How our commercial team uses Pleo to automate spend in Southern Europe

As part of our How Pleo uses Pleo series, we’re spotlighting how different teams across the company rely on Pleo day-to-day to track spending, but also reduce admin, unlock clarity, and keep things moving in the right direction.

We’ve seen what that looks like at the top in Jeppe’s blog, and we’ve taken a look behind the scenes with Dietrich Menzel and his team. Now, we’re zooming in on the Southern European market with Ignacio Roger, Account Executive at Pleo, to see how everyday spending powers relationships and sharp execution in his team.

“Using Pleo ourselves gives us real insight into the value we bring to our customers.”

One line that captures the essence of Pleo. Ignacio and his team aren’t just talking about smarter spending for talking’s sake; they’re living proof of what it looks like in action. And the result is a momentum that scales naturally, whether it’s a one-on-one lunch with a CFO or a regional push into new markets.

Day one with Pleo: smooth, intuitive, and already indispensable

Ignacio’s first interaction with Pleo came before he even stepped into the office. In 2021, while moving from Valencia to Madrid, he was given a relocation budget—managed entirely through the Pleo app.

“It’s a tool built for modern teams — fast, flexible, and empowering. It made me love Pleo even before officially being part of the company.”

That first touch left a lasting mark. He recalls the interface as “seamless and intuitive” and appreciated how easy it was to submit expenses, get real-time spend visibility, and avoid the admin friction common in traditional reimbursement processes. 

Making everyday work frictionless

In Sales & Growth teams, even the smallest actions can have a big impact. Pleo helps Ignacio manage his every move without any bottlenecks:

• Marketing events that bring Pleo’s mission to life across the local business community
• CFO lunches and client meetings — moments to build trust and start meaningful conversations
• Business travel across offices or to external events

Without the right tool, those touchpoints could become logistical overhead. With Pleo, they’re part of a clean, repeatable system. Ignacio pays, adds a receipt in seconds (often using Fetch), and moves on. No clutter, no end-of-month surprises, no out-of-pocket spending.

“It literally takes seconds, and it means I never have to worry about forgetting a receipt or dealing with manual reports later on. It’s incredibly intuitive and the automation helps me stay on top of my spending without any hassle.”

What the team gains: clarity, speed, and shared visibility. Budgets stay on track, finance sees what’s going on, and the team spends time on growth, not spreadsheets.

“This level of simplicity makes a big difference in our fast-paced day-to-day work.”

The stack supporting the Sales team’s success

Sales teams move fast, but speed without clarity causes problems. What Ignacio values is how Pleo helps him move quickly and make better decisions without second-guessing.

The Pleo app is central to that. It fits naturally into his day, designed around how people work on the go. He calls out a few key features that make the biggest difference:

• Fetch: Ignacio’s favourite feature. It scans his inbox for receipts and matches them to expenses automatically. No need to dig, screenshot or upload because it’s all done in the background. The result is real-time accuracy, with zero admin overhead.
  
  
• Real-time spend visibility: At any moment, he can check how much budget remains for lunches, events, or travel. That visibility creates confidence and cuts out the back-and-forth.
  
  
• Virtual and physical cards: For Ignacio, it’s about flexibility. Virtual cards for subscriptions or online bookings. Physical cards for client lunches, taxi fares, or on-the-ground spend. Each is controlled, secure, and fit for purpose.

All of this is supported by clear policies, set budgets, and automated processes, which means the rules are built in, not enforced. Ignacio and his team don’t need to think about compliance. It’s already taken care of.

“One clever hack Pleo offers is creating dedicated budgets for specific recurring use cases, such as marketing events or client lunches. It helps me keep track of spending by category without any extra effort."

Good habits turn into great outcomes

Getting the most out of Pleo doesn’t take long, but a few smart practices make it even easier to scale the benefits. This is what Ignacio recommends to teams starting out with Pleo:

• Set clear spending guidelines, but give people the trust to act
• Use dedicated budgets and limits for recurring cases like events or travel
• Upload receipts and notes immediately. It saves time later and helps finance
• Build the habit. The more you use Pleo, the more visibility and value you unlock

Local action, global momentum

Every logged expense moves something forward, whether it’s a conversation, a connection, or a deal, and it reflects the team’s focus: investing time, attention, and effort in the right places. 

With Pleo, the structure is there, but it doesn’t get in the way. The visibility is shared, so everyone stays aligned. And the product does the heavy lifting with powerful automation and seamless workflows, so people can focus on outcomes, not processes.

For anyone just starting with Pleo, Ignacio’s experience is a great example: spending shouldn’t be a barrier. Done right, it becomes a lever—one that helps businesses move faster, stay sharper, and grow with confidence.

Next up, we’re heading north. Nicolai Møller, Senior Sales Manager in the Nordics, shares how his team keeps spending smooth while working from anywhere, and why traditional spend management tools simply can’t keep up.