Overview

Budgets and Policies work together to control fleet spending, but they serve two very different purposes.

Understanding this difference helps you quickly answer questions like:

• “Why was this transaction declined?”

• “Why can’t the driver spend more even though we have funds?”
  
  

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  Budgets: The Money

  A Budget defines how much money is available in total.

  Key Characteristics

  • Assigned to Groups

  • Controls the total amount that can be spent

  • Can reset weekly or monthly

  Example

  A Dammam Group has:

  • 200,000 SAR monthly budget

  All vehicles in that group share this amount.

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  Policies: The Rules

  A Policy defines how spending is allowed.

  Key Characteristics

  • Assigned to Vehicles

  • Controls how, where, and how much a vehicle can spend

  • Includes rules such as:

    • Daily spending limits

    • Allowed merchant categories (e.g., Fuel Only)

    • Time or usage restrictions

  Example

  A vehicle policy might allow:

  • 200 SAR per day

  • Fuel stations only

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  How Budgets and Policies Work Together

  Every transaction is checked in two steps:

  1. Policy Check (Rules)
     The system verifies:

     • Is the merchant allowed?

     • Is the daily limit exceeded?

     • Are spending conditions met?

  2. Budget Check (Funds)
     The system checks:

     • Does the group have enough remaining balance?

  Approval Logic

  • ✅ Policy passes + Budget available → Approved

  • ❌ Policy fails → Declined

  • ❌ Budget empty → Declined

  Both checks must pass.

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  Common Misunderstanding (Very Important)

  “I increased the group budget. Why is the driver still limited?”

  Because group budgets do not override vehicle policies.

  Example

  • Group budget: 100,000 SAR

  • Vehicle policy: 200 SAR daily limit

  The driver cannot exceed 200 SAR per day, even if the group has plenty of funds.

  To increase daily spending, you must update the vehicle’s policy to allow higher spending.

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  Quick Comparison