# Fine tune your business budgets

BILL Spend & Expense budgets allows you to set spending controls to keep your entire team on budget and your finances in line.

## Request a live demo

We’ll show you exactly how BILL can help your business.

## Proactive budgeting leads to greater success
When it comes to budgeting, confidence should come with it. 
No more “spend now, ask forgiveness later,” mentality.

### Apply a policy to one or more budgets

### Give employees different levels of control

### See transactions as they happen

## Control more, guess less
Create a policy with a set of controls to avoid surprise expenses. These spend controls can be based on who the merchant is, how much the transaction is, if a receipt is required, who should approve the transaction (and in what order), and more.

## Set customizable limits
Set a target spending limit for each of your budgets to determine how much can be spent and who can spend over a budget—with or without a buffer. Depending on what your business needs are, you can be stricter with some budgets and more flexible with others.

## Easy management
Our policies and budgets have their own dashboards with all of the most critical information surfaced to the top. Spend controls within policies and even members within budgets can all be easily managed from one place.

## Delegate ownership
Organize budgets and the policies assigned to them into different groups to easily visualize your business finances. Assign a group owner to oversee one or more groups so they can manage funds without interruptions, and without spending beyond the group’s spending limit and policy.

## Real-time tracking
See all your business transactions in real-time. Know where your spending stands without having to wait until the end of the month. With BILL Spend & Expense, you’ll always know where your money is.

## What our customers are saying

“Our biggest problem was not knowing who was spending what, and chasing down “unknown” credit card charges at end of the month. And now, the department heads know, prior to spend, what is being spent! These controls have made it a game changer.”  
**Joan Stefan**  
Accounts Payable Manager  
The Haverford School

## Frequently asked questions

**What are BILL Spend & Expense budgets?**   
BILL Spend & Expense budgets allow you to set spending controls to keep your entire team on budget and your finances in line. Think of it as a spending limit that keeps you and your team from overspending.

**How does BILL Spend & Expense help with budget management?**  
BILL gives you budget management that’s built directly into how teams spend:

- **Smart, flexible budgets:** Create budgets by team, department, project, or vendor and adjust them as your plans change.
- **Built‑in spend controls:** Tie budgets to physical and virtual cards with rules for limits, merchants, receipt requirements, and more.
- **Real‑time tracking:** See spend hit budgets the moment transactions occur, instead of waiting for month‑end reports.
- **Integrated reporting:** Use [BILL Reporting & Insights](https://www.bill.com/product/reporting) to monitor how actuals compare to budget and spot trends across teams or categories.

**Who can access BILL Spend & Expense budget management?**   
Budget management is included in BILL Spend & Expense at no additional charge. There are no extra subscriptions or per‑user software fees for budgets or controls.

**What types of controls are available with spend limits?**   
With BILL Spend & Expense, spend limits come with built‑in controls that you can tailor to how your business spends, including:

- **Budget caps** by team, department, project, or vendor
- **Card-level limits** on physical and virtual cards for each employee or use case
- **Per‑transaction maximums** so large or out‑of‑policy charges are blocked at the point of sale
- **Merchant and category controls** to allow or block specific types of spend
- **Receipt and memo requirements** tied to limits, so documentation is captured in real time
- **Approval workflows** that trigger extra review when a purchase would exceed a budget or break a policy
- **Auto‑freeze and real‑time alerts** when limits are hit or unapproved spend is attempted

**Who should use the BILL Spend & Expense budget management solution?**   
The budget management tools in BILL Spend & Expense are built for growing businesses that want proactive control over spend—not just after‑the‑fact reporting.

**Can I set different spending limits for different budgets?**   
Yes, you can set a target spending limit for each budget and choose whether to decline charges, allow overspend to a certain extent with a buffer, or allow unlimited overspend depending on your business needs.

**Can businesses set custom approval workflows in BILL based on budget limits?**   
Yes. With BILL, businesses can tie approvals directly to budgets and policies, so spend is reviewed by the right people at the right time.

**What is the best budgeting software for a business?**   
The best budgeting software for a business is the one that gives finance leaders tight control over spend, real‑time visibility, and a clean handoff into the accounting system—not just a static spreadsheet. BILL Spend and Expense budgets are designed for this.