Best Expense Tracking Software Shortlist
Here are the best expense tracking tools that I’ve found through my research and assessment. I’ve evaluated each one to make sure they provide certain core functionality and key features.
- Navan - Best for travel expense tracking
- Expensify - Best for automated receipt scanning features
- Airbase - Best for spend management
- SAP Concur - Best for large companies
- Zoho Expense - Best for integrations
- TravelPerk - Best all-in-one expense tracking
- Rydoo - Best for mobile users
- Divvy - Best free expense tracking software
- Expensepoint - Best for global teams
- Coupa - Best for supplier integrations
- Brex - Best for startups and small business
- Fyle - Best for AI-powered expense tracking
Below you’ll find my detailed evaluations, where I’ve included screenshots, a summary of key features, pros and cons, pricing information, and more for each tool.
What is Expense Tracking Software?
Expense tracking software is a digital tool designed to streamline and automate the process of managing business expenses.
It enables individuals, teams, and organizations to categorize, analyze, and track expenses in a centralized and organized manner.
Finance departments, small business owners, employees, and freelancers often use expense tracking software to capture receipts, log expenses, generate reports, monitor cash flows, and ensure compliance with company policies and tax regulations.
The right software brings more accuracy and efficiency to your current expense management process, saving time and improving decision-making.
Overviews of the 12 Best Expense Tracking Software
Here’s my assessment of each tool that I chose for the top list and what I think it does best.
1. Navan - Best for travel expense tracking
Navan (formerly called TripActions) is a software that helps companies manage corporate cards, manage travel expenses, and track other operating costs.
Why I picked Navan: I think Navan stands out as the best solution for tracking travel expenses. I was impressed by its group travel features and user-friendly interface.
Navan Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include simplified online booking. I like how you can make employee flight and hotel reservations within the software. The group travel options allow you to book travel arrangements for up to 50 employees at a time.
I was impressed by Navan’s automated expense management. It automatically categorizes and reconciles transaction details whenever a company card is used in person or online.
Integrations include Slack, QuickBooks, NetSuite, Okta, Expensify, and Sage Intacct.
Pricing: Contact for custom pricing.
Free Trial: Free plan available
Pros
- Intuitive interface
- Easy to integrate with various travel booking platforms
- Automated reconciliation simplifies the expense reporting process
Cons
- Pricing details aren’t transparent
- May be too complex for small businesses
2. Expensify - Best automated receipt scanning features
Expensify is an expense management system that claims it can reduce your company’s time spent tracking, organizing, submitting, approving, and reconciling expenses by up to 75%.
Why I picked Expensify: I think the Expensify app would save the average employee a ton of time when it comes to tracking their expenses and managing receipts.
Expensify Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include one-click receipt scanning. A convenient feature I noticed is that if you use one of their Expensify cards, you don’t need to capture receipts at all because it feeds right into the software.
You can take a photo of a receipt with your smartphone, and the software automatically scans and captures the data, then prepares the expense report for you.
I like that Expensify can help with audit and compliance as well. It can automatically detect duplicate receipts, confirm that exchange rates are accurate, and help you customize expense approval workflows so that expenses over a certain dollar amount require additional manager approvals.
Integrations include QuickBooks, NetSuite, Xero, BILL, Gusto, Zenefits, Uber, Lyft, Delta, Taxback International, and a dozen others.
Pricing: From $10/user/month
Free Trial: Free plan available
Pros
- Mobile app for receipt capture
- Simple, visually intuitive interface
- Detailed expense reports
Cons
- Limited customization options
- More costly than similar alternatives
3. Airbase - Best for spend management
Airbase is a spend management platform that gives you high-level insight into how much your company is expensing and on what.
Why I picked Airbase: I like that it has features that allow you to proactively manage your expenses and spending. Instead of finding out about surprise expenses after they’ve occurred, you’ve got spend controls and rule-based expense policies to prevent them in the first place.
Airbase Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include spending limits and budgets, which you can set for different departments or teams. I think this would be a great tool to hold people accountable, as well as proactively give managers a better understanding of how much money they have to work with. I think Airbase’s mobile app makes it easy to capture receipts. It also provides a detailed audit trail for every expense.
Integrations include NetSuite, QuickBooks, Xero, Jira, Ironclad, and Slack.
Pricing: Contact for custom pricing.
Free Trial: Free demo available
Pros
- Easy to reimburse employees
- Advanced reporting and analytics
- Strong focus on control and compliance
Cons
- Limited integrations
- No offline connectivity
4. SAP Concur - Best for large companies
SAP Concur is an enterprise-grade expense management and compliance software designed for large corporations.
Why I picked SAP Concur: I think SAP Concur’s AI and machine learning features might help large organizations manage expenses more efficiently, particularly those with a high volume of expense transactions.
SAP Concur Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include Concur Tax Assurance, which automatically identifies and validates tax-eligible expenses. Their Concur Detect feature uses AI and machine learning to help analyze expense reports, speed up review and approval workflows, and resolve receipt or documentation issues before reimbursing employees.
Employees can capture receipts and submit expense reports using the mobile app — which I thought seemed pretty easy to use.
Integrations include Deloitte Travel Ready, Rocketrip, Booking.com, American Airlines, Amazon Business, Uber, and dozens more.
Pricing: Contact for custom pricing.
Free Trial: Free demo available
Pros
- Broad range of integrations
- User-friendly mobile app
- Advanced reporting and analytics
Cons
- Too complex for small businesses
- Pricing is not transparent
5. Zoho Expense - Best for integrations
Zoho Expense is a standalone travel and expense management software created by the same company as the popular Zoho Books accounting software.
Why I picked Zoho Expense: Zoho Expense gives you access to a huge library of 3rd party integrations and ad-ons that can be used in tandem with their software.
Zoho Expense Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include Zoho Expense’s ability to scan receipts and import them in bulk. I like that your receipts are digitally stored within the software as well, so you don’t have to worry about losing paper copies.
Zoho Expense also has some of the best mileage tracking tools I came across. Employees have the option to enter their mileage via Android, iPhone, or Apple Watch.
For companies already using Zoho Books for accounting, I think Zoho Expense seems like it might be a good fit.
Integrations include QuickBooks, Xero, GetThere, Lyft, Uber, HSBC, Slack, Dropbox, Office 365, and a few more.
Pricing: $5/user/month
Free Trial: Free plan available
Pros
- Integration options
- Easy to learn and use
- Mobile app for scanning and tracking receipts
Cons
- No single-user plan (3 user minimum)
- Limited features on free plan
6. TravelPerk - Best all-in-one expense tracking software
Despite its name, TravelPerk doesn’t just handle travel expenses. It offers a variety of expense management tools and features.
Why I picked TravelPerk: If you want expense tracking software with lots of features, I think TravelPerk is an option worth considering. I like that you get unlimited users, as other per-software user costs can really start to add up.
TravelPerk Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include one interface for your travel booking, expense tracking, and reimbursement. I personally like having access to everything in one centralized place. TravelPerk allows you to book within the app, capture and manage your expenses while booking flights, accommodations, and transportation.
Integrations include Slack, Divvy, Rydoo, WeWork, Ramp, Expensify, Fyle, Zoom, and a few others.
Pricing: $99/month
Free Trial: Free plan available
Pros
- Flat fee
- Booking tools
- User-friendly interface
Cons
- Mobile app could be more user-friendly
- Customizations are limited
7. Rydoo - Best for mobile users
Rydoo is the expense tracking software on this list with the strongest mobile support.
Why I picked Rydoo: Most of the time, employee expenses occur when your people are on the go—at restaurants, in an airport, or taking a taxi. Modern expense tracking software should allow you to review invoices and approve them while away from the office.
Rydoo Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include Rydoo’s Easy Scan technology, which extracts key data from receipts when you take a picture and automatically transforms it into searchable data.
I really like how managers can approve expenses line-by-line as they come in, so you aren’t stuck approving a huge stack of expense reports at the end of the month.
I thought Rydoo’s app looked like it would be easy to use, too.
Integrations include Microsoft Dynamics 365, NetSuite, SAP, QuickBooks, Xero, Wise, BambooHR, TravelPerk, Taxback International, and Slack.
Pricing: $10/user/month
Free Trial: 14-day free trial
Pros
- Mobile app
- Easy to learn and use
- Lots of integrations
Cons
- Limited customization options
- Could use more detailed analytics and reports
8. Divvy - Best free plan
Divvy is a free expense tracking software.
Why I picked Divvy: Divvy is totally free to use. They don’t offer any paid plans. So how does Divvy make any money? They get a cut of the merchant fee that would normally go to Visa or the issuing bank whenever you use their credit card.
Divvy Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include a totally free expense tracking software, a corporate card, that even offers rewards. I like the idea of being able to manage all of the company’s cards and expenses in one place. Divvy’s software allows you to create budgets and control spending. I think the Divvy dashboard makes it easy to see all expense transactions in real time.
Integrations include QuickBooks, NetSuite, Sage Intacct, and Slack.
Pricing: From $0
Free Trial: All free, but a demo is also available
Pros
- Totally free
- User-friendly mobile app
- Includes free physical and virtual corporate cards
Cons
- Limited integrations
- Fewer features than paid alternatives
9. ExpensePoint - Best for global teams
For companies with multiple locations or customers in different countries, ExpensePoint can accommodate international expenses.
Why I picked ExpensePoint: The thing that impressed me the most was ExpensePoint’s multi-currency system. It lets you add expenses in multiple currencies to the same expense report. It uses live foreign currency exchange rates to automatically convert into the user’s home currency, so you know you’re using the correct rate.
ExpensePoint Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include a mileage tracker. I like that it uses your mobile device’s GPS to track mileage, so you don’t need to rely on your odometer. The mobile receipt imaging system is a must-have for any company looking to go 100% paperless with their expenses. I found its spending analysis features to be quite good, with 36 built-in reports and over 60 reporting filters. ExpensePoint also allows you to access important credit card data directly from your credit card billing source.
Integrations include Microsoft Office, QuickBooks, FreshBooks, Xero, and Zapier.
Pricing: From $8.50/month
Free Trial: Free demo available
Pros
- Supports multi-currency expenses
- Financial reporting and analytics features
- Colorful, intuitive interface
Cons
- Moderate learning curve
- Limited integrations
10. Coupa - Best for supplier integrations
Coupa is a cloud-based business spend management platform that helps with procurement, invoicing, and expense management processes. It offers a range of features designed to simplify and automate various aspects of business spending, like automated approval workflows, compliance tracking, and receipt management.
Why I picked Coupa: I think Coupa is uniquely strong in its supplier integration capabilities. If you’re looking to collaborate with your suppliers, then you might want to check out Coupa.
Coupa Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include electronic invoicing, supplier portals, and automated reconciliation features. Advanced optical character recognition (OCR) technology automatically imports data from receipts and summarizes it into an expense report.
I was impressed by the way Coupa’s AI features can automatically assign a risk score to each expense report to help reduce fraud.
You can reimburse employees for expenses directly from within Coupa, instead of having to include reimbursement on the next payroll cycle, which I think employees would appreciate.
Integrations include SAP, Oracle, and NetSuite.
Pricing: From $45.75/month
Free Trial: Free plan available
Pros
- Easy for IT to set up and configure
- Simple, aesthetically pleasing interface
- Highly scalable and flexible
Cons
- Limited integrations aside from ERPs
- Steep learning curve
11. Brex - Best for startups and small business
Brex is a financial service and technology company. Along with expense and travel expense management, it also offers features that may work well for startups and small businesses.
Why I picked Brex: It provides the basic expense tracking that your startup or small business needs. However, I like that you can use Brex to send and receive ACH and wire transfer payments, both domestically and internationally. Since it’s also a financial service company, you can manage your corporate cards, business accounts, expenses, invoices, travel, and reimbursements.
Brex Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include corporate Mastercard rewards points. I like that Brex allows you to create an expense policy, which allows some expenses to be auto-approved. This can be customized by department, user, categories/merchants, or other factors.
I think accountants will appreciate that Brex integrates with most of the top ERPs and accounting software, which can help reduce the workload at month-end.
Integrations include NetSuite, QuickBooks, SAP, Coupa Pay, Slack, and dozens more.
Pricing: Contact for custom pricing.
Free Trial: Free plan available
Pros
- Combines expense tracking and finance features
- Supports lots of 3rd party integrations
- Sleek, modern-looking interface
Cons
- Pricing is not transparent
- Limited customization
12. Fyle - Best for AI-powered expense tracking
Fyle is an expense-tracking software with machine learning and AI.
Why I picked Fyle: It seems to me like Fyle is the expense tracking software that’s the most up-to-date when it comes to the latest technology
Fyle Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include flexible expense reporting. I love that Fyle works inside of everyday apps like Slack, Gmail, Outlook. Employees can submit their receipts in whatever way they prefer, and Fyle will extract and code the data. You can reimburse employees using ACH payments within the software, and they can track the payment status themselves.
I also like that Fyle integrates with most credit card companies and popular accounting software to help automate account reconciliations.
Integrations include Office 365, Slack, Xero, QuickBooks, NetSuite, Microsoft Teams, and TravelPerk.
Pricing: From $8.99/user/month
Free Trial: Free demo available
Pros
- Automation features
- Ability to send ACH payments
- Can submit expenses many different ways
Cons
- No single-user plan (minimum five users)
- Limited integrations on standard plan
Other Options
Here is some other expense tracking software that didn’t make my shortlist but is still worth checking out.
- Ramp - Best reporting and analytics features
- Pleo - Best employee card control features
- Rippling - Best for HR teams
- Spendesk - Best for procurement teams
- Happay - Best corporate card integration features
- Avaza - Best for project management
Selection Criteria For Expense Tracking Software
Wondering how I decided which expense tracking software was best?
First, I looked at the basic functionality that most expense tracking software on the market is currently offering.
Core Functionality
Here are the basic functions the products need to provide to make it onto my list:
- Expense entry and categorization
- Receipt capture and storage
- Reporting and analytics
- Integration with existing financial systems
- Approval workflows
- Policy compliance checks
Key Features
- User-friendly interface: A user-friendly interface ensures ease of use and smooth navigation, allowing users to quickly and intuitively enter and manage expenses without unnecessary complexities.
- Receipt capture methods, ideally with OCR technology: The software should support receipt capture through various methods such as uploading images, email forwarding, or mobile scanning. Additionally, incorporating OCR technology enables the automatic extraction of relevant data from receipts, reducing manual data entry.
- Customizable categorization and tagging: The software should provide customizable expense categories and tags to allow users to classify expenses based on their specific needs and reporting requirements. This ensures consistent tracking and easy filtering of expenses for reporting purposes.
- Variety of reporting and analytics options: The software should offer a range of reporting options, including pre-built templates and customizable reports, to provide insights into spending patterns, expense breakdowns, and other relevant financial metrics. Advanced analytics features, such as data visualization and trend analysis, further enhance the understanding of expense data.
- Mobile apps and offline functionality: Mobile apps for iOS and Android platforms allow users to capture receipts, enter expenses, and manage their expense reports conveniently on the go. Offline functionality ensures users can continue working even when not connected to the internet, with data syncing once a connection is restored.
- Customizable approval workflows: The software should enable the configuration of customizable approval workflows, allowing businesses to define specific approval hierarchies, policies, and rules. This ensures proper authorization and compliance with company spending policies.
- Multi-currency support and currency conversion: Supporting multiple currencies and automatic currency conversion simplifies the management of international expenses. The software should have up-to-date exchange rates and the ability to convert expenses into the desired reporting currency.
- Security and data privacy: Encryption, secure data storage, and role-based access controls ensure the protection of sensitive financial information and comply with data privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR).
Usability
I prioritized tools that had intuitive, modern-looking, and easy-to-use interfaces, particularly for mobile apps. Employees who are using these tools won’t necessarily have a background in finance, so apps should be clean and simple enough for the average person to understand.
Integrations
It’s very important that expense tracking software integrates with popular existing ERPs and accounting software that companies are likely to use. It’s a nice bonus if they also integrate with other common programs like Slack or Dropbox, as well as travel booking apps.
People Also Ask
Here are my answers to some common questions people have about expense tracking software.
Who uses expense tracking software?
What’s the difference between expense tracking and accounts payable software?
What are the benefits of using expense tracking software?
Other Business Software Reviews
Here are a few of our latest reviews of some other business software:
Accounts Payable Automation Software
Conclusion
The right expense tracking software for your company will depend on what you’re looking for. If you deal with a lot of travel expenses, you may look at options like Navan or TravelPerk. If you’re a startup or small company, Brex or Zoho Expense might be a better option.
After reading my reviews above, I hope you now have a better idea of which expense tracking software is the right choice for your situation.
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