24 Best Expense Report Software for Error-Free Books in 2024
10 Best Expense Report Software Shortlist
Here's my pick of the 10 best software from the 24 tools reviewed.
Our one-on-one guidance will help you find the perfect fit.
Simplifying expense reporting is about more than just cutting down errors—it’s about gaining control. The right software speeds up submissions, eliminates manual mistakes, and gives you real-time access to financial data. You save time while getting more reliable books.
I’ve gone through the top options and created a shortlist for you. Here are the best expense report software tools in 2024—complete with why they excel, what they’re best at, and the types of businesses they’re ideal for.
Quick Comparison Chart
As you get started, I wanted to give you the option to see information about the 10 best expense report tools, side by side.
| Tools | Price | |
|---|---|---|
| Rippling Spend | From $8/user/month (billed annually) | Website |
| Airwallex | Pricing upon request | Website |
| Airbase | Pricing upon request | Website |
| Spendesk | Pricing upon request | Website |
| Navan | Pricing upon request | Website |
| Zoho Expense | From $45/user/month | Website |
| Fyle | From $8.99/user/month | Website |
| Divvy | Free | Website |
| Xledger | Pricing upon request | Website |
| Paycom | Pricing upon request | Website |
Compare Software Specs Side by Side
Use our comparison chart to review and evaluate software specs side-by-side.
Compare SoftwareOverview of the 10 Best Expense Report Software
Here, I’ll expand on each of the expense report tools that made my top 10 shortlist. I have purposely kept each section brief and followed a uniform structure, to allow you to compare their key features easily.
Rippling is a workforce management system that offers HR, IT, and finance cloud platforms to automate various aspects of employee management. Its features include a comprehensive expense management solution designed to automate the entire expense reporting process.
Why I picked Rippling: I like that Rippling's automated expense management capabilities offer real-time policy checks, which instantly flag non-compliant expenses. It also has automated approval workflows that speed up the expense reporting process. Additionally, Rippling’s AI-powered transaction categorization reduces errors and saves time by accurately categorizing expenses.
Rippling Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include customizable policy settings, which allow businesses to create specific rules tailored to their unique needs. Its mobile app enables employees to capture receipts and submit expenses on the go, ensuring timely reporting and reimbursement. Additionally, Rippling provides comprehensive audit trails for every transaction, facilitating easier and more transparent financial audits.
Integrations include QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, Gusto, Slack, Google Workspace, Microsoft Office 365, Zapier, and Dropbox.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Integrated HR, financial, and IT solutions
- Proactive compliance alerts
- Customizable workflow automation
Cons:
- Potential learning curve when maximizing its feature set
- Limited language offerings
Airwallex is a comprehensive global payments and financial platform designed to help businesses manage their global financial operations efficiently. It offers a range of products including business accounts, multi-currency accounts, high-speed international transfers, automated bill payments, and expense management tools.
Why I picked Airwallex: I like its end-to-end management capability, which consolidates corporate card expenses and reimbursements into a single platform. This integration provides real-time visibility and control over employee spending, which is crucial for maintaining financial oversight. The software's mobile accessibility also allows employees to upload receipts and submit expenses directly through the Airwallex mobile app.
Airwallex Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include the global accounts feature that allows businesses to quickly open domestic and foreign currency accounts in over 20 currencies, facilitating seamless global financial management without fees. The borderless cards feature also enables companies to issue multi-currency virtual and physical cards for employees, providing real-time tracking and efficient expense management.
Integrations include popular accounting tools like Xero, QuickBooks, NetSuite, Sage, and Odoo, ecommerce marketplaces like Amazon and TikTok Shop, and other platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, Lazada, Shopee, and Magento.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Provides virtual cards for supplier payments and employee expenses
- Supports transactions in multiple currencies
- Offers robust APIs that facilitate integration with other financial tools
Cons:
- Not all features and services are available in every region
- Lacks detailed control features for user approval roles
Airbase is a financial services solution that offers expense management, accounts payable automation, corporate cards, and guided procurement. Their customers are primarily mid-market technology companies, although they also serve many in the financial services and automotive industries.
Why I picked Airbase: Most expense software allows you to designate individuals to approve expenses, but Airbase stands out because it has multilayered approval workflows that consider department, expense category, location, and more. This saves a ton of time and confusion at matrixed organizations. You can make the rules as complex as you like.
Airbase Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include automated reimbursement for approved expenses, with expenses paid out each night. And along with spending limits, I liked how Airbase lets you set expiration dates on company cards to control subscription renewals. The drawback comes when dealing with semi-regular vendors who you use more than once but not every month.
Integrations include Netsuite, Sage, Quickbooks, Xero, American Express, Jira, Slack, Okta, BambooHR, and Rippling.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Mileage tracking
- Email and Slack integrations
- Approval groups for speed
Cons:
- Too complex for small businesses
- Cards are either “one-time” or ”recurring”
Spendesk is a spend management and budget tracking tool that offers company cards, invoicing, and accounting automation. It aims to give finance teams overall spend visibility while allowing functional teams to do their jobs without red tape.
Why I picked Spendesk: I like that Spendesk takes a two-pronged approach to expense management. They give finance teams the power of the purse, enabling them to monitor and manage overall spending. But they also let teams access and manage their individual budgets.
Spendesk Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include budget overviews that allow approvers to make informed decisions based on what has already been spent and earmarked. I also like that Spendesk automatically accounts for transactions in your real-time budget, which means no surprise spending.
Integrations include Slack, Netsuite, and Xero. While these are the only advertised integrations, Spendesk has an integration request form and says they will work with you to export data to your accounting tools.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Ease of use
- Easy subscription management
- Quickly issue virtual cards
Cons:
- Spendesk cards not universally accepted
- Limited integrations
In 2023, TripActions rebranded as Navan and combined their travel planning and expense management tools into one system. The mobile app, instead of being a partially functional supplement, offers full access to Navan’s features.
Why I picked Navan: Travel is one of the top reasons for expense reporting, and I picked Navan because it sets itself apart by allowing you to search and book flights and hotel rooms within the app. This means you never have to transfer data from those expenses to Navan. Of course, you can also log meals and other expenses, but Navan streams booking and reporting travel expenses into one process.
Navan Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include preventing unauthorized spending with custom policies tied to Navan corporate cards.
I also liked how you can also view all of your business’s travel expenses in one customizable dashboard, with useful metrics like average spend per user, spend by category, etc.
Integrations include Slack, Quickbooks, Netsuite, ADP, BambooHR, Okta, Hibob, Namely, Sage, Workativ Assistant, and G Suite.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Links to rewards programs
- Rate comparisons
- Book flights and rooms from app
Cons:
- Doesn’t display all flight options
- Limited roles and permissions
Zoho is a company that makes a wide range of business tools, beginning with their customer relationship management (CRM) system. They work primarily with small businesses in the IT and software industries and even offer a free plan for up to three users and 20 receipts per month.
Why I picked Zoho Expense: For Zoho users who want a simple way to add expense management to their toolset, Zoho Expense is, in my opinion, a natural choice. Plus, if you’re already using Zoho Books for accounting, the direct integration can save a ton of time and effort.
Zoho Expense Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include the ability to upload a batch of receipts that are then automatically matched when you create the associated expenses. I also liked that you can also either connect your financial accounts, import bank, or credit card statements.
Integrations include Zoho products, Quickbooks, Xero, Sage Accounting, Lyft, Uber, Slack, Dropbox, G Suite, and Taxback International. You can also build with the Zoho Expense API.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- IRS-compliant travel logs
- Policy compliance management
- Automated reminders
Cons:
- Premium support is an add-on
- Lack of reporting customization
Fyle is an expense management tool that records transactions and notifies stakeholders in real-time. Unlike others on this list that encourage you to use their cards, Fyle promotes the ability to connect with and use credit cards you already have.
Why I picked Fyle: While Fyle is relatively easy for employees to use, it stands out to me because it’s designed to help finance teams learn and make better decisions. It includes spend analytics (like average spend and categories), as well as operational analytics that help you monitor turnaround time and identify process blockers.
FYLE STANDOUT FEATURES AND INTEGRATIONS:
Features include automatically created digital audit trails, which store receipts, approvals, and other data in an audit-friendly format. It’s impressive to me that finance teams can also create multiple organizations within an account to simplify budgeting and accounting.
Integrations include Teams, Slack, Gmail, Sage, TravelPerk, Xero, Netsuite, Quickbooks, and Outlook.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Intuitive interface
- Mature email integrations
- Real-time transaction texts
Cons:
- Clunky expense splitting
- Two-step process (upload expenses, then submit)
Founded in 2016 and acquired by BILL in 2021, Divvy is an expense management and corporate credit card solution primarily for small businesses. They are able to offer the software for free to users because they collect a fee from the merchant. Consequently, they incentivize the use of Divvy cards over reimbursements.
Why I picked Divvy: With business software, “free” usually means that the tool still charges transaction fees. Divvy’s merchant fee model makes it truly free to the businesses that use it, which is why I’m impressed by it. This is how small organizations can move expense management out of spreadsheets without breaking the bank.
Divvy Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include rule-based auto-categorization and automatic receipt matching to produce instant expense reports. I also appreciate that when you use Divvy cards, the transactions are also automatically reconciled for you. You can set budgets and spend limits, but if something changes, updating them is easy.
Integrations include Quickbooks, Sage, Netsuite, Slack, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and TravelPerk.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Physical and virtual cards
- User-friendly app
- Quickly edit credit lines and budgets
Cons:
- Slow reimbursement process
- Inconsistent notifications
Xledger is a cloud-based financial software solution designed for organizations with complex financial management needs. The tool focuses on automation, insight, and scalability, offering features such as consolidated financials, paperless workflows, and advanced payment and vendor management functionalities.
Why I picked Xledger: This platform offers various features for managing and tracking expenses across different industries. It allows employees to submit timesheets and documented expense reports from any location, using any device with a web browser. The software also includes role-based dashboards that offer tailored functionality and security, and it integrates time and expenses with other financial processes within a unified system.
Xledger Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include automated accounting and financial tasks, the ability to facilitate transactions between different entities within the same organization, financial data management across different branches or subsidiaries, and robust reporting and analytics.
Integrations include Magento, GoldFinch, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Harvest, Salesforce, Chase Credit Card, and more.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Multi-entity management capabilities
- Automates routine tasks
- Scalable to grow with businesses
Cons:
- Limited customization options
- May be complex for new users
Paycom is a comprehensive human resources and payroll solution that offers expense management and reimbursement. Most popular with nonprofits and healthcare providers, Paycom users can upload pictures of receipts to auto-fill reports and to identify any repeat charges.
Why I picked Paycom: Expense reports are just one piece of the payroll and human resources puzzle. I chose Paycom as an option for businesses that want an all-in-one system instead of a stack of different tools.
Paycom Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include sending approved reimbursement requests directly to payroll and the ability to implement your company’s expense policy within the technology. I was also impressed by the fact that Paycom also automatically allocates expenses within your general ledger, saving time and minimizing human error.
Integrations include 7Shifts, Nowsta, SpotOn, TravelBank, Adora POS, and TimeClock Plus. Most of Paycom’s integrations are HR-related.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Credit card linking
- Easy reimbursements
- Full HR and payroll system
Cons:
- High price if you only need expense software
- Limited integrations
Other Expense Report Software Options
Here are some other expense report software choices worth considering that didn’t make the list:
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Expense Report Software Selection Criteria
Here's how I determined the tools that would go on this list:
- I researched and compared expense report software, to create an initial list of options.
- I considered common buyer needs and pain points—like ease of use and integration with other tools—to condense the list.
- Finally, I took a pass over the list, using the following evaluation criteria, to come up with the top ten options.
Core Functionality (25% of total weighting score)
To be considered for inclusion in this list, each solution had to fulfill these common use cases:
- Track expenses
- Submit expense reports
- Approve expense reports
- Integrate with accounting software
- Generate expense-related reports
Additional Standout Features (25% of total weighting score)
To help further narrow down the competition, I also looked for unique features, such as:
- Automate expense categorization using AI
- Provide real-time expense tracking via mobile app
- Offer multi-currency support
- Include built-in compliance checks
- Enable receipt scanning and OCR
Usability (10% of total weighting score)
To get a sense of the usability of each system, I considered the following:
- Offer intuitive user interface
- Ensure quick navigation through features
- Provide customizable dashboards
- Allow easy data import and export
- Ensure minimal learning curve
Onboarding (10% of total weighting score)
To evaluate the onboarding experience for each platform, I considered the following:
- Provide step-by-step tutorials
- Offer interactive product tours
- Include comprehensive training videos
- Make available pre-built templates
- Provide access to live webinars and chat support
Customer Support (10% of total weighting score)
To assess each software provider’s customer support services, I considered the following:
- Offer 24/7 customer support
- Provide access to a knowledge base
- Include live chat options
- Ensure quick response times
- Offer multilingual support
Value For Money (10% of total weighting score)
To evaluate the value for money of each platform, I considered the following:
- Offer competitive pricing
- Provide a free trial period
- Include all essential features in basic plans
- Offer transparent pricing with no hidden fees
- Provide scalable pricing options
Customer Reviews (10% of total weighting score)
To get a sense of overall customer satisfaction, I considered the following when reading customer reviews:
- Highlight value for money
- Highlight ease of use
- Mention reliability and uptime
- Discuss customer support quality
- Evaluate feature comprehensiveness
Trends in Expense Report Software
In my research, I sourced countless product updates, press releases, and release logs from different expense report software vendors. Here are some of the emerging trends I’m keeping an eye on:
- AI-Powered Expense Management: Vendors are increasingly integrating AI to automate complex tasks such as categorizing expenses, detecting fraud, and providing predictive analytics. This helps businesses reduce manual work and improve accuracy. For example, Expensify uses AI to automatically categorize expenses and flag anomalies.
- Blockchain for Expense Verification: Blockchain technology is gaining traction for its ability to provide transparent and immutable records. This can simplify the expense verification process and reduce fraud. Some vendors are exploring blockchain to ensure expense data integrity and streamline audits.
- Real-Time Expense Tracking: Real-time tracking features are becoming more prevalent, allowing employees to log expenses as they occur using mobile apps or connected devices. This ensures up-to-date expense records and quicker reimbursements. Companies like Concur have adopted real-time tracking to facilitate immediate data entry and processing.
- Customizable Reporting Dashboards: Businesses are demanding more customizable and detailed reporting dashboards. These dashboards help in analyzing spending patterns, generating compliance reports, and making data-driven decisions. Tools like Certify offer extensive customization options for reporting, catering to diverse business needs.
- Voice-Activated Expense Entry: Voice recognition technology is making its way into expense management, allowing users to input expenses via voice commands. This feature can be particularly useful for on-the-go employees. Vendors like SAP Concur are experimenting with voice-activated data entry to enhance user convenience.
What Is Expense Report Software?
Expense report software refers to a digital tool used to optimize business expense management. It allows employees to submit expense reports electronically, automates the approval process, and provides administrators with tools to analyze and control expenses more effectively.
This software typically includes features such as receipt scanning, expense categorization, policy enforcement, real-time tracking, and integration with accounting systems. Overall, it helps automate the entire expense management process, reduce manual errors, and enforce compliance with company expense policies.
How to Choose Expense Report Software
It’s easy to get bogged down in long feature lists and complex pricing structures. To help you stay focused as you work through your unique software selection process, here’s a checklist of factors to keep in mind:
| Factor | What to Consider |
|---|---|
| Scalability | Will the software grow with your business needs? |
| Integrations | Does it integrate with your current systems and tools? |
| Customizability | Can you tailor the software to fit your specific needs? |
| Ease of Use | Is the software user-friendly and easy for your team to adopt? |
| Budget | Does the software fit within your financial constraints? |
| Security Safeguards | Does it offer robust security features to protect your data? |
| Support | What level of customer support does the vendor provide? |
| Reporting | Does it offer comprehensive reporting and analytics? |
Features of Expense Report Software
When selecting expense report software, keep an eye out for the following key features:
- Time and expense tracking: Enables users to track expenses and time spent on tasks, which is essential for accurate budgeting and invoicing.
- Automated approval workflows: Streamlines the expense approval process by setting up automated workflows that notify the appropriate personnel for approvals.
- Receipt capture: Allows users to capture and upload receipts directly into the software, ensuring all expenses are documented and easily accessible.
- Integration with accounting software: Ensures seamless data transfer between your expense report software and your accounting systems, reducing manual data entry.
- Mileage tracking: Provides tools for accurately tracking and reporting mileage expenses, which is crucial for employees who travel frequently.
- Policy compliance: Automatically checks submitted expenses against company policies to ensure compliance and flag any discrepancies.
- Multi-currency support: Facilitates expense reporting for international transactions by supporting multiple currencies and exchange rates.
- Mobile accessibility: Offers mobile applications that allow employees to submit expenses and capture receipts on the go.
- Real-time reporting: Generates real-time reports on expenses, helping managers to monitor and control budgets effectively.
- Customizable categories: Allows users to create and customize expense categories to fit their unique business needs.
Benefits of Expense Report Software
Implementing expense report software provides several benefits for your team and your business. Here are a few you can look forward to:
- Reduced administrative burden: Automating expense reporting reduces the time employees spend on manual tasks, allowing them to focus on more important work.
- Improved accuracy: Automated data entry and receipt capture minimize human errors, ensuring more accurate financial records.
- Faster reimbursement: Streamlined approval processes and automated workflows speed up reimbursement times, keeping employees satisfied.
- Better expense tracking: Real-time tracking of expenses helps keep budgets on target and provides insights into spending patterns.
- Enhanced compliance: Built-in policy enforcement ensures that all expense claims adhere to company policies and regulatory requirements.
- Easier auditing: Centralized storage of receipts and expense reports simplifies the auditing process, making it easier to track and verify expenses.
- Cost savings: By identifying and eliminating unnecessary expenses, businesses can achieve significant cost savings.
Costs and Pricing of Expense Report Software
Selecting expense report software requires an understanding of the various pricing models and plans available. While I've already laid out the tool-specific information I could find, here are some generalized ranges to give you a bit of an idea about what you'll be paying for, and getting, with each tier of software:
| Plan Type | Average Price | Common Features |
|---|---|---|
| Free Plan | $0 | Basic expense tracking, limited integrations, and basic support. |
| Personal Plan | $5-$15/user/month | Advanced expense tracking, mobile access, receipt capture, and email support. |
| Business Plan | $20-$50/user/month | Multi-user support, enhanced reporting, approval workflows, and integrations. |
| Enterprise Plan | $50-$100+/user/month | Customizable features, dedicated account manager, advanced analytics, and API. |
FAQs About Expense Report Software
Still have questions? Here are answers to some of the most common questions people have about expense report software.
What is the best way to manage expense reports?
The best expense report system is one that gives your finance team the data they need in a usable way. But an easy report creation process also goes a long way. Generally, it’s better to collect data immediately rather than after the fact. Most expense report software now allows you to upload pictures of paper receipts and other files.
How do I make an expense report?
How exactly you create an expense report depends on what expense report software your business uses. Typically, you will document individual expenses (like lunch, fuel, or plane tickets) with dates, transaction amounts, and who approved (or needs to approve) the expense. You can create expense reports for a single expense, but you can also bundle multiple expenses in a single report.
How much does expense management software cost?
Expense management software range in price from free up to thousands of dollars per year, depending on the software and the service plan. Expense software is often priced by the user, so you pay a certain amount each month for each employee that uses the software. Paid expense management software starts at about $5 per user per month. Many tools offer a discount if you pay annually.
What is the difference between an invoice and an expense report?
An expense report is documentation from an employee of money they spent in service of the business. This may be on a company card, or the employee may have paid out of pocket and need to be reimbursed. An invoice is a bill for goods or services. Invoices usually come from vendors or independent contractors.
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Which Software Works Best For You?
I hope you found what you were looking for in my list of the best expense report software for 2024.
Next up: make a billion dollars.
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