In Clara, we keep evolving to give you more control and flexibility over your company's spending. Your cards now have more renewal frequency options, and a new feature called Shortcuts — pre-configured suggestions that let you set up cards for specific use cases in seconds.
New renewal frequency options
Your Clara cards now have more options for resetting their limit. In addition to the existing Daily and Billing cycle frequency, five new options are now available:
| Frequency | Description |
|---|---|
| Daily | The limit resets every day |
| Billing cycle | The limit resets at the end of each billing cycle |
| No renewal 🆕 | The limit never resets — not even after a payment. Ideal for incentives, bonus, or one-time budgets. |
| Weekly 🆕 | The limit resets every week |
| Monthly (calendar) 🆕 | The limit resets on the 1st of each month, regardless of when the card was created |
| Quarterly 🆕 | The limit resets on the 1st of Jan, Apr, Jul and Oct |
| Yearly 🆕 | The limit resets once a year, on the 1st of January |
This gives you more flexibility to match each card to the budget cycle that works best for your team.
How does "No renewal" work when you need to add more budget? Since the limit on a no-renewal card never resets, the used balance keeps accumulating. If a cardholder needs additional budget, an Admin must edit the card and set a new limit equal to the amount already spent + the extra budget needed.
Example: A card has a $1,000 limit and has spent $800. To give the cardholder $500 more to spend, the Admin should set the new limit to $1,300 ($800 already spent + $500 extra).
A card's limit can exceed the company's credit
This is intentional and works as follows: if a card's limit is higher than the company's credit line, the cardholder can use that full limit progressively as payments are made and credit is freed up on the company line.
Example: If a card has a $10,000 limit but the company has $6,000 available, the cardholder can spend up to $6,000 now. Once a payment releases more credit, they can continue spending up to the full $10,000.
The used balance no longer resets after a payment
This is an important behavior change. The used balance always reflects the total spent during the current period.
What does this mean in practice?
- A payment to Clara releases credit on the company line, but does not reset the card's counter.
- If a cardholder needs to keep spending within the same period, an Admin must increase that card's limit.
| Situation | What happens? |
|---|---|
| A payment is made to Clara | The used balance does not change |
| The cardholder needs more credit in the same period | The Admin must increase the card's limit |
Card Shortcuts: configure cards for every use case in seconds
Shortcuts are pre-configured suggestions that appear at the top of the card creation or request form. When you select one, the alias, renewal period, and spending categories are filled in automatically — no need to set each field manually.
This feature is available for Virtual and Clara White cards.
6 Shortcuts are available:
| Shortcut | Alias | Renewal period | Categories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project budget | Project budget | Quarterly | Restricted: bars/alcoholic beverages, entertainment, jewelry, casinos |
| Incentive card | Incentive card | No renewal | No restriction |
| Meal card | Meal card | Monthly (calendar) | Allowed: food |
| Transport card | Transport card | Monthly (calendar) | Allowed: transportation |
| Education card | Education card | Yearly | Allowed: education |
| Uniform card | Uniform card | Quarterly | Allowed: textile products |
Hover over any Shortcut to see a tooltip with a description of the use case.
How to use a Shortcut
- Go to Cards and click Create card (Admin) or Request card (Manager, Employee, or Accountant).
- At the top of the form, you'll see the Shortcuts ✦ section.
- Click the Shortcut that matches your use case.
- The alias, renewal period, and category fields will populate automatically.
- Adjust any field as needed, then click Create.
Important: If you apply a Shortcut to a form that already has fields filled in, only the Shortcut's specific fields will be updated — unrelated settings won't be overwritten.
Shortcuts and Templates
- If you're creating a card using a template, Shortcuts won't appear — the template already defines the configuration.
- If an Admin detaches a card from its template, Shortcuts become available again.
FAQ
- Why can a card's limit be higher than the available credit?
The card limit represents the maximum the cardholder can spend over the period. As the company makes payments and frees up credit, the cardholder can continue using the card up to that limit.
- Does the used balance reset when I change a card's renewal period?
No. The used balance only resets at the end of the configured renewal period, not when settings are changed. - Can I edit a card with a "No renewal" limit to increase that limit? Yes. Since the limit never resets, you need to set the new limit to the amount already spent plus the extra budget you want to add. For example, if the card has spent $800 and you want to give $500 more, set the limit to $1,300.
- Can I edit a card with a "No renewal" limit to decrease that limit? Yes. You can lower the limit at any time. If the new limit is still above the amount already spent, the card can continue to be used for the remaining difference. If you set the limit below the amount already spent, the card will not be able to process any new transactions until the limit is increased again.
- Can I decrease the limit on a card that renews automatically (weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.)? Yes. You can lower the limit at any time. If the new limit is still above the amount already spent in the current period, the card can keep spending for the remaining difference. If you set the limit below the amount already spent in the current period, the card won't be able to process new transactions for the rest of that period — but it will recover automatically at the next renewal with the new limit in full. For example: a card has a $800 quarterly limit and has spent $700. If you lower the limit to $600, the card will be blocked for the rest of the quarter. Next quarter, it will reset and have the full $600 available.
- Can I modify the settings after applying a Shortcut?
Yes. Shortcuts are a starting point — you can adjust any field before creating the card.
- Why don't I see Shortcuts in the form?
You may be creating the card using a template, which already defines the card's configuration.