Spending policy compliance is easily circumvented if the policy resides in a separate document while employees use other platforms to spend.
If Internal spending rules If your business's regulations only exist in text form (PDF files, hard copies, internal regulations, etc.), while the actual spending process is carried out through many separate channels such as email, Zalo, personal cards, Excel files, etc., then there is a high possibility that the regulations will be forgotten or not applied properly.
This fragmentation makes regulations easy to forget, inconsistently applied across departments, and difficult to control post-production. Even with clear regulations, employees often:
- Forgot to ask for spending approval in advance;
- Not clear about the limit;
- Don't know where, when, in what form to send the invoice.
Even when businesses try to simplify regulations, expecting employees to remember and apply every detail correctly is still unrealistic – especially in highly decentralized organizations, where each department has the right to make its own spending decisions, the risks are higher: overspending, double payments, loss, lack of transparency.
On the accounting and finance side, the time for processing, checking and reconciling invoices will be prolonged, affecting management efficiency.
In this article, we'll show you how to create a spending policy that's clear, actionable – and more importantly, how to integrate it directly into financial operations to ensure compliance comes naturally.
The goal of a modern spending regime
An effective internal spending policy is not only a control tool but also a foundation to help businesses:
- Increase operational transparency
- Minimize errors and overspending
- Automate financial processes
- Speed up the process of data reconciliation, processing and books
- Reduce manual work for accounting department while improving employee experience
However, to achieve the above, the business's spending regulations must be embedded in the system - that is, not just a document - but must be linked to the daily spending process.
5 steps to build an effective spending policy
A good spending policy is not just a list of “do’s” and “don’ts,” but a flexible control system, helps reduce confusion, avoid overspending and save reconciliation time.
1. Clearly define what is a reasonable cost
Start by categorizing common expense categories that employees incur. The categories should align with your actual business model. Include:
- Business expenses: airfare, taxi, hotel, food;
- Office expenses: supplies, software;
- Hospitality costs, event costs;
- Project-based communication and advertising costs;
- Expenses incurred by campaign, by department.
For each group, it is necessary to specify:
- What expenses are allowed, what is the ceiling;
- When to request approval, who approves;
- What are the accompanying documents (VAT invoice, internal memo, project code, etc.)?
This helps reduce disputes, limit risks and speed up the closing process for the finance department.
2. Clearly outline the spending and approval process
One of the main reasons for overspending is unclear approval flow.
Payment model:
- Are personal advances allowed? In what cases?
- Who is eligible for corporate cards? Limits per individual/department?
- Refund policy: maximum how many days after spending?
With Bizzi Travel & Expense solution, businesses can grant Individual corporate cards for each employee, project or department, helping all expenses to be recorded automatically, to the right person - within the right limit.
Approval process:
Clearly defined:
- Who is the reviewer?
- What level of spending requires approval from the department head, director or finance department?
- For international or large budgets, is the approval flow different?
For example:
- < 2 million: team lead approval;
- 2–5 million: department head or project manager;
- 5 million: need approval from finance department or finance director.
These processes can be flexible but must be clear, transparent and consistent. All approvals should be digitized and easily tracked.
Bizzi allows flexible approval flow setup by amount, level, department – ensuring clear control from the start, no manual memorization required.
3. Document requirements and refund regulations
Set clear expectations from the start to avoid wasting time chasing down bills or arguing:
- Do I need a VAT invoice or just a receipt?
- For customer cost allocation, is a project code required?
- How long does it take to send a refund after spending?
- How many business days does it take for accounting to process a refund?
Without clarification, employees may ignore documents, submit late or refuse to refund – causing difficulties for accountants and a lack of transparency when reconciling.
Bizzi Travel & Expense allows employees to submit expense requests, e-invoices and receipts directly on the system. Receipts will be checked, stored and linked to the corresponding expense.
4. Specify unacceptable items
A common mistake is for the bylaw to simply list what “may be spent” without specifying what “may not be spent.” Good bylaws don’t just specify what “may be spent” – they also clarify "nothing to spend", For example:
- Personal meals not for work purposes;
- Overspending without prior approval;
- Personal shopping: headphones, suitcase, personal items;
- Fly business class when there is no special reason;
- Purchase software without going through the IT department.
Each “exception” that is not clarified will become a burden for the accountant when investigated later.
5. Ensure policies are enforced without manual oversight
You can write a great policy, but if it's not integrated into the tools your employees use, it will be forgotten. This is an important but often overlooked step.
Common errors:
- Employees forget rules when in a hurry
- Have to switch back and forth between spending software and regulatory documents
- Everything depends on memory
Therefore, businesses need to:
- Digitize the entire spending process;
- Integrate regulations right into the spending approval platform;
- Limited reliance on memory or fragmented text.
Bizzi's solution overcomes this by integrating the policy directly into the spending system:
- Automatic limit control on each business card
- Real-time warning when over budget or missing invoices
- Digitalized regulatory and approval flows, keeps every operation policy compliant – no need to remember
Bizzi's solution helps "embed regulations into spending reality"
To help businesses put spending regulations into practice, the solution Bizzi Travel & Expense can provide direct support at key points:
1. Set flexible limits and authorizations
- Businesses can issue spending cards to each employee, each department or each specific project;
- The system allows setting up individual spending limits for each employee/department according to the allocated budget;
- Transactions arising from the card are recorded instantly and synchronized to the central system, helping to manage and monitor in real time.
Read more details at: https://bizzi.vn/quy-che-chi-tieu-noi-bo-nen-tang-quan-ly-tai-chinh-hieu-qua-trong-co-quan-don-vi/
2. Digital and transparent approval flow
- Set up expense approval flows by level, amount, or expense category type;
- Multiple approval levels can be configured: team level, department head, financial director... depending on the level of expenditure;
- Each approval is clearly tracked, and the entire approval history can be retrieved when reconciliation or internal audit is needed.
3. Automatically collect and compare documents
- Immediately after a card transaction occurs, the system will prompt the user to attach the invoice via app or email;
- Apply OCR technology to extract invoice data: supplier name, amount, tax code, issue date…;
- Automatically assign relevant expense category codes, project codes, or customer codes, helping to standardize reporting and prepare for accounting reconciliation.
Integrating these features directly into the system makes internal spending regulations no longer a “paper to remember”, but a actual operating procedures, easy to comply, controllable and transparent for all departments.
Spend strategically – not micromanage
A good spending policy is not about controlling people – it is about every expense goes in the right direction, serving the goals of growth, operations and customer service.
When policy is left out of the process, it is forgotten. When it is integrated into a spending tool like Bizzi, compliance becomes more natural, clear and effective.
Bizzi doesn't change your business. But it helps you start a clear, well-controlled and sustainable way of working.
Want to start digitizing your spending today?
👉 Sign up for a free trial of Bizzi Travel & Expense at: https://bizzi.vn/dang-ky-dung-thu/ Or contact Bizzi's consulting team for guidance tailored to your business model.
