Beta feature: Paying a bill with a Float Card is in Beta and only available to businesses in the Beta. If you don't see this option, you'll have access to the feature in the full release.
You can now set a Float Card as a vendor's payment method, so a bill gets paid by card instead of a bank transfer. Once the vendor charges the card, you match that transaction to the bill directly in Float - no manual reconciliation in your accounting software required, as long as you match it at the right time. This article covers what the feature does, how to set it up, and how to match a payment correctly.
Guide Overview
What paying by Float Card means for a vendor
Setting a Float Card as a vendor's payment method
How a bill paid by Float Card moves through Float
Matching the card transaction to the bill
- How to match the card transaction to the bill
- What happens after matching the card transaction to the bill
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
What paying by Float Card means for a vendor
Today, most bills are paid by pushing money to a vendor's bank account: you approve the bill, and Float sends the funds. Paying by Float Card works differently - instead of Float sending money, the vendor charges the card whenever they process the payment on their end.
This is a pull, not a push, so the timing of the charge doesn't depend on where the bill sits in your approval workflow. A bill can be fully approved before the vendor charges the card, or the vendor can charge it while the bill is still moving through approval - either way, the bill's approval process runs as normal.
Before you start
You need Bill Pay permissions to set or change a vendor's payment method. For more details, see: Bill Pay User Roles
We strongly recommend creating a dedicated Float Card for each vendor before setting up card payments, rather than reusing a card that's also used for other spend.
Mixing a vendor's bill payments onto a shared card makes it harder to tell which transactions belong to which bill, causes headaches in your accounting reconciliation, and will get in the way of automatic matching when that becomes available. Create the card first through Cards, then come back to set it as the vendor's payment method.
To do so, see: Creating Float Cards as an Administrator
Setting a Float Card as a vendor's payment method
- Go to Bill Pay > Either select the draft bill or select "Manage Vendors"
- Draft bill selected:
- Select "See payment details" below the vendor's name
- "Manage Vendors" selected:
- Search and select the vendor
- Draft bill selected:
- In the Payment credentials fields, select the Payment method drop-down > Select "Pay by Float Card"
- In the Float card drop-down, select which card you'd like to pay this bill from
- Add the remaining vendor payment details
- For more details, see: Managing Vendors and their Payment Details for Bill Pay + FAQs
- Select "Save Recipient" at the top of the page to save your changes
Important considerations:
Once this is set, any bill you upload for this vendor automatically uses this card as its payment method
How a bill paid by Float Card moves through Float
- The bill enters Float. Either you create it as a draft in the normal way, or it's imported directly from your accounting software.
- You schedule the payment. Once scheduled, it still needs sign-off from an authorizer, just like any other Bill Pay payment. You'll be able to authorize the payment in the Needs Authorization tab of the Payments page.
- Once authorized, the payment moves to the Pending tab of the Payments page.
- On the scheduled payment date, Float initiates the payment to the vendor through the card payment network.
- The vendor authorizes the transaction. Once authorized, a transaction for that payment appears as pending on the Transactions page.
- You would manually match the pending card transaction to the bill payment.
Matching the card transaction to the bill
When a bill is paid from a Float card, a card transaction will be created on the Transactions page, and a bill is created on the Bill Pay page. Usually, transactions and payments are either on one page or the other. Not when you pay a bill by Card!
Once the payment begins processing, a transaction will be created on the Transactions page, and you will need to match it to the corresponding bill.
This is the part to pay close attention to: matching only works during one specific window.
How to match the card transaction to the bill:
When the payment begins processing, that charge shows up as a pending transaction on the Transactions page. Once the transaction appears here, you need to match it to the bill while it's sitting there, in Pending status - before the payment has been completed. To do so:
- Go to Payments > Pending.
- Find and select the payment for the bill
- In the payment details side panel, select the option to match the payment to the card transaction
- A pop-up will appear with your list of recent card transactions, select the one that corresponds to the bill
Timing matters here:
- Too early - if you try to match before the vendor has charged the card, there's no transaction yet to match against.
- Too late - once the transaction has finished processing, it's no longer available to match. At that point, you'll need to reconcile the bill and the transaction manually in your accounting software instead. The transaction is still available to export from the Transaction Export page, and the bill is still available to export from Bill Pay and Payments.
What happens after matching the card transaction to the bill:
Once you successfully match a transaction to a bill, it drops off from the Transaction Export page - you'll only find it in Transactions going forward. This is a mechanism to avoid situations where the record for the payment is exported to your accounting software as a card transaction and as a bill payment.
After the match is done, the exporting will only be done from the completed payment and the bill (i.e. it is now considered as part of the bill payment rather than as a standalone card transaction).
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can I create a new Float Card while setting up a vendor's payment method?
Why does Float recommend a dedicated card per vendor instead of reusing one I already have?
Does the card's currency need to match the bill's currency?
Can I edit the transaction from the Transactions page?
How do I confirm a bill was paid by Float Card?
Will I be asked for a receipt for these transactions?
Will I earn cashback on a bill paid this way?
Can I create a new Float Card while setting up a vendor's payment method?
Not yet. In this beta, you choose from Float Cards you've already created. Create the card first through Cards, then set it as the vendor's payment method.
Why does Float recommend a dedicated card per vendor instead of reusing one I already have?
A shared card mixes vendor bill payments with other spend, which makes reconciliation harder and interferes with matching transactions to the right bill - especially once automatic matching becomes available.
Does the card's currency need to match the bill's currency?
No. You can select any existing Float Card regardless of the bill's currency.
What if the transaction amount doesn't exactly match the bill amount (for example, due to foreign exchange or fees)?
You can still match it manually. Confirm the match, then reconcile any difference in your accounting software.
Can I edit the transaction from the Transactions page?
No, transactions created by paying a bill with a Float Card can't be edited from Transactions.
How do I confirm a bill was paid by Float Card?
If you go to the Payments page > On any tab (Needs Authorization, Pending, Complete, All Payments), the Method column for the bill will show "Float Card" or the name of the Float card.
Will I be asked for a receipt for these transactions?
No. As long as the transaction is matched to the corresponding bill, transactions used to pay a vendor bill this way don't require a receipt.
Will I earn cashback on a bill paid this way?
Cashback on these transactions follows your existing Float Card cashback terms and conditions. Paying a bill by card is a great way to earn cashback if your business meets the requirements.
For more details, see: Float Cashback FAQ