How to Build Your Own Brex

Automated audit agent that continuously monitors company expenses according to internal processes and company policies. The agent categorizes potential violations by risk level, identifies patterns of non-compliance, and generates audit-ready reports. Runs in the background to ensure every transaction meets policy requirements without manual review by the finance team.

Machine learning algorithms automatically categorize transactions based on merchant information, spending patterns, receipt data, and company-specific historical patterns with approximately 95% accuracy. Categories map to GL codes, departments, and cost centers defined in your accounting system. Custom rules can override AI suggestions for specific merchants or transaction types.

AI-powered system that automatically detects potential compliance violations across all expenses by analyzing spending patterns, receipt data, and policy rules. Flags suspicious transactions such as split purchases to avoid approval thresholds, duplicate submissions, personal expenses on corporate cards, and weekend or holiday spending anomalies. Generates risk-scored reports for finance team review.

Intelligent review agent that auto-approves low-risk expenses and requests based on policy rules and historical patterns. High-risk or unusual expenses are escalated to human reviewers with context about why the transaction was flagged. The agent follows up with employees who are out of compliance, requesting missing documentation or explanations before escalating to managers.

OCR technology scans receipts in any format and automatically matches them to corresponding card transactions with high accuracy. Employees can text, email, or photograph receipts and Brex AI handles the matching without manual intervention. The system generates IRS-compliant and audit-ready receipts electronically when merchant receipts are unavailable, ensuring complete documentation for every transaction.

Transfer Brex rewards points to major airline loyalty programs for premium travel redemptions. All Brex accounts can redeem points for transfers to airline partners, enabling employees to earn business travel rewards that can be used for upgrades and personal flights. Transfer ratios and partner availability are managed through the rewards dashboard.

Add Brex physical and virtual cards to Apple Pay and Google Pay digital wallets for contactless mobile payments. Employees can tap to pay at any NFC-enabled terminal without carrying a physical card. Digital wallet integration works alongside all existing card controls and spend limits set by administrators.

Redeem Brex points for Out-of-Home advertising including billboards, transit ads, and airport displays through the Billboard Rewards program. This unique redemption option lets startups convert everyday spending into brand awareness campaigns. Additional premium redemption options include executive coaching sessions and team offsite experiences.

Set built-in monthly limits for each employee card that automatically reset on the first of each month. Limits can be configured as hard limits that decline transactions or flexible limits that allow overspending with approval. Admins can set per-transaction limits, daily limits, and category-specific restrictions to maintain granular control over employee spending.

Issue corporate cards to employees in 50+ countries with local currency billing, eliminating intercompany transfers and foreign exchange fees. Cards are issued through Mastercard's global network with best-in-class international acceptance. Subsidiaries can pay statements from their local bank accounts, and spending limits can be set in over 100 currencies.

Automated accounting workflows that categorize, code, and reconcile transactions in real time as they occur. Custom rules automatically assign GL accounts, departments, cost centers, and classes to transactions based on merchant, category, and employee. Eliminates hours of manual categorization work during monthly close by having expenses pre-coded and ready for export to your ERP.

Real-time transaction processing means expenses are already categorized, coded, and reconciled when accounting teams begin their monthly close. Automated receipt collection and matching eliminates the chase for missing documentation. Pre-coded transactions reduce month-end close from days to hours by eliminating the bulk of manual categorization work.

Automatic bank feeds push Brex transaction data into connected accounting platforms in real time. Supports bank feed connections with QuickBooks Online, Xero, and other accounting software that accept bank feed imports. Transaction details, receipts, and coding flow through the feed so accountants can reconcile without manual data entry.

Import custom and default fields from HRIS systems like Workday, ADP, Gusto, and Paycor into Brex for richer transaction coding. Fields such as employee name, job code, division, and project can be pulled from HR systems and applied to expenses. Field conditions can be set based on role, location, and budget to refine spend classifications automatically.

Export coded transactions as journal entries directly to connected ERP systems including NetSuite, QuickBooks, Sage Intacct, Workday, Oracle Fusion, and Microsoft Dynamics 365. Exports include all GL coding, department tags, custom dimensions, and supporting documentation. Automated export schedules can be configured for daily, weekly, or on-demand synchronization.

Send ACH payments to domestic vendors with processing times of 2-5 banking days when funded from an external bank account. ACH payments are free with no per-transaction fees, making them ideal for recurring vendor payments and lower-urgency disbursements. Batch ACH payments can be scheduled and automated for regular payment cycles.

Artificial intelligence automatically captures, reads, and processes invoices from email, uploads, or integrations. AI extracts line items, amounts, vendor details, payment terms, and GL coding from invoices in any format. The system learns from corrections over time to improve accuracy and reduce manual data entry for recurring vendors.

End-to-end accounts payable automation that handles the complete lifecycle from invoice receipt to vendor payment. Pay vendors via ACH, wire transfer, check, or virtual card from any linked bank account. Supports domestic payments with 0-1 business day wire processing and international payments to 50+ countries in local currency with no hidden fees.

Configure rule-based approval workflows for bill payments with if-this-then-that logic based on vendor, amount, department, and expense category. Multi-level approvals route high-value payments through appropriate stakeholders while auto-approving routine payments that meet policy criteria. Bulk approval capabilities allow finance teams to review and approve multiple bills simultaneously.

Send same-day domestic wire transfers to US-based vendors with 0-1 business day processing times. Wires can be funded from your Brex business account or any linked external bank account. No transaction fees for wires sent from the Brex business account, making it cost-effective for high-value vendor payments.

Create AI-powered custom rules that automatically categorize, route, and enforce policies on transactions matching specific criteria. Rules can be based on merchant, amount, category, time of day, location, and other transaction attributes. The AI learns from manual overrides to suggest new rules that reflect actual company spending patterns and policy preferences.

Configurable multi-level approval chains for expenses, card requests, reimbursements, and bill payments. Approval routing is based on amount thresholds, expense categories, departments, and custom rules. Supports parallel approvals where multiple reviewers work simultaneously, delegation options when approvers are on leave, and automated escalation for overdue approvals.

Create, define, and provision custom user roles with fine-grained permissions to read, create, and update any object in Brex. Track all available roles, audit who has access to each role, and adjust permissions as organizational needs change. Granular permission controls ensure employees only see and interact with the financial data relevant to their responsibilities.

Intelligent approval routing that automatically adjusts the approval chain based on transaction characteristics. Different approvers can be assigned for specific expense types such as bill payments, reimbursements, and card expenses. Amount-based routing sends low-value expenses through streamlined one-step approvals while high-value transactions require multi-level sign-off.

Comprehensive spend control framework that combines card limits, merchant category restrictions, geographic restrictions, and time-based controls. Set controls at the card level, employee level, department level, or company-wide. Custom alerts flag unusual activity patterns while automatic controls prevent overspending before it happens.

Unified expense management platform that supports operations in 200+ countries and 60+ currencies with localized policies, multilingual dashboard support, and region-specific compliance features. International employees can submit expenses in their local currency while finance teams view consolidated reports in the company's base currency. Local per-diem rates and tax rules are automatically applied based on expense location.

Enterprise tier supports local collections enabling international subsidiaries to collect payments from their local bank accounts. This eliminates the need for intercompany fund transfers and reduces administrative overhead for multi-entity organizations. Local collections work alongside local reimbursements and local card issuance for a complete in-country financial experience.

Subsidiaries pay card statements and reimbursements from their local bank accounts in local currency, eliminating intercompany transfers and foreign exchange fees. Each entity settles independently rather than routing all payments through a central treasury. Reduces administrative overhead and currency risk for multinational organizations with distributed finance operations.

Track and manage budgets in over 100 currencies with real-time conversion to the company's reporting currency. Department heads can view budget performance in their local currency while central finance sees consolidated figures. Currency fluctuations are automatically accounted for in budget vs. actuals reporting to provide accurate spend visibility.

Manage spend across all global subsidiaries from a single dashboard, both collectively and independently. Store and apply expense policies, approvals, and card configurations for each entity while maintaining consolidated reporting at the parent level. Essentials supports up to 2 entities including one global entity, Premium supports multiple entities, and Enterprise supports unlimited US and global entities.

Centralized administration console for managing all aspects of the Brex platform including user provisioning, card issuance, policy configuration, integration settings, and security controls. Provides a single pane of glass for finance administrators to monitor the health of their spend management program across all entities and departments.

Deep, bidirectional integrations with major ERP systems that go beyond basic data export. Import accounting fields, projects, customers, entities, and custom dimensions from your ERP into Brex while exporting coded transactions and journal entries back. Premium and Enterprise plans support customizable field mappings and automated synchronization schedules.

Integrate Brex with HR information systems to automate user provisioning, role assignment, and department mapping based on HR data. When employees are hired, promoted, or terminated in the HRIS, their Brex access and permissions update automatically. Supports custom field syncing for job codes, cost centers, and organizational hierarchies.

AI-native platform layer that connects all Brex products through intelligent automation, eliminating manual financial workflows across expense management, bill pay, accounting, and compliance. The platform uses agents to answer policy questions, enforce rules, flag exceptions, and generate insights so finance teams can focus on strategic work rather than transaction processing.

Connect Brex to thousands of apps through no-code automation platforms Zapier and Workato. Set up custom transaction alerts, payment notifications, and data sync workflows via email, Slack, Microsoft Teams, or WhatsApp. Create automated workflows that trigger actions in other systems when Brex events occur, without writing any code.

Access aggregated and anonymized spend data from Brex's customer base to benchmark your company's spending against industry peers. Monthly Benchmark reports show trends in SaaS spending, AI tool adoption, travel costs, and category-level spend across the Brex ecosystem. Helps finance leaders understand whether their spending patterns are aligned with market norms.

Generate compliance-focused reports covering policy violations, exception rates, receipt collection compliance, and approval turnaround times. Reports help finance teams demonstrate internal controls effectiveness to auditors and identify areas where policy adjustments could improve compliance rates. Exportable in formats compatible with external audit tools.

Customizable dashboards showing spending patterns across departments, categories, vendors, and time periods with real-time data updates. Pre-built reports cover common finance needs while custom report builder allows ad-hoc analysis. Reports can be scheduled for automatic delivery and exported in multiple formats for board presentations and audit documentation.

Visual analytics showing spend breakdown by vendor, category, department, employee, and time period with drill-down capabilities. Identify top vendors, fastest-growing expense categories, and unusual spending patterns at a glance. Trend analysis shows month-over-month and year-over-year comparisons to help finance teams spot anomalies and optimize budgets.

Automated alerts for unusual spending patterns including transactions outside normal business hours, purchases in unexpected geographic locations, split transactions that appear designed to avoid approval thresholds, and sudden increases in spending by individual employees or departments. Alerts are configurable by sensitivity level and notification channel.