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The top 15 best expense management software in 2023
Expense management is a critical aspect of running a business efficiently. But managing and tracking expenses manually can be time-consuming and prone to errors, leading to inefficiencies and financial discrepancies.
The advent of technology has brought forth a range of expense management software solutions that streamline and automate expense reporting processes. These software tools help businesses effectively track, monitor, and control expenses, resulting in improved financial control and operational efficiency.
In this article, we will explore the top 15 expense management software available in the market. We will examine their features, functionalities, and how they can benefit businesses in managing their expenses.
What is expense management software?
Expense management software, also known as expense reporting software or spend management software, is a specialized tool designed to simplify and streamline the process of managing, tracking, and analyzing business expenses. It provides businesses with a centralized platform to capture, categorize, and monitor various types of expenses, such as travel expenses, employee reimbursements, vendor invoices, and more.
Expense management software automates and digitizes the expense reporting process, eliminating the need for manual data entry and paper-based receipts. It typically offers features like receipt scanning, expense categorization, policy enforcement, approval workflows, and integration with accounting systems. These features enable businesses to accurately track and manage expenses, ensure compliance with expense policies, and gain valuable insights into spending patterns.
By leveraging expense management software, businesses can achieve greater visibility and control over their expenses, reduce errors and fraud, improve expense policy compliance, and streamline the reimbursement process for employees. Overall, it simplifies the entire expense management cycle, from capturing receipts to generating reports, saving time and effort for finance teams and employees alike.
The Top 15 Expense Management Software
In this section, we’ll examine in detail the pros and cons of the best expense management softwares in the market.
1. Flow by Nanonets
Flow is an AI-based expense management software that offers automated data capture for intelligent processing of expenses. With advanced OCR and machine learning capabilities, Flow can extract relevant information from various expense documents such as receipts and invoices. It provides a user-friendly interface, customizable OCR models, and seamless integration options, making it a versatile solution for expense management.
Flow demo
Top features:
- All your expense data in one place.
- Complex approval workflows, duplicate alerts and fraud detection
- Payment and reconciliation that works like magic. Flow reads transaction information from any source and posts to your ERP.
- API integration for seamless integration with other tools and systems.
- Scalable, and capable of handling large volumes of documents and data, thereby catering to businesses of all sizes.
- AI algorithms ensure data accuracy and readiness for review
- Seamless integration of transaction information from diverse sources into the ERP, facilitating accurate and timely payments.
- Automated expense recognition and classification, reducing manual data entry and GL coding efforts.
- Streamlined expense approval processes, automating spend limits and approval mechanisms
- Spend data analysis to identify savings opportunities and recommend cost-saving measures.
- Integration with NetSuite, Quickbooks Online, Xero, and Sage Intacct,
- Integration with Slack, allowing employees to receive alerts, handle requests, and obtain approvals directly within the Slack interface.
Pros:
- Zero shot AI that can capture data from documents from day 1.
- Transparent pricing policy.
- Multiple direct support options, including chat, support portal and email.
- Generous trial offer for users to test the platform.
- Dedicated account manager available for the top plan.
- Offers annotation services to assist with data labeling.
- Includes pre-built templates for easier implementation.
Cons:
- Limited choice of tiers for plans.
- No virtual card offering available yet.
Sources:
2. Brex
Brex is a comprehensive expense management software that makes it easy to control various kinds of spends, from corporate cards, reimbursements, and travel to bill pay and business accounts—all in one unified system.
Its customizable workflows can handle complex and diverse types of spend, enabling compliance with the least amount of friction for employees.
Top features:
- Tailored for compliance and accountability
- Used widely by startups and small businesses
- Streamlined expense tracking, real-time insights, and integration with accounting systems
Pros:
- No personal credit checks to get started
- Easy-to-use drag-and-drop user interface
- Quick setup and onboarding process
- Real-time email notifications that help you stay on top of reports
- Seamless mobile app functionality
Cons:
- Limited customization and categorization options
- Expense reporting functionality could be improved
- Incompatibility with mainstream card options
- Might not be suitable for larger organizations with complex expense management needs
Source:
- https://www.g2.com/products/brex/reviews
- https://www.gartner.com/reviews/market/expense-management-software/vendor/brex/product/brex#reviews
3. Expensify
Expensify is a user-friendly expense management software that simplifies expense tracking and reporting. It’s a single app for various features such as receipt scanning, automatic expense categorization, policy enforcement, approval workflows, and seamless integration with popular accounting systems.
Top features:
- Single app for corporate cards, receipt scanning, and expense tracking
- Expensify CPA card that’s tailored for accountants
Pros:
- User-friendly interface that makes it easier and faster to log expenses
- Automatic expense categorization
- Reimbursements sent in direct deposits to bank account
- Mobile app for on-the-go expense management
Cons:
- Pricing can be expensive for larger organizations
- Some users find the interface cluttered and the product ill-suited to enterprise use-cases
- Poor customer service
Source:
- https://www.gartner.com/reviews/market/expense-management-software/vendor/expensify/product/expensify#reviews
https://www.g2.com/products/expensify/reviews#reviews
4. SAP Concur
SAP Concur is a holistic expense management solution that automates spending process so that businesses can run efficiently. It integrates travel, expense, and invoice management and offers robust reporting capabilities, policy enforcement, and approval workflows.
It also has extensive integration options, and is especially used by enterprise businesses.
Top features:
- Connects financial data across sources and enables you to control spending
- Automate business, travel, and AP processes
- Leading brand for travel, expense and invoice management
Pros:
- Comprehensive expense management solution
- Integration with travel and invoice management, with appropriate options to choose from
- Robust reporting capabilities
- Seamless policy enforcement and approval workflows
- Extensive integration options
- Easy to raise tickets and get immediate resolution without manual customer support involved
Cons:
- Unintuitive interface and that some users find overwhelming and difficult to operate
- Difficult to attach files
- Higher pricing compared to other solutions
- Complex setup and configuration
Source:
- https://www.g2.com/products/sap-concur/reviews#reviews
- https://www.gartner.com/reviews/market/expense-management-software/vendor/sap/product/concur-expense
5. Ramp
Ramp makes spending smarter with its corporate card and expense management platform, which provides real-time spending insights, automated receipt matching, vendor negotiation and expense optimization.
Ramp seamlessly integrates with accounting systems, making it a convenient choice for businesses.
Top features:
- Rewards and incentives in the form of cashbacks
- Easy-to-use cards, spend limits, approval flows, vendor payments
- Average savings of 3.5%
- AI for Finance feature that helps you uncover savings and insights
Pros:
- Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- Corporate card and expense management platform that works globally across international transactions, cross-border bill payments, and multi-currency reimbursements
- Real-time spending insights and automated receipt matching
- Vendor negotiation and expense optimization features
- Companies that use Ramp close their books 8x faster
Cons:
- Limited availability in certain regions, which impacts time limits and automatic triggers
- Some users reported difficulty in integrating with existing systems
- No customer support, with ticket resolution only via email
- Unable to stop multiple notifications by marking some payments as recurring
3# Source:
6. Airbase
Airbase is a top-ranked modern spend management platform for businesses with 100-5,000 employees. It combines expense management, bill payments, corporate cards, budgeting, approval workflows, and virtual cards, thus providing comprehensive spend visibility and control for businesses.
Top features:
- Offers accounts payable automation and guided procurement
- Fully integrated global purchasing platform
Pros:
- All-in-one spend management platform with real-time reporting
- Intuitive and easy-to-use UI
- Virtual cards for easy expense tracking
- Great customer support
- Extensive workflows, approval and accounting automation
Cons:
- Slow on disbursing vendor payments
- Not supportive of all types of credit cards
- Limited functionalities on mobile app for iPhone and iPad
Source:
7. Pleo
Pleo is a smart expense management solution that simplifies company spending. It provides virtual and physical cards for employees, along with real-time expense tracking and automated reporting. Pleo integrates with accounting systems, making it a convenient choice for businesses.
Top features:
- Europe’s #1 business spend solution, trusted by 25,000+ businesses in the region
- All-in-one expense management solution
- Track spending real-time, along with analytics and customisable purchase limits
Pros:
- Smart company cards, virtual and physical, for employees
- Real-time expense and reimbursement tracking
- Automated reporting
- Clean and user-friendly UI
- Helps save 138+ hours by digitizing receipts and automating expense management
- 1% cashback on every Pleo card transaction
Cons:
- Too many categories and options for types of expenses
- Some users found the UI confusing, especially when operating as admin
Source:
8. Zoho Expense
Zoho Expense is an intuitive expense management software that automates expense reporting and streamlines reimbursement processes. It offers features like receipt scanning, policy enforcement, and integrations with popular accounting systems. Zoho Expense provides a user-friendly experience for both employees and administrators.
Top features:
- Trusted by businesses across 150+ countries
- Streamlines corporate travel and automated expense reporting
- AI-driven fraud detection engine
Pros:
- Intuitive expense management software with policy enforcement and customizable reimbursement workflows
- Auto-scanning of receipts and expense categorization
- Competitive pricing
- AI-driven fraud detection engine helps with audits and tax management
- Coupled with Zoho One, it can integrate invoicing, customer data housing, sales and marketing, expense management, and collaboration with teammates
- 24/5 customer support and free 2-hour onboarding assistance
Cons:
- Expense reporting could look more compact
- Lengthy onboarding process
- Slow customer support with long lead times
- Steep learning curve in using the UI
- Some users find that the features don’t talk to each other and UI is not user-friendly
Source:
- https://www.g2.com/products/zoho-expense/reviews
- https://www.gartner.com/reviews/market/expense-management-software/vendor/zoho/product/zoho-expense/likes-dislikes?marketSeoName=expense-management-software&vendorSeoName=zoho&productSeoName=zoho-expense
9. Divvy
Divvy is an all-in-one expense management platform with seamless experience for requesting, spending, and tracking your business finances. It also offers customizable spending limits and automated expense reporting. Divvy aims to simplify expense management for businesses of all sizes.
Top features:
- Virtual and physical credit cards for employees, with credit lines from $500 to $15M
- Free automated expense management software
Pros:
- Individual business credit card for employees along with custom spend limits
- Comes with expense management tool for free
- Ease of expense management and budget tracking
- Easy to categorize bills and spend items, take pictures, even on phone
- Reported average monthly savings of $10,630
- Faster settling of books with12 hours average monthly time savings
- Fast and flexible credit for businesses of all sizes
Cons:
- Security concerns in terms of fraud and fraud prevention
- Difficult to get cards replaced
- Some users reported poor customer service
- Difficulty syncing/integrating with QuickBooks
Source:
- https://www.gartner.com/reviews/market/content-marketing-platforms/vendor/divvyhq/product/divvyhq
- https://www.g2.com/products/divvy/reviews
10. Fyle
Fyle is an intelligent expense management solution that automates expense tracking, reporting, and policy enforcement. It offers features like receipt capture, real-time expense categorization, and integrations with accounting systems. Fyle provides a seamless experience for employees and administrators.
Top features:
- Real-time feeds on existing credit cards
- Reimburses employees on time with ACH payments
Pros:
- Real-time credit card reconciliations for cards like Visa, Mastercard, AmEx, etc.
- Fyle sends an SMS for new transactions instantly, and employees just need to reply with an image of the receipt for it to be reconciled automatically
- Seamless integrations with Slack, Gmail, Outlook and other apps so expenses can be managed on-the-go
- Matches pictures of receipts to corresponding credit card transaction
- Fyle integrates with all credit cards
- 24x7 customer support over chat and email
- Named account manager who is always there to help
Cons:
- Mobile interface not as seamless as online UI
- Auto-scan features do not work accurately at times
- Requires a learning curve if switching from another system
- Real-time feeds are only for VISA and Mastercard
Source:
- https://www.g2.com/products/fyle/reviews
- https://www.gartner.com/reviews/market/expense-management-software/vendor/fyle/product/fyle
11. Spendesk
Spendesk is an expense management software that focuses on simplifying and automating expense management processes. It provides features like expense tracking, virtual cards, invoice management, and approval workflows to help businesses streamline their spending.
Top features:
- Unlimited virtual cards, subscriptions and users
- Free setup and zero hidden fees
- 7-in-1 platform for managing company cards, invoices, expenses, budgets, approvals, accounting automation and reporting
- Scalable spend management tools
Pros:
- Makes the finance workflow and processing more seamless
- Provides accurate analytical reports for revenue calculations at the end of the month
- Virtual cards for secure and controlled spending
- Customizable approval workflows
- Integration with popular accounting systems, including UPI and Netbanking, for instant transactions
- 95% of receipts are collected automatically, and reconciled within 2 days
- 4x faster processing of books 4x every month
Cons:
- Inconsistent policy workflows
- Card is not accepted at all locations or websites
- Incorrect values filled with auto-scan functionality
Source:
12. Mesh Payments
Mesh Payments is an expense management software that offers a comprehensive platform for businesses to track, manage, and control their expenses. It is used by 1,000 finance teams and provides features like expense tracking, receipt capture, automated expense approvals, and integration with accounting systems.
Top features:
- Tailored to give global enterprises control and visibility over spends
- Offers automatic workflows and bookkeeping along with payment management and budget controls
- Tailored solutions for different types of corporate spends
Pros:
- Convenient and user-friendly interface
- Implementation of daily payment limits
- Quickly extract information from reports
- Easy to attach receipts immediately
- Responsive customer support
Cons:
- Limited integration options with existing ERPs
- Only provides virtual card for expenses, and the card is not accepted everywhere
- Mobile app not as intuitive to use as website
Source:
13. Happay
Happay is an all-in-one integrated solution for corporate travel, expense, and payments management. It is India's largest travel, expense, and payments with 7000+ customers across 20+ countries. platform aims to simplify expense reporting and reimbursement processes for businesses. It offers features such as expense tracking, receipt capture, expense approvals, and integration with accounting systems.
Top features:
- Self Booking Tool (SBT) to help travelers self-book flights, hotels and cabs
- Zero collateral credit lines with rewards
- Prepaid cards for various use cases, from corporate spends to petty cash expenses
Pros:
- Easy to report and reimburse expenses
- Convenient and user-friendly UI
- Automates the entire expense workflow, from capturing receipts to approving and reimbursing expenses
- Faster reimbursement cycle and higher cash savings through increased productivity
Cons:
- Scope to improve how claim reports are tagged to individual expenses
- Card charges fees for ATM withdrawals
- Time-consuming refund process if the payment fails during an online transaction
- Limited customization options and integrations with other platforms
- UI needs to be improved
Source:
14. Rippling
Rippling is an all-in-one HR and employee management platform that includes expense management functionality. It provides features such as expense tracking, automated expense approvals, and integration with payroll systems.
Top features:
- Simplify HR, IT and finance through one platform
- Manage analytics, workflow automation, policies, and permissions
- Single system for business as small as 2 employees to as many as 2000
Pros:
- One place for businesses to run HR, IT, Finance
- Responsive chat support and customer service
- Easy to implement with a user-friendly UI
- Allows you to manage employees with time-off requests, HR information, clock-ins, etc.
- Quick onboarding of employees and contractors in 90 seconds
- Automate global compliance processes
Cons:
- Absence of points system, scheduling, and employee reviews
- Not a focussed expense management solution
- Some users report difficulty in setting up
Source:
15. Emburse Chrome River Expense
Emburse Chrome River Expense is an expense management software designed for mid to large-sized enterprises. It offers features such as expense tracking, receipt capture, policy enforcement, and integration with accounting systems.
Top features:
Designed for complex enterprises, higher education and professional services
Globally-focused expense management and accounts payable automation solutions
Pros:
Easily configurable to address business needs
Compliance workflows help spot incorrect or fraudulent documents before submission
Completely electronic from start to finish
Approval workflows can happen through email
Some users report it’s easier to use and more cost effective than Concur
Significant cash and time savings
Cons:
Slow analytics and not intuitive
Pre-defined reports are clunky; more detailed reports require an extra cost
Some users report difficulty in setting up
Source:
https://www.g2.com/products/emburse-chrome-river-expense/reviews#reviews
What makes Nanonets stand apart as an expense management software?
As an expense management software, Nanonets stands apart from its competitors with its unique features and capabilities.
AI-powered Expense Tracking: Nanonets utilizes advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology to automate the expense tracking process. It can intelligently extract relevant information from receipts, invoices, and other expense documents, eliminating the need for manual data entry. This not only saves time but also reduces the chances of human errors and improves accuracy.
Customizable OCR Models: Nanonets allows users to build custom OCR (Optical Character Recognition) models tailored to their specific needs. This flexibility enables businesses to train the software to recognize and extract data fields relevant to their expense management processes. Whether it's capturing vendor names, transaction dates, or amounts, Nanonets can be trained to accurately extract the required information.
Seamless Integration: Nanonets offers seamless integration with various accounting and ERP systems, allowing for easy synchronization of expense data. This integration eliminates the need for manual data transfer, ensuring that expense records are up to date and consistent across different platforms.
User-Friendly Interface: Nanonets features a user-friendly interface that simplifies the expense management workflow. Users can easily navigate through the software, upload expense documents, review extracted data, and track the status of expenses. The intuitive design enhances user experience and reduces the learning curve for new users.
Automation and Workflow Efficiency: Nanonets streamlines the expense management process through automation and efficient workflows. It automates data capture, reconciliation, and approval processes, saving time and effort for finance teams. The software's intelligent routing capabilities ensure that expenses are accurately categorized, properly allocated, and routed for appropriate approvals.
Data Security and Compliance: Nanonets prioritizes data security and compliance. It employs industry-standard encryption and secure storage practices to protect sensitive financial information. With Nanonets, businesses can maintain compliance with data privacy regulations and internal security policies.
Scalability and Flexibility: Nanonets is designed to accommodate businesses of various sizes and industry verticals. Whether you're a small startup or a large enterprise, the software can scale to meet your growing expense management needs. Additionally, Nanonets offers customization options, allowing businesses to adapt the software to their unique requirements.
Conclusion
The Global SaaS-based Expense Management Market size is expected to reach $6.6 billion by 2028, rising at a market growth of 11.2% CAGR. Evidently, effective expense management is crucial for businesses to maintain financial control, and automating it is imperative to stay competitive.
Choosing the right expense management software can thus significantly contribute to business efficiency. In this article, we explored the top 15 expense management software solutions.
Each software offers its own unique set of features, advantages, and pricing options. It is important to carefully evaluate your business requirements, budget, and specific needs when selecting the most suitable expense management software. Nanonets stands out as an exceptional choice due to its AI-powered expense tracking, customizable OCR models, seamless integrations, user-friendly interface, its security features and scalability. By leveraging Nanonets' advanced features, businesses can streamline their expense management processes, enhance accuracy, save time, and gain better financial visibility.
