Author: Dana Krook

Tight cash flow is a constant concern for business owners, especially without proactive working capital management. When expenses pop up before revenue flows in, even the financially healthiest companies feel squeezed tighter than a too-small pair of pants.  

If this sounds familiar, you’re in good company. Cash flow constraints were a key investment barrier for 50% of small businesses in 2025, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB). 

The good news? Credit can help; it isn’t just a fallback plan for when things get rough. When used wisely, it can be a strategic tool to strengthen your working capital position and keep your operations humming. 

In this guide, we’ll explain how credit can help you manage your working capital needs more effectively and share smart strategies to help you build a stronger financial foundation.

What is working capital management?

At its simplest, working capital is the money you have available to run your day-to-day operations. It’s calculated by subtracting your current liabilities (what you owe in the short term) from your current assets (what you own and can quickly convert to cash). 

Given that explanation, what is working capital management? 

Working capital management is about balancing the cash flow in and out of your business. Think of it as ensuring your business always has enough gas in the tank to keep moving, without running on fumes or overfilling the tank and wasting resources.

​Why working capital management matters

Small businesses often face working capital challenges due to delayed customer payments, seasonal swings, rising inventory costs or unexpected expenses. (Surprise! That HVAC system you forgot about needs replacing.)  

Managing cash flow isn’t always enough. Traditional cash management practices like speeding up receivables and stretching payables can help, but they don’t solve every problem. And without careful expense management, it’s easy to fumble the timing. 

This is where smart credit use can change the game. When used strategically, credit helps you bridge cash flow gaps, seize growth opportunities and manage uncertainty without putting your business at risk or your blood pressure through the roof.

How can you use credit to manage your working capital more effectively?

Credit can do more than just plug holes. It can help fuel smarter decisions. From bridging timing gaps to unlocking new opportunities, here are six strategies to make it work for your business. 

1. Bridge cash flow gaps

Revenue and expenses rarely move in perfect sync. Maybe you need to pay suppliers now but won’t get paid by customers for another 30 or 60 days. A line of credit or a corporate card can give you breathing room. It covers short-term obligations while you wait for incoming cash, helping you stay current on bills and payroll without draining reserves or resorting to “please pay us” emails. 

2. Fund upfront investments

Growth often demands investment before payoff. You might need to buy inventory, ramp up marketing or add staff ahead of a busy season. Using credit to fund these moves can help you navigate them smoothly, without sacrificing cash reserves that keep your business stable.

3. Take advantage of supplier discounts

Suppliers sometimes offer discounts for early payments. With credit, you can pay sooner, score a discount and then pay off your balance when your regular cash flow catches up. Saving money while spending it? Not quite magic, but close. 

4. Smooth out seasonal fluctuations

Businesses with seasonal peaks like retail, tourism or construction often face working capital pressure in the off-season. Access to credit lets you cover costs during slower periods and ramp up quickly when demand returns.

5. Seize opportunistic deals

Sometimes opportunities come knocking when cash flow isn’t at its strongest. A supplier offers a bulk discount, a new market opens up or a key hire becomes available. Credit gives you the flexibility to move fast and capitalize on opportunities that can pay off big.

6. Avoid draining cash reserves

It’s tempting to rely solely on available cash, but keeping a healthy cash reserve is critical for resilience. Smart use of credit means you can cover operational costs without depleting your safety net, making you better prepared for unexpected bumps in the road. (Spoiler: there are always bumps.) 

Best principles for using credit strategically

Using credit effectively to manage your working capital requires going beyond securing access to include clear intentions about use. These principles will help you ensure credit remains a growth tool, not a financial trap. 

• Tie credit use to business objectives: Only use borrowed funds for initiatives that drive revenue, improve efficiency or support growth. 
• Forecast cash flow carefully: Know when and how you’ll repay borrowed amounts before you draw on credit.
• Monitor your financial performance regularly: A strong month-end process is especially important when using credit. Track your working capital needs, spot risks early and adjust strategy. 
• Understand the true cost of borrowing: Weigh interest rates, repayment terms and potential fees before tapping into credit.
• Stay disciplined: Credit should extend your runway, not send your business into a nosedive. 

Bringing your credit strategy back to business fundamentals is key. Ask yourself, does this investment or expense fit with the goals you’ve set for your company? Will it improve your financial position over time? If the answer isn’t a clear yes, it’s time to hit pause.

Modern working capital management tools and techniques 

If you’re looking to stretch your working capital with credit so you have more gas in the tank to take your business further, it’s important to use the right tools and techniques. Consider them as higher quality fuel. The better the tools and techniques, the better the results.

Enhance your cash flow forecasting abilities

To make better decisions about how you spend your money so that you can maximize working capital efficiency, you’ve got to have detailed insight into your inflows and outflows. Use modern cash flow forecasting software that provides you with real-time data based on your accounts receivable, accounts payable and purchase orders.

Speed up accounts receivables

Provide clients with incentives for paying early, such as a 2% discount for paying within one week, for example. Use automated invoicing software that sends invoices as soon as work is completed and sends payment reminders as deadlines approach.

Manage accounts payables timing

Consider negotiating longer payment terms with suppliers to give yourself some breathing room. This way, you can preserve both cash and your supplier relationships. Use digital payment tools to avoid payment delays to keep suppliers happy.

Review your inventory strategy

While you can avoid supply chain disruptions and stockouts by holding more inventory, you can also tie up your working capital that way. Use demand forecasting tools to align your inventory with sales patterns, freeing up more working capital.

Working capital management for different business stages

Understanding best practices and tools is valuable, but it’s worth noting that working capital management can look different at different stages of business. As your goals change, your working capital needs naturally change, too. 

Here’s what to keep in mind when it comes to optimizing your working capital depending on your business stage.

Startup

You’re probably dealing with limited cash reserves, unpredictable revenue and high startup costs. Right now, it’s all about survival. Keep your cash burn low, negotiate favourable terms with suppliers and find fast cash inflows like upfront payments. Avoid overstocking inventory to free up cash.

Early growth

Revenue is increasing but it’s still inconsistent, and you’ve also got a growing accounts payable list. The key in this stage is to balance growth with liquidity by formalizing your financial processes and tightening up credit policies for customers. You don’t want to grow too fast without having any cash reserves.

Scaling

Your cash demands are predictable but larger. You’ve also got bigger teams and supplier networks. How can you optimize operational efficiency while still supporting your expansion? Automation tools that streamline AR and AP are crucial here. Additionally, be sure to optimize your inventory turnover so your excess working capital isn’t trapped in stock.

Mature

With stable revenue streams and predictable cash flow patterns, you still run the risk of inefficient capital allocation and process complacency. Consider how you can optimize your cash conversion cycle and look at ways to invest your excess cash into growth opportunities.

Uncertain

If your business is declining, you have to restore liquidity fast. Focus on cash collections by shortening accounts receivable cycles. You can also negotiate temporary extended payables with long-term suppliers. Liquidate excess inventory and freeze non-essential spending so you can deal with any cash shortages and declining margins.

Working capital metrics and KPIs for Canadian businesses

If you’re considering using credit to increase working capital, seize growth opportunities and avoid liquidity crunches, you’ll need to know which working capital metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to track. By keeping an eye on the numbers, you can strengthen working capital without incurring any risks. 

Here are some important metrics and KPIs to consider tracking: 

• Working capital ratio: This tells you whether you can cover your short-term debts with your current assets. 
• Acid test ratio: This excludes inventory from your assets to test your business’s true liquidity. 
• Operating cash flow: This measures the actual cash generated from your core business. 
• Free cash flow: This is the cash left after paying your operational expenses and capital expenditures. 
• Working capital requirement: This is the minimum cash balance that your business has to maintain in order to meet short-term requirements. 
• Net working capital turnover: This measures how efficiently working capital supports sales. 
• Liquidity buffer: This shows you how many days of cash you have on hand. 
• Debt ratio: This is the proportion of your business’ assets that are financed by debt. 
• Cash conversion cycle: This metric measures how long cash is tied up in your operations. 
• Days sales outstanding: This measures the average number of days it takes your business to collect payment after a sale. 
• Accounts receivable turnover ratio: This shows how efficiently your team collects payments. 
• Days payable outstanding: This shows the average time it takes you to pay your suppliers. 
• Accounts payable turnover ratio: This shows how efficiently your team pays suppliers. 
• Days inventory outstanding: This metric shows how long inventory sits before it is sold.
• Inventory turnover ratio: This shows how many times you sell and replace inventory over a specific period.

Seasonal working capital management strategies

If you work in a seasonal business like construction, travel or retail, managing working capital poses additional challenges. You likely have a wide variability between your inflows and outflows during seasonal periods. 

How can you manage your working capital effectively year-round to address receivable delays, unpredictable expenses and operational growth? These strategies help you avoid missed opportunities, higher costs and strained vendor relationships.

Build your cash flow buffer during peak season

Protect your business during the slower months by setting aside a percentage of your peak season profits. Ideally, you’ll want to save three to six months of operating reserve in a separate account from your day-to-day operating account.

Accelerate accounts receivable during peak season

When demand is high, turn sales into cash as quickly as possible. Offer early payment discounts, shorten payment terms or require deposits.

Strategically stretch accounts payable during off season

Preserve cash during the off season by negotiating extended payment terms or aligning payment dates with your revenue cycle. You can also make payments early when you have a cash surplus and take advantage of early payment discounts.

Consider flexible cash-flow support (not long-term debt)

Avoid plugging short-term or seasonal gaps with long-term debt. Instead, look for tools that improve cash-flow timing and give you flexibility without locking you into loans. Options can include operating lines of credit, seasonal working capital solutions, and charge programs that let you pay expenses today while settling the balance later (Float offers 15–30 day terms). This helps smooth cash flow without taking on traditional financing.

Use a rolling 12-month forecast

Seasonal businesses can’t rely on static budgets. You need to have earlier visibility to avoid working capital surprises. It’s best to use a weekly rolling forecast that accounts for your seasonality.

Technology solutions for working capital optimization

Strong working capital management isn’t a one-time task. It’s an ongoing process that demands attention and adaptability. Building a robust month-end review process that looks at revenue, expenses, cash flow timing and working capital exposure can help you spot issues before they become crises. 

Platforms like Float make this even easier. With corporate cards, expense management tools, accounting automations and more, you can have clear visibility into cash flow patterns, upcoming obligations and available credit.  

When choosing technology solutions for working capital optimization, here’s what to focus on.

Corporate cards with custom spend controls

Provide your team with financial flexibility while you maintain control with corporate cards like Float’s. Corporate cards enable your team to move with the fast pace of business, while custom spend controls ensure spending stays within user, department, project and category limits so you can keep your working capital on track.

Real-time expense management

See how your working capital is being used in real-time, not days or weeks after the fact. With Float, employees submit their receipts instantly at the point of spend, and your finance team tracks spending in an intuitive platform.

Integrated accounting

With Float’s direct integrations with QuickBooks, Xero and NetSuite, you can make reconciliation seamless. Shorten month-end workloads and have a clear idea of your working capital at all times, not just at month-end.

Cost-saving financial features

There are many ways to optimize your working capital, and Float offers several of them. You can earn up to 1% cashback on spend, get 4% annualized interest on business account balances of $50,000 or more, and avoid FX fees on USD purchases by using Float’s USD cards. All of this puts more money back in your pocket and leads to a positive net working capital.

Strengthen your financial foundation with Float

Working capital management is part art, part science. Done wisely, it can help you manage expenses, smooth cash flow and position your business for sustainable growth. 

Float helps Canadian businesses tap into the power of smart expense management and strategic credit use. With corporate cards, real-time spend notifications, accounting integrations and more, your business can align credit use with cash flow forecasting and operational needs to maximize liquidity and minimize costs. 

Learn how Float’s modern platform can help you strengthen your financial foundation and easily manage working capital. 

Business travel is surging again—and with many employees still working remotely, managing travel expenses has never been more complicated. 

Chasing down travel receipts, untangling expense reports and manually reconciling scattered spending can turn a simple trip into a full-blown admin project. A better expense management process cuts the chaos. It reduces manual work and makes travel easier for everyone from employees to finance. 

In this guide, we’ll break down how to take control of your travel expenses with insights from Sophie Dillon at Orbit Accountants, whose clients recently overhauled their process using Float. 

Managing travel expenses with a hybrid or fully remote team

For teams that are hybrid or fully remote, companies need two core elements for effective travel expense management:

• A clear travel expense policy outlining what’s covered, what’s not and how reimbursement works. 
• A simple, user-friendly system where employees can submit expenses without friction or delays.

Without this foundation, things can get complicated. Dillon explains that, before Float, her clients dealt with endless receipt-chasing and manual tracking. They were also reluctant to spend out of pocket. For distributed teams, these issues compound quickly—especially when employees are submitting travel expenses from different cities and time zones.

“It’s really important to put processes in place to save time and administrative effort. Integrating our clients’ existing accounting tools with Float enabled them to make the reimbursement process seamless. With increased employee travel, all of this becomes essential,” she says.

Float’s Prepaid cards start at a $0 balance until funds are added, reducing risk during travel. Charge cards draw from your approved limit and include the same real-time controls and spend policies.

Building a strong foundation with clear policies 

A clear business travel expense policy sets expectations up front. It should outline exactly what expenses are covered, the limits attached to them and how employees are reimbursed, giving them the confidence to spend responsibly and making day-to-day travel spending far easier to handle. It helps your team spend with clarity and avoids surprises for finance.

Reimbursable expenses typically include:

• Hotels
• Transportation (flights, taxis and Ubers, rental cars, mileage on a personal car)
• Daily meal per diem
• Office or development-related costs

Be sure to define your approval chain. “Having department-level approvals eases pressure on the finance department,” says Dillon. “Clearly state spending limits on daily meals, alcohol and who qualifies as a business guest at a meal to avoid any confusion.”

Corporate credit card guidelines are also key to managing travel expenses—but they need to come with clear rules. This consistency matters even more for distributed teams who book travel independently. Decide who gets a card, what it can be used for and what the consequences are when rules aren’t followed. 

“When you’re transitioning from out-of-pocket expenses to corporate cards, start with low limits to make sure the team is playing by the rules,” Dillon says. “Once people get used to the process, you can increase the budgets.”

Travel expense policy template for Canadian businesses

Need a travel expense policy template but don’t have the time to create your own? Use the template below to help. You can copy and paste the sections directly into your internal documents, then fill in the blanks based on your own policy. You can also add or remove sections based on your business’s needs.

1. Policy Purpose

This travel expense policy outlines how employees should book, pay for and submit travel-related expenses. It creates consistency, keeps costs in check and keeps reimbursements moving quickly.

2. Eligible Expenses

The company reimburses:

• Airfare/train travel: ____________________________________
• Hotels or accommodation: __________________________________
• Local transportation (rideshare, taxi, rental car): __________________________
• Mileage rate (if using personal vehicle): _________ per km
• Daily meal per diem: __________ per day
• Internet or mobile data for business: ____________________________
• [Insert other eligible expenses]: _______________________________________

3. Non-Reimbursable Expenses

The company will not reimburse: 

• Seat upgrades or luxury add-ons
• Personal entertainment or leisure
• Alcohol beyond approved limits
• Late fees or penalties 
• [Insert other non-reimbursable expenses]: ______________________________

4. Approvals & Spending Limits

• Travel approved by: _________________________________________
• Per-trip limit: ______________________________________________
• Exceptions approved by: _____________________________________
• Remote employees must follow the digital approval workflow: Yes / No 

5. Corporate Card Use (eg. Float)

If provided with a (Float) corporate card, employees must follow these rules:

• Card starts at $0 until funded
• Spending limit: ____________________________________________________
• Merchant restrictions: _______________________________________
• Receipts uploaded via app prompt within: _____________hours
• Cardholder agreement signed: Yes / No

6. Travel Booking Requirements

• Preferred platform: _____________________________________
• Partner integrations used: Yes / No
• Automatic receipt matching (via email forwarding or app): Yes / No

7. Canadian Tax Requirements

Employees need to include the correct tax components on receipts:

GST: ______% | HST: ______% | PST: ______% | QST: ______%

Float automatically supports multi-tax components.

8. Reimbursement Process

• Claims submitted within: _________________ days
• Reimbursements issued via: _________________________________
• Required documentation (check all):
  • Itemized receipts
  • Proof of payment
  • Business purpose statement
  • Approval confirmation

9. Policy Violations

• Non-reimbursed expenses
• Temporary suspension of card privileges
• Internal review or disciplinary action

10. Acknowledgment

Employee Name: ________________________________________
Signature: _____________________________________
Date: ____________________

How to handle international business travel expenses

International travel isn’t much different from domestic. You still need clear rules and good documentation, just with a few extra steps. 

Clarify which international expenses are eligible, including flights, accommodations, local transportation and meals. Try to provide limits on each expense category by major city, so employees have geo-specific guidelines to work with. This includes per-diem limits and approval rules, so employees know exactly what they can book and spend on before leaving the country.

If employees are using corporate cards, be specific about currency exchange and which cards should be used depending on the country of travel (eg. use USD corporate cards only when travelling to the US to avoid unnecessary fx conversion fees). If employees pay out of pocket, spell out when they should submit claims and what they need to include.

Employees travelling internationally should follow the same approval steps used for domestic trips. Using the same steps across all trips avoids confusion.

How to empower teams with the right tools

Some teams still rely on spreadsheets for travel spend, but that’s where mistakes creep in and savings slip away. Float’s expense management tools are built for teams who travel frequently, giving employees a way to pay for hotels, flights and rideshares without using personal cards. Meanwhile, finance departments get real-time insight into every transaction. With modern tools, your team can:

• Snap receipts on the go
• Submit expenses with a few taps
• Set corporate card controls and spending limits
• Enforce policy automatically

Float also offers up to 1% cashback on eligible CAD and USD card spend (with qualifying monthly volume), as well as up to 4% interest on CAD and USD balances held in Float Business Accounts (on balances of $50,000 or more). Its accounting integrations enable fast, accurate reconciliation. For teams travelling across provinces, Float supports Canadian tax components and offers bilingual support, simplifying cross-country work.

“Float offers real-time visibility, prepaid cards and an easy approval system that even works from a phone,” Dillon says. “There are no more paper trails required to maintain travel expenses, and there’s no more financial guesswork.”

If employees forward receipts to Float or upload them via mobile, they are automatically matched to the correct transaction using OCR, making travel documentation far easier to manage.

Pro tip: Customize limits based on role, responsibility and travel frequency. For example, your road warrior in sales may need a higher limit than your team lead who travels once a quarter.

Set up mobile expense management for travelling teams

Most travel spend happens in transit, not behind a desk. A mobile-first workflow helps employees stick to the rules without thinking about it, avoid delays and submit accurate information while details are still fresh. 

With Float, employees can manage the full expense lifecycle from their phone—reviewing card balances, confirming what’s approved and checking spending rules before making a purchase. This reduces back-and-forth with finance during tight travel schedules.

Instead of waiting until later, employees can save the information finance needs right away, keeping submissions clean and complete. Approvers can also review and respond to requests without waiting for desktop access, keeping travel plans moving.

A mobile workflow brings order to travel spending and helps everyone follow the policy naturally, even when they’re moving fast.

Provide regular staff training

Set your team up for success with a proper onboarding session. This is especially important for remote employees, who depend on clear digital training to stay aligned on travel expectations. Explain your policy, show them how to use the tools and create a space for feedback or questions. 

Review policies regularly to keep them relevant as your business grows. Needs evolve—and your policy should too.  

Monitor for compliance and efficiency

Once your travel expense management system is in place, don’t set it and forget it. Live oversight keeps finance connected to in-progress travel spend, even when employees are spread across different regions. Review travel spending often, look for unusual patterns and catch issues early.

Automated checks and digital approvals help teams stay aligned and catch issues early.

“Approval documentation is now a built-in part of our clients’ processes,” Dillon says. “It gives visibility to top management and department heads as to where funds are being spent. This has improved budget management.”

Travel expense automation vs. manual processes: what’s better for business travel?

A major driver for businesses wanting to change or upgrade their business travel expenses? The amount of manual processes they currently work with. 

Manual processes can slow things down, especially when expense details land all at once after a trip. When employees rely on spreadsheets, paper receipts or end-of-trip reporting, finance doesn’t get the information they need until long after a trip ends, making it harder to track budgets or resolve issues.

Automation fixes that delay by pulling in transactions the moment they happen—and blocking non-approved spend before that happens. Systems like Float categorize expenses, apply policy rules and route approvals as soon as a transaction occurs. This reduces admin work and ensures every travel purchase follows the same standards, regardless of where employees are travelling. 

Because Float pulls transaction details directly from corporate cards and syncs them into accounting tools, documentation stays linked to each expense without the extra effort. Finance teams can view spending in a structured way, catch irregularities early and close faster at month-end. 

Automation turns scattered steps into one clear, consistent workflow, easing pressure on finance and giving employees a smoother travel experience. 

Ready to spend smarter? 

Building a strong expense policy, equipping your team with the right tools and keeping a sharp eye on compliance aren’t just best practices—they’re must-haves if you’re serious about managing travel expenses.

When your policies are clear, your team is empowered and your tracking is tight, travel expenses become a well-oiled part of your operations. And with more teams distributed across the country, a unified travel expense workflow keeps things consistent no matter where employees work or travel from.

If you’re still chasing receipts or juggling expense reports, it’s time to give your processes a first-class upgrade. Want your ticket to smarter, faster and more transparent business spending? Book a demo today.

Employee reimbursements may not be the flashiest part of running a business, but they are pretty telling. When handled well, they reinforce trust, improve financial visibility, and keep operations humming. When handled poorly, expect confusion, wasted time, delayed payments, and frustrated employees.

Whether you’re running a lean startup or managing a finance team in a larger business, your approach to reimbursements sets the tone for how your company values time, clarity and accountability.

And compliance around employee reimbursements isn’t just about keeping your books in order—employer responsibilities for timely reimbursements are covered under Canada’s Labour Code. 

We spoke with Mandeep Saini, Co-Founder and Head of Finance Services at BrightIron, a fractional finance, HR, and go-to-market services provider for Canadian startups and scale-ups and Float customer, to get his take on where businesses go wrong and how they can fix it. 

Efficient employee reimbursement strategies for small businesses

Small teams move fast. They’re often short on headcount and time, and processes like employee reimbursements tend to happen on the fly. That ad hoc approach might work at first, but it doesn’t last.

“Manual processes are fine, but they don’t scale—and then they break quickly,” says Mandeep.

Here are Mandeep’s top tips for small business owners who want to avoid the clutter, chaos and confusion that often come with employee expense reimbursements. 

1. Create a simple employee reimbursement policy

Even if your team is only five people strong, put together a one-pager that outlines what can be reimbursed, when to get pre-approval and how to submit expenses. Without it, expectations can vary wildly. One employee might think lunch with a client means a $100 sushi bill, while another sticks to a sandwich. Clear policies prevent those awkward “is this reimbursable?” moments and create consistency across the board. 

2. Automate, don’t email

Reimbursements via email might seem efficient, but they’re a black hole in reality. Once someone hits ‘send’ on their employee reimbursement form and backup docs, the process becomes opaque. Employees are left wondering when (or if) they’ll be reimbursed—and whoever’s managing reimbursements ends up fielding status update requests. Modern expense tools streamline the entire process, from receipt capture to approval and payment. 

3. Make it easy for employees

Missing or incomplete receipts can create headaches during reconciliation and tax time. But most small businesses don’t have the bandwidth to chase them down. A simple fix? Make it easy for employees to upload expenses in real time through a software platform or integrated tool rather than waiting to email or submit physical receipts.

4. Make it mobile-friendly

Reducing obstacles for expense submission is half the battle. Choose a tool that lets employees snap and upload photos of receipts from their phones. It simplifies compliance and ensures that you capture the right data for accurate reporting. Itemized receipts and tax information can go a long way toward keeping you compliant.

5. Don’t DIY forever

Founders often try to save money by handling reimbursements themselves. But time spent approving expenses or chasing receipts could be better invested in growing the business. Even if you’re not ready to hire in-house finance support, outsourcing or automation can buy back critical hours.

Efficient strategies for medium or larger businesses (with in-house finance teams)

As companies grow, so do the complexities of their spending. With more employees and a wider range of expenses, the risks of non-compliance, delays and inconsistencies multiply fast. 

“The biggest concern at scale is efficiency and transparency,” says Mandeep. “Employees need to know what’s allowed, what’s not and where things stand at any point in the process.” 

And finance teams need the same. Here’s how Mandeep suggests you keep employee expense reimbursements running smoothly as your organization scales—without losing control (or sanity). 

1. Use robust systems that help enforce your policies

Larger organizations need software that can handle more complex rules. Whether limiting spend by role, enforcing preferred vendors or flagging claims outside your employee reimbursement policy, modern platforms can keep you compliant without slowing down the process.

2. Set approvals before the spend happens

It’s too late to flag issues after the fact. A pre-approval process helps set expectations and avoid awkward back-and-forth exchanges that create anxiety on both sides. With upfront guardrails in place, employees can confidently make purchases they know will be reimbursed.

3. Increase transparency

No one likes submitting an expense report and hearing crickets for weeks. A good expense management system provides real-time tracking so employees can see when something is pending, approved or paid. That visibility also helps managers spot bottlenecks or delays in the process before they escalate.

4. Align finance with employee experience

Delays in reimbursement can erode employee trust—especially for team members who may not have the financial flexibility to front business costs. A consistent, predictable system supports both employee satisfaction and operational integrity.

5. Match tools to team structure

Choose solutions that integrate seamlessly with your existing workflows and approval processes. If your finance team is juggling multiple tools, consolidating can reduce friction and improve accuracy. The right platform should feel like it’s working for your team, not the other way around.

Reimbursements vs corporate cards: Cost and efficiency analysis

Even with the best policies and tools, reimbursements still create friction. They’re reactive by nature: employees spend first, then finance teams scramble to reconcile later.

Beyond the workflow challenges, reimbursements are also extremely costly. According to the Global Business Travel Association, processing a single properly submitted expense report costs companies an average of $58. Even if your team processes just one report per business day, that’s more than $14,000 per year in administrative overhead.

And that’s before you factor in errors—because mistakes are almost guaranteed. According to the same report, 19% of expense reports contain errors, each requiring about 18 minutes to correct and costing an additional $52. That brings the cost of an error-ridden report to $110. Across a year of business days, those errors alone add roughly $5,500 more.

In total, even a low-volume reimbursement process can cost a business nearly $20,000 annually—much of it tied up in manual corrections, wasted time, and preventable inefficiencies.

What a waste.

Corporate cards flip that equation on its head by enabling approved spending upfront and capturing every transaction in real time. 

Here’s how the two approaches compare: 

Corporate cards not only eliminate the pain of reimbursement but also give finance teams a live snapshot of where money is going. For small businesses and scaling teams, it’s the difference between looking in the rear-view mirror and seeing what’s coming on the road ahead in real-time.

How to create an effective employee reimbursement policy

Even with modern spend tools in place, some out-of-pocket expenses will still happen from time to time—like travel or unique one-off purchases. That’s why every business needs a clear, consistent reimbursement policy.

A good policy answers three key questions:

1. What’s reimbursable? Define allowable expenses upfront. Include common examples like mileage, client meals or event travel and any ranges or caps for each.
2. When and how to get approval. Set pre-approval guidelines so employees know when they need to get the green light before spending.
3. How to submit expenses. Outline the format, required documentation and timeline for submission and payment.

Keep it short, easy to follow and easy to find. No one should have to dig through a 20-page manual to figure out whether their parking receipt qualifies.

Modern expense management platforms make enforcing these policies much easier. They automatically flag claims that fall outside your rules and streamline approvals so finance teams spend less time policing and more time analyzing spend.

For more guidance on policy structure and compliance, check out our best practices for expense policy compliance. 

Digital receipt management for employee reimbursements

If your reimbursement policy sets the rules, your receipt process keeps them enforceable. The challenge is that paper and email receipts are easy to lose, forget or misfile, and that’s a headache for everyone from employees to auditors.

Digital receipt management solves this by automatically capturing and storing expense data. Employees can snap a photo or upload a digital copy from their phone the moment a purchase happens. The system then matches it to the right transaction, eliminating guesswork and reducing follow-ups.

With Float, this process is seamless from start to finish:

• Employees submit a reimbursement with one click. Float’s AI-powered OCR automatically extracts receipt details (merchant, amount, currency, even taxes) so there’s no manual data entry needed.
• Requests are routed to the right reviewer automatically via mobile, email or Slack. Custom multi-level approval workflows ensure the right eyes are always on every expense.
• Reimbursements are paid out directly via EFT (for Canadian employees) or ACH (for US employees), often in as little as one business day. Payments can even be batched to save time.
• Reimbursements sync with your accounting software, complete with GL codes, tax data and embedded receipts for smooth, confident closes.

For finance teams, this means fewer missing receipts, fewer compliance issues and cleaner books at month-end. For employees, it means no more inbox hunting or “I swear I had that receipt somewhere” moments.

And when paired with Float’s corporate cards, finance teams get full visibility into every type of employee spend, all in one place. It’s the simplest way to make expense compliance a non-issue and enforce timely receipt submission from employees.

Reimbursement automation tools and new technologies

Over the past few years, new technologies have popped up to solve specific pain points like receipt management, approvals or payments. As a result, businesses now have more options than ever, but also more complexity to juggle.

Here’s a look at the key categories reshaping how reimbursements get done in 2025:

1. Receipt capture and OCR tools

These tools read receipts automatically using optical character recognition (OCR). Employees snap a photo, and the software extracts merchant, date and amount details with zero manual entry.

2. Policy automation software

Instead of relying on memory or manual checks, these tools apply your reimbursement rules automatically. Out-of-policy claims get flagged, approvals route to the right person and compliance stays airtight.

3. Accounting integrations

APIs that sync with accounting platforms like QuickBooks, Xero or NetSuite help keep everything in one source of truth. Every approved reimbursement is posted automatically, reducing reconciliation time to nearly zero.

4. Payment automation platforms

These handle reimbursements directly by connecting expense systems with payment rails. No more manually scheduling transfers, because employees get paid back quickly and securely.

5. All-in-one expense management systems

This is where things start to click. Instead of juggling five “one-trick” tools, modern businesses are consolidating under unified platforms. Float combines all of the above—receipt capture, policy enforcement, approvals, payments and real-time visibility—into one intuitive system. Not only that, but Float’s corporate cards eliminate the need for reimbursements altogether, empowering employees to spend responsibly while finance teams maintain full control.

Modern alternatives to traditional reimbursements

Even the most efficient reimbursement process still has a flaw: it happens after the spend. Someone pays out of pocket, tracks down receipts and waits for repayment—all while your finance team plays catch-up. 

Modern businesses are rethinking this model. Instead of reacting to expenses after the fact, they’re building systems that prevent reimbursements from being needed in the first place. The shift here is moving from reimbursements to proactive spend management by using corporate cards with built-in spend controls. 

With a card-first approach, employees can make approved business purchases instantly, while every transaction syncs automatically to your expense management system. Finance teams get real-time visibility, and employees never have to wait weeks to get paid back for doing their jobs. 

This results in:

• No more chasing receipts for the finance team
• No more guessing where money went
• No more frustration for employees waiting on reimbursements

It’s faster, fairer and far more scalable than relying on manual expense reports or endless reimbursement cycles.

Float: Streamlined workflows for employee reimbursements

Whether you’re a founder buried in emailed receipts or a finance lead wrangling approvals across departments, it’s time to trade manual reimbursement chaos for a simple system that saves you time and money.

Float offers a complete solution built for small and scaling businesses. With it, employees can spend how and when they need to, without the headaches of traditional reimbursements. 

In Mandeep’s experience, that kind of streamlining makes all the difference. 

“We love Float. It’s cost-efficient, meets the needs of SMBs and the company is constantly innovating,” says Mandeep, Co-Founder and Head of Finance Services at BrightIron. “It’s built from the perspective of a finance person. We were using three or four different tools, and now we can replace them with Float.”

From virtual corporate cards and spend limits to automated receipt tracking and pre-approvals, Float replaces informal, scattered processes with smart, scalable ones. Because efficiency doesn’t just come from speed—it comes from systems that work together. 

Ready to make reimbursements a thing of the past? Book a demo to see how Float automates spend, boosts transparency and helps your team work smarter.

BrightIron is a fractional resource provider to leading startups and SMBs across North America. They offer both functional and leadership talent as-a-service, scaling with your business and delivering the right expertise at the right time.  Their broad range of services include bookkeeping, accounting, fractional CFO, HR support as well as go-to-market expertise.

When it comes to modern business finance, Canadian companies have more choices than ever. Platforms like Float and Venn both promise to simplify spending, improve visibility and give teams control over finances. 

Managing spend effectively has a significant impact on the success of SMBs. Our Financial Outlook of Canadian SMBs in 2025 report shows that 40% of SMBs lack a single source of financial truth, while 30% use financial tools that don’t integrate effectively. This is why the proper solutions are critical for your business. 

But how do you pick what to use? Below, we break down how Float and Venn each stack up across key areas like cards, automation and credit access, to help you choose the right fit for your team. This Float vs. Venn comparison highlights what sets each platform apart and which one can best support your business growth.

Understanding the platforms

Float is a complete financial platform built for Canadian businesses. It combines corporate cards, bill payments, reimbursements and high-yield business accounts into one system. This enables finance teams to control spend, move money instantly and earn up to 4% interest on cash balances.

Venn offers digital business accounts at only 2% interest and prepaid Venn corporate cards designed for smaller teams. Its focus is on quick card issuance and multicurrency transactions, but it lacks the automation, credit access and integrations that larger or growing companies often need.

Think of it this way: While both platforms can get you started, Float also helps you scale efficiently and earn up to double the interest rate, all while maintaining financial control and visibility.

Float vs Venn at a glance

Business accounts, interest rates and FX

With the basics out of the way, let’s get into one of the most important parts of any finance platform: how your money is held, how it grows and what it costs to move.

When you compare the two platforms side-by-side, the biggest early difference is how each handles business accounts and the returns you earn on your cash.

Venn recently announced a flat 2% interest rate for USD and CAD balances, which is a helpful step up from the 0% interest many digital solutions offer. But this rate doesn’t change based on balance, and their FX pricing varies significantly based on which plan you’re on. Lower-tier plans come with higher FX markups, and only Venn’s most expensive plan offers something close to Float’s pricing.

Float, on the other hand, offers two interest tiers, both above Venn’s:

• 2% on both USD and CAD balances under $50,000
• 4% on balances $50,000 and above

These high-yield business accounts give Canadian companies a way to earn meaningfully more on their cash—without lockups, monthly fees or complexity.

Float also keeps cross-border operations simple. You can convert between CAD and USD instantly at an all-in 0.25% FX rate (roughly 90% cheaper than traditional banks) which is available on every plan. Venn’s lower-tier plans have higher FX rates, which can make a noticeable difference for teams that pay US vendors or operate across currencies.

When it comes to security, all Float funds are held 1:1 in trust at a Tier 1 Canadian bank and are eligible for CDIC protection up to the applicable limits through our banking partner, adding another layer of safety for your business.

If you’re looking for stronger returns on your cash, predictable FX and a more complete Canadian business account experience, Float has a clear advantage.

Corporate cards

Now let’s move from managing funds to controlling day-to-day spend, starting with corporate cards. Both platforms offer physical and virtual corporate cards, but how they work is where the gap widens.

The Venn corporate card option is prepaid only, meaning funds must be loaded in advance. That can limit flexibility, especially for companies managing multiple teams,  recurring vendor payments and higher transaction volumes.

Float’s cards, on the other hand, offer both prepaid and charge options, each tailored to different business needs. This means businesses can access the model that best fits their stage of growth, whether they’re optimizing cash flow through prepaid cards or unlocking up to $3 million in unsecured credit with Float’s charge program. With either funding model, you can issue unlimited cards in CAD or USD and set custom spending limits, all accessed without a personal guarantee. Every card earns up to 1% cashback on spend over $25,000 per month, helping your business reinvest in its growth.

For finance teams managing budgets, reimbursements, and compliance, Float’s all-in-one platform brings together cards, bill payments, and expense management,  replacing manual work with automation and visibility.

The takeaway: Float gives Canadian businesses a flexible, future-ready spend management platform, offering prepaid and charge cards under one roof, faster access to credit and full automation to eliminate manual top-ups or funding delays.

Expense management

Expense management is where Float really shines because it’s designed for both finance teams and employees. The key difference? Robust expense management software that connects seamlessly with accounting systems like QuickBooks, Xero and Netsuite (as well as offering a custom API for additional integrations), which gives finance teams not just visibility throughout the month but also a truly streamlined and easy month-end. On the employee side, Float’s mobile-first workflow lets them submit receipts the moment they spend, not days later. This is in addition to helping reduce friction and finance team time spent chasing receipts. 

Let’s dig a little deeper into this workflow.

Float automates the entire expense process from swipe to reconciliation. Receipts are captured automatically through email, SMS or the Float mobile app, where employees can snap a photo the moment they spend—no more chasing down missing receipts or guessing who bought what.

Float’s OCR technology reads the receipt, pulls key details, and suggests the correct GL code, category, and vendor, reducing manual work and speeding up reconciliation. Transactions sync instantly to your accounting system (QuickBooks, Xero, or NetSuite), and teams can set multi-level approval workflows, merchant restrictions, and category controls, all in real time. Finance leaders get visibility into every dollar spent without waiting until month-end to see where the money went, because the heavy lifting happens automatically.

Venn, by comparison, offers basic spend tracking and more limited accounting integrations. It works well for small teams that want to monitor card usage, but not for those looking to automate their entire expense process.

On average, Float saves finance teams about eight hours a month in manual reconciliation and data entry. That’s one full day every month-end. On top of that, employees save an average of two hours per month by submitting receipts immediately through Float’s mobile-first workflow. These automation and time-saving capabilities are among the top features cited by customers.

Usability and integrations

Both Float and Venn aim to simplify financial management. But Float’s platform goes further, especially for Canadian teams using accounting software.

Float integrates directly with QuickBooks Online, Xero and NetSuite. You can also connect via API or export custom CSV files for use in other systems. Managers can approve expenses or upload receipts right from the Float mobile app (available on iOS and Android).

Venn connects to QuickBooks and Xero at a basic level but lacks a mobile app and advanced automation.

And when you need support, Float’s Canadian-based team is available by phone, SMS, chat or email with no ticket queues or long waits.

Pricing overview

Both platforms use tiered pricing, but what’s included differs significantly. Venn’s plans start with a free Essentials tier and scale up to Plus ($40/month) and Pro ($100/month). Features like lower FX rates or free EFT transfers are only available with higher plans.

Float’s pricing starts at $0 for the Essential plan, $10 per user/month for Professional and custom quotes for Enterprise. Every plan includes CAD and USD accounts with market-leading interest rates, no EFT or ACH transfer fees and transparent FX pricing.

There are no surprise markups, no hidden costs and no minimum balances. Float’s automation, cashback and yield allow you to earn interest and save precious time. 

Unlike the competition, Float gives growing teams the best of both worlds: simplicity and scalability. It’s designed for business and finance leaders who want effortless spend management today, plus the flexibility, control and automation to keep pace with tomorrow’s growth.

Best fit scenarios

No two businesses’ needs are the same. If you’re comparing Float vs. Venn, here’s a quick guide to who each platform serves best.

Choose Float if you:

• Run a growing or multi-user business
• Want to streamline month-end and save ~8 hours per month
• Want to simplify the end-to-end movement and reconciliation of funds
• Need credit access, automation or detailed spend analytics
• Want to earn market-leading interest on your cash while keeping it liquid
• Manage spend and vendors primarily in CAD and USD
• Want your team working with best-in-class, bilingual support

Choose Venn if you:

• Have a small team with straightforward spending
• Spend higher in international currencies outside of USD and CAD
• Don’t need access to credit
• Don’t need robust expense management or direct accounting integrations beyond QuickBooks and Xero advanced automation

Both can simplify business spending, but only Float offers the power, flexibility and control to scale with your company.

Float vs. Venn: Making the decision

The right choice depends on your business goals. If you’re ready for a smart, integrated finance platform built to serve and grow with Canadian businesses from coast to coast (yes, including Quebec), Float is the clear pick.

In the end, Canadian teams want a finance tool that’s fast, transparent and built for how they actually work. Float checks all three boxes.

Float helps Canadian businesses manage spend, automate month-end, access credit and earn on their cash, all from one intuitive dashboard.

Discover how Float can help your business simplify finance and scale with confidence.