Managing expenses efficiently is a perpetual challenge for most accountants and accounting departments.
Implementing an automated expense tracking solution can help accountants dramatically improve financial visibility, enforce policies, and realize strategic insights from expense data.
This review will provide an in-depth analysis of the top expense management systems on the market, including details on features, capabilities, and total cost of ownership. You'll come away with a clear framework for evaluating and selecting the best expense tracking software for your accounting organization.
Introducing Top Expense Tracking Solutions
Expense tracking software is an invaluable tool for modern accountants. As clients seek to control costs and streamline financial reporting, accountants must stay updated on the latest expense management platforms. While options abound, three top solutions stand out for their robust feature sets and suitability for most accounting workflows.
Concur
Owned by SAP, Concur is a leader in integrated travel and expense management favored by enterprise clients.
Concur enables:
- Automated expense reporting integrated with corporate cards
- Detailed spend visibility and robust analytics
- Multi-entity management and global scalability
Best for large corporations seeking an end-to-end spend management platform with advanced integrations. The extensive capabilities justify the higher pricing for entities managing global workforces or complex budgets.
Expensify
Expensify prioritizes simplicity and user-friendliness, making it suitable for small business owners new to automated expense management.
Key features include:
- Intuitive mobile app for streamlined expense capture
- Automated receipt transcribing and report building
- Integration with leading accounting platforms
The easy-to-use interface and accessible pricing make Expensify a top choice when recommending expense software to smaller clients with straightforward needs.
Zoho Expense
For a feature-packed platform at an affordable price point, Zoho Expense hits the sweet spot.
Zoho centralizes:
- Corporate card reconciliation
- Customizable reporting and approvals
- Travel and invoice management
Zoho Expense gives growing companies robust controls without the enterprise price tag. For clients outgrowing basic tools but not yet ready for complex ERPs, Zoho Expense merits strong consideration.
Evaluating leading options by use-case and capabilities empowers accountants to match clients with the right expense tracking solution. Concur, Expensify, and Zoho Expense currently lead the pack when balancing features, pricing, and usability.
How much does expense management software cost?
Expense management software is typically priced on a per user per month basis, with costs varying depending on the features and capabilities offered. Many solutions aimed at small businesses start around $5-10 per user per month for basic expense reporting and approvals.
Mid-market solutions with more advanced features like automated receipt capture, integration with accounting systems, and robust reporting tend to range from $8-20 per user per month. Large enterprises implementing company-wide expense management systems can expect to invest $15-30 per user per month for the most full-featured platforms.
Some pricing factors that impact cost include:
- Number of users and volume of expense reports
- Depth of integration with other systems
- Extent of automation and AI/ML capabilities
- Travel booking and company card integrations
- Customization and configuration needs
- Ongoing support and maintenance
Companies should evaluate all solution capabilities relative to their budget. Though basic expense reporting starts low, more complete platforms can yield higher ROI long-term through increased visibility, policy compliance, and cost savings - warranting the higher price tag. But for many small teams, simple self-service software meets their core needs at $5-15 per user monthly.
Why use expense management software?
Expense management software streamlines the entire process of submitting, approving, and reimbursing expenses for businesses. Rather than relying on manual processes involving paper receipts, spreadsheets, and email chains, it digitizes everything onto a unified platform. This automation delivers numerous benefits:
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Saves time - Employees can quickly snap photos of receipts rather than filling out tedious forms. Approvers can review expenses on any device. Finance teams avoid data entry and have visibility into spending. By removing paper and manual tasks, expense reports can be completed 3x faster.
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Enhances visibility - With all data digitized in one system, powerful reporting provides insight into spending patterns. This helps inform budget decisions and uncover wasteful spending. Tools like interactive dashboards make the data easily consumable.
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Increases compliance - Automated approval workflows and policy enforcement ensure expenses adhere to guidelines. Audit trails log all actions for easier tracing. These safeguards minimize compliance issues and reduce leakages.
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Boosts productivity - Less time wasted on expenses means more time spent on value-add tasks. Employees get reimbursed faster. Finance teams avoid mundane administrative work. Everyone wins through frictionless processes.
In summary, switching from manual expenses to automated software cuts out tedious tasks for all stakeholders. It enables employees, managers, and accountants to focus their efforts on high-impact responsibilities. The streamlined process and holistic visibility justify the ROI of expense management solutions.
What should be included in an expense tracker?
Tracking expenses properly is crucial for accountants and small businesses to manage cash flow. Here are the key things to include in an expense tracker:
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Date of purchase: Note when the expense occurred. This allows you to reconcile expenses to bank/credit card statements.
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Expense type: Categorize expenses (e.g. office supplies, software, meals & entertainment). This enables expense analysis by type.
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Description: Explain what the expense relates to. Additional context helps ensure proper categorization.
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Amount: Record the total amount spent for each expense. This provides the raw data to analyze spending.
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Payment method: Note if paid by cash, credit card, etc. Cross-check payments to receipts and statements.
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Receipts: Attach images of receipts to verify and support each expense. This documentation aids accounting and potential audits.
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Vendor: Note the payee for expenses. Enables oversight of spending by vendor.
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Total per category: Sum expenses by type. Allows high-level monitoring of spending distribution.
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Overall total: Add all expenses for total spending. Critical to track against budgets.
Properly tracking these expense details provides the necessary data to analyze costs, identify waste, reconcile company books, and simplify expense reporting. It's an essential practice for both accounting professionals and small business owners alike.
Which of these is are the most popular enterprise level web based expense reporting Programmes?
As a business grows and expands, managing employee expenses can become increasingly complex. Companies often turn to enterprise-level web-based expense reporting software to streamline the process.
When evaluating options, three programs stand out as particularly popular and effective solutions:
QuickBooks Online is best suited for small business owners or self-employed professionals. It seamlessly integrates expense tracking with other accounting features like invoicing and reporting. The interface is user-friendly and intuitive. However, it lacks some advanced capabilities required by larger organizations.
NetSuite excels at employee expense tracking for billable service organizations. It captures billable expenses to client projects and generates invoices directly from expense reports. Approval workflows and advanced reporting provide oversight into spending. However, customization options are more limited compared to other systems.
Emburse truly shines at streamlining the entire expense management process. Smart workflows auto-populate expense details while still allowing flexibility. Integrated receipt capture via mobile makes it easy for employees. Robust analytics give finance leaders insight into spending patterns. Of the three, Emburse offers the most complete, enterprise-grade solution.
In summary, QuickBooks Online and NetSuite have strengths in specific use cases, but Emburse delivers the full-featured functionality most larger businesses will require as they scale. Any organization struggling with cumbersome expense management should consider Emburse to automate the process. Reach out for a custom demo today.
Comprehensive Overview of Expense Management Systems
We explore the core reasons companies need expense tracking, from basic reimbursements to advanced analytics, to inform software selection.
Essentials of Business Expense Management
Managing expenses is a critical part of running any business. Without oversight of budgets, large purchases, and overages, costs can easily spiral out of control. A robust expense management system equips finance teams to:
- Set and enforce budgets by category or employee
- Require approvals for expenses above preset thresholds
- Gain visibility into spending to identify waste and opportunities to optimize
With real-time tracking and reporting, businesses can rein in expenses and allocate resources more strategically. This protects the bottom line without compromising operations.
Streamlining Expense Reports with Automation
Submitting and reimbursing employee expenses is typically a manual, time-consuming process. Expense management software can introduce process efficiencies through:
- Automated data capture from receipts using OCR
- Direct integration with corporate cards
- Rules-based routing for digital approval chains
- Automated reimbursement upon approval
By digitizing expense reports and enabling touchless processing, finance teams can focus less on administrative tasks and more on value-added analysis. Employees also benefit from faster reimbursements.
Leveraging Insights for Strategic Financial Management
Beyond automating rote tasks, advanced systems provide real-time visibility into spending and benchmarks versus historical trends. With these insights, executives can:
- Identify wasteful spending patterns over time
- Optimize travel policies to reduce costs
- Set future budgets aligned to growth targets
- Guide procurement strategy based on spending analytics
In summary, expense management software spans from basic reimbursements to transforming financial decision-making through data-driven insights. As needs grow more advanced, the right solution can scale to provide enhanced oversight, automation, and analysis.
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Evaluating the Best Expense Management Software for Small Business
We analyze key capabilities and strengths of top expense management solutions to uncover the ideal options for growing SMBs.
Concur Expense Management: A Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant
Concur offers end-to-end automation and rich analytics for global enterprises. With seamless integrations, scalability, and a top-tier mobile experience, Concur leads the pack for complex multinational firms.
However, Concur's extensive feature set caters more towards mature processes. For lean teams, its learning curve and TCO may be prohibitive. Still, Concur remains a gold standard in automated spend management.
Expensify: A User-Friendly Tool for Expense Reporting
Expensify simplifies expense management for small teams. Its intuitive mobile interface enables employees to snap receipts and track spending on-the-go.
However, Expensify lacks extensive reporting or integration capabilities compared to larger suites. For rapidly evolving SMBs, Lightweight yet limited feature sets pose eventual challenges. Still, solopreneurs benefit greatly from Expensify’s simplicity.
Zoho Expense: An Affordable and Effective Mid-Market Contender
Zoho Expense strikes an optimal balance between simplicity and depth for high-growth SMBs. Beyond core expense reporting, it centralizes company card transactions, enforces policy compliance, and enables custom field creation.
For mid-market teams, Zoho Expense offers rich automation and oversight without overcomplicating workflows or inflating TCO like enterprise-geared solutions. As capabilities grow in lockstep with evolving needs, SMBs find an ideal blend of value and flexibility with Zoho.
Free Expense Management Software Options
Free expense management software can provide significant value for small businesses and startups operating on tight budgets. As your company grows, more advanced paid options may become necessary, but free software still offers helpful core features.
When evaluating free expense management platforms, key aspects to consider include:
User limits
Many free versions impose user limits, like 5 employees. Ensure the software can support your current and near-term hiring plans. However, certain products like Zoho Expense provide unlimited users.
Expense tracking
Core expense tracking features like receipt capture, reporting, and categorization are commonly included. This enables centralized visibility into spending. Automation around data entry can also help reduce manual hassles.
Basic approvals
Basic approval workflows for things like expense reports are sometimes offered. This introduces oversight into spending and policy compliance. However, advanced routing rules and compliance may require upgraded plans.
Integration
Certain platforms provide integration with common small business tools like QuickBooks Online and Slack. This can streamline data flows between systems. However, integration capabilities may be limited until upgrading from free versions.
Support
Support levels vary widely between products. While community forums may be available, direct email or phone assistance generally requires paid plans. Ensure your team can effectively troubleshoot issues independently if relying on free versions.
When thoughtfully selected, free expense software can ease financial tracking burdens for early-stage companies. Consider usage volumes, feature needs, and long-term scalability when evaluating options. However, the limitations of free versions means most growing businesses will eventually require enhanced capabilities justifying paid upgrades.
Key Evaluation Criteria for Selecting Expense Management Companies
Selecting an expense management company is an important decision that impacts day-to-day business operations and the bottom line. As you evaluate potential solutions, focus on key criteria to ensure the platform aligns with core needs and capabilities.
Top areas to analyze closely include:
Integrating Business Systems with Expense Management Software
Seamless integration with existing platforms is essential for organizations seeking holistic financial visibility and streamlined workflows. Assess how easily expense data flows into other business systems like ERP and accounting tools.
Key questions to ask potential vendors:
- What out-of-the-box integrations are available? Can data sync automatically?
- Is there API access or custom integration capabilities?
- What specific data points transfer over and how customizable is this?
- How does the integration impact reconciliation processes?
Understanding integration capabilities upfront simplifies connecting expense data across platforms for accurate reporting and comprehensive analysis.
Assessing User Experience for Widespread Adoption
The user experience significantly impacts employee adoption and how easily teams leverage the expense platform day-to-day.
Evaluate aspects like:
- Intuitiveness navigating menus, viewing reports, submitting expenses
- Flexibility accessing via mobile apps when traveling
- Ability to customize personal settings
- In-app guidance helping users learn key features
Software with a more intuitive interface streamlines training and drives faster user adoption across an organization.
Configuring Expense Policies within the Management System
Configuring expense policies appropriately promotes compliance to spend guidelines and approval protocols enterprise-wide.
Key configuration options consist of:
- Customizable rules triggering approvals based on expense types, amounts, vendors
- Automated approval workflows routing expenses to managers
- Visibility settings determining what data finance sees
- Reimbursement limits keeping costs within budget
Tailoring these controls upfront establishes guardrails reinforcing expense compliance.
With focus on these critical elements, you can better evaluate expense management systems to meet your organization’s unique needs and scale capabilities as business evolves. Reach out for personalized platform recommendations matching core requirements.
Embarking on an Expense Management System Project
We provide best practices for rolling out new expense software to ensure rapid user adoption and maximize value realization.
Securing Executive Sponsorship for Your Expense System Project
Gaining leadership buy-in early is key for any successful software implementation. Schedule an executive presentation to demonstrate how an integrated expense management system can drive cost savings and efficiency gains across the organization.
Showcase specific use cases and ROI projections tailored to your company's spend profile. For example, using automation and policy controls to curb lavish spending or streamline expense report approvals. Arm executives with hard numbers on the potential return and productivity lift.
Secure official project sponsorship from your CFO, CEO or other senior stakeholders. Lock in budget approval, executive mandates, and change management support. Appoint an executive steering committee to oversee the rollout and resolve any roadblocks.
Kick things off with a companywide announcement from leadership emphasizing IT and Finance’s partnership on the project. Set the vision and urgency for adoption enterprise-wide.
Pilot Testing: Ensuring a Smooth Expense Management Rollout
Once executive sponsorship is locked down, run a controlled pilot rollout before full-scale deployment. Select a representative sample of ~100 employees across business units. Include a mix of roles - frequent travelers, managers, executives - to test varied expense use cases.
This exercise surfaces data integration issues, policy gaps, reporting needs, and training requirements at smaller scale. Fine-tune your approach rather than scrambling during a high-risk, big-bang release. Pay special attention to integration touchpoints with accounting, payroll, travel booking and other critical systems.
Pilot groups act as change champions, providing user feedback to enhance the final product. Shift them into trainers sharing best practice tips as you gradually ramp up the rollout. Smooth the transition by maintaining legacy processes in parallel run state during the pilot, before eventually decommissioning.
Building Effective User Training Programs for Expense Systems
The success of any new system hinges on user adoption. But expense management involves frequent travelers, executives and occasional users alike - groups notoriously adverse to change.
Counter resistance through comprehensive training and engagement at all levels:
Hands-on Workshops
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Conduct classroom workshops with hands-on walkthroughs tailored to each user profile - executives, managers, infrequent travelers.
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Review expense policy changes, system navigation, mobile apps, transaction workflows, approval routing and more.
Online Courses
- Offer short online courses for quick self-paced refreshers around key topics like business meals or travel agency bookings.
Quick Reference Guides
- Create pocket guides and cheat sheets with tips personalized to each job role on submitting expenses or managing delegates.
Power User Forum
- Identify informal power users across the organization willing to provide peer assistance for ongoing questions.
Gamification
- Incentivize proficient and power users through points-based recognition programs and prizes.
The goal is embedding this change through positive reinforcement and incentives that speak to individual user motivations - rather than mandates. Sustain engagement via ongoing communications even post go-live with usage stats, accomplishment milestones and lessons learned.
The Evolution of Expense Management
We are witnessing an exciting evolution in expense management solutions. As technology advances, new innovations emerge that make tracking and managing expenses easier and more efficient for today's accountants and financial professionals.
Moving to the Cloud
One of the biggest shifts occurring is the transition of expense management systems to the cloud. Traditionally, expense solutions were on-premises applications that required considerable investments in hardware and IT infrastructure. However, over the past decade we have seen these systems moving to cloud-based platforms leveraging SaaS models.
Cloud solutions provide anytime, anywhere access while minimizing upfront costs. They also enable seamless integrations with other systems through open APIs. According to leading research and advisory firm Gartner, the market for cloud-based expense solutions is growing rapidly. As per their estimates, public cloud revenue in the expense management space increased 34% year-over-year in 2019.
For accountants, migrating to the latest cloud platforms means enjoying enhanced reporting, better data controls, automated workflows and streamlined regulatory compliance. It translates to improved efficiency and cost savings.
Intelligent Systems
Another key development is the emergence of intelligent technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence. Modern expense solutions are getting "smarter" at processing expense reports and transactions.
By combining advanced OCR and NLP capabilities, these systems can automatically capture key details from receipts, invoices and other documents. They help classify expenses into relevant categories without any manual intervention. Some solutions provide tailored recommendations and analytics to uncover spending patterns and cost-saving opportunities.
Intelligent automation features minimize the need for manual data entry while giving finance teams greater visibility into budgets and cash flow. According to leading analyst firm IDC, over 75% of large enterprises will leverage intelligent ERP solutions with built-in AI capabilities by 2025.
Integrations and APIs
Finally, as the expense management landscape matures, we see deeper ecosystem integrations unfolding through open and scalable APIs. Modern solutions easily sync expense data with ERPs, accounting software, travel systems, bank feeds and other platforms. This enables the free flow of information across the entire financial stack.
APIs also allow easy customization of expense management systems to support specific business needs. Finance leaders can track KPIs or implement custom approval workflows aligned to their organizations. Solutions like Zoho Expense, Concur and Expensify make it easy to tailor processes using APIs.
The API economy will ultimately make expense management flexible, extensible and seamless across the enterprise technology environment.
In summary, as expense tracking continues to evolve, accountants and finance professionals have an exciting future ahead. Intelligent, scalable and highly customizable cloud platforms will transform mundane tasks into strategic, value-adding activities. The future indeed looks promising.
Bringing It All Together: Navigating the Expense Management Landscape
When selecting an expense tracking solution, accountants should consider key factors like core features, ease of use, integration capabilities, and pricing models.
Core Features
Prioritize software with features like automated data capture, policy compliance, approvals workflow, and detailed reporting. Strong optical character recognition, receipt management, and spend analytics allow for efficient, accurate tracking.
Ease of Use
The system should have an intuitive, user-friendly interface. Features like mobile apps, chat support, and self-service portals simplify user adoption across organizations.
Integrations
Evaluate integration support with accounting software, travel booking tools, bank feeds, and other systems. API availability enables connecting the expense platform with crucial business applications.
Pricing
Compare pricing models like per user per month or transaction-based fees. Consider relevant factors like organizational spend volume, team size, and premium features needed. Though initial costs may be higher, the right software leads to long-term visibility and savings.
With preparation and diligence during software selection, accountants can implement integrated, scalable expense management to serve organizational needs and support financial strategy. Disciplined tracking cultivates spend visibility to drive informed, strategic decisions.
