This article answers common questions about Submission Policies in Float, including how they work, how they're assigned, and what happens when a transaction doesn’t meet policy requirements.
Directory of Frequently Asked Questions
Policy Setup & Management
Who sets up Submission Policies?
How many Submission Policies can we have?
Can Submission Policies be changed after a card is issued?
Do policy changes affect past transactions?
Policy Assignment & Usage
Can Spenders choose a Submission Policy?
Why do all GLs still appear in the dropdown after I restricted them in Submission Policies?
Policy Rules & Configuration
What do “Required,” “Not Required,” and “Hidden” mean?
Can we limit which vendors or GL codes cardholders can select?
What does "Grace period (days)" mean in the policies Card Compliance rules?
Compliance & Enforcement
How are the Auto-Lock and Card Compliance features related to my Submission Policy?
Do Spenders Receive Submission Policy-related Notifications?
Who sets up Submission Policies?
Only Float Administrators can create and manage Submission Policies. These are usually members of your Finance, HR, or IT teams.
Admins define which information (e.g. receipts, descriptions, GL codes) is required for each transaction type and can assign different policies to different teams, cardholders, or spend categories.
How many Submission Policies can we have?
It depends on your Float plan:
Essential Plan: Supports one default Submission Policy for the entire account
Pro Plan: Allows multiple Submission Policies that can be applied to different teams, cardholders, or spend types
If you're on the Essential Plan and would like to enable more flexibility, contact support@floatfinancial.com to learn about upgrading.
Can Spenders choose a Submission Policy?
Yes, if your organization is on the Pro Plan and your Admins have enabled it. When submitting a Spend Request, Spenders may see a list of available Submission Policies and be asked to choose the most appropriate one based on their upcoming expense.
If you’re not sure which policy to select, we recommend reaching out to your Float Administrator for guidance.
What do “Required,” “Not Required,” and “Hidden” mean?
Each transaction field in a Submission Policy can be configured in one of three ways:
Required – The Spender must complete this field for the transaction to be considered compliant
Not Required – The field is optional but available to fill in
Hidden – The field won’t appear to the Spender at all
Can we limit which vendors or GL codes cardholders can select?
Yes. Administrators can apply field restrictions in Submission Policies to control which values are available to cardholders. See Submission Policy Field Restrictions for more details.
What is an amount threshold?
Admins can set thresholds to make certain fields required only for transactions above a specific amount.
For example, you might configure the policy to require a receipt only if the transaction is over $75. Transactions under that amount won’t need the receipt to be considered compliant.
How are the Auto-Lock and Card Compliance features related to my Submission Policy?
At the bottom of your Submission Policy, you will find an auto-lock feature:
If a user doesn’t submit the required transaction details before the transaction is posted, the transaction is marked as non-compliant. The Auto-lock feature helps enforce this requirement by temporarily restricting card use.
Once a user reaches the limit of non-compliant transactions set by an Administrator, their card is automatically locked, or if the policy has the optional "Grace period (days)" enabled, it will auto-lock after the number of grace period days is reached.
Once a card is locked due to a spend compliance violation, it can only be reactivated after the missing transaction details are submitted.
For more details surrounding card compliance, please refer to the highlighted guide: Spend Compliance Policy Violation FAQ
What does "Grace period (days)" mean in the policies Card Compliance rules?
A grace period is an optional setting in your Card Compliance rules that gives spenders a set number of days after a transaction is initiated to add any required information before it counts as a non-compliant transaction.
If no grace period is set, a transaction is considered non-compliant immediately if the required fields have not been completed.
Example: If a purchase was made 7 days ago and the card's Submission Policy has a 3-day grace period, the Spender has 3 days to add all of the required coding items (such as receipts, GL codes, or custom fields) before the card is auto-locked.
Do Spenders Receive Submission Policy-related Notifications?
Spenders receive notifications in Float when:
Their transaction is non-compliant
Their card has been locked due to policy violations
Their card is unlocked after compliance is restored
Their assigned Submission Policy has been updated
Notifications help ensure that cardholders are aware of any issues and can take corrective action quickly.
Can Submission Policies be changed after a card is issued?
Yes. Admins and Managers can change the Submission Policy assigned to any card at any time. Once changed, the new policy will apply to all future transactions on that card.
See: Changing the Submission Policy for an Existing Card
Do policy changes affect past transactions?
No. Updating a Submission Policy affects new transactions going forward. It does not retroactively re-validate or re-flag past transactions.
Why do all GLs still appear in the dropdown after I restricted them in Submission Policies?
All GL codes will remain visible to administrators on the Transactions and Transaction Export pages. The Submission Policy restrictive view applies only to users with non-administrator roles.