Without Micromanaging

Pleo tells you where the money went. ApproveThis ensures it went there for the right reasons. Together, they turn spending from a reactive fire drill into a process that actually scales with your company.

No more herding approvers. No more policy spreadsheets nobody reads. Just clear rules, automated workflows, and everyone getting back to actual work.

Next Steps (That Take 5 Minutes)

If your expense approvals involve more than two emails and a prayer, it’s time to fix it.

Get started with ApproveThis, connect it to Pleo via Zapier, and set up your first workflow before your next monthly close. Or, schedule a demo to see how approval automation actually works when it’s done right.

Pro tip: The free trial includes pre-built Pleo templates. You’ll have receipts approved before your coffee gets cold.