Virtual Corporate Cards for Marketing Agencies: How to Set Up Groups and Limits per Team and Client
A marketing agency spends money on behalf of many clients at the same time: ad platforms, software, freelancers and event costs. When all of it runs through one company card, a single maxed-out limit can pause every client's campaigns, and nobody knows which payment belongs to which budget. This guide shows how to mirror your agency's structure in Sparados with card groups, limits and approvals, so every team and client budget stays under control.
Key Takeaways
Groups mirror your agency: create groups and subgroups for teams, clients or offices, up to four levels deep.
Limits on two levels: the group sets the ceiling, and each card gets its own amount, validity dates and periodic limits.
Approvals instead of blocked campaigns: a card above the group limit goes to the admins of the parent group for approval.
Need-to-know access: group admins see only the cards of their own group and the groups below it.
Client-level reporting: labels and merchant restrictions keep each client's spend separate.
Why does a marketing agency need more than one company card?
A shared card mixes every client in one statement. When its limit runs out, ads stop for all clients at once, and the finance team has to match each payment to a client and chase missing invoices. Our marketing agency case study shows how one agency replaced slow prepaid cards with virtual cards for its team, and our article on scaling marketing campaigns with virtual cards covers dedicated cards for ad platforms and software.
How do you map your agency structure to card groups?
In Sparados, only the Corporate Admin can create groups. Go to Management → Groups → Add group, name the group and choose its place in the hierarchy. You can build a structure up to four levels deep, then assign employees and payment accounts to each group.
Group model | Works best when | Watch out for |
By team (media, creative, events) | Teams buy different things and have their own managers | Client costs mix inside one team |
By client account | Each client has a separate budget and reporting | Many small clients mean many groups |
By office or country | Offices pay from accounts in different currencies | Teams and clients mix inside one office |
Most agencies combine the models, for example teams on the first level and key clients as subgroups. See how to create a new group.
Which limits should you set for a group and which for each card?
Limits work on two levels. The group sets the ceiling, and each card gets its own settings within it.
Level | What you set |
Group | For each payment account it can use: the amount the group can allocate, the maximum number of cards (optionally per period, for example 10 cards a week) and the maximum amount per card |
Card | The source account and total amount, the issue and expiry date, and optional periodic limits: general, online, ATM and foreign transactions (daily, weekly or monthly) |
Every periodic limit except the general one can be blocked completely. For an ad card, you can block ATM withdrawals and set a monthly online limit equal to the client's media budget. A card with a future issue date is generated on that day, and after the expiry date it is unassigned and can't be reused, which suits cards for a single campaign or event. Details are in how card limits work.
What happens when a campaign needs more budget?
If someone assigns a card with an amount above the group limit, the request goes automatically to the admins of the parent group. They get an email and a message in the admin panel and can approve or reject it. If the amount is also above their limit, the request moves one level higher.
Cardholders can request a limit increase in the mobile or web app, and the request goes to the group that has enough limit available. Admins can also raise a card limit within their group limit, see how to increase the limit on a card.
Who sees which cards? Group admins and need-to-know access
A group admin sees and manages only the cards assigned to their own group and the groups below it. Cards from other groups, and their transactions, are invisible to them. In an agency, this means the account manager for client A doesn't see client B's cards. See selective card visibility for group admins.
How do spending restrictions and labels keep client budgets separate?
Spending categories: build a category from MCC codes as a whitelist or a blacklist, or use a system category such as airlines or hotels, and choose it when you assign the card. Payments outside the category are declined. See how to limit a card to selected categories.
Specific merchants: a card can be restricted by Merchant ID to selected providers, such as Google Ads or Meta, and blocked for in-store payments.
Location and time: cards can also be limited to selected countries or to working hours. More in how to restrict card transactions.
Labels: add a label with the client name or cost centre when you assign a card. Labels appear in the transaction report, can be edited later and can be changed for a single transaction. See adding labels onto cards.
Example setup for a 30-person agency
An illustrative structure, not a client case:
Group | Cards | Key settings |
Media buying, with a subgroup per client | One card per ad platform for each client | Merchant restriction to the ad platform, ATM blocked, monthly online limit equal to the client budget, label with the client name |
Creative | Cards for design and AI tools | Spending category for software, monthly limit per tool |
Events | Cards for a specific event | Issue and expiry date set to the event period, foreign transaction limit for events abroad |
Management (parent group) | Admins of the agency | Approve cards above the team limits |
To issue many cards at once, assign them from a CSV file. Group limits apply in the same way as for single cards.
FAQ: Virtual corporate cards in a marketing agency
Can each client have its own cards?
Yes. Create a subgroup for the client, assign its cards there and add a label with the client name, so the transaction report shows spend per client.
Who approves a card above the group limit?
The admins of the parent group. They get an email and a message in the admin panel and can approve or reject the request.
Can a group admin see other teams' cards?
No. A group admin sees only the cards assigned to their own group and the groups below it.
Can I block cash withdrawals on ad cards?
Yes. The online, ATM and foreign transaction limits can each be blocked completely, while the general limit stays as the card's spending cap.
Can a card work only on Google Ads or Meta?
Yes. A card can be restricted to specific merchants by Merchant ID.
Set up your agency's card structure
Want to see how groups, limits and approvals would look for your teams and clients? Book a demo and we'll show you how to map your agency structure in the Sparados admin panel.