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Pleo Zapier integrationAutomate Pleo with Zapier.

The Pleo Zapier integration gives you 4 triggers, 8 actions and 0 searches. New expenses, receipts, tags and employees in Pleo can start a Zap, and Zaps can create, update or remove employees, add tags and pull the details of an expense or receipt.

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Overview

What the Pleo Zapier integration does for your finance team

Pleo gives employees company cards and turns their spending into expense records, without the paper chase. Connected to Zapier, it talks both ways: what happens in Pleo (a new expense, a receipt, a tag, an employee) can start a workflow elsewhere, and other tools can manage Pleo's employee list and tags.

Three outcomes that pay off quickly. A receipts archive nobody has to maintain: New Receipt fires when a receipt is attached to an expense, and the next step files it wherever your accountant looks. Cardholders that follow your HR tool: Create Employee, Update an Employee and Delete an Employee keep Pleo in line with arrivals, changes and departures. Tags that match your accounting: New Tag and Create Tag keep project or cost-centre tags in sync between Pleo and the tool that owns them.

What Zapier does not do for Pleo. It has no search step, so a Zap cannot find an employee by email: the four Get actions (Get an Employee, Get Expense, Get Receipt, Get Tax Code) only fetch details of something whose ID an earlier step already holds. There is no action to create or approve an expense. And all four triggers work by polling, so nothing arrives the instant it happens in Pleo.

Weighing other platforms? See n8n vs Zapier.

Vocabulary

Zapier words, in plain English

Eight words, and the rest of the page reads easily.

Zap
The automation you build: one trigger, then one or more actions that run every time the trigger event happens.
Trigger
The event that starts the Zap. For Pleo: a new expense, receipt, tag or employee in your company account.
Action
What the Zap does once started: the step that writes, sends or fetches something for you, in Pleo or elsewhere.
Task
The unit Zapier bills. One task is one action your Zap completes successfully; your plan counts those.
Polling trigger
A trigger Zapier checks on a timer: it asks Pleo for new items at a fixed interval and keeps only unseen ones.
Instant trigger
A trigger the app reports itself, the moment the event happens. None of the four Pleo triggers work that way.
Filter
A step that lets the Zap go on only when the incoming item meets your condition, and stops it otherwise.
Connection
Your Pleo account linked to Zapier once, then reused by every Pleo step. What it can see is what your Zaps can see.
Cost

What it really costs

Pleo is not a premium app, so it runs on the free plan. Its four triggers never cost a task, and Zapier checking Pleo for new items is free too, however often it looks.

  • Free plan100 tasks a month, unlimited Zaps
  • Zap size on free2 steps: one trigger, one action
  • Trigger cost0 tasks
  • Premium appNo

Every action that succeeds counts as one task, and that includes the four Get actions, since Zapier lists them as actions. A Zap that files each receipt in a folder costs one task per receipt. Add a Get Expense step before it and the same receipt costs two. Failed actions are not counted. On the free plan, a Zap stops at two steps: one trigger, one action. A filter or a second action makes it multi-step, and that needs a paid plan.

Connect

Connect your Pleo account

  1. 01

    Add the connection

    In Zapier, open the Apps page of your account and click + Add connection. In the dialog that appears, type Pleo in the search box and pick it from the list.

  2. 02

    Sign in to Pleo

    Click Add connection. A new tab opens on Pleo. Sign in with the Pleo account whose access the Zap should use: it needs to reach the expenses, receipts, tags and employees your Zaps will read or change.

  3. 03

    Grant access

    Allow Zapier to reach the Pleo account. The connection is then reused by every Pleo step of every Zap, so you set it up once and simply pick it from a list afterwards.

First Zap

Your first Zap: announce each new cardholder

GoalWhen a new employee is added in Pleo, the finance channel gets a message with their details.

  1. 01

    Pick the trigger

    Create a Zap, choose Pleo as the app and New Employee as the event, then select your Pleo connection. One Zap watches one event, so pick the right one now.

  2. 02

    Test the trigger

    Run the test. Zapier brings back the three most recent employees from your account, so you work on a real record rather than a placeholder.

  3. 03

    Add the message

    Add Slack as the action and pick Send Channel Message. Choose the channel, then build the message from the employee details the trigger returned. Two steps in total, so this Zap runs on the free plan.

  4. 04

    Test, then publish

    Test each step and read what came back. Then click Publish to switch the Zap on. Employees added before that moment will not be announced.

Triggers

The 4 Pleo triggers

4 events start a Zap when something happens in Pleo. Zapier checks for them at the interval your plan allows.

1

New Employee

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new employee is created.”

Starts a Zap when an employee is created in your Pleo account. It hands the new person's record to the next step, which can then greet them, brief their manager or log the new card in another tool.

How it fires
Zapier goes and looks at regular intervals, and how often depends on your plan: every 15 minutes on the free one.
When to use it
the office manager wants every new cardholder added to the onboarding checklist without retyping their name.
Watch out
if another Zap creates employees in Pleo with Create Employee, this trigger will pick those up too, so check the two do not feed each other.
2

New Expense

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new expense is added.”

Kicks off a Zap each time a new expense is added in Pleo. It is the broadest of the four: every new expense added to the account can start the workflow.

How it fires
Zapier goes and looks at regular intervals, and how often depends on your plan: every 15 minutes on the free one.
When to use it
a controller wants a live spending log in a spreadsheet, row by row, to watch a budget during a trade show.
Watch out
the expense may still have no receipt at that point; if you need the receipt, build on New Receipt instead.
3

New Receipt

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new receipt is attached to the related expense.”

Fires when a receipt is attached to an expense. Unlike New Expense, it waits for the proof of purchase, which is what your accountant actually asks for at month end.

How it fires
Zapier goes and looks at regular intervals, and how often depends on your plan: every 15 minutes on the free one.
When to use it
the bookkeeper wants every receipt copied into the shared folder the accounting firm already uses.
Watch out
one expense can arrive before its receipt, so a Zap built on this trigger only sees expenses once someone has attached the photo or file.
4

New Tag

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new tag is created.”

Runs a Zap when a new tag is created in Pleo. Tags are how spending gets sorted by project, client or cost centre: a new tag is a new axis to track elsewhere.

How it fires
Zapier goes and looks at regular intervals, and how often depends on your plan: every 15 minutes on the free one.
When to use it
each project tag added in Pleo should appear in the project list of your time-tracking tool too.
Watch out
do not pair it with Create Tag on the same account in one loop, or each new tag will create another one.
Actions

The 8 Pleo actions

Pleo gives you 8 actions. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

1

Create Employee

Action

In Zapier“Creates employee in Pleo”

Adds a person to your Pleo account from another tool. The only thing it insists on is a valid email address for the new employee.

When to use it
a hire marked as signed in your HR tool gets a Pleo invite without someone in finance stepping in.
Watch out
a typo in the email mapped from the other tool is enough to make the step fail.
2

Create Tag

Action

In Zapier“Creates a Tag in the System.”

Creates a tag in Pleo inside an existing tag group. It asks for the group, the attribute it belongs to and the value of the new tag.

When to use it
a new client won in your CRM becomes a tag employees can pick when they spend on that account.
Watch out
the tag group must already exist in Pleo; the action cannot create it for you.
3

Delete an Employee

Action

In Zapier“Delete an Employee on Pleo”

Removes an employee from Pleo. Like the update, it targets the person by employee ID, not by name or email.

When to use it
a leaver flagged in your HR tool loses Pleo access without waiting for a finance ticket.
Watch out
test it on a dummy employee first; the Zap runs it for every item that reaches this step.
4

Get an Employee

Action

In Zapier“Get an employee by employee id”

Fetches the full record of one employee when you already have their ID. It writes nothing; it hands the details to the steps that follow.

When to use it
a trigger gives you an ID only, and the next step needs the person's name for a message.
Watch out
it counts as an action, so each successful run uses a task.
5

Get Expense

Action

In Zapier“Action to get information about a Pleo expense”

Pulls the details of a Pleo expense into your Zap so later steps can use them. Useful when the step before only carried a reference to the expense.

When to use it
a receipt arrives through New Receipt and you want the matching expense details on the same spreadsheet row.
Watch out
adding it makes the Zap multi-step, so it needs a paid plan.
6

Get Receipt

Action

In Zapier“Get a receipt from an expense”

Retrieves the receipt attached to an expense. Pair it with a trigger that knows the expense but not its proof of purchase.

When to use it
a Zap built on New Expense later needs the receipt itself to file it with the matching invoice.
Watch out
an expense with no receipt yet has nothing to return, so this step works best once the receipt is attached.
7

Get Tax Code

Action

In Zapier“get tax code information”

Brings tax code information from Pleo into the Zap. It is a reference step: it reads the code so that an accounting step further down can use it.

When to use it
expenses exported to your bookkeeping tool need the right tax code next to each amount.
Watch out
as with every Get action, a successful run still costs one task.
8

Update an Employee

Action

In Zapier“Updates an Employee on Pleo”

Changes the record of an employee already in Pleo. You point it at the person with their employee ID, then fill in what should change.

When to use it
a promotion or a move to another team in your HR tool is reflected in Pleo the same day it is entered.
Watch out
the Employee Id is required, and with no search step it has to come from an earlier step.
When it breaks

When it breaks

Zapier links no help article to Pleo, and no limit specific to the app is documented. The cases below are general Zapier limits, as they show up on Pleo Zaps.

Pleo Zaps tend to go wrong on history and loops rather than on errors. Check these four cases first, then the Zapier troubleshooting page.

  • Last month's expenses never arrive

    A Zap only reacts to what happens after you switch it on. Expenses, receipts, tags and employees that already existed are not picked up; moving that backlog is a separate job.

  • Tags or employees multiply

    A Zap that writes into the place its own trigger watches, Create Tag under New Tag for example, sets itself off again and again and burns through tasks.

  • A bulk import is held back

    When a trigger suddenly returns a huge batch, after importing employees or migrating expenses, Zapier's flood protection can hold those items back.

  • The same expense never runs twice

    Zapier remembers what it has already seen on a polling trigger, so an expense or receipt does not start the Zap a second time, even when checked again.
Need help

Need help automating Pleo with Zapier?

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FAQ

Pleo Zapier integration: FAQ

01Is the Pleo Zapier integration free?
Yes. Pleo is not a premium app, so its four triggers and eight actions all run on Zapier's free plan. That plan includes 100 tasks a month and unlimited Zaps, with one limit that catches people out: each Zap holds two steps, one trigger and one action. Add a filter, a Get step or any second action and the Zap becomes multi-step, which needs a paid plan. Prices change often, so they are not quoted here; check them on Zapier before upgrading.
02How many tasks does a Pleo Zap use?
One for each action that succeeds. The trigger is free, and so are Zapier's checks for new expenses or receipts, however frequent. The four Get actions count too, since Zapier lists them as actions: a Zap that runs Get Expense and then writes a spreadsheet row uses two tasks per expense. Failed actions are not counted. Before building, multiply the number of actions by the number of expenses you expect in a month.
03Do Pleo triggers work in real time?
No. All four Pleo triggers are polling triggers: Zapier asks Pleo for new items at a fixed interval and keeps only the ones it has not seen. That interval depends on the plan: 15 minutes on Free, 2 on Professional, 1 on Team and Enterprise. The app decides the type, and it cannot be changed from the editor. On paid plans you can also run a check by hand from the editor when you need a result right away.
04What does it take to connect a Pleo account?
A Pleo account, plus access to anything you do not own and want the Zap to touch, such as the whole company's expenses or the employee list. The connection takes three moves: + Add connection on the Apps page, sign in to Pleo in the tab that opens, then grant Zapier access. Whatever that account cannot reach, your Zaps cannot reach either, so pick it with the employees and tags you plan to manage in mind.
05Why does Create Tag fail in a Pleo Zap?
First thing to check: whether the tag group it points to exists yet. Create Tag needs three required values, the Tag Group Id, the Attribute Id and the Attribute Value, and it only adds a tag inside a group that Pleo already has. Create the group in Pleo first, then map its ID into the action. Also test the Zap once before publishing: an empty value coming from the trigger is enough to stop the step.
06What if the Pleo operation you need is not there?
Then Zapier does not offer it for Pleo today. The editor lists four triggers (new employee, expense, receipt, tag) and eight actions: create, update and delete employees, create tags, and fetch an employee, expense, receipt or tax code by ID. There is no search, no way to create or approve an expense, and no instant trigger. Handle that part outside Zapier, or keep it as a manual step in Pleo.
07Zapier, Make or n8n for Pleo?
Decide on criteria, not on brand. On Zapier, Pleo gives four polling triggers and eight actions, with no search, and runs on the free plan while each Zap stays at two steps. So ask yourself: do you need to find employees by email, do you need data faster than your plan's polling interval, and how many steps will the workflow take? Then check whether the other platform's Pleo connector covers those exact points.
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