Can policies be enforced differently by role or department?
Short answer
Yes, spending policies can be configured with different limits, approval workflows, merchant restrictions, and visibility rules based on a user's department or team within the organization.
On Ramp, you can apply different controls to different employee groups, teams, or departments by configuring card and funds settings that automatically enforce different spending limits, merchant category restrictions, approval requirements, and expense submission rules for each cardholder.
How role-based policies work
Policy enforcement allows you to tailor spending controls to match each employee's responsibilities:
- Spending limits: Set different monthly or per-transaction limits based on responsibilities. A facilities manager might have a $5,000 monthly limit while an office coordinator has $1,000.
- Merchant restrictions: Limit certain employees to specific merchant categories. Marketing can access advertising platforms while IT can purchase software subscriptions.
- Approval thresholds: Route transactions above certain amounts to different approvers, with workflows that can be fine-tuned by department.
- Expense submission requirements: Configure what fields are required (including receipts and memos) and set conditional requirements for different cardholders.
How department-based policies work
Department-level policies help you maintain budget control across teams:
- Department budgets: Assign spending caps to entire departments and track usage in real time.
- Department-specific approvers: Route all marketing expenses to the marketing director and all engineering expenses to the VP of Engineering.
- Custom workflows: Configure different approval chains for different departments. Sales might require manager approval above $500 while finance requires CFO approval above $2,500.
- Visibility controls: Limit transaction visibility so department managers only see their team's spending.
How it works on Ramp
Ramp enforces policies at the card and funds level, which means each card can have different rules based on the cardholder's department and responsibilities:
- Configure card or funds settings: When issuing or editing a card or funds, set spending limits, merchant category codes, and expense submission requirements specific to that cardholder.
- Set spending parameters: Define spending limits, merchant category restrictions, and what information must be submitted for expenses. These settings can be edited later and apply to future transactions.
- Assign expense policies: Map expense submission policies to cards or funds to control what fields are required (receipts, memos, etc.) and any conditional requirements.
- Configure approval workflows: Set up approval chains in Settings > Approvals that route transactions based on amount and can be fine-tuned by department.
- Monitor by department: Use the Analytics dashboard to filter spending by department or policy type.
Common scenarios
Executive team: High limits with minimal restrictions but CFO approval required above $10,000.
Sales team: Moderate limits with access to travel and entertainment categories, manager approval above $1,000.
Engineering team: Access to software and cloud services with automatic approval below $500, VP approval above that threshold.
Operations team: Restricted to office supplies and facilities vendors with department head approval for all purchases.
Related questions
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