Complete Guide to Corporate Purchase Cards (P-cards)

Managing expenses can be complex and time-consuming, especially when businesses are using traditional payment methods like company credit or debit cards. The volume of transactions and the documents required to track these expenses can make the reconciliation process cumbersome.

Corporate purchase or procurement cards, known as ‘P-cards’, can make it easier. They can help to simplify the approval process and enable your company to manage expenses in a more efficient way.

In this helpful guide for UK businesses, we’ll explain how P-cards work, the benefits of using them and how to choose cards for your business. We’ll also touch on the differences between P-cards and other expense cards, and best practices for setting up a P-card programme.

And while you’re looking for better ways to manage expenses, check out Wise Business. Open an account and you can get debit cards and employee expenses cards for low-cost spending in multiple currencies.

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What is a P-card and how does it work?

A P-card is a particular kind of business debit card. It’s designed to let employees make business purchases without needing to go through the usual purchase request and approval process - or having to use their own personal card and request reimbursement.

The business issues each person who needs one with a P-card, and sets spending limits and policies for what the card can be used for. Then the employee can simply spend directly with the card, both online and in-person.

What can you use a P-card for?

P-cards are most commonly used for the following purchases and expenses:

• Travel expenses, such as train tickets, flights, hotel bookings and meals
• Office supplies, such as stationery, printing supplies or refreshments for the staff room
• Client hospitality costs, such as booking meeting spaces or buying lunch for clients
• Small equipment purchases, such as home office equipment
• Training - buying textbooks and booking places on courses
• Printing costs
• Materials for conferences and public events
• Software and professional subscriptions.

Benefits of using a P-card

Using purchase cards can make managing employee expenses quicker, easier and much more straightforward for all parties - especially compared to long-winded purchase approval processes.

Some of the main P-card benefits include:

• Fast, efficient purchasing - employees can make purchases as and when they need to
• Full spending controls - the business can limit the amount and category type of spending on P-cards, as well as setting daily, weekly, trip or project-specific budgets
• Simplified expense management and reporting - using designated P-cards can cut out time, admin and paperwork, as complex processes for requesting and approving purchases is almost entirely eliminated
• Increased efficiency - many P-cards have functions to automatically update and reconcile company records with transactions, as well as offering user-friendly apps and platforms for employees to upload invoices and receipts
• Improved accuracy - as all transactions automatically feed into a central account dashboard, there’s no need for manual data entry. This means a reduced risk of inaccuracy due to human error

Differences between P-card and corporate card?

You might think that a P-card is just the same as a corporate credit card, but there are actually quite a few differences. Let’s take a look:¹

How to choose a P-card for your business

There are quite a few providers of P-cards available in the UK, from banks to fintech companies. But what should you be looking for when choosing the right option for your business? Here are some key factors to consider:

• Unlimited cards, with minimal or no costs for ordering new cards
• Virtual as well as physical cards - these can often be created instantly, making them ideal for time-sensitive online purchases in particular
• Full spending controls, including clear spending limits and vendor-specific blocking and approval
• Integration with accounting software and other business tools
• Automatic receipt matching and visibility
• User-friendly reporting tools and insights, including real-time visibility into spending as and when it happens. This can be essential for spotting unusual spending patterns and keeping a close eye on cash flow.

Best practices for setting up a P-card program

The most important part of effectively implementing and managing a P-card program is the spending policy that underpins it. You need to decide on specific role-based spending limits, restricted and approved vendors and categories, and a number of other details that will determine how your P-cards are used.

You’ll then need to find a system and a P-card provider which enables you to enforce these policies and set strong controls. It’s best to automate the process wherever you can, to save valuable admin time.

Another important step is to communicate clearly with your team, ensuring that the rules and conditions of your P-card program are easy to understand.

Ongoing management, auditing and review is also crucial, to ensure your cards are not being misused and that the program is running as it should.

Wise Business cards: alternative to p-cards

If your business operates internationally and your employees are regularly spending time abroad for work, Wise Business debit cards could be the ideal solution.

These contactless international debit cards work for spending and cash withdrawals in 150+ countries worldwide, with no foreign transaction fees or subscription fees.

Whenever someone spends or withdraws cash overseas, the currency is converted at the mid-market exchange rate, with just a small conversion fee to pay.

There’s also 0.5% cashback paid on all eligible spending.

Once you have a Wise Business account, you can order unlimited expense cards for just a one-off fee of £3 a card. You can add employees to your account, with controlled access - and you get full control over spending their limits.

What’s more, it’s easy to integrate Wise with your accounting tools, and your accountant can view team spending for smarter collaboration.

Get started with Wise Business 🚀

FAQs - corporate purchase card

What are the typical controls on a corporate P-card?

Controls for P-cards usually include the following:

• Spending limits
• Merchant category restrictions
• Individual and/or daily transaction limits

Real-time monitoring is another crucial part of P-card program controls.

How do P-cards help with expense reporting?

The use of P-cards can streamline the expense reporting process, by automatically capturing transaction data. It also reduces the need for manual data entry, which in turn can improve the accuracy of financial records by eliminating or reducing the risk of human error.

Can corporate P-cards be used for international purchases?

It depends on the card and provider, as well as the company’s spending policies. But generally speaking, corporate P-cards can be used internationally - although foreign transaction fees and currency conversion costs may apply.

Are corporate P-cards secure?

Yes, P-cards are just as secure as other types of corporate debit or credit card, with providers using advanced security technology and tools. In many cases, cards can be instantly frozen or cancelled - a useful feature if lost or stolen. They also offer real-time monitoring of transactions by the company, which can help to spot unusual spending patterns early.

After reading this, you should have a better idea of what P-cards are, how they work and the benefits they offer. We’ve also looked at how to choose a P-card provider for your company, and how to implement your own P-card program.

So, you should now be all set to start using P-cards to simplify and streamline expense management within your business.

Sources used:

Sources last checked on date: 22-Jul-2025