Playground Expense Cards let you make approved purchases using a card provided by your program. When you use an expense card, the purchase automatically appears in the Expenses section of the app, so you don’t have to enter the transaction yourself.
From the Expenses section, you can review purchases, upload receipts, and keep track of spending tied to your card. If needed, you can also add expenses manually through the app.
The sections below walk through how to access your expense card, understand what you’re seeing in the app, and manage transactions and receipts.
Expense Card Overview
Expense cards are assigned by your program administrator. Staff members can’t create or request an expense card on their own. If you have an expense card, it was set up and assigned to you by your admin.
As a non admin user, you’ll access everything related to your expense card through the Playground app. This is where you can view transactions, upload receipts, and review purchase details. Card setup, spending limits, and funding are all handled by your administrator.
Each staff member has their own expense card, but all cards pull from the same shared pool of funds. That means multiple staff members may be using expense cards at the same time, and the available balance is shared across everyone who has a card.
Card Limits and Spending Rules
Expense cards can have different spending limits set by your program administrator. These limits control how much you can spend overall and how much you can spend on a single purchase. Staff can’t change these settings, but knowing how they work can help explain why a transaction goes through or gets declined.
Depending on how your program is set up, your card may have no overall limit, a fixed limit that doesn’t reset, or a limit that resets weekly or monthly. Administrators can also set a maximum amount for individual purchases.
All expense cards use the same shared pool of funds managed by your administrator. Even though each staff member has their own card, everyone is spending from the same balance. Because of that, purchases made by other staff members can affect whether your transaction goes through. Since staff don’t have visibility into that shared balance, a card can be declined even when your app still shows available spending under your limit. In those cases, your admin will need to add more funds or adjust the account.
Accessing Your Expense Card
Staff members may be assigned either a virtual or physical expense card, depending on what your administrator has set up. Virtual cards can only be used for online purchases, while physical cards can be used both in person and online.
If you’re assigned a physical card, it will be mailed to the address on file. Once you receive it, you can start using it for approved purchases based on your program’s limits.
You’ll manage everything related to your expense card through the Playground app. To view your card and activity, open the menu and tap Expenses, where you can see transactions, review purchase details, and manage receipts.
From the Expenses section, you can:
View transactions made with your expense card
Review purchase details
Upload receipts for completed transactions
Add expenses when needed
If you have a virtual expense card, you can view the card details directly in the app for online purchases. If you have a physical card, you’ll still use the app to review transactions and upload receipts after purchases are made.
Expense Card Activity
Understanding Your Card Balance
When you open the Expenses section in the Playground app, the amounts shown at the top reflect your assigned card limit, not the total funds available to spend. As a staff member, you do not have visibility into the funding behind the expense cards. Only administrators can see and manage the shared balance that funds all cards.
What you can see in the app is the spending limit that has been assigned to you, if one has been set. For example, if the app shows $1,500 available and $0 spent, that means your total card limit is $1,500 and you haven’t used any of it yet. This does not indicate how much money is currently available for purchases.
All expense cards pull from the same shared funding source managed by your administrator. Even though each staff member has their own card, spending by other staff can affect whether a transaction goes through. Because staff do not have access to the shared balance, it’s possible for a card to decline even when your app still shows an amount available. If this happens, it might mean the shared expense account needs to be funded or adjusted by an administrator.
Adding Receipts
When viewing your transactions in the Expenses section, you’ll be able to see which purchases are missing a receipt. Transactions that still need a receipt will be clearly labeled.
To add a receipt, tap into the transaction and select the Add button next to the receipt section. From there, you can upload a photo of the receipt directly from your device.
Once the receipt is uploaded, it will be attached to the transaction and visible for review. You can return to a transaction at any time to add or update a receipt if needed.
Manually Adding an Expense
If you need to add an expense manually, you can do this directly from the Expenses section in the app.
Start by tapping the plus icon in the top right corner of the Expenses screen. This will open the Add expense page.
On this screen, enter the date of the purchase, the amount, and the merchant name. You’ll also choose a category for the expense and can add a memo if needed. Once everything is filled out, tap Done.
After saving, the expense will appear in your transaction list. From there, you can tap into the expense and upload a photo of the receipt, just like you would for any other transaction.