How Much Is That Old Expense Process Costing You?
Save smarter, gain visibility, and reduce fraud with a simplified approach to expenses for your employees, departments, and business. (hell, you can also use it for your family of 5 🤣)
A few months ago, I started working with a mid-sized software company that had a pretty common problem: They had no idea where a chunk of their money was going each month.
They weren’t doing anything shady. In fact, they were trying to be smart about spend. But the way they managed expenses was… let’s just say, loose. A few corporate cards that had premier status were floating between departments. A spreadsheet or two. Lots of trust, not a lot of tracking.
When we dug in, it turned out they were bleeding money in ways they hadn’t even considered:
A software license that had been renewed twice for the same tool, under two different departments
A $3,500 annual subscription for something no one was even using anymore
Team members submitting out-of-pocket reimbursements for things already paid for with the company card (whoops)
Little stuff — overlapping expenses, random vendor charges — that just never got caught
Add it up, and they were losing over $30K a year to things that weren’t driving any value. Not malicious, just messy.
That’s where virtual cards came in.
What Changed When They Switched to Virtual Cards
Instead of one shared card (or worse, multiple), we gave each department — and in some cases, each recurring vendor — its own virtual card. Every card had a clear purpose, a spending limit, and rules in place for how it could be used.
Want a card that only works for that monthly Zoom charge? Done.
Need to give a project lead a budget for the quarter with controls on what and how much could be spent? Easy.
Want a single-use card for a one-off vendor payment so you’re not handing over the main account number? No problem.
The result? No more surprises. Each transaction was tied to a purpose, and tracking spending went from a monthly headache to something they could glance at and understand in real-time.
If You’re Wondering About the Benefits of Using a Virtual Card ...
Think of it like a normal credit or debit card — 16 digits, expiration date, CVV — but entirely digital. You generate it on the fly, use it online (or in a mobile wallet), and shut it off just as easily.
And what’s even better: you can set rules around how it’s used. For instance:
Only works with a specific merchant
Has a $200 monthly limit
Expires after one purchase
Locked to a department, team or employee
In addition, zero liability, 24x7 fraud monitoring
All the control of a finance team… without the micromanaging.
The Thing Most Companies Don’t Realize
When spend is happening across employees, teams, platforms, or even countries, little leaks are easy to miss. And over time, they add up.
Most companies think of virtual cards as just a digital version of a physical card. But the real magic is in how customizable and trackable they are. When used intentionally, they become a tool for cleaning up spend, simplifying reconciliation, and reducing risk — not just replacing plastic.
And yeah, some of this is made possible because trusted platforms like Brex have made the process super smooth. We partner with them at Point Monarch because they’ve built something that actually works for the messy, real-world way companies spend money.
So Why Isn’t Everyone Doing This?
Honestly? A mix of inertia and unfamiliarity.
It feels easier to just keep using the company Amex and deal with the chaos later. Or there’s concern about adoption — “Will my team get it?” “Will my vendors accept it?” “Is it really worth switching?”
I get that. Change always takes a little effort up front. But here’s what I’ve seen over and over: once companies start using virtual cards — and I mean actually using them, not just setting one up and forgetting it — they never go back.
You get tighter controls without needing to be the bad guy.
You get real-time insight instead of chasing down receipts.
And you save money. Sometimes a lot of it.
What to Ask Yourself
If you’re not sure whether it’s time to rethink your current setup, here are a few questions to consider:
Do you know who has access to your company cards right now?
Are you spending time each month cleaning up duplicate or unexplained charges?
Have you ever found out you were still paying for something no one uses?
Are your teams using shared logins for vendor payments or subscriptions?
Does your finance team feel like they’re in control — or just cleaning up after the fact?
If any of that sounds familiar, you might want to take a look at virtual cards.
Not a Magic Fix — But Pretty Close
To be clear, virtual cards aren’t a cure-all. You still need policies, processes, and a bit of team training to make the most of them.
But when used right, they can seriously change how you think about spending.
At Point Monarch, I spend a lot of time helping clients figure out the best way to build this into their business. Not with generic advice, but based on how they work — their structure, their teams, their vendors.
And yeah, sometimes that starts with, “Wait, we’re still paying for that?”
If you're curious what this could look like for your business, feel free to reach out for a free consultation to discuss what you're seeing and whether virtual cards might make sense for you.
