How to Integrate Mesh With Playroll

What the Mesh and Playroll Integration Does

Connecting Mesh to Playroll moves approved out-of-pocket expenses from Mesh into Playroll automatically, without manual exports or reconciliation. Connect Mesh to Playroll in two stages, so expenses sync automatically once they reach Scheduled Payments status in Mesh.

Once your Mesh company is connected, Playroll picks up each approved expense when it reaches Scheduled Payments status, matches it to the right expense type, and makes it available for processing. Your team keeps submitting and approving expenses in Mesh exactly as they do today.

• This is a one-way integration: expenses move from Mesh to Playroll only.
• Expenses sync when they reach Scheduled Payments status in Mesh, not when they're approved, so expect a gap between approval and sync.
• Expenses without a matching category or merchant mapping still sync, but import into Playroll as "Other".
• Receipts, along with local- and billing-currency values, come across with each expense.

💡 How the sync works: Playroll only pulls in expenses once Mesh moves them to Scheduled Payments. An expense that's approved but still earlier in the Mesh workflow won't appear in Playroll yet — that's expected, not a fault. 

If an expense seems to be missing, check its status in Mesh before assuming the integration is broken.

Requirements Before You Start

Before you change any settings, confirm the following:

• Your dedicated Mesh Customer Success Manager (CSM) has enabled the Playroll partner integration (Partner ID 0006) for your Mesh account.
• You have Company Settings access in Mesh to grant API permissions under Integrations → Mesh API Permissions.
• You have access to Playroll with permission to manage integrations (Tools → Integrations).

⚠️ Important: If Mesh hasn't enabled the Playroll partner integration and granted consent for Employees, Expenses, and Custom Fields, the connection in Playroll will fail. Confirm enablement with your Mesh CSM before you start.

How to Connect Mesh to Playroll

Set up the integration in two stages: first, your company authorizes Playroll inside Mesh; then a Playroll admin connects the account and maps expense categories in Playroll.

Part 1: Authorize Playroll in Mesh

Complete these steps in Mesh before you open Playroll. You'll need your dedicated Mesh CSM for the first step.

✅ Step 1 – Request Playroll Enablement From Mesh

Mesh has to switch on the Playroll partner integration on their side before your company can connect anything. Skip this step and the connection in Playroll will fail.

1. Contact your dedicated Mesh CSM.
2. Ask them to enable the Playroll partner integration for your Mesh account.
3. Share your company or account details along with the Playroll Partner ID 0006.
4. Confirm the required permissions: Employees, Expenses, and Custom Fields.
5. Wait for Mesh to confirm that backend enablement is complete before you move on.

🧩 Watch out for this: Enablement can take a few business days, depending on your CSM's turnaround. Start this step early if you're working toward a go-live date.

✅ Step 2 – Grant API Consent in Mesh

Playroll can only read expense data that Mesh has explicit permission to share. Miss even one permission here, and the sync can quietly fail later, even though everything else looks set up correctly.

1. In Mesh, go to Company Settings → Integrations → Mesh API Permissions.
2. Find Playroll, listed under Partner ID 0006.
3. Select Employees, Expenses, and Custom Fields.
4. Save the consent settings.

🧩 Watch out for this: A missing permission doesn't always produce an obvious error — it can simply mean the connection or the sync doesn't work. Confirm that all three permissions are selected before you save.

✅ Step 3 – Copy Your Mesh Company ID

Playroll uses this ID to confirm you're connecting the right Mesh company. You'll need it in Part 2.

1. On the same Mesh API Permissions page, find the Mesh company ID shown above the partner consent controls.
2. Copy the numeric ID.

🧩 Watch out for this: Treat this ID as a sensitive company identifier. Redact it from any screenshots or tickets you share outside your organization.

Part 2: Connect and Configure Mesh in Playroll

Once Mesh confirms enablement and consent is granted, finish the setup in the Playroll employer dashboard.

✅ Step 4 – Open the Mesh Payments Integration

This is where you connect your Mesh company and set up expense mapping.

1. Log in to Playroll.
2. Go to your Dashboard.
3. Select Tools → Integrations.
4. Find the Mesh Payments card and select it to open.

✅ Step 5 – Connect Your Mesh Company

This step links your Mesh company to Playroll. Until it's done, no expense data can sync.

1. Open the Configuration tab (marker 1).
2. Enter your Mesh company ID, digits only (marker 2).
3. Select Connect (marker 3).
4. Playroll checks the format and confirms it can access that Mesh company.

🧩 Watch out for this: If the connection fails, your company stays disconnected and nothing changes — Playroll doesn't retry automatically. Check that the ID contains digits only and try again. Once the connection succeeds, the ID field becomes read-only and the mapping panel appears below it.

✅ Step 6 – Map Expense Categories

This tells Playroll which Playroll expense type each Mesh category or merchant should become. Without a mapping, an expense still syncs, but it lands as "Other".

1. In Map expense categories, enter the exact Mesh category or merchant name (marker 1).
2. Choose the matching Playroll expense type (marker 2).
3. Select Add mapping to map another category or merchant (marker 3).
4. Select Update to save your mappings (marker 4).

🧩 Watch out for this: Merchant matching takes priority over category matching, and the Mesh spelling and letter case must match exactly — for example, "travel" and "Travel" aren't treated as the same thing. Avoid duplicate mapping keys. Mapping changes apply only to expenses imported after you save them.

✅ Step 7 – Confirm the Connection or Disconnect

Once connected, you can check the integration's status at a glance and disconnect it (marker 5) if you need to pause syncing.

1. A connected integration shows a read-only Mesh company ID and a Disconnect button (marker 5).
2. Select Disconnect (marker 5) if you need to stop Playroll from polling for new expenses.

🧩 Watch out for this: Disconnecting in Playroll stops future syncing, but it doesn't delete expenses already imported, and your saved mappings stay in place for next time. It also doesn't revoke the consent you granted in Mesh. To remove API access entirely, revoke Playroll's consent under Mesh API Permissions or contact your Mesh CSM. If consent is revoked on the Mesh side, disconnect the integration in Playroll too, so you don't end up with repeated connection errors.

Setup Checklist

Before you consider the integration complete, confirm all of the following:

• ✅ Your Mesh CSM has enabled the Playroll partner integration (Partner ID 0006).
• ✅ Employees, Expenses, and Custom Fields consent is granted in Mesh API Permissions.
• ✅ Mesh Payments is successfully connected to Playroll — the Mesh company ID field shows read-only.
• ✅ Expense categories or merchants are mapped to Playroll expense types and saved.
• ✅ Your team understands that expenses sync on Scheduled Payments status, not on approval.

Mesh and Playroll FAQs

Why aren't my Mesh expenses showing up in Playroll yet?

The most common reason is timing: expenses sync only once they reach Scheduled Payments status in Mesh, not the moment they're approved. Check the expense's status in Mesh first. If it's already at Scheduled Payments and still hasn't appeared, confirm that Mesh Payments shows as connected in Playroll and that your Mesh API consent is still active.

Can Playroll send expense changes back to Mesh?

No. This is a one-way integration — expenses move from Mesh to Playroll only. Any changes you make in Playroll after an expense syncs won't update the record in Mesh.

What happens to expenses I haven't mapped to a category?

They still sync; they import into Playroll as "Other" instead of a specific expense type. You can add the missing mapping at any time, but it applies only to future imports, not to expenses that already came through as "Other".

Does disconnecting in Playroll remove Playroll's access to Mesh?

No. Disconnecting in Playroll only stops Playroll from polling for new expenses — it doesn't revoke the API consent you granted in Mesh. To remove access entirely, revoke Playroll's consent under Mesh API Permissions or contact your Mesh CSM.