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Managing expenses with outdated expense report software can feel like trying to run a marathon in heavy boots.

As a CFO, you know the frustration of clunky interfaces, endless manual data entry, and delayed reimbursement processes that create inefficiencies for your team. Worse, these tools may lack the compliance features and real-time insights you need to make smart financial decisions, leaving you exposed to unnecessary risks. If your current system feels more like a hurdle than a help, you’re not alone in seeking a solution that truly works.

With years of experience in digital finance tools, I understand how the right software can transform financial operations. I’ve guided organizations through adopting smarter, more effective tools that save time, reduce errors, and enhance visibility into expenses. My expertise lies in cutting through the noise to identify solutions that deliver measurable value without overloading your team.

To help you find your next expense report software, I’ve rigorously tested and reviewed leading tools in this space. Leveraging my understanding of financial operations, I’ve handpicked options that excel in user experience, automation, and compliance. Whether you’re looking for scalability, simplicity, or advanced analytics, these selections will point you toward a tool that fits your needs and empowers your organization’s financial success.

Why Trust Our Software Reviews

We’ve been testing and reviewing finance and accounting software since 2023. As financial operators ourselves, we know how critical and difficult it is to make the right decision when selecting software. We invest in deep research to help our audience make better software purchasing decisions.

We’ve tested more than 2,000 tools for different finance and accounting use cases and written over 1,000 comprehensive software reviews. Learn how we stay transparent & check out our software review methodology.

Best Expense Report Software Summary

This comparison chart summarizes pricing details for my top expense report software selections to help you find the best one for your budget and business needs.

Tool Best For Trial Info Price
1
Airwallex

Airwallex provides a centralized dashboard for managing all your expenses and reimbursements all in one report.

Best for end-to-end expense management

Free trial available

Pricing upon request Website
2
Klippa Expense Management

The insights dashboard in Klippa Expense Management provides analytics and data visualization tools to help users track and analyze expenses effectively.

Best for customizable reporting dashboards

Free demo available

From $5.20/user/month Website
3
Rippling Spend

Rippling allows you to view company spending and employee expenses.

Best for automated expense management

Free demo available

From $8/user/month (billed annually) Website
4
Airbase

In Airbase, Finance teams can see all pending requests and reports at a glance.

Best seamless approval workflows

Free plan available

Pricing upon request Website
5
Spendesk

Finance uses the Payments tab in Spendesk to approve reimbursements.

Best for monitoring and managing budgets

Free trial available

Pricing upon request Website
6
Navan

Along with expense management, Navan is also a tool for planning and booking trips.

Best for simplifying travel expense tracking

Free plan available

Pricing upon request Website
7
Zoho Expense

Zoho Expense proactively notifies you when there’s an issue with your expense report.

Best for hassle-free expense management

Free demo available

From $45/user/month Website
8
Divvy

Along with expense reports, Divvy allows you to create and monitor budgets.

Best always free option

Not available

Free to use Website
9
Fyle

In Fyle, you can designate different per diem rates for different departments or locations.

Best real-time reporting

Not available

From $8.99/user/month Website
10
Xledger

Xledger provides a centralized place to create and track expense reports.

Best for multi-entity expense management

Free demo

Pricing upon request Website

Overview 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.

Best for end-to-end expense management

  • Free trial available
  • Pricing upon request

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.

Standout features & 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 Xero, QuickBooks, NetSuite, Sage, and Odoo.

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

Best for customizable reporting dashboards

  • Free demo available
  • From $5.20/user/month
Visit Website
Rating: 1/5

Klippa Expense Management is a cloud-based solution designed to simplify how you handle business expenses. By allowing you to submit, approve, and process expenses through both web and mobile applications, it aims to reduce the time and effort spent on administrative tasks. 

Why I picked Klippa Expense Management: With its expense approval workflow system, you can set up multi-level approval processes tailored to your organization's structure, ensuring that expenses are reviewed and approved by the appropriate personnel. This means you can maintain control over spending and avoid any unauthorized expenses that could affect your budget. The reporting feature and customizable dashboards allow you to generate detailed reports, providing insights into spending patterns and helping you make informed financial decisions.

Standout features & integrations:

Features include customizable approval workflows that make it easy for you and your team to process and approve expenses efficiently. With advanced OCR technology, Klippa Expense Management automates data entry from receipts, saving you time and reducing errors. Additionally, the software's real-time insights into expenses help you maintain better budget control, ensuring your team's financial decisions are always informed.

Integrations include QuickBooks, Xero, Sage, Exact, Twinfield, Visma, SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, and NetSuite.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • OCR technology reduces manual data entry
  • Customizable approval workflows
  • Fraud detection through duplicate claim identification

Cons:

  • Initial setup may require time
  • Most integrations are add-ons

Best for automated expense management

  • Free demo available
  • From $8/user/month (billed annually)
Visit Website
Rating: 4.8/5

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. 

Standout features & 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 advanced 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

Best seamless approval workflows

  • Free plan available
  • Pricing upon request
Visit Website
Rating: 4.8/5

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 also make the rules as complex as you like.

Standout features & 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”

Best for monitoring and managing budgets

  • Free trial available
  • Pricing upon request
Visit Website
Rating: 4.7/5

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.

Standout features & 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.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Ease of use
  • Easy subscription management
  • Quickly issue virtual cards

Cons:

  • Spendesk cards not universally accepted
  • Limited integrations

Best for simplifying travel expense tracking

  • Free plan available
  • Pricing upon request
Visit Website
Rating: 4.7/5

Recently, 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.

Standout features & integrations:

Features include real-time inventory management, giving your team instant access to a wide range of travel options with competitive rates. AI-powered personalization tailors search results based on individual preferences, making travel arrangements more intuitive for your team. Additionally, automated expense reconciliation simplifies tracking and categorization of expenses, reducing manual input and errors for your organization.

Integrations include Slack, Salesforce, SAP Concur, Microsoft Outlook, Google Workspace, TripAdvisor, Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, and American Express.

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

Best for hassle-free expense management

  • Free demo available
  • From $45/user/month
Visit Website
Rating: 4.5/5

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.

Standout features & integrations:

Features include effortless expense reporting that automates receipt tracking and enables quick expense creation. Your team can take advantage of customizable approval processes to streamline the way expenses, trips, and purchase requests are managed. Additionally, you have the tools for budget management to help create and monitor spending against defined limits, ensuring efficient oversight of your company's finances.

Integrations include Zoho Books, QuickBooks, Xero, Slack, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, Microsoft Teams, Uber for Business, and Lyft.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • IRS-compliant travel logs
  • Policy compliance management
  • Automated reminders

Cons:

  • Premium support is an add-on
  • Lack of reporting customization

Best always free option

  • Free to use
Visit Website
Rating: 4.6/5

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. However, 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.

Standout features & integrations:

Features include budget management tools that allow you to set spending limits and track expenses, providing your team with real-time insights into financial data. You can also use the virtual cards feature to manage and control spending more effectively, reducing the need for physical cards. Additionally, the software offers detailed reporting capabilities, helping you analyze spending patterns and make informed financial decisions.

Integrations include QuickBooks Online, Xero, NetSuite, TravelPerk, Open Dental Software, QuickBooks Online Advanced, ZenBusiness, Headset, and Bill.com.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Physical and virtual cards
  • User-friendly app
  • Quickly edit credit lines and budgets

Cons:

  • Slow reimbursement process
  • Inconsistent notifications

Best real-time reporting

  • From $8.99/user/month
Visit Website
Rating: 4.6/5

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.

Standout features & 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)

Best for multi-entity expense management

  • Free demo
  • Pricing upon request
Visit Website
Rating: 4.5/5

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. 

Standout features & integrations:

Features include automated accounting and financial tasks and the ability to facilitate transactions between different entities within the same organization. You can also manage financial data across different branches or subsidiaries. Additionally, Xledger offers strong reporting and analytics tools to aid in strategic decision-making.

Integrations include Magento, GoldFinch, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Harvest, Salesforce, and Chase Credit Card.

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

Other Expense Report Software Options

Here are some other expense report software choices worth considering that didn’t make the list:

  1. Expensify

    For companies with broad financial needs

  2. Pleo

    Expense management in Europe

  3. Paycom

    All-in-one HR and expense management

  4. SAP Concur

    For global enterprises

  5. Emburse Certify Expense

    For project accounting

  6. Brex

    For startups and small businesses

  7. Paylocity

    Comprehensive HR solution

  8. Webexpenses

    For European mid-market businesses

  9. TravelPerk

    For mileage tracking

  10. myBiz

    Easiest to set up and implement

  11. Dext

    Automated accounting solution

  12. Ramp

    Digital receipt manager

  13. Rydoo

    For international compliance

  14. Egencia

    For managing air travel

  15. Center

    For construction businesses

Or, if it turns out expense report software isn't going to cut it, check out some of the more complex financial tools we've tested and evaluated.

Expense Report Software Selection Criteria

When selecting the best expense report software to include in this list, I considered common buyer needs and pain points like time and expense tracking, as well as the cost of the software per user. I also used the following framework to keep my evaluation structured and fair:

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

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:

FactorWhat to Consider
ScalabilityWill the software grow with your business needs?
IntegrationsDoes it integrate with your current systems and tools?
CustomizabilityCan you tailor the software to fit your specific needs?
Ease of UseIs the software user-friendly and easy for your team to adopt?
BudgetDoes the software fit within your financial constraints?
Security SafeguardsDoes it offer robust security features to protect your data?
SupportWhat level of customer support does the vendor provide?
ReportingDoes it offer comprehensive reporting and analytics?

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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.

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.

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 TypeAverage PriceCommon Features
Free Plan$0Basic expense tracking, limited integrations, and basic support.
Personal Plan$5-$15/user/monthAdvanced expense tracking, mobile access, receipt capture, and email support.
Business Plan$20-$50/user/monthMulti-user support, enhanced reporting, approval workflows, and integrations.
Enterprise Plan$50-$100+/user/monthCustomizable features, dedicated account manager, advanced analytics, and API.

Expense Report Software FAQs

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.

What's Next?

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Simon Litt
By Simon Litt

Simon Litt is the editor of The CFO Club, specializing in covering a range of financial topics. His career has seen him focus on both personal and corporate finance for digital publications, public companies, and digital media brands across the globe.