Maintain a purchase access register and review exceptions
Give authorised purchasers clear boundaries and trace every transaction to evidence and approval.
- Preparation
- Policy setup followed by scheduled access and statement reviews.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Task
- Control purchase access
Before you start
Get what you need before you start
- Bring the approved purchase policy, issuer terms, authorised users, approvers, and accountant requirements.
- Choose who may grant, change, and remove access.
Steps
Work through the method
Use the listed inputs and tools. Check the evidence when you need to verify a step.
Create the access register
Record each user, business purpose, limit, payment method, approver, start date, and review date. Link the approved policy and issuer terms.
Why it matters: A visible boundary gives each purchase and access change an accountable owner.
- Input
- The approved policy, issuer terms, and authorised-user decisions.
- Output
- A current purchase access register.
Tools in this stepEvidence for this step
QuickBooks Online documents In house accountant, Bookkeeper, accounts receivable, accounts payable, Bill Pay, Workforce, expense-submitter, and restricted project roles with different permissions.
Intuit QuickBooks Support: US edition, updated 8 September 2026; “Common billable roles” and “Common non-billable roles”, including Bookkeeper, Accounts receivable manager, Accounts payable manager, and Expense submitter.
Attribute and support each purchase
Record the purchaser and business purpose, attach the checked evidence, and send the transaction to its approver.
Why it matters: Attribution and evidence allow the approver and accountant to review the real purchase.
- Input
- The transaction, purchaser statement, and source document.
- Output
- An attributed purchase with evidence and approval state.
Tools in this stepQuickBooks OnlineEvidence for this step
QuickBooks Online can receive a receipt image, extract data for review, and add or match the document to a transaction.
Intuit QuickBooks Support: US edition, updated 5 August 2026; introduction, “Forward images of receipts and bills to QuickBooks”, and “Next steps”.IRS Publication 583 describes keeping a transaction summary and orderly supporting documents for income and expenses.
Internal Revenue Service: Publication 583 (revision December 2024), pages 11–12; “Kinds of Records To Keep” and “Supporting Documents”.
Review statements, exceptions, and recurring items
Compare purchases with the statement, route exceptions, and review recurring items by owner and next renewal date. Ask the accountant to review expense treatment.
Why it matters: Regular review finds missing attribution and access that no longer serves its approved purpose.
- Input
- The statement, register, purchase records, and recurring-item list.
- Output
- A reconciled review with access changes and owned exceptions.
Tools in this stepQuickBooks OnlineEvidence for this step
QuickBooks Online supports scheduled, reminder, and unscheduled recurring transaction templates, and saves recurring invoices as drafts for review and finalisation.
Intuit QuickBooks Support: US edition, updated 5 August 2026; “Create a new recurring transaction from scratch”, including template types and the recurring-invoice draft note.QuickBooks Online documents In house accountant, Bookkeeper, accounts receivable, accounts payable, Bill Pay, Workforce, expense-submitter, and restricted project roles with different permissions.
Intuit QuickBooks Support: US edition, updated 8 September 2026; “Common billable roles” and “Common non-billable roles”, including Bookkeeper, Accounts receivable manager, Accounts payable manager, and Expense submitter.
Success checks
Check the result before you finish
- Every purchaser has an approved purpose, limit, approver, and review date.
- Every transaction has attribution, evidence, and an approval state.
- Statement exceptions and recurring items have owners and next actions.
Failure modes
Watch for these problems
- A shared method hides the purchaser. Require individual attribution.
- Tool permissions replace company policy. Apply both boundaries.
- A QuickBooks role is treated as a card limit, issuer liability rule, insurance control, or company authorisation. Keep those decisions in their proper policies and systems.
- An exception changes employment status automatically. Send it to HR or legal.
Tools
Choose the tools you need
Tool
QuickBooks Online
An accounting workspace for receivables reports, invoices, receipt review, reconciliation, exports, recurring templates, and limited user roles.
Check fit, limits and pricingSources
Read the sources behind this practice
Check what each source supports and where the advice has limits.
- Reddit r/smallbusiness: One credit card for multiple employeesFirst-hand small-business owner account · Published 26 November 2025
- Internal Revenue Service: Publication 583: Starting a Business and Keeping RecordsUS federal recordkeeping guidance · Publication date unavailable
- Intuit QuickBooks Support: Email receipts and billsOfficial product documentation · Publication date unavailable
- Intuit QuickBooks Support: User roles and access rightsOfficial product documentation · Publication date unavailable
- Intuit QuickBooks Support: Create recurring invoices and other transactionsOfficial product documentation · Publication date unavailable