Issuing and Managing Corporate Cards

#Supported Regions

Light cards can be issued to entities in the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union.

For employees at entities outside these regions, you can still provide card access by issuing cards from your US, UK, or EU entities. When an employee uses a card issued by a different entity, Light supports intercompany transfers to ensure accurate bookkeeping—expenses are properly recorded under the employee's home entity while the card charges settle through the issuing entity.

#Cards Page Overview

The Cards page has three tabs:

• : View all card transactions with Date, Merchant, Ledger account, Amount, and Tax code. Filter by status and search by keyword.
• : View all issued cards with Owner, Vendor, Type, Card, and Description columns.
• : View card accounts with Account number, Account name, Currency, Entity, and Cards connected.

#Creating Cards

To create a new card, click + Create card from the Cards page. Light supports two card types:

#Employee Cards

Use for employee expenses like travel or supplies.

1. Click + Create card

2. Select Employee card

3. Fill in the details:

   • Owner: Select the employee from the dropdown
   • Authentication phone number: Phone number for card verification
   • Card account: Select which card account to link
   • Card description: A label for this card (optional)
   • Limits: Set a spending limit (Monthly by default) with the currency and amount

4. Click Create card

The virtual card becomes available immediately.

#Vendor Cards

Use for recurring vendor payments like subscriptions.

1. Click + Create card

2. Select Vendor card

3. Fill in the details:

   • Owner: Select the card owner from the dropdown
   • Authentication phone number: Phone number for card verification
   • Card account: Select which card account to link
   • Vendor: Select the vendor (or click Quick-add vendor to create one)
   • Card description: A label for this card (optional)

4. Click Create card

#Card Accounts

Before issuing cards, you need at least one card account. To create one:

1. Go to the tab on the Cards page
2. Click + Create account
3. Configure the account details including account name, currency, and entity

Card accounts group cards together and control the funding source and entity association.

#Managing Cards

#Viewing Cards

1. Navigate to

2. See all cards with:

   • Owner: Who the card is assigned to
   • Vendor: The associated vendor (for vendor cards)
   • Type: Employee or Vendor
   • Card: Card identifier
   • Description: Card label

3. Click a card to see its details and manage it

#Adjusting Card Limits

Increase or decrease individual card limits:

1. Open the card
2. Click Edit Limit
3. Adjust the limit amount
4. Click Save

New limit takes effect immediately.

#Blocking/Unblocking Cards

Temporarily block a card without cancelling:

1. Open the card
2. Click Block Card
3. Optionally, select a reason: Under investigation, Unusual activity, etc.
4. Card is immediately frozen (no transactions allowed)
5. Employee is notified

To unblock:

1. Click Unblock Card
2. Card is immediately active again

Use blocking to investigate suspicious activity without permanent cancellation.

#Cancelling Cards

Permanently cancel a card:

1. Open the card

2. Click Cancel Card

3. Provide a reason: Employee left, Card replaced, etc.

4. Light immediately:

   • Cancels card
   • Freezes any pending transactions
   • Prevents future use

5. Card cannot be reactivated (new card must be issued)

#Transactions and Reconciliation

#Viewing Transactions

Card transactions appear automatically in the Transactions tab:

1. Navigate to

2. Each transaction shows:

   • Date: When the transaction occurred
   • Merchant: Where the card was used
   • Ledger account: The GL account for this transaction
   • Amount: Transaction amount
   • Tax code: Applicable tax code

3. Use the status filter and search bar to find specific transactions

#Transaction Status and Posting

Card transactions go through two stages before they can impact the general ledger:

Pending transactions:

• Appear immediately after a card is used
• Show a Pending status
• Cannot be posted to the GL yet
• The merchant has not yet settled the transaction with the card network
• The amount may still change (merchants can adjust the final amount, add tips, etc.)

Settled transactions:

• The merchant has finalized and settled the transaction
• Show a Settled status
• Can now be posted to create a GL impact
• The amount is final and will not change

Good to know: If you see a card transaction in Pending status and cannot post it, this is expected behavior. Wait for the merchant to settle the transaction (typically 1-3 business days), and it will then become available for posting.

#Card Reconciliation

Card accounts are not available in the page. Unlike bank accounts, card transactions are reconciled through the card settlement process and the matching of bills to card charges.

Card reconciliation works as follows:

1. Individual transactions post to the GL when they settle (see above)
2. Card issuer bill arrives (monthly typical) with all charges
3. Light creates an AP bill that groups card charges
4. Verify:
   • All posted transactions appear on the bill
   • No duplicate charges
   • Amounts match
5. Pay the card issuer bill through normal AP payment process

#Card Settlement

Settlement happens automatically:

1. Card issuer submits bill to company (monthly typical)

2. Light creates an AP bill for card charges:

   • Vendor: Card issuer
   • Amount: Total card charges
   • Line items: Grouped by employee or department
   • GL accounts: Posted to respective expense accounts

3. Finance team pays card issuer

4. Reconciliation complete

#Spending Controls

#Policy Enforcement

Spending policies can be configured under to limit what can be purchased:

• Monthly Limit: Max spending per month
• Merchant Category Limits: Limits by category (e.g., meals, travel)
• Blocked Merchants: No purchases allowed

Light enforces policies at transaction time. If a transaction violates a policy, it is declined.

#Spending Approvals

Require approvals for large purchases:

1. Configure spending thresholds in your approval workflows
2. When an employee makes a large card purchase:
   • Transaction pending (card charges immediately)
   • Manager receives approval request
   • If approved: Expense is approved, posting continues
   • If rejected: Refund is initiated, charge reversed

#Reporting

Analyze card spending using the reports available under . You can create custom reports to track card spending by employee, merchant, category, or time period. Export reports to Excel for further analysis.

#Fraud Detection

Light monitors for suspicious patterns:

1. Velocity Checking: Too many transactions in short time
2. Amount Checking: Unusually large transactions
3. Merchant Checking: Known high-risk merchants

Flagged transactions are:

• Temporarily held
• Employee notified to confirm
• Finance team alerted if suspicious
• Investigation initiated if fraud suspected

#Employee Support

#Card Troubleshooting

Employees can get help:

1. Card Declined: Contact support to understand why (limit, blocked merchant, etc.)
2. Wrong Amount: Investigate transaction and dispute if needed
3. Duplicate Charge: Review settlement and request refund

#Related Articles

• Setting up Light cards (KYC)
• Virtual cards
• Apple Pay and Google Pay
• Expense management overview