Corporate Card Misuse Prevention: 2026 Control Strategies for Canadian Businesses

Corporate cards can be a powerful tool—if you set the right guardrails from the start. Ideally, they empower your team, protect your bottom line and help you avoid headaches from corporate card misuse and month-end mystery charges. 

Brian Didsbury, CPA and Senior Manager/Controller at LiveCA, understands the realities behind small business owners’ common concerns about corporate card use. In his experience with the Canadian online accounting firm, Brian has seen both sides: advising clients and managing his own team’s finance operations.  

“We rarely see employees misusing cards egregiously,” says Brian. “It’s more about small slip-ups or processes that need tightening.” 

With the right tips, you can feel confident issuing company credit cards and minimize the risks that come with it. In this guide, Brian shares practical strategies to help small and medium-sized businesses confidently issue corporate cards, whether you’re issuing your first card or tightening up an existing program. We’ll also cover advanced spending controls and monitoring technologies as well as what to do if you notice corporate card misuse.

The importance of safeguarding company resources

The financial risks tied to corporate card misuse can be real, but they’re often preventable. Even honest mistakes can rack up a hefty tab. Left unchecked, unclear spending practices, forgotten software subscriptions and small recurring charges can quietly eat into your profits.  

And this proves true throughout Brian’s experience. Brian notes that most issues aren’t deliberate fraud, but are often errors like forgetting to cancel a subscription after a free trial, which can add up fast. Proactive policies and smart tech controls can save businesses from these silent drains. Having peace of mind is priceless, after all. 

However, outright corporate card misuse does happen, and it’s wise to incorporate employee credit card fraud prevention strategies into your planning. The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) attributes 32% of occupational fraud to a lack of internal controls, while 19% results from overriding existing controls.

6 steps to sidestep corporate card misuse

Handing out company cards shouldn’t feel like tossing cash into the wind. You can share spending power with just a few smart moves—without losing control of your business expenses.

Here are six best practices that will help you prevent employee misuse, tighten your processes and keep your finances running like a well-oiled machine. (Bonus: You and your finance team will sleep better at night, too.)

Step 1: Develop a comprehensive corporate card policy

Good intentions and the honour system aren’t enough. A strong and well-documented expense policy is critical. Brian recommends that the policy clearly state who is eligible for a corporate card, its acceptable uses and the expected handling of card transactions.  

“At LiveCA, the employee handbook provides clear documentation outlining when you can request a card, what you can spend it on and what happens if you don’t meet expectations,” says Brian.  

Defining acceptable and prohibited expenses upfront leaves little room for creative interpretations later, like deciding that sushi lunches are a necessary operational cost.

Step 2: Implement spending limits and controls

The smart playbook for corporate card management involves clearly communicated expectations in advance. For example, no one needs a $700 emergency desk chair ordered at midnight, but we bet it’s happened. 

LiveCA uses Float to create spending limits for each situation: loading specific amounts, restricting spending categories (like only allowing hotel and meals during travel) and setting expiry dates so cards automatically reset to zero after an event. 

“You can’t just hand someone a card with a $5,000 limit and hope for the best,” he says. “We preload it, limit the categories and limit the time. It gives autonomy without giving a blank cheque.”  

Automation also plays a key role in corporate card misuse prevention, helping flag risky transactions and prevent runaway charges before they snowball. 

Step 3: Enforce an expense approval workflow

Approval processes can feel like red tape when they’re overly complex. Brian recommends keeping corporate card management practical.  

“Set a dollar threshold where a second approver steps in, but keep it simple,” he says.

At LiveCA, expenses under $10,000 need just one approver; anything above that triggers a second level of review. This smart approach balances control with efficiency, so employees don’t wait weeks for basic approvals or grow old trying to expense a single conference ticket. 

Step 4: Monitor transactions and conduct regular audits

You can’t fix what you don’t see. Brian’s team conducts monthly variance analyses, reviewing all software and discretionary spending line by line.  

“It gives us a clear audit trail. If you gave someone $100 to trial software but they spent it on something else, we can spot it,” he says.  

Regular transaction monitoring and smart tools that surface anomalies help businesses catch problems early, before they become costly habits. 

Step 5: Educate employees on policy and procedures

Skipping training is an expensive gamble. Brian points out that even the best policy is useless if employees don’t know how to follow it. Luckily, Float makes onboarding easy. “We relied on Float’s help centre materials. They’ve got great tutorials and templates,” he says.  

Companies should incorporate card usage policies into employee onboarding, revisit them at key milestones, and encourage a culture of asking questions if employees are unsure. 

Step 6: Respond appropriately to unauthorized use

Mistakes happen, and occasionally, so does misuse. Employee credit card fraud prevention is easier when internal controls help you respond promptly. If something looks suspicious, Brian recommends investigating carefully. “First, make sure you’ve got your facts. Look at the transaction, the support documents, the policy,” he says.

If you confirm unauthorized use, the next step is to lean on your documented policies to take action. That could mean revoking card access, restricting future travel privileges or, in more serious cases, formal disciplinary action.  

“Having a clear policy allows you to say, ‘Here are the expectations, and here are the consequences.’ It shouldn’t come as a surprise,” Brian says. 

Advanced spending controls and monitoring technologies

Here’s the thing: corporate card programs and policies will only take you so far if you’re handling corporate card misuse manually or with basic tools. To truly have full control over corporate card use, it’s vital to use advanced spending controls and monitoring technologies. Float’s corporate card, for example, offers comprehensive visibility and control into your company’s card use, so you can catch any out-of-line spending as transactions occur.

When you’re looking for tools with advanced spending controls and monitoring solutions, here’s what to focus on.

Real-time transaction monitoring

You don’t want to see expenses a month from now—you want the ability to track them as they happen. Choose tools like Float that show you spending in real time. Alerts for out-of-policy transactions are also key so your finance team can get spending back on track ASAP.

Customizable spend controls

Opt for tools that let you set spend limits by user, team or department so you can keep a handle on spending based on your organizational goals. Float also lets you  add spend controls by merchant category so users can only make purchases for specific business needs.

Automated expense reconciliation

Reconciliation is a necessary evil that no finance team member enjoys. But with the right tools, you can make it less painful. For example, Float can suggest rules to auto-categorize recurring purchases, such as rideshares being tagged to the correct expense category. This allows you to easily spot any unusual transactions.

Instant receipt capture

Put your hand up if you’ve ever had to chase down an employee and beg them to submit their expense receipts. Avoid the rigamarole with tools that let employees capture receipts and submit them instantly from their phones. Monitoring corporate card spend just got easier.

Built-in approvals

Automating the expense approval process keeps the business moving and reduces the number of headaches. Tools like Float offer configurable routing rules and multi-level approval workflows that automate low-value approvals and escalate higher-value spend.

Robust reporting and analytics

Having a breakdown of spend by individual, team, project or category gives you a quick way to spot trends and anomalies. Plus, it’s not just handy for spotting corporate card misuse—it’s also an excellent way to determine how to optimize company spend overall.

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Real-time spending controls vs. traditional monthly reviews

All of these advanced controls point to one major advantage: real-time oversight is far more effective than waiting for a month-end statement. Let’s dig into why.

With traditional corporate cards, you receive a monthly statement that outlines spend. It’s essentially accurate and up-to-date for one day and one day only. The remainder of the month, you’re basically flying blind with no clue as to who is spending what, where and how much. If there’s corporate card misuse, you may miss it as you wait for month-end.

With real-time spend controls and visibility, you have insight into your team’s corporate card use as it happens—there’s no waiting till the end of the month. 

Additionally, with a traditional corporate card, spend controls are typically set by the bank once. With tools like Float, you can set custom spending limits per user, card, project or category whenever you want. This means that as your business priorities evolve, you can update controls to keep pace, so your team has access to funds to complete their tasks. 

Similarly, you can revoke access to funds instantly with real-time spend controls if you spot any corporate card misuse. Tools like Float offer additional real-time security measures, such as instant freezing and multi-factor authentication on the platform controls, so that only authorized individuals have the ability to spend or manage spend controls on behalf of the company. You don’t need to wait to speak with someone at a bank to adjust permissions or controls. They’re right at your fingertips.

How to investigate and handle corporate card misuse

As Brian said, most instances of corporate card misuse are not deliberate. Usually, they are as a result of poor card management processes. Regardless of the reason for corporate card misuse, there are key steps you need to take to investigate and address the issue effectively. 

1. Confirm the corporate card misuse

If you suspect corporate card misuse has taken place, check and double check the numbers. You’ll need to review the receipt and your corporate card policy to ensure the expense was out of line. You may also want to contact the vendor to make sure the expense has in fact taken place. 

2. Understand the context

Here is where you’ll have to determine whether or not the corporate card misuse was accidental or purposeful. Have a conversation with the employee who made the purchase in question to understand the situation. It could very well be that the misuse was not deliberate. For example, the employee may have forgotten to cancel the company’s software subscription. Or, they may have confused their corporate card with their personal card if both were kept in the same place in their wallet. Keep an open mind and don’t start the conversation with an accusatory tone. 

3. Document the issue in detail

Having a paper trail is essential here. Gather clear documentation of the corporate card misuse, including the conversation you have with the employee. This is especially important if you plan to take disciplinary action. 

4. Determine your response

How you respond to corporate card misuse will depend heavily on the context. If it truly was an accident, your response may involve providing additional training to employees on managing corporate card spending. If the misuse was deliberate, your actions may include asking for repayment, revoking card privileges or taking further disciplinary action. 

5. Review corporate card policies with your team

Use this moment to retrain your entire team on your corporate card policy. Go over each key aspect with them so there is no question about what constitutes acceptable spending. This step can save you awkward conversations in the long run! 

6. Re-assess spend controls and processes

It’s a good idea to review your corporate card spend controls to make sure they still align with your business priorities. Tighten your spend approval processes and make updates as necessary. This is especially important if the corporate card misuse could have been stopped if stronger controls and processes had been in place.

Employee education and corporate card misuse prevention 

One of the most effective ways to prevent corporate card misuse is to make sure your employees understand your expense policy. Here’s how to ensure your team knows what is an acceptable expense—and what is not!

Make your corporate card policy easily accessible

You’ve gone through the trouble of creating a detailed and comprehensive corporate card policy. Don’t hide it in your internal documents where employees have to search hard to find it. Make the policy available to all staff, both in paper and digital formats. Remind them where to find it regularly.

Provide mandatory in-person and online corporate card policy training

Offer in-person and online corporate card policy training for your whole team, whether they currently have access to a corporate card or not. Be sure to provide multiple training sessions throughout the year, so new employees and those who couldn’t make the last session have an opportunity to learn the ins and outs.

Test employees on their corporate card policy knowledge

Want to take things a step further? Include short quizzes in your training sessions to evaluate employees’ understanding of your corporate card expense policy. If you notice any knowledge gaps based on quiz scores, you’ll know where to focus the content of your next training session.

Discuss the consequences of corporate card misuse

In addition to teaching employees about the rules you expect them to abide by when spending on behalf of the company, talk about what happens if someone violates your policies. It’s important for employees to fully understand the consequences of their actions—accidental or deliberate.

Legal and HR considerations for card misuse cases

Now, let’s get into the stuff no one wants to talk about. When it comes to corporate card misuse cases, you may have to deal with some legal implications and human resources actions. It’s not going to be fun and it’s most likely going to be stressful—so preventative action is crucial (like with all the strategies above!). If you do get to this point, however, here’s what you need to know: 

• Follow employment law obligations: If you’re dealing with employee dismissal or discipline, it’s vital to understand local employment and labour laws to make sure your actions are reasonable. 
• Have a detailed paper trail: You will need audit logs, receipts, expense reports, employee communications and more to demonstrate that the employee violated your corporate card policy. 
• Consider tax complications: Misclassified personal or business expenses can result in CRA audits. As a result, there could be some financial penalties you may have to deal with. 
• Treat corporate card misuse consistently: Your human resources team must handle similar cases in the same way, avoiding bias or personal issues. 

The good news? There are several preventative actions you can take to avoid corporate card misuse in the first place. With the right tools, like Float, you can tighten compliance without adding friction, building a corporate card program that’s secure, predictable and easy to manage.

Building trust and control with Float

With a clear policy, smart controls and the right tools, business owners can confidently manage company spending.

Float is a modern expense management software platform with one of the best corporate cards in Canada built for Canadian businesses. It streamlines finance operations by combining real-time spend tracking, unlimited virtual and physical corporate cards and seamless accounting integrations. 

Platforms like Float help businesses implement these best practices, making it easier to empower teams without opening the door to risk. With built-in approval workflows, automated receipt capture and fast reimbursements, Float makes it easy to control company spending.

As Brian says, “Start with trust and build good controls, and you’ll rarely have a problem you can’t handle.”

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