Pleo Fetch vs Manual Forwarding: Choose the Right Intake Route
Compare four distinct ways to move receipts or invoices into Pleo by ownership, access scope, coverage, and ongoing maintenance.
By ilios Galil · Founder, Expensent
Published July 18, 2026 · Updated August 3, 2026
Last verified : July 11, 2026
Read this if…
You are choosing who should own Pleo email intake and how much mailbox access, review, and maintenance that route should require.
Related: Email receipts to Pleo setup guide
TL;DR
Use Fetch for card receipts in one permitted, user-owned work mailbox. Use manual forwarding for a specific exception sent from the work email linked to that Pleo user.
Supplier-direct forwarding belongs to Pleo's separate invoice workflow when the account exposes an invoice address that Pleo says can be shared with suppliers.
Use reviewed upstream routing when finance needs to decide what reaches Pleo before the Pleo receipt or invoice workflow begins.
In This Guide
1. Decision matrix
Compare the route and the downstream Pleo record together. The supplier-direct option is an invoice path, not a substitute for the user-linked receipt address.
| Route | Owner | Admin dependency | Privacy / access scope | Coverage | Maintenance | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pleo Fetch connection | Individual Pleo user | Mailbox authorization; provider policy can block access | Pleo connects to one work email and looks for receipt-like emails | Best for card receipts in that mailbox; Fetch can retrieve an attachment or convert an email body to PDF | Keep the mailbox connection authorized | Cardholders whose receipts reliably arrive in one permitted work mailbox |
| One-off manual forwarding | Cardholder or Pleo user | No Fetch connection; sender must be the linked work email | Only the selected forwarded message reaches Pleo | Good for an occasional receipt; identical body-only handling is not documented | A person chooses and sends each item | Users who want message-level control or need a Fetch fallback |
| Supplier-direct forwarding | Finance or AP owner plus supplier | Requires the invoice address shown in an eligible Pleo Invoices setup | Supplier sends the invoice document to the Pleo invoice workflow | Supplier invoices, not the linked-user receipt route documented for card receipts | Maintain supplier records and destination ownership | AP teams using Pleo Invoices with stable recurring suppliers |
| Expensent recurring routing | Finance, operations, or bookkeeping team | Authorize the upstream mailbox service and configure a Pleo destination | Expensent finds and routes receipt emails from connected inboxes | Useful across supported inboxes and mixed message types; Pleo handles the downstream result | Confirm recurring sender-and-subject patterns | Teams that need historical catch-up and recurring inbox routing |
2. Start with the document, not the feature
The first decision is whether the email contains a card receipt or a supplier invoice. Pleo documents Fetch and forward@fetch.pleo.io as receipt routes tied to a user and work email. It documents a different forwarding address, found inside Invoices, that can be shared with suppliers for invoice intake. Those destinations serve different downstream records and should not be treated as interchangeable.
Next decide where the documents already arrive. Fetch covers one cardholder mailbox, manual forwarding covers occasional receipts, supplier-direct forwarding covers the invoice workflow, and Expensent covers current and historical email across supported inboxes.
Fastest disqualifier
Do not give a supplier the Fetch receipt address merely because it is easy to copy. Pleo documents that receipt fallback for mail forwarded from the work email linked to the Pleo user.
3. Use Expensent for recurring receipts across current and historical email
Fetch is useful for a supported user-owned mailbox, while manual forwarding works for an occasional known receipt. Expensent covers the middle ground: receipts spread across current and historical email that need a repeatable route to Pleo.
After you confirm a sender-and-subject pattern, new matching receipts can move automatically from the linked mailbox to Pleo. One-off documents can still use manual forwarding or direct upload.
This hybrid keeps native Pleo capture where it already works and removes repeat forwarding for the receipt emails that still need an inbox route.
4. Recommendation by reader
A cardholder with one permitted work mailbox should start with Fetch. A cardholder who forwards a receipt only occasionally should use the documented manual route. An AP owner receiving recurring supplier invoices should use the invoice address shown inside Pleo when that workflow is available. Use Expensent when receipts are spread across current and historical email.
A hybrid works well: Fetch for employee card receipts, supplier-direct forwarding for Pleo invoices, manual forwarding for one-offs, and Expensent for inbox catch-up and recurring email patterns.
Where Pleo takes over
Every route ends at a Pleo workflow. Pleo still controls receipt matching, Receipt Inbox, card expenses, invoice processing, approvals, accounting sync, and the account's retention and compliance decisions.
5. Sources checked
These official Pleo sources were checked live on July 11, 2026 for the receipt, access, sender, and supplier-invoice boundaries used in this decision.
7. Frequently asked questions
Is Pleo Fetch better than forwarding receipts manually?
Fetch is usually the better fit when one cardholder wants Pleo to find receipts in a connected work mailbox and the company permits that connection. Manual forwarding is better for an occasional receipt when the user wants to decide exactly what reaches Pleo or cannot connect Fetch.
Can a supplier send receipts directly to forward@fetch.pleo.io?
Pleo currently documents that address for receipts forwarded from the work email linked to the user's Pleo account. That is not the same as an open supplier intake address. For supplier invoices, Pleo separately says companies using its Invoices workflow can share the invoice-forwarding address shown inside Invoices with suppliers.
Does Pleo Fetch require administrator approval?
Not in every company. Pleo says administrators can restrict Fetch through Microsoft Outlook or Google Workspace and that IT may block it. Whether approval is needed depends on the company's provider and tenant policy.
Which option has the narrowest email access?
One-off manual forwarding and supplier-direct invoice forwarding send selected messages or documents instead of connecting Pleo to a mailbox. Fetch requires a direct connection to one work email account. An upstream routing service has its own mailbox access scope, which should be reviewed separately from Pleo's permissions.
Do body-only receipts work with manual forwarding?
Pleo documents email-body-to-PDF conversion for Fetch. The official Pleo sources checked for this article do not separately establish identical body-only behavior for manual receipt forwarding or supplier invoice forwarding. Test that document shape before choosing either route for recurring use.
Where does Expensent fit in the decision?
Expensent finds current and historical receipt emails, routes them from the mailbox linked to the Pleo user, and automates future matches from recurring senders. Pleo handles receipt matching, Receipt Inbox, card expenses, invoices, approvals, and accounting sync.
Send recurring receipt emails to Pleo
Find current and historical receipt emails, route them from the mailbox linked to the Pleo user, and automate future matches from recurring senders.
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