Best Expense Management Software for Small Business
Find the best expense management software for your business. See pricing, reviews, and comparisons between top options Zoho Expense, Freshbooks, and Expensify.
Updated on December 1st, 2023
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Expense management software includes applications and tools that help businesses track, monitor, and process employee spending. Usually cloud-based, the software streamlines the receipt-to-reimbursement process and ensures that companies can quickly and easily authorize payments, create reports, and maintain accurate financial records.
- 14-day free trial.
- Robust features and platform.
Why We Chose Zoho Expense, FreshBooks, and Expensify:
Zoho Expense offers a robust set of expense management solutions, including automation, expense tracking and reimbursements, multilevel approval workflows, real-time reporting, and advanced integrations. The platform is an affordable option with a variety of plans ranging from a free version to an enterprise package, suiting a variety of needs.
Our second choice, FreshBooks, is an all-in-one solution for businesses of all sizes. Its standout features include customizable invoice templates, multicurrency support, and automated reconciliations. It also boasts additional tools, such as time tracking and project management, that many other platforms lack.
In third place, Expensify caters to both individual users and small businesses. Thanks to its various free plans, business credit card solutions, accounting functions, and custom reporting tools, it is a valuable resource for self-employed individuals with basic expense management needs.
Things to Consider When Evaluating Expense Management Software:
- Look for solutions that offer automated workflows or a handy mobile app to save time in the expense tracking and reimbursing process.
- Expense management becomes more effective if the software allows for cross-platform integrations to import data from one platform to another.
- Check out platforms with free trials to test out the software and gauge if it offers the best solutions for your company.
- Consider solutions that have robust customer support and onboarding to ensure your team knows how to use the software effectively.
Best Expense Management Software:
Rank | Name | Offer | Review | Learn More |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Free and paid options. | A global expense management platform with a robust set of features, including automation, multilevel approval workflows, mileage tracking, expense control, and comprehensive customer support. | ||
2. | From $17.00 /mo. | Offers expense management tools, multicurrency support, and a mobile app, as well as built-in accounting and invoicing solutions. | ||
3. | Free and paid options. | A receipt and expense tracking app that features automation, customization options, and comprehensive accounting solutions. However, the platform lacks live chat support. | ||
4. | Free. | The software is affordable and intuitive, with automation, AI-powered invoicing, travel policies, accounting integrations, and real-time reporting. | ||
5. | Contact for quote. | A global platform that has unlimited corporate cards, expense tracking, reimbursements, and approval workflows available, but does not offer a free trial. | ||
6. | Free and paid options. | With a free plan, as well as unlimited receipt uploads, reimbursements, automated bookkeeping, and live chat support on offer, the platform is a good choice for users on a tight budget. | ||
7. | Contact for quote. | An intuitive invoicing, travel, and expense management solution with robust integrations, data analytics, and custom reporting tools. | ||
8. | Free and paid options. | The platform caters to European-based companies and offers budget management, custom approval workflows, multicurrency support, and an automatic email receipt finder. | ||
9. | Free. | Budget-friendly software with automation, reimbursements, and fraud protection tools. However, the platform lacks multicurrency expense reporting. | ||
10. | Contact for quote. | While the software features robust receipt scanning, procurement, and expense reporting solutions, it does not offer travel management tools or phone support. | ||
11. | Free. | Features accounting integrations, receipt matching tools, and automated reconciliation, but lacks travel management and live chat support. | ||
12. | From $6.99 /user /mo. | Includes easy-to-use expense reporting, multilevel approval workflows, account customizations, and travel management tools, but only the more costly plans come with multicurrency support. | ||
13. | Free and paid options. | With custom expense reporting, corporate cards, accounting automation, and live chat support available, Airbase is an affordable option for companies with basic expense management needs. | ||
14. | Contact for quote. | The platform has custom pricing plans available, as well as robust policy control, mileage tracking, invoicing, and expense auditing solutions. However, it lacks a free trial and live chat support. | ||
15. | From $10.00 /user /mo. | BigTime offers expense reporting, time tracking, and project management software, and is an attractive choice for users in search of an all-in-one solution. | ||
16. | From $12.00 /user /mo. | The software features AP automation, travel management, multi-language capabilities, and robust integrations, but does not offer a free plan. | ||
17. | Free. | A budget-friendly expense management solution with easy-to-use tracking and reporting tools available, but no live chat support. | ||
18. | From €6.00 /user /mo. | Catering to European-based companies, the software features multicurrency support, corporate cards, and mobility expense tracking, but lacks built-in travel management. | ||
19. | From $10.00 /user /mo. | The software includes comprehensive local compliance, advanced approval workflows, and onboarding assistance, but does not offer a free plan. | ||
20. | From €6.99 /session /mo. | A European-based platform with expense reporting, mileage tracking, multicurrency support, and invoice processing on offer. | ||
21. | Contact for quote. | The software's standout solutions include AI-powered report filing, smart charge cards, and employee tax benefits, but it lacks multicurrency support. | ||
22. | Free and paid options. | A robust travel and expense management tool with automation, corporate cards, online booking, and reimbursements on offer, but no free trial. | ||
23. | Free and paid options. | This all-in-one expense, project, time, and invoice management platform features robust spending policies, task collaboration, compliance, and billing tools. | ||
24. | Contact for quote. | Although the software does not offer a free plan, it includes user-friendly expense reporting, mileage tracking, multilingual options, and reconciliations. | ||
25. | Contact for quote. | The software has comprehensive travel management solutions available, including corporate travel policies, risk planning, compliance, and multicurrency support. | ||
26. | Contact for quote. | An AI-powered platform that has advanced data extraction, expense reporting, DCAA compliance, and free APIs on offer, but lacks corporate cards. | ||
27. | From $8.00 /user /mo. | Intuitive travel management software with discounted travel rates, multilevel approval workflows, spending trends, and itinerary management tools. | ||
28. | From £3.80 /user /mo. | The software includes intuitive approval workflows, mileage tracking, invoice capturing, and multicurrency support, but does not offer travel management tools. | ||
29. | From €6.00 /user /mo. | Ideal for Europe-based businesses, the platform has comprehensive expense reporting, mileage tracking, fraud alerts, VAT self-management, and custom spending notifications available. | ||
30. | From €10.00 /license /mo. | With a free trial, expense tracking, travel rewards, compliance, and employee benefits management on offer, Circula is an attractive choice for users in search of more advanced spending management tools. | ||
31. | Contact for quote. | Robust expense management, accounting, manufacturing, and wholesale distribution tools on offer, but lacks live chat support. | ||
32. | Contact for quote. | An intuitive platform with real-time spending data, automated reconciliations, multicurrency reporting, and live chat support on offer. However, there are no travel management tools available. | ||
33. | Contact for quote. | The software includes expense reporting, purchase requisitions, automated invoicing, treasury management, and supply chain planning, but does not offer built-in corporate cards. | ||
34. | From $29.00 /mo. | With a free plan, invoicing, custom GL coding, and robust expense tools available, the platform is a solid choice for users in search of budget-friendly spending management tools | ||
35. | Free and paid options. | The software offers intuitive mileage tracking, credit card integrations, driver checkup tools, and expense reporting, but lacks invoicing and accounts payable solutions. | ||
36. | From $12.00 /user /mo. | While no free trial is available, the platform has a comprehensive set of easy-to-use expense management solutions on offer, including custom approval workflows, travel management, invoicing, and time tracking. | ||
37. | Free and paid options. | The software has a free plan, mileage calculations, expense reporting, accounting tools, and reconciliations available, but lacks multicurrency support. |
Pros and Cons:
Pros
- Eliminates the difficulty of manual expense management.
- Various free and budget-friendly plans are available.
- Most platforms integrate with accounting and payroll systems for added convenience.
- In most cases, responsive customer support and onboarding tools are available.
Cons
- Core features sometimes cost extra.
- Not all platforms are suited to international companies.
- Premium plans for large teams can become costly.
Comparisons Between Leading Competitors:
We compared packages offered by Zoho Expense, FreshBooks, and Expensify to help you find the perfect fit for your business.
Zoho Expense Free vs. Expensify Free:
Both Zoho Expense and Expensify offer a basic free plan geared towards self-employed individuals and freelancers. Of the two, Zoho Expense's plan is more feature-rich, offering 5GB receipt storage, multicurrency expense reporting, and robust accounting integrations.
In addition, Zoho Expense does not charge extra for basic expense policies and approvals, while users will need to purchase Expensify's Collect plan to access those features.
Zoho Expense Free vs. Expensify Free Comparison:
Feature | Zoho Expense Free | Expensify Free |
|---|---|---|
Reimbursements | ✓ | ✓ |
Accounting integrations | ✓ | x |
Card management | ✓ | ✓ |
Mileage expenses | ✓ | x |
5GB receipt storage | ✓ | x |
Invoicing | ✓ | ✓ |
Single expense policy | ✓ | x |
Zoho Expense Enterprise vs. FreshBooks Premium:
The Enterprise plan is Zoho Expense's top-tier package and, in addition to all of the features included in every other plan, the package includes a dedicated travel manager, multilocation management, advanced approval workflows, and per diem automation.
In comparison, FreshBooks Premium includes unlimited users, data migration services, and custom onboarding. Both plans offer superior account support compared to their more affordable options, but users need to contact Zoho Expense for their Enterprise plan pricing.
Zoho Expense Enterprise vs. FreshBooks Premium Comparison:
Feature | Zoho Expense Enterprise | FreshBooks Premium |
|---|---|---|
Price | Contact for quote. | $55.00 /mo. |
Dedicated account manager | ✓ | ✓ |
Data migration | x | ✓ |
Travel document management | ✓ | x |
Fraud detection | ✓ | x |
Unlimited invoicing | x | ✓ |
Best Accounting Software
Information on the best accounting software companies, including Freshbooks, QuickBooks, and Sage. See pricing, features, comparisons, and more.
Dec 21, 2023
FAQs:
What is the best free expense management software for small businesses?
How do small businesses keep track of expenses?
Typically, small businesses would need to effectively capture and report company spending to ensure no expenses are unaccounted for and all purchases are reconciled.
Although each business has unique spend management needs, shifting away from manual expense tracking towards a cloud-based solution will ensure accurate and efficient management.
What's the difference between Zoho Expense, FreshBooks, and Expensify?
When comparing Zoho Expense's and Expensify's free plans, the former is more feature-rich and has better account support available.
On the other hand, FreshBooks' premium plan has a slightly different set of tools on offer than Zoho Expense's top-tier package. Each platform is worth looking into for your individual expense management needs.
What is the easiest way to track business expenses?
- Open a business account and use a dedicated business credit card.
- Stick to accrual or cash basis accounting rules.
- Choose expense management software that automates financial tasks and tracks company spending from one platform.
- Digitize receipts for efficient recordkeeping.
- Import transactions from your bank account to your expense management software.
- Review and categorize expenses on a regular basis.
What is the best travel and expense management software?
What is the best expense management software for the U.K.?
What are the best free expense tracker apps?
How can self-employed individuals keep track of expenses?
Expense management platforms like Expensify and Everlance offer specialized packages for self-employed individuals to efficiently track and manage spending processes. These plans are typically free and include basic expense tools, such as mileage tracking, receipt capturing, and reporting.