Soldo
Prepaid business expense card platform.
About Soldo
Soldo issues prepaid Mastercard debit cards to employees and sets hard spending limits by card, category, or time period before a penny leaves the account. Day-to-day, a finance manager loads cards centrally, employees spend within their rules, and every transaction fires a receipt prompt to the cardholder's phone. Receipts attach to transactions automatically, and the reconciled data pushes directly to Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, or NetSuite without manual export. It fits European SMEs and mid-market firms — roughly 5 to 500 employees — that have ditched petty cash and want spending controlled at source rather than reimbursed after the fact. Multi-currency wallets make it practical for teams with regular euro, sterling, and dollar outgoings. It competes directly with Pleo; Soldo's edge is tighter wallet-level controls, Pleo's is a more polished employee app. The gaps are real. There is no free tier, so you commit to a paid plan before you know whether the card controls match your approval workflows. The platform does not handle expense reimbursements to employees who use personal cards, so firms with mixed spending behaviour need a second tool. Reporting inside Soldo is basic — detailed spend analysis still happens in your accounting system, not here.
Best for
European businesses wanting prepaid expense cards with real-time controls and automated bookkeeping
Key Features
- Prepaid business cards with customizable spending limits
- Real-time expense tracking and notifications
- Automated accounting system synchronization
- Multi-currency support for international transactions
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Hard spending limits enforced at the card level stop overspend before it happens, eliminating the need to chase employees for refunds
- Real-time transaction notifications prompt receipt capture at point of purchase, cutting month-end chasing to near zero for most teams
- Direct two-way sync with Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, and NetSuite posts categorised transactions without manual CSV import
- Multi-currency wallets let finance teams hold GBP, EUR, and USD balances separately and assign the correct wallet to each card
- Virtual cards can be issued instantly for one-off purchases or subscriptions, then frozen or deleted without touching physical card stock
- Wallet-level budgets work well for project or department accounting, giving cost centre owners visibility without full finance system access
Cons
- No free trial or evaluation tier — you pay from day one, which makes it hard to test whether the approval workflows fit before committing
- Covers only company-funded card spend; employees who pay out of pocket and claim reimbursement need a separate expense tool alongside it
- Reporting inside Soldo is thin — pivot-level spend analysis requires exporting to your accounting system or building views in a BI tool
- Pricing scales by number of cards and wallets, so costs climb faster than expected as headcount or project count grows
- Primarily built for the European market; US businesses will find currency coverage and local support limited compared to alternatives like Brex or Ramp
- Accounting sync mapping requires initial setup time and occasional maintenance when chart of accounts changes — it does not self-configure
Ledger Brief Take
Built around prepaid cards rather than traditional expense reimbursement, making it particularly valuable for businesses that want to eliminate petty cash and control spending before it happens. The real-time accounting sync positions this as a direct competitor to established players like Pleo, with strong European market focus and multi-currency handling.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions accountants ask about Soldo.
How much does Soldo cost?
Soldo charges a monthly subscription based on the number of cards and wallets, with no free plan. Entry-level plans start around £9 per month for small teams, but pricing scales with card count and feature tier. Enterprise pricing is quote-based. There is no trial period, so budget for at least one billing cycle to evaluate fit.
How does Soldo integrate with Xero and QuickBooks?
Soldo connects natively to Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, and NetSuite. Transactions sync automatically with category mapping set during onboarding. Receipts attached in the Soldo app travel with the transaction into the accounting system. The sync runs in near real time, not on a scheduled batch, so the ledger stays current throughout the month.
How does Soldo compare to Pleo?
Both issue prepaid cards and sync to accounting software. Soldo's wallet and spending-limit controls are more granular, making it better for firms that need tight pre-approval rules by department or project. Pleo's employee-facing app is more polished and its reimbursement flow handles personal card spend — something Soldo does not cover at all.
Is Soldo suitable for small firms or sole traders?
It works for small firms with at least a handful of employees who need separate spend budgets. For a sole trader or a two-person practice, the subscription cost is hard to justify versus a straightforward business debit card and manual receipt capture. The value scales with headcount and the number of people spending independently.
How does Soldo handle data security and PCI compliance?
Soldo is regulated as an electronic money institution by the FCA in the UK and Banca d'Italia in the EU. Cards run on the Mastercard network with 3D Secure authentication. Funds held in Soldo are safeguarded in segregated accounts per EMI regulations. The platform is PCI DSS compliant for card data handling.
Can Soldo handle expenses in multiple currencies?
Yes. Soldo supports multi-currency wallets in GBP, EUR, and USD, with cards drawable from the appropriate wallet. This avoids the dynamic currency conversion fees common with single-currency business cards. For firms with regular cross-border payables or European subsidiaries, this is one of its stronger practical features.