Scale with confidence and control 

We understand that managing decentralised spending can be complicated — with more budget holders, fragmented team spending and incomplete data challenging efficiency and control.  

That’s why we’re excited to introduce our Winter 2024 product update.  

What’s new this winter

We’ve introduced ten new features to give you greater control and visibility, streamline your spending processes and empower you to scale with confidence and accomplish more. 

Greater control and visibility with Teams 

Decentralised spending can lead to inefficiencies and reduced visibility. Our new Teams feature allows you to organise spending by teams, departments or projects – giving you complete control over who spends, how much, and on what. 

Key benefits 

Learn more

HR without the hassle

Managing and tracking employee spending permissions as they join, leave or move within your business can be a security challenge and logistical nightmare. With our HR integration, you can automatically sync employee data, onboarding and offboarding, and align spending policies with ease, keeping permissions up to date within Soldo. 

Key benefits 

Learn more

Simple, secure access with Single sign-on (SSO)  

As tech stacks grow, it’s essential for businesses to strengthen security and reduce password fatigue for employees. With Single sign-on (SSO), your employees can access Soldo in a single click for secure and streamlined access. 

Key benefits 

Learn more

Easily calculate carbon emissions with Soldo’s CO2e Tracker

In 2025, sustainability will become a bigger priority for businesses of all sizes as regulatory reporting standards tighten. Our CO2e Tracker enables automatic tracking and calculation of Scope 3 carbon emissions associated with your spending. This new feature helps you meet regulatory requirements, simplify cumbersome ESG reporting and contribute to climate projects. 

Key benefits 

Learn more

Our Winter 2024 product update introduces new ways to manage decentralised spending with enhanced clarity and control – saving time on admin and empowering teams to scale with confidence and accomplish more.  

Stay tuned for more 👀 

We have more exciting features coming up over the next few months, including chat integrations, advanced reporting, and full data exporting – all designed to reduce friction and create a smoother experience. 

Procurement is the backbone of operational efficiency. Your team is tasked with finding suppliers, negotiating contracts, building relationships, and managing risk – work that directly affects the wider business’s continuity and success.  

Yet, many procurement teams find their functions reduced to “PO processers,” merely facilitating purchase orders rather than acting as strategic partners that keep businesses afloat amid change.  

Alarmingly, only 25% of procurement leaders believe their business sees them as exceptional performers. The main reason: time-consuming admin.  

Where Procurement’s time goes 

Most of your high-value strategic work is put on pause or delayed because of admin, tasks like manual matching of invoice line items. 

Because companies require budget owners to raise a PO when they want to buy something to ensure compliance with company spending rules, your team is left with a mountain of admin. Even the small, non-strategic purchases go through the same cumbersome process.  

Just the process of onboarding a vendor – that is, setting up an organisation as an approved supplier – can take up to 6 months to onboard a new vendor at large organisations. This often leads to an internal conflict as requests become “stuck in procurement”. 

The time spent on admin is a shortsighted use of Procurement’s potential. 

What Procurement could accomplish with more time  

Procurement comes into its own when it’s looking forward.  

When it’s anticipating future needs, risks, and opportunities instead of just focusing on immediate transactions or cost-cutting. Creating contingency plans. Strengthening supplier partnerships. Prioritising socially responsible vendors. 

But strategic, value-driven activities take time. So, when most of it is spent reconciling last month’s transactions, your business has missed an opportunity to grow. 

Procurement leaders are aware of what’s at stake. More than half (56%) are seeking more flexible automation tools and methods. About a third (36%) named streamlining purchases outside of procurement as a top improvement. 

They know that with the right tools to reduce admin and add insight, Procurement can finally focus on the strategic work it’s meant for. A tool that offers actionable data enables more forward-looking progressive work – which means greater resilience and faster innovation. 

In a non-production procurement role, progressive work could look like:  

In a production procurement role, progressive work could look like:  

Your team were never meant to be “PO pushers”, even if that’s how the rest of the business saw you. But you can quickly shift that perception by taking a more modern approach to your daily activities. 

How Soldo supports procurement leaders to become progressive 

Shifting Procurement to a progressive function is about empowerment: enabling employees to make non-strategic purchases without a PO, automating approvals for bigger purchases, and reducing admin while maintaining full visibility and control.  

By decentralising more company spending, your team can reduce their admin burden while staying in control.  

How Soldo works: 

  1. Employees are issued virtual or physical cards, empowering them to buy within set limits and rules, reducing delays. 
  1. With purchase restrictions by category, project, or team, Procurement can track spending in real time, preventing overspend.

With Soldo, matching receipts with purchases becomes simple. And for some vendors, like Amazon Business, the platform even reconciles purchases automatically, eliminating errors and saving procurement hours of valuable time.  

In the long-term, procurement teams can move past their reputation as “PO pushers”, be held in high regard as the exceptional performers they already are, and – most importantly – help their businesses face whatever’s coming their way. 

See how Soldo can help your procurement team do more strategic, high-value work. Download our guide on how to build a more agile procurement team.  

Understanding the evolving business landscape has never been more crucial for finance leaders. Soldo’s September Spend Index looks at spending from over 18,000 businesses in light of recent political and economic changes. The Index also benchmarks spend by sector to help you understand how your peers are spending.

Download report

Dynamic shifts in advertising spend

Advertising spend has seen varied trends across regions. In the UK, businesses have pulled back, resulting in a 15% decrease, while Italian companies ramped up their advertising by 31%, betting on aggressive growth. This underscores the need for adaptable financial strategies that can quickly respond to external changes.

Utility spending and sustainability

Despite expectations of rising costs, spending on utilities has dipped in both the UK and Italy, thanks in part to new energy producers stabilising prices. This unexpected decrease presents an opportunity for CFOs to redirect savings towards sustainable technology and practices, aligning with growing environmental stewardship demands from stakeholders.

Download report

Rise of nomadic spending

Nomadic employees — those who frequently working away from traditional office settings —continue to influence travel and entertainment (T&E) expenses. Spending in these categories has risen by 11% year-on-year, highlighting the shifting landscape of work and the importance of a proactive, agile and orderly approach to decentralised spending.

AI integration deepens

Artificial intelligence adoption is accelerating with a significant 177% increase in companies investing in AI tools like ChatGPT. This surge is not just about keeping up with technological trends but is an important part of maintaining a competitive edge in a rapidly evolving market.

Download the report now to gain business insights and benchmark your business against your peers.

As a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), I’m no stranger to pressure. We’re expected to do it all: manage budgets with precision, invest wisely, and deliver measurable returns on investment, all while navigating increasingly strict legal and procurement processes.

Marketing is no longer just about creativity and campaign success – every decision is scrutinised for its financial impact. We need to be able to pivot quickly, seize opportunities, and ensure that every dollar or euro spent contributes to the bottom line. And while marketing tools have helped us be more agile, traditional financial systems often work against us, bogging us down in complex layers of approvals that sap energy and slow us down.

That’s why I am so excited about Progressive Finance. It’s an approach designed to break down those barriers, empowering marketers and other functional teams across the business to move faster, invest more strategically, and still maintain full control and accountability by finance teams. With Progressive Finance, we can decentralise spend management, trust our teams to make smart decisions and use technology to simplify complex processes.

It’s not just about reducing admin or increasing efficiency – it’s about making sure we’re equipped to respond to business needs in real time and maximise the return on every investment we make.

The five principles of Progressive Finance

1. Trust and autonomy

One of the biggest challenges marketing leaders face is balancing agility and creativity with fiscal responsibility. Marketing teams are often seen as spending centres, so we’re under constant scrutiny to justify every expense. Progressive Finance allows us to give teams more autonomy over their budgets, building a foundation of trust. This doesn’t mean relinquishing control – it means trusting our people to make the right calls and invest where it matters most.

When teams have ownership over their financial decisions, they not only work faster but also more responsibly. They know they’re being trusted to spend wisely, which increases accountability. Technology ensures we can still manage risk and compliance, but without the endless back-and-forth that delays execution.

2. Agility and responsiveness

Flexibility is key to a successful marketing strategy during a crisis. Market conditions can change rapidly, and your strategy should be agile enough to pivot when necessary. Continuously monitor the effectiveness of your marketing efforts and be ready to adjust tactics in response to changing circumstances. Agility allows you to seize new opportunities and mitigate risks as they arise. Source: https://www.star-digital.co.uk/blog/how-marketing-can-help-business-during-times-of-financial-crisis

In marketing, speed is crucial. Whether we’re responding to a competitor’s move, adapting to market shifts, or taking advantage of a sudden opportunity, the ability to act quickly can make or break a campaign’s success. Yet, so often, our hands are tied by slow-moving financial processes. Progressive Finance removes those obstacles by delegating decision-making and allowing us to respond in real time.

By automating processes with proactive controls, I can focus on strategic investments while trusting my teams to allocate resources as needed. With Progressive Finance, we can streamline processes and ensure we don’t miss out on valuable opportunities because we’re waiting for a sign-off.

3. Transparency and accountability

Of course, giving more autonomy to teams doesn’t mean sacrificing oversight. Progressive Finance emphasises transparency, which is essential in an environment where expenses need to be monitored. As a senior leader, I need to ensure that every dollar is accounted for, especially when finance, procurement and legal teams need and demand detailed reporting and compliance.

By using the right spend management technology, we gain real-time visibility into spending, ensuring that no budget goes off track. This transparency helps us stay compliant with procurement standards while also allowing teams the freedom to make quick, informed decisions. The balance of autonomy and accountability is key to making this approach work.

4. Innovation and experimentation

There’s constant pressure in marketing to innovate – but innovation comes with risk. In my experience, strict financial controls often stifle the creativity we need to stay competitive. Progressive Finance creates the space for innovation by cutting down on administrative roadblocks and freeing up resources for experimentation.

When teams aren’t slowed down by complex procurement rules or approval delays, they can test new ideas, explore emerging platforms, and experiment with bold campaigns. This is especially important in times of economic uncertainty, where the ability to pivot and innovate can provide a competitive edge. Progressive Finance allows us to experiment with confidence, knowing that we’re still operating within a framework of control and accountability.

Chief marketing officers (CMOs) see innovation as the path to growth, with marketing innovation now making up more than 20% of overall marketing budgets, according to Gartner, Inc. The annual Gartner CMO Spend Survey 2021 showed that 72% of CMOs have increased investments in marketing innovation over the last year. Source: https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/gartner-says-marketing-innovation-makes-up-more-than-20–of-mark

5. Empowerment and engagement

One thing I’ve learned is that when your marketing team is empowered, they are more engaged and more productive. By involving teams in financial decisions, they feel more invested in the outcome. Progressive Finance enhances this by giving them the freedom to make decisions about their budgets. When employees feel trusted, their engagement and job satisfaction naturally increase, which leads to better results across the board.

The study of 50,000 employees by Inpulse found that 81 per cent of those who felt trusted by their line managers were engaged, compared to 28 per cent of employees who didn’t. The survey also revealed that employees feeling trusted and supported had the “greatest impact” on how engaged people were at work. Source: https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1806097/employees-three-times-engaged-when-feel-supported-managers-study-shows

This is especially important for marketers, who often face tight budgets and high expectations for return on investment. When teams feel ownership over their budget decisions, they’re more motivated to make smart, strategic choices that align with the company’s goals.

The benefits of Progressive Finance for marketing teams

For me, Progressive Finance isn’t just about simplifying processes – it’s about empowering my team. And it’s about delivering better results while still adhering to all financial expectations. Here’s how it’s making a difference:

How I’m putting Progressive Finance into action

To make Progressive Finance work at Soldo, we have focused on building the right framework. Here’s how we are making it all happen:

Why Progressive Finance is critical for marketing success

At a time when marketing budgets are under a lot of scrutiny, a Progressive Finance approach provides the flexibility we need without sacrificing accountability. It allows us to navigate strict procurement processes while still empowering our teams to innovate and respond quickly to business needs.

For me, Progressive Finance isn’t just a financial strategy – it’s a mindset that allows us to thrive in a complex, fast-moving world. It’s about giving teams the freedom to act quickly, invest strategically, and deliver results, all while maintaining the financial control and transparency we need to succeed. This approach is what will allow us to stay agile, adapt to market changes, and continue delivering high-impact marketing outcomes, no matter what challenges come our way.

Written by Isabelle Duarté

Isabelle Duarté is the CMO at Soldo. She leads the strategic direction for driving awareness and demand for the company.

With a multilingual and multicultural background, Isabelle has over two decades of experience building and executing marketing strategies for global software businesses like Okta, Symantec, BlueCoat and VMware.

Isabelle is fluent in five languages, and her obsession with technology crosses over into her love for Leica cameras and her one concession to fluffiness — her passion for Airedale Terriers and their canine cohorts.

CFOs are typically seen as bastions of a company’s budget, compliance, and reporting. But, from our conversation with Mark Freedman on The CFO Playbook podcast, we’ve learned that the role now demands much more: fearless innovation.

Today, risk-averse safeguarding isn’t enough. CFOs who drive change and leverage data can help their businesses navigate monumental technological shifts, anticipate future market trends, and tap into their growth potential.

Freedman, with over three decades of experience, shares how he’s helped some of the world’s most influential financial institutions through crises and transformations

He’s seen the financial services industry become more cautious after the 9/11 attacks, more resilient after the global financial crisis, more aware of major cyberattacks risks, and – very recently – he’s seen it become more adaptable after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Freedman was instrumental in helping companies like Deutsche Bank, London Stock Exchange Group, and Travelex navigate those major transitions. “Living through the 2008 financial crisis and the cyberattack at Travelex taught me that a CFO’s role isn’t just about managing the numbers; it’s about leading through uncertainty and finding a path forward,” he says.

How did he do it? By developing a deep business understanding, communicating insights effectively, and staying updated on technology.

Three themes we explored

In The CFO Playbook episode with Mark, we explored:

For us, 2024 is about ensuring that finance teams are liberated from the laborious admin of spend management – freeing them and their business to focus on strategic activities that drive competitiveness. Our latest updates continue to listen to you and your needs – so we’ve gone back to basics to ensure more productivity and reduce inconveniences when managing your spend.

Maximising your productivity, putting you in control:

Make all forms of payments through one solution

We’ve introduced more options to make payments via Soldo than ever before. Teams can now handle different types of payments under one roof, without having to seek different methods elsewhere. ‘Pay Someone’ brings the flexibility to make outbound bank transfers to employees or suppliers directly from the Soldo platform. So for moments when using your Soldo card isn’t an option, Pay Someone acts as the alternative to ensure you can pay supplier invoices or make one-off external payments from the Soldo platform.

Reach new levels of efficiency by setting card rules in bulk

For organisations with a large volume of cards to manage – setting spend rules for these cards is now a smooth and seamless task. Whether it’s setting spending limits or specifying how and when Soldo cards can be used (e.g. limiting use by geo-location or merchant category), these rules can now be set in bulk via ‘Card Rules Presets’. Not only does this reduce any manual effort but it means that different presets can be configured and applied to specific groups or teams – the result – full control of spend based on your business needs.

Enjoy greater flexibility with temporary virtual cards available via mobile

We want to ensure that anyone using Soldo is empowered to make a purchase as and when they need to, wherever they are. We’ve brought our ‘Pre-approved spend’ capabilities over to mobile to enable exactly that – giving admins and users the flexibility to request, approve and access Temporary virtual cards on the go.

Reducing those inconveniences:

Fewer disruptions when you’re in the zone

We’ve all been there, being logged-out of an app when working across different tools and trying to get things done. Our updated inactivity timer, means that you can be inactive for 15 minutes without having to log-in again, giving you more time to focus on the tasks at hand.

Want to maximise Soldo’s capabilities? Explore our new Business API portal

Our Business API Portal is a one-stop resource for teams seeking to automate financial processes. User-friendly, and comprehensive – our documentation covers how our APIs facilitate everything from transaction exports to virtual card management, driving productivity across the board.

Continuously building around your needs

Our Soldo team is on the ground listening out for your challenges and needs. Our platform improvements and feature releases aim to push you to greater levels of productivity.

If you want to learn more about these features and Soldo’s Amazon Business integration, check out our latest product update webinar.

Amid significant political and economic shifts, navigating the new business landscape has become ever more important for finance leaders who are being recognised as agents of growth.

Soldo’s Spend Index offers a clear, data-driven snapshot of current spending trends for over 18,000 companies using Soldo to help inform strategic decision-making in unpredictable times.

Harnessing artificial intelligence


Artificial intelligence continues to be a significant driver of innovation and efficiency in business operations. According to our data, AI investment has surged 449% compared to last year. This substantial increase underscores the growing importance of technology in maintaining competitive advantage, improving productivity and adding value.

The report also identifies which industries and sectors are leading and lagging in their digital transformation efforts. Download the report to see how your business and sector compare.

Nomadic employee spending


By nomadic employee, we don’t mean the colleague taking video calls on a beach in Bali, we mean employees who spend an increasing amount of time working away from their home or office for work purposes, like a long-distance truck driver or salesperson.

Our data shows a 20% increase in travel and entertainment-related spending, reflecting changing trends in employee work locations and habits. For businesses with nomadic employees, this insight is particularly valuable for financial planning and employee enablement.

Download report

Practising sustainability


ESG is more than a buzzword – the report highlights a dramatic increase in environmentally focused spending with a 324% increase in EV charging station spending for large businesses.

This surge indicates a strong move towards more sustainable practices, a trend that is becoming increasingly important to customers, employees and investors alike.

Download the Spend Index

The Soldo Spend Index is a business tool offering detailed insights into the spending behaviours shaping industries. It provides finance leaders with direct year-on-year comparisons, which is essential for effective forecasting and strategic planning.

How are spending trends shaping industries in 2024? Soldo’s latest Spend Index – Spring 2024 report provides insight into business spend and saving in 2024 and what this means for financial leaders who find themselves at the heart of these decisions.

Today we’re excited to announce Soldo’s new outbound bank transfer feature, Pay Someone.

Pay Someone is a significant step forward in enhancing Soldo’s payment capabilities, giving you more payment options than ever before. With Pay Someone you can make outbound bank transfers to pay others, like employees or suppliers, right from the Soldo platform. It’s a simple yet effective payment capability that helps you manage all types of payment from a single platform. This feature sets the stage for further supplier management and payment enhancements coming later in 2024 – so watch this space!

What is Pay Someone?

Pay Someone is a new feature available in Soldo that enables quick and easy bank transfers, directly from the web or mobile app. Pay Someone supports Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) and Faster Payments Service (FPS) bank transfers. It’s perfect for out-of-pocket reimbursements, invoice payments, and more. No more switching between banking systems – saving you valuable time.

“Soldo’s ‘Pay Someone’ feature has streamlined Nuage’s payment processes, making supplier payments and fund transfers quick and seamless. It’s become a vital tool that has helped us enhance our client services in the travel industry.” – Carl Paes, Sales Director, Nuage

How can Pay Someone help you?

Pay Someone gives you more payment options to help with day-to-day business spending:

Bank transfers made via Pay Someone can come from your Main Wallet or from ringfenced funds assigned to Company Wallets. This ensures transactions are correctly allocated to the right teams or projects.

Who can use Pay Someone?

Pay Someone is only available to customers who are using our new plans “Standard, Plus or Enterprise”.

It can be used by Super Admins looking for a straightforward way to make outbound payments. For more details on how the feature works, please see our Help Centre FAQs.

How do I learn more?

To learn more about our new plans, please see our plan and pricing overview or click here to get a 30 day free trial.

If you’re a current customer and want to find out more information, please speak to customer support or your account manager or customer success manager.

We’re excited to announce that you can now integrate Soldo with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central to make your bookkeeping effortless.

“At Soldo, our goal is to simplify tasks for our customers. Recognising that many of our users rely on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, we’ve integrated the two platforms, accelerating the reconciliation process and enhancing financial reporting and analysis.” – Martina Paolicchi, Integrations Product Manager at Soldo

This integration is available on Soldo Pro, Premium and Enterprise plans today at no additional cost.

Why integrate Soldo with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central?

Soldo’s direct connection to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central syncs your expense data for accurate accounting and easy reconciliation.

Save time and effort: Sync your Soldo expense data to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central in a single click. This integration seamlessly transfers financial information without the risk of human error.

Speed up month-end: Close your books faster with the data you need for easy reconciliation. The Soldo mobile app captures receipts, lists, and notes at the point of purchase. Validate and effortlessly send this data to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.

Improve accuracy: Eliminate the risk of manual data entry errors for hassle-free, accurate reporting. Make more informed decisions based on precise, real-time financial data.

How can you connect Soldo and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central?

To connect Soldo to your Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central account, simply log in to Soldo and look for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central in the search box of the Marketplace section.

Next, select Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and authorise the connection. Then, choose whether you want to export transactions to Microsoft Dynamics 365 as journal lines or purchase invoices. And you’re ready to go!

Connect today for seamless and accurate financial reporting with Soldo and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.

For more information, speak to your Customer Success Manager or read though our FAQs.

Today we’re excited to announce Soldo’s new collaboration with Amazon Business.

At Soldo, we saw that our customers were processing thousands of transactions with Amazon Business. So we set out to make it a process that’s even easier to manage.

The new Soldo and Amazon Business integration automates the retrieval and reconciliation of Amazon Business invoices to eliminate errors and save your valuable time.

This integration is available on Soldo Premium and Enterprise plans today at no additional cost.

Why integrate Soldo with Amazon Business?

“At Soldo we’re always looking for ways to save time for our customers. When we reviewed all the transaction data on our platform, it was clear that Amazon Business is a top merchant for our customers and having a seamless integration will add a lot of value.”Martina Paolicchi, Integrations Product Manager at Soldo

How does it work?

When Amazon Business generates an invoice for one of your purchases on the platform, the invoice will automatically be sent to your Soldo account. Soldo then matches the invoice to the transaction, and reconciliation is done for you. Month-end made easy!

Get started today

To unlock this time-saving integration, simply activate the Amazon Business integration in the Marketplace section of your Soldo account.

Amazon Business integration

For more information, you can speak to your Customer Success Manager or read though our FAQs.