Account role types and permissions
This article refers to a feature that might not be available in your current Brex plan. If you'd like to learn more about this feature and how to unlock additional capabilities in Brex's upgraded plans, please have your account or card admin reach out to Brex Support by clicking on Support in your dashboard.
Overview
Brex gives you flexibility to manage access through standard roles available by default or custom roles (available on Premium and Enterprise plans). Standard roles come with a fixed set of permissions, while Custom Roles let you assign each user specific and flexible capabilities.
Standard roles
Account admin
The Account admin has the highest level of access. This role is only available to companies with a Brex business account. Account admins can manage banking, payments, user access, integrations, and rewards. They’re also the only ones who can deposit checks via mobile.
Key abilities:
- Full access to company banking, including transfers and deposits.
- Manage all users, policies, integrations, and roles.
- Approve and release payments for bills.
- Control travel management, reporting, and vendors.
- Create and manage custom roles (Premium & Enterprise).
Card admin
Card admins have nearly the same access as Account admins for spend, bill pay, and travel. However, they cannot access banking (e.g., Brex business account balances, statements, or transfers) and cannot manage Account admins.
Note: If your company doesn’t have a Brex business account, Card admin is effectively the highest level of access available. Card admins still cannot manage banking or Account admins.
Key abilities:
- Manage cards, budgets, bills, and policies.
- Full permissions for travel bookings and vendors.
- Invite and deactivate users (except Account admins).
User management admin Premium Enterprise
User management admins are designed to manage people and org structure. They do not have access to banking or billing details, but can set up teams and integrations.
Key abilities:
- Invite and deactivate users.
- Manage org structure (departments, cost centers, entities, HRIS/SCIM).
- Assign spend limits and manage non-admin access.
Travel admin
Travel admins focus on company travel. They manage company travel, set preferred vendors, and manage approvals, but do not have broader account access.
Key abilities:
- Approve trips for others.
- Manage company travel vendors
- View travel reporting and insights.
Bookkeeper
Bookkeepers are typically external or finance team members with access to account data. They cannot manage users or policy rules, but can help with accounting and bill pay.
Key abilities:
- Download and view statements and reports.
- Categorize, prepare, review, and export transactions.
- Manage accounting integrations and categories.
- View and edit AP bills and vendors.
- Request spend limits and use Brex cards (if enabled).
- View and manage invoices.
AP clerk
AP clerks focus on managing bills and vendors. They can see statements and transactions in the Brex business account but need approval for outbound transfers. They can also help with accounting.
Key abilities:
- Draft, edit, and approve bills (if assigned as approver).
- Manage vendors and AP workflows.
- View and edit all transactions and attach receipts/memos.
- Categorize, prepare, review, and export transactions.
- Use virtual and physical cards (if enabled).
- View and manage invoices.
Employee
The Employee role is the default for most users. Employees can use Brex cards, submit reimbursements, and manage their own transactions.
Key abilities:
- Use Brex cards and view spend limits assigned to them.
- Submit reimbursements for personal card spend.
- Add receipts and memos to their own transactions.
Employee – reimbursement only
Reimbursement-only employees cannot hold Brex cards but can submit reimbursements for personal business expenses.
Key abilities:
- Submit reimbursements for review and approval.
Custom roles
Premium Enterprise
You can define your own Custom roles by combining specific capabilities. This allows you to grant access to only the areas needed, such as accounting, budgeting, reporting, or HR management.
Examples of Custom roles include:
- Finance Manager: Manages budgets, expenses, and accounting exports.
- Policy Administrator: Creates and enforces spend policies.
- Auditor: Has view-only access for financial review.
Learn more about Custom roles here.
Permissions by product area
This table provides more details about the permissions of each role.
Accounting
| Area | Capability | Account admin | Card admin | User management admin | Travel admin | Bookkeeper | AP clerk | Employee | Custom role | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accounting | Manage ERP integrations | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | √ Full | √ Full | — | Optional | 
| View Accounting tab | √ Full | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | — | — | Optional | |
| Review/export transactions | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | √ Full | √ Full | — | Optional | |
| Re-categorize company transactions | √ Full | √ Full | √ Limited (self) | √ Limited (self) | √ Full | √ Full | √ Limited (self) | Optional | |
| Attach receipts/memos | √ Full | √ Full | √ Limited (self) | √ Limited (self) | √ Full | √ Full | √ Limited (self) | Optional | |
| Unexport transactions | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | √ Full | √ Full | — | Optional | 
Accounts payable
| Area | Capability | Account admin | Card admin | User management admin | Travel admin | Bookkeeper | AP clerk | Employee | Custom role | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accounts payable | View all bills/vendors | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | √ Full | √ Full | — | Optional | 
| Manage all bills/vendors | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | √ Full | √ Full | — | Optional | |
| Draft bills | √ Full | √ Full | √ for self if draft bill access is toggled on | √ for self if draft bill access is toggled on | √ for self if draft bill access is toggled on | √ for self if draft bill access is toggled on | √ for self if draft bill access is toggled on | Optional | |
| View Brex card details for bill payment if assigned as a cardholder | √ Full | √ Full | √ Full | √ Full | √ Full | √ Full | √ Full | √ Full | |
| Create drafts through email forwarding | √ Full | √ Full | √ Full | √ Full | √ Full | √ Full | √ Full | √ Full | |
| Approve bills if assigned as an approver based on the policy | √ Full | √ Full | √ Full | √ Full | √ Full | √ Full | √ Full | √ Full | |
| View/manage settings | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | — | — | — | Optional | |
| Manage permissions | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | — | — | — | Optional | |
| Release payments | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | — | — | — | Optional | 
Banking
| Area | Capability | Account admin | Card admin | User management admin | Travel admin | Bookkeeper | AP clerk | Employee | Custom role | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banking | View accounts and balances | √ Full | — | — | — | √ Read-only | √ Limited | √ Limited (self) | Optional | 
| View all Brex business account transactions | √ Full | — | — | — | — | — | — | Optional | |
| Connect bank accounts | √ Full | — | — | — | — | — | — | N/A | |
| Draft payments and deposit checks | √ Full | — | — | — | — | √ With approval | — | Optional | |
| Manage accounts & payments | √ Full | — | — | — | — | — | — | Optional | |
| Manage invoicing | √ Full | — | — | — | √ Full | √ Full | — | Optional | |
| Add memos to Brex business account transactions | √ Full | — | — | — | √ Full | √ Full | — | N/A | |
| Download Brex business account statements/transaction reports | √ Full | — | — | — | √ Full | √ Full | — | N/A | 
Credit & reimbursements
| Area | Capability | Account admin | Card admin | User management admin | Travel admin | Bookkeeper | AP clerk | Employee | Custom role | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credit & reimbursements | View billing activity | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | √ Limited | √ Limited | √ Limited (self) | Optional | 
| Download statements | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | √ Full | √ Limited | — | N/A | |
| Manage payments (autopay, manual payments) | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | — | — | — | Optional | 
Entities
| Area | Capability | Account admin | Card admin | User management admin | Travel admin | Bookkeeper | AP clerk | Employee | Custom role | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entities | Manage entities | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | — | — | — | Optional | 
Reporting
| Area | Capability | Account admin | Card admin | User management admin | Travel admin | Bookkeeper | AP clerk | Employee | Custom role | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting | Manage reports | √ Full | √ Full | — | √ Travel only | — | — | — | Optional | 
Spend
| Area | Capability | Account admin | Card admin | User management admin | Travel admin | Bookkeeper | AP clerk | Employee | Custom role | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Budgets | View budgets | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | — | — | √ Limited (self) | Optional | 
| View monthly spend & spend limits | √ Full | √ Full | √ Limited (self) | √ Limited (self) | √ Limited (self) | √ Limited (self) | √ Limited (self) | Optional | |
| Manage budgets | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | — | — | — | Optional | |
| Assign & edit spend limits | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | — | — | — | Optional | |
| Personal reimbursements | √ Full | √ Full | √ Full | √ Travel only | — | — | √ Limited (self) | Optional | 
| Area | Capability | Account admin | Card admin | User management admin | Travel admin | Bookkeeper | AP clerk | Employee | Custom role | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cards | View cards/limits | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | √ Full | — | √ Limited (self) | Optional | 
| Manage and create limits | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | — | — | — | Optional | |
| Manage and create cards | √ Full | √ Full | √ for self if card access is toggled on | √ for self if card access is toggled on | √ for self if card access is toggled on | √ for self if card access is toggled on | √ for self if card access is toggled on | Optional | 
| Area | Capability | Account admin | Card admin | User management admin | Travel admin | Bookkeeper | AP clerk | Employee | Custom role | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Policy | View policy | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | — | — | — | Optional | 
| Manage policy | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | — | — | — | Optional | 
| Area | Capability | Account admin | Card admin | User management admin | Travel admin | Bookkeeper | AP clerk | Employee | Custom role | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expenses | View expenses | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | √ Full | √ Full | √ Limited (self) | Optional | 
| Manage expenses | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | √ Full | √ Full | √ Limited (self) | Optional | |
| Submit reimbursements | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | √ Full | √ Full | √ Limited (self) | Optional | 
Rewards
| Area | Capability | Account admin | Card admin | User management admin | Travel admin | Bookkeeper | AP clerk | Employee | Custom role | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rewards | View rewards | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | √ Full | — | — | Optional | 
| Manage rewards | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | — | — | — | Optional | |
| Redeem rewards | √ Full | √ Full | — | √ Travel only | — | — | — | Optional | 
Security
| Area | Capability | Account admin | Card admin | User management admin | Travel admin | Bookkeeper | AP clerk | Employee | Custom role | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Security | View audit trail | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | — | — | — | Optional | 
Team
| Area | Capability | Account admin | Card admin | User management admin | Travel admin | Bookkeeper | AP clerk | Employee | Custom role | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HRIS integrations | Manage HRIS connection | √ Full | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | — | — | Optional | 
| Area | Capability | Account admin | Card admin | User management admin | Travel admin | Bookkeeper | AP clerk | Employee | Custom role | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Organization | Set up and manage org fields | √ Full | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | — | — | Optional | 
| View Teams | √ Full | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | — | — | Optional | 
| Area | Capability | Account admin | Card admin | User management admin | Travel admin | Bookkeeper | AP clerk | Employee | Custom role | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Users | View users | √ Full | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | — | — | Optional | 
| Invite users | √ Full | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | — | — | Optional | |
| Update user access | √ Full | √ Full | √ Full | √Travel only | — | — | — | Optional | |
| Deactivate and reactivate users | √ Full | √ Full | √ Full | √Travel only | — | — | — | Optional | |
| Manage copilots | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | — | — | — | Optional | |
| Manage accounting firms | √ Full | √ Full | — | — | — | — | — | Optional | |
| Manage custom roles | √ Full | — | — | — | — | — | — | N/A | 
Travel
| Area | Capability | Account admin | Card admin | User management admin | Travel admin | Bookkeeper | AP clerk | Employee | Custom role | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel | View travel | √ Full | √ Full | √ Limited (self) | √ Full | — | — | — | Optional | 
| Book trips | √ Limited (self) | √ Limited (self) | √ Limited (self) | √ Limited (self) | √ Limited (self) | √ Limited (self) | √ Limited (self) | √ Limited (self) | |
| View travel billing changes and invoices | √ Full | √ Full | — | √ Full | √ Limited (self) | √ Limited (self) | √ Limited (self) | Optional | |
| Update user access for travel to book trips | √ Full | √ Full | — | √ Full | — | — | — | N/A | |
| View travel page and insights | √ Full | √ Full | — | √ Full | — | — | — | N/A | |
| Manage travel | √ Full | √ Full | — | √ Full | — | √ Limited (self) | √ Limited (self) | Optional | |
| Approve trips | √ Full | √ Full | — | √ Full | — | — | — | Optional | |
| Set preferred vendors | √ Full (requires activation) | √ Full (requires activation) | — | √ Full (requires activation) | — | — | — | N/A | |
| Set up direct pricing | √ Full (requires activation) | √ Full (requires activation) | — | √ Full (requires activation) | — | — | — | N/A | 
Legend: ✓ Full = full capability, ✓ Full (requires activation) = contact Brex for activation, ✓ Full (self) = capability to perform the action to yourself, ✓ Limited = restricted (e.g., personal only or with approval),✓for self if card access is toggled on = based on the individual permission as explained in the section below, ✓Travel only = permission applied only to the travel capabilities, Optional = can be configured in a Custom Role, — = no access.
Changing a user’s role type
Account, card admins or any other users with update user access permissions can change a user’s role by following the steps in this help article. If you have trouble, please reach out to Brex Support.
Adjusting individual permissions
You can adjust individual permissions for a single user to give them access to specific actions without changing their overall role. This is helpful when you want to let someone draft own bills, access their own cards, or book own trips while keeping their role.
Permissions you can toggle on a per-user basis:
- Submit reimbursements. Allows users to submit reimbursement requests for business expenses paid with personal funds (e.g., a personal card or cash). This capability is enabled for all user roles by default and can’t be turned off.
- Access to cards- Physical cards (includes employee card)
- Virtual cards (doesn’t include employee card)
 
- Bill pay- Draft bills
 
- Book your trips PremiumEnterprise
Edit a user’s permissions:
Account admins and card admins can edit an individual user’s permissions, following the steps below:
Step 1: Go to Teams and click a user to open the side panel.
Step 2: In Roles & Access > Product access, click ‘Edit’.
Step 3: Select or clear the checkboxes for the permissions you want to change, and click ‘Save’.
Note: All users can submit self reimbursements, but individual permissions such as Access to cards, Draft bills, and Book trips apply only to the user themselves and don’t grant company-wide rights. If someone needs the ability to approve bill pay for the entire company, their Brex role should be updated to an appropriate admin role or they should be assigned a custom role with company-wide approval permissions.