Manage your company expenses with Pleo
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Pleo review October 2020
Pleo automates expenses and streamlines company spending.
What's in this review?
Pleo is a growing fintech business aiming to streamline money management for businesses. Pleo defines itself from other challenger banks by approaching a new market. Instead of trying to sell itself to every day consumers, Pleo hopes to appeal to businesses, creating a system which helps manage employees’ business expenses from a single app.
What is Pleo?
Pleo is aiming to introduce a solution to company expense management, making it easier for businesses to control their spending and see where their money is going. Pleo sells itself as a “solution”, a way of bringing together employee transactions onto one platform and as a result making business financing simpler.
How does Pleo work?
Pleo works from an app on your smartphone, the only physical aspect of it being the company cards which you can hand out to your employees. The app keeps track of your cards, your business’ budget and where it is being spent. This data is recorded and displayed on the app, acting as a bookkeeper and helping you make better decisions for your company.
The Pleo app only offers what it needs to, there are no extra features, nothing to distract you from its core functions. These include:
- Cards. View your virtual cards, the ones on smartphones, and your physical cards. Check their status and details, who owns them and what company they are under.
- Expenses. View transactions from every card on one page, check that every payment is necessary and company money isn’t being wasted. Cardholders can also document their receipts from here, making it easier to sort your expenses.
- Profile. The company and personal profile registered with Pleo. Check details, manage your account and view personnel on the account.
You will also be able to set spending limits for your cards, connect Pleo to your accounting software and contact Pleo’s customer service if you need help.
Using Pleo abroad
Pleo cards can be used on business trips in the same way they can be used in the UK. However, there is a 2% foreign transaction fee when you use your card abroad.
Pleo fees and limits
Pleo comes for a subscription fee of £6 (Pleo Essential) or £10 (Pleo Plus) a month. Pleo Plus offers a few extra features, including the ability to set personalised limits for your employees’ cards, advanced spending reports and notifications whenever expenses that go over a certain amount occur.
Along with the subscription are a number of fees for certain functions on your Pleo account, these include:
- A £10 fee on any cards you add after opening your account. The first card you receive costs nothing.
- Replacement cards will cost you £2.50.
- Topping-up your Pleo account is free if you decide to top up via bank transfer. However, if you decide to load by debit or credit card you’ll be charged for 2% or 2.5% of the transfer respectively.
- Domestic and international withdrawals cost £4 each. Transactions and balance enquiries cost nothing.
- As mentioned above, international transactions come with a 2% charge.
- Customer refunds will cost you £25.
 Pleo | |
| Account fee | £6 |
| FSCS protected | |
| UK ATM charge | £4 |
| Account software integration | |
| Accounts software integration platforms | Xero, Economic, Sage, Fortnox |
| Additional cards | Up to 5 users / cards |
| Additional card fee | £10 |
| Requires credit check | |
| Credit check | |
| Overdraft | |
| Freeze card from app or online banking | |
| Instant notifications | |
| Interest rate | 0% |
| Current account switch guarantee |
Doing business overseas with Pleo
Pleo | |
| Overseas transaction charge | No fee |
| Overseas ATM charge | £4 |
| International transfer charge | N/A |
Is Pleo safe?
Pleo understands how important your company (and its finances) is to you and as a result keeps security high on their priority list. All their data is protected with industry standard encryption, with a number of other measures in place to defend from any malicious attacks. Your account is kept behind a password of your choosing.
Pros and cons of Pleo
Pros
- Once invited registration takes minutes.
- Multiple cards can be used on the same account.
- A simple way of documenting your expenses and managing your company’s finances.
- Document receipts by simply taking a photo.
- Simple, functional app.
- Safe and secure.
- FCA and PRA registered.
Cons
- The subscription fee is more expensive than other fintech apps.
- Additional fees on withdrawals and transactions, with further charges for international use.
- You may want to consider the size of your business before considering registering with Pleo.
The verdict
Pleo can be a valid solution if you own a small business that also has a lot of expenses made by different employees. If that’s the case, it will make your life easier by allowing you to track them easily.
On the other hand, Pleo isn’t a full business account and the fees aren’t especially competitive, so you should compare a range of similar products and make sure Pleo is the best for your needs before going for it.
In a nutshell, it all comes down to how your business finances work. If you already have a business account but its app is terrible for tracking expenses, Pleo can be an effective alternative.
Manage your company expenses with Pleo
- Try Pleo for free
- See all company expenses in one place, in real-time
- Get company cards for your employees
- Top up your Pleo with no extra fees
Compare alternative business bank accounts
FAQs
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