Overview
An Activity in Custodia represents a budgeted permission to spend. It defines the scope, amount, and purpose of a cardholder’s spending and is required for any transactions made using a Custodia card.
Each Activity acts as a pre-approved spending request. It ensures that all purchases are tracked, categorized, and tied back to the appropriate team, project, or business purpose.
Why Are Activities Important?
Activities help companies:
Maintain control over company spend
Align purchases with internal budgets and policies
Track spending by cost center, project, or merchant
Enable workflows such as manager approvals or finance reviews
For most cardholders - without an active and approved Activity, Custodia cards cannot be used.
Where Do You Find Activities?
On Mobile:
Go to the Plan tab to view all your current and past Activities.
You can create a New Activity requests if your company allows it.
On Web:
Log in to my.custodia.ai
Navigate to Activity > Activities
From here, you can review previously created Activities
Select New Spend Request to create a new Activity (if permitted by your organization)
What Information Does an Activity Include?
An Activity typically contains:
Title or business purpose
Budget Amount (how much can be spent)
Start / End Dates
Allowed Merchants (if merchant control is used)
Activity Status (Active, Locked, or Completed)
Related Expenses – transactions tied to the Activity
How Are Activities Used?
Once an Activity is approved:
You can use your Custodia card to make purchases against it.
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Transactions are automatically matched to the correct Activity.
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This matching is based on the expense type aligning with the activity type.
e.g. an expense type for Restaurants aligns with activity type for Meals
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Expenses can later be split, edited, or reallocated (if enabled by your company).
Please see here for more details - How Do I Manage Activities in Custodia?
Can You Have More Than One Activity?
Yes. Depending on your organization’s setup, you may have:
Multiple concurrent Activities (e.g., Travel, Client Meals, Office Supplies)
Recurring Activities (e.g. $1000 activity that replenishes each week/month/year/etc.)
Activities created on your behalf by an Admin or Finance user
Expired or closed Activities that can no longer be used
What Happens If You Don’t Have an Activity?
If you try to make a purchase without a valid Activity:
Your transaction will be declined
You’ll receive a decline notification in the app suggesting to create a new activity
You may need to request a new Activity or budget increase
Need Help?
If you’re unsure which Activity to use or why your transaction was declined, please contact your internal Admin or contact our support team at support@custodia.ai.
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