What are card grants?
Last verified October 18, 2026
A grant puts a set amount of team money on a new virtual card for one purpose, with an optional expiry date, store lock and merchant-type lock. Whatever isn't spent goes back to the team balance when the grant ends.
You need: Manage cards permission to issue, top up or end a grant
When to use one
Use a grant when money is for one specific thing and shouldn't outlive it: $300 for drivetrain parts, locked to two vendors, expiring at the end of the season. An allowance is the better fit for ongoing spending on a cardholder's everyday card.
Each grant gets its own virtual card, named after its purpose. Money on a grant is set aside from the team balance, so no other card can spend it.
Issue a grant
- Open Money, then Cardholders.
- In Grants, click New grant.
- Pick who it's for, the amount and what it's for.
- Optionally add rules:
- Only at… keywords, such as
mcmaster, home depot. A purchase must be at a store whose name matches one of them. - Expires, which defaults to one year from today. The grant works through the end of that day. Clear it and the grant never expires.
- Kinds of merchant: Hardware & building supply, Electronics & computers, Office & school supplies, General merchandise & online, Food & groceries, Travel & lodging, Fuel, Shipping & postage. Leave them all off to allow any kind.
- Only at… keywords, such as
- Click Issue grant.
A grant can be from $1 to $100,000. The new card costs the team $0.10.
The person doesn't need to be a cardholder yet. If they aren't, they're invited, the grant shows Card pending, and the card is issued as soon as they finish their cardholder profile.
If another card manager is on the team, you can't issue a grant to yourself. Someone else has to.
From a spending request
When a cardholder asks for money under Spending requests, a member who can approve it and also holds Manage cards can click Approve as a grant. The requested amount goes on its own card with the same optional rules.
Managing a grant
Each grant shows how much is left and its state: Active, Card pending, Used up, Expired or Ended.
- Top up adds money to a live grant.
- End grant stops the card for good. Anything left goes back to the team balance. This can't be undone.
- View transactions shows what the card has bought.
Grant recipients see their own grants on Cardholders. Card managers see the whole team's.
Why a grant purchase gets declined
The decline reason on the Balance page names the rule: the grant has no money left, expired, is locked to other merchants, doesn't cover that kind of merchant, or was cancelled. The team also needs enough available balance.