PEX uses tags to represent your organization’s Chart of Accounts — including GL codes, cost centers, departments, projects, and any other accounting dimensions you track. By mapping your accounting structure into PEX, cardholders can code transactions at the point of purchase, and that data flows cleanly into your accounting or ERP system. Note: Your accounting or ERP system is the recommended source of truth. Before configuring tags in PEX, confirm your Chart of Accounts is finalized in your ERP. Any updates to GL codes or account structures should be made in your ERP first, then reflected in PEX. A list of Accounting/ERP platforms that PEX integrates with can be found here. This guide walks through the four steps to set up, refine, and manage your Chart of Accounts in PEX.Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://support.pexcard.com/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Step 1 — Create tags
Tags are the building blocks of your Chart of Accounts in PEX. Each tag represents a category (for example, “GL Code” or “Department”), and within each tag you’ll add the individual values that cardholders select when coding a transaction (for example, “6100 – Office Supplies” or “Marketing”). To create tags, navigate to Tag Manager in your Admin settings.- From Dashboard, go to Business Settings → Workflows → Tag Manager.
- Select Create Tag and enter the tag name (e.g., “Expense Account”) and the tag type. Choose whether the tag is required or optional at the time of purchase.
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Add your tag values using one of the following methods. Each value should match the corresponding code or name in your ERP exactly to ensure clean data on export.
- Recommended: Create a test value when syncing with your Accounting or ERP system. The remaining values will sync directly from your accounting software. Check out our support guides for set up help for your accounting or ERP platform.
- You have the ability to add values individually, or upload them in bulk using a CSV file.
- Save the tag. It will be immediately available for cardholders to use when coding transactions.
Step 2 — Disable tags that are not relevant
If your Chart of Accounts includes accounts that don’t apply to PEX spend (e.g.,, payroll accounts, depreciation entries, or balance sheet accounts), you can disable those tag values so they don’t appear in cardholder coding options. This keeps the list clean and reduces the chance of miscoding. Disabling a tag value does not delete it — it simply hides it from cardholders. You can re-enable it at any time.- In Tag Manager, open the tag you want to manage.
- Navigate to Options and locate the tag value(s) you want to remove from view and select the check box. This can be done in bulk.
- Click on Actions and update the status to Disable. Disabled values will no longer appear for cardholders when coding transactions. Any previously coded transactions using that value will retain their coding.
Note:Disabling a tag value only affects future transaction coding. Historical transactions coded with that value are not affected.
Step 3 — Create filters based on tag values (Advanced)
Tag-based filtering allows you to control which tag values are presented to cardholders based on the context of their transaction — for example, showing only the GL codes that apply to a specific expense category or merchant type. This reduces friction for cardholders and improves coding accuracy.- In Tag Manager, open the tag you want to filter and click on the edit button.
- Navigate to the Visibility tab and locate Tag-based filtering
- Define the filter criteria based on the selected tag — this can be based on the value of another tag (for example, when “Category” is “Travel,” show only travel-related GL codes).
- Assign the relevant tag values that should display when the filter condition is met. Values not included in the filter will be hidden for that context.
- Save the filter. The filtered view will apply to all cardholders in real time.
Step 4 — Limit tag values with Tag Restrictions
Tag Restrictions allow you to limit which tag values specific cardholders or groups can select. This is useful when certain departments should only code to their own cost center or GL codes — preventing cardholders from accidentally selecting accounts outside their scope.- In Tag Manager, open the tag you want to filter and click on the edit button.
- Navigate to the Visibility tab and Group-based filtering
- Select the Edit icon and choose the cardholder or group the restriction will apply to.
- Select the tag values that this cardholder or group is permitted to use. Only the values you select will be available to them during transaction coding.
- Save the restriction. The cardholder’s view of available tag values will update immediately.
Note:Tag Restrictions override tag-based filters. If a cardholder is restricted to specific values and a filter is also applied, the cardholder will only see values that satisfy both the restriction and the filter.
Maintaining your Chart of Accounts
Your Chart of Accounts will evolve over time. Here are a few best practices for keeping PEX in sync with your ERP:- When adding/disabling new GL codes in your ERP — sync the tag values in your integration so that the value becomes active/disabled in PEX Tag Manager.
- When restructuring your Chart of Accounts — review your tag-based filters and restrictions to ensure they still reflect the correct account groupings.
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Periodically audit your tag values — compare your active PEX tag values against your ERP’s active account list to catch any discrepancies before they affect reporting.
