business travel expense tracker

8 apps that will help track your travel expenses

Keeping track of travel expenses can be challenging. With paper receipts, email receipts and not being handed any receipt at times, it's important to be organized for both the business and leisure traveler.

Fortunately, for those who are not the best at having a good grasp on their expenses, there are many apps that can simplify your life. These apps help with expense reports, budgeting purposes, tax preparation and splitting expenses among friends.

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With something for everyone, here are the best apps to help you keep track of your expenses.

TrabeePocket

TrabeePocket is a straightforward app that allows you to keep track of your expenses for a given trip. Before you even start your trip you can add all prepaid expenses to the "preparing" tab. This allows you to account for your flights and any tours you might have booked in advance. Once your trip begins you can easily add all additional travel expenses. You can categorize your expenses into eight different categories, but with the paid version, you can add as many additional categories as you want if you have very specific expenses you want to track. The free version also only allows you to track one currency per trip, but the paid version allows you to track multiple currencies in one trip file.

Not only will TrabeePocket serve as a place to file your expenses, it also helps you on the budgeting front as well. You can set a monthly budget and have your expenses track against that overall number. If you are earning income during your travel, you can also enter income to a specific trip expense.

One neat feature of this app is that you can take pictures and tie it to a specific expense. This is great for the backpacker or family traveler who wants to remember exactly what the expense was used for, or to keep track of trip suggestions. Business travelers can also use this feature by taking a picture of a receipt if it is needed for a corporate expense report.

Cost: Free; Upgraded version is $1.99 and includes some additional options (i.e., multiple currencies, additional categories, view and export expense report)

Download: Google Play Store or iTunes App Store

Trail Wallet

Trail Wallet is very similar to TrabeePocket, but unfortunately is not available to Android users. With this app, you can add as many categories as you want to separate expenses and everything is color coded to make the app more visually appealing. (Unlike TrabeePocket, you do not need to pay for an upgraded version to add more categories).

When you enter your travel expenses, you'll tie it to both a trip and a date. This allows you to view your expenses at a Month View or Trip View. You can also spread expenses across multiple dates so you can see your daily expenses for a certain trip. This is handy if you are on a daily budget to ensure you're not exceeding the amount you can spend on a particular day.

One nice feature of this app is that you can add as many currencies as you'd like within a certain trip. This comes in handy if you are paying in multiple currencies — for example, flight and hotel costs in USD, but food expenses in euros.

This app caters more toward individual or family travel as you cannot invite friends to add expenses. You can, however, take pictures of receipts and tie them to a specific expense, and then export the images — perfect for keeping all receipts or for business travelers for expense purposes.

Cost: Free for the first 25 expense items added to a single trip; Upgraded version is $4.99 which allows you to enter an unlimited number of expenses per trip.

Download: iTunes App Store

Concur is one of the top expense programs for business travel. This app is definitely more involved then some of the others on the list, but it has all the bells and whistles for keeping your expenses fully organized. If you work for a large corporation, you might already find that this is the required app to use for your business expenses.

Expenses from corporate credit cards will automatically be uploaded and you can also manually add out-of-pocket expenses. For manually entered expenses, employees can take a picture of their receipt which will be included in their expense report. For the business traveler with many paper receipts during the week, this app helps ensure that all expenses are reimbursed properly.

If you run a small-business, this is a great platform for you and your employees to use as it allows you to manage expenses and prepare expense reports. When I worked for a large consulting company, I used this program on a weekly basis. Being able to keep track of my work expenses to ensure I was reimbursed with every amount paid out of pocket was huge. For solo and group travelers, this is not the app I suggest using as there is no need to pay the monthly fee as there are many other free apps available.

Cost: Fee depends on number of users and account type.

Related: 5 tips to turn business travel into family vacations

Tripcoin is a very simple app to use that will track all of your expenses against a particular trip. You can tie each expense to a specific category, enter a city location and a defined date and time. You can also include notes and a screen shot to keep better track of every purchase you make.

This app has an atheistically pleasing filter capability, where you can look at expenses between a given date, within a certain category, a type of payment method or within a particular country. There is also a real-time currency converter or you can set custom currency exchange rates if needed.

Best of all, you can automatically back up all of your data by enabling the Dropbox integration. With many of the other apps listed here, if you lose your phone or if your data gets wiped out, you will lose all of the expenses entered. If this does happen, with this specific app, all of your expenses are saved and can be re-imported.

Unfortunately, this app is only available for iPhone users.

SplitWise is one of my personal favorites and an app I've been using for years. If you are traveling in a group , this is the app for you. The best, and unique feature, is that you can have friends or family members join a group and everyone can enter all expenses incurred for the joint trip. The app will then itemize expenses and tell each individual how much they owe to make things equal. You can even designate which expenses should be split among certain individuals. Like most of the other apps, you can also take include a picture and notes for every expense entered.

I have used the app for friend and sibling trips, including bachelorette parties, group ski trips and even just day trips. Aside from travel expenses, you can even use it to split up expenses among roommates or just everyday purchases with friends.

Cost: Free; Upgraded version is $2.99/month ($29.99/year) which includes receipt scanning, currency conversion and more.

Tricount is a simple app, but a great choice for group travel . It works very similar to SplitWise where you can split expenses among multiple travelers in your group. Everyone can add their own expenses and designate the specific amount (or percentage) for each individual within the group. At the end of the trip, you'll then receive a breakdown of what everyone owes each other.

The app supports multiple currencies and allows you to take pictures of images or receipts to go along with every expense entered.

Cost: Free; Upgraded version is $0.99 and allows you to have an ad-free experience.

Related: 30 essential travel apps every traveler needs to know

If keeping track of receipts is high on your priority list, then the Foreceipt app will be perfect for your needs. You can attach a receipt with all expenses entered and all images will automatically be saved to your Google Drive account. Additionally, all email receipts can be tracked as well by forwarding them directly to Foreceipt email address and including your unique ID.

Other features include the capability to batch upload bank transactions and downloading excel reports for tax return purposes — perfect for those who need to write off travel expenses.

Within the app, Foreceipt allows you to enter your income, bills and travel expenses to track against your overall budget. You can also tie all travel expenses to one of many pre-populated categories.

With these more involved capabilities, business travelers and those who own small businesses will probably find this app more useful than solo or group travelers.

Cost: Free; Upgraded version is $3.99/month ($38.99/year) and includes more receipts scans per month, email receipts and expense reports.

Expensify caters toward both individual and group travelers traveling primarily for business. This app allows you to complete all the simple tasks such as documenting your expenses and taking a picture of your receipt, but goes one step further where you can submit your expenses to your manager or accountant (or really whomever you'd like).

For those who need to keep track of mileage driven, this app allows you to not only manually enter your information but also has a GPS calculator which you can turn on to track your distance. You can also enter your time worked, which helps those needing to track billable hours.

The app also features more than just a place to submit your expenses, as you can keep track of business operations and even set expense policies.

On the feel good front, Expensify will also donate $2 for every $1,000 in expenses to Expensify.org. These donations are given to a broad range of campaigns to help organizations around the world.

Cost: Free up to five scans a month; Upgraded version is $4.99/month per user giving you unlimited scans and additional automatic capabilities.

Bottom Line

With many apps to keep track of your expenses, it helps to find one that fits your needs. Whether you are traveling for business or pleasure, with a group or on your own, there are many apps out there that work well depending on your needs.

Home > Finance > Accounting

The 4 Best Expense Tracker Apps for Small Businesses in 2023

Data as of 8/17/22. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. *Current sales price: 90% for three mos. or 30-day free trial. Offer available for new customers only, **When billed annually

We are committed to sharing unbiased reviews. Some of the links on our site are from our partners who compensate us. Read our editorial guidelines and advertising disclosure .

Our top business expense tracker app is FreshBooks . Its well-reviewed accounting software app lets you track expenses, upload receipts, and sync payments. Its scalable plans make it s a good fit for many types of business owners.

But FreshBooks is just one of  the best business expense tracker apps. Below, we review FreshBooks, Expensify, and more apps for small businesses like yours.

• FreshBooks : Best total accounting solution
• Zoho Expense : Best automation

Top feature comparison: Best small-business expense trackers

Data as of 1/12/23. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. *Current sales price: 90% off for three mos. or 30-day free trial. Offer available for new customers only. **When billed annually

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FreshBooks: Best total accounting solution

Starting at $1.50/mo.*

• Mileage, time, and billable expense tracking
• Automatic expense categorization
• Third-party app required for employee reimbursement

Data as of 1/12/23. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. *Current sales price: 90% off for three mos. or 30-day free trial. Offer available for new customers only.

FreshBooks’s accounting software includes built-in expense tracking, so you don’t need to invest in two apps to manage your business’s costs. Instead, FreshBooks syncs with your bank account and credit cards, automatically importing and categorizing expenses, plus generating reports that help you make sense of your profit and loss .

And if you frequently bill your clients for expenses, FreshBooks’s excellent invoicing simplifies the process. Use FreshBooks’s app to track your time, expenses, and mileage during a project, then transfer over the final billable expense to your client’s invoice (which you can also create and send with the FreshBooks app).

FreshBooks doesn’t offer a free plan, but the company frequently offers frequent long-term sales. You can also save by paying for FreshBooks annually instead of monthly. Unfortunately, the cheapest plan limits you to invoicing just five clients a month. Freelancers with a higher client volume will need at least the $25-a-month Plus plan, which increases your client limit to 50 a month.

Zoho Expense: Best automation

Starting at $0.00/mo.

• Automatic billable expense tracking
• Employee travel features
• Corporate card options

Data as of 1/12/23. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

Zoho Expense focuses on employee travel. (It’s billed as an “end-to-end travel and expense” solution, not simply an expense tracker.) Along with the typical expense tracker features, Zoho Expense lets you book rooms, set travel budgets, and pre-approve travel expenses well before employees leave. Like Zoho’s accounting software, Zoho Books, Zoho Expense automates just about everything that can be automated, including employee expense approval and reimbursement.

Zoho Expense’s free plan includes up to 1 user (plus an accountant) who can collaborate on expense tracking and travel management. For 10 users and pre-travel approval, you’ll need the Premium plan, which costs $2.50 per user per month if you pay annually (paying monthly costs $3 per user per month). The Premium plan also requires you to have at least ten users—which ups the cost to $30 per per month, paid annually.

Zoho Expense syncs with Zoho Books, Xero, and QuickBooks Online, but accounting software costs an additional $12 to $30 a month on top of your Zoho Expense payment.

Wave Accounting: Runner-up

Free for life

• Free expense tracker, receipt scanner, and accounting
• Unlimited expense tracking, invoicing, and receipt uploads
• No employee reimbursement or corporate card features

Wave Accounting is a truly free accounting software solution with fewer limits than many paid plans. As one of the best free expense tracker apps, Wave lets you track unlimited expenses and scan an unlimited number of receipts—while paying nothing, ever. 

Unlike paid competitors like FreshBooks and QuickBooks Online, Wave Accounting doesn’t have an accounting-specific mobile app (though it does have separate receipt, invoice, and payment acceptance apps). And while it’s great for freelancers, Wave doesn’t have any employee reimbursement or corporate card features.

QuickBooks Self-Employed: Runner-Up

Starting at $15.00/mo.

• Easy TurboTax syncing and tax assistance

For help with all things tax-related, try QuickBooks Self-Employed. As an Intuit product, QuickBooks Self-Employed syncs seamlessly with Intuit TurboTax, which makes claiming the right tax write-offs easier at the end of the year. Like the heftier QuickBooks Online , QuickBooks Self-Employed is incredibly intuitive—it’s hard to find a more user-friendly mobile app.

Since QuickBooks Self-Employed was built for contractors and freelancers, it doesn’t include any employee-based spending tracker features. And at $15 a month, QuickBooks Self-Employed offers fewer invoicing and expense-tracking features than FreshBooks, which costs the same per month.

The takeaway

Business expense trackers are a solid investment for freelancers, solopreneurs, and other small-business owners who want to analyze costs and submit correct write-offs at tax time.

For flexibility and affordability, the best expense tracker app is Expensify . If you want accounting software with built-in expense tracking, try FreshBooks , QuickBooks Self-Employed , or Wave Accounting . For traveling and driver-focused alternatives, we like Zoho Expense and Everlance . And if physical receipts are taking over your office, Shoeboxed can start digitizing your data and categorizing your expenses right away.

Most business expense trackers have free plans, free trials, or both. Feel free to try different providers on for size before you commit—you’ll want an app that syncs with your accounting software, works for both you and your employees, and organizes expenses in a format you can follow.

Want to expand your business by trimming expenses? Check out our article on bookkeeping basics to learn more about income and expense management.

Related content

• FreshBooks vs. QuickBooks Online
• The 9 Best QuickBooks Alternatives in 2023
• Wave vs. QuickBooks Online

What are business expense trackers?

Business expense trackers obviously track your business’s expenses—but the best expense trackers don’t stop there. They also (usually automatically) categorize your expenses so you can identify areas to cut costs and simplify tax write-offs at the end of the tax year. Top business expense trackers should also include receipt scanning software so you can upload expenses on the go. Finally, expense tracking apps need to sync with your accounting software to save time and eliminate redundant data entry. (Some accounting software, like QuickBooks , includes built-in expense tracking and receipt scanning).

While self-employed business owners technically can use personal budgeting apps to track expenses, we don’t recommend it. They aren’t comprehensive enough to track a business’s needs, and they lack a lot of features most business expense trackers include. (For instance, personal finance apps don’t automatically track mileage—a must if you’re a freelancer with mileage-based tax write-offs or an employer whose employees travel for work.)

If you’re interested in becoming a better personal budgeter, check out our reviews of the year’s best budgeting apps . But personal finance apps like Mint and YNAB work only when applied to your personal life, not your business life.

Business expense tracking FAQ

Expensify is one of the best spending tracker apps for small businesses. It’s also super accessible: Expensify syncs with just about every accounting software system, including QuickBooks Online and Xero .

Remember, though, that Expensify might be the best business expense tracker app for some businesses—but not necessarily all businesses. Many accounting software solutions ( QuickBooks included) have built-in expense tracking options that scale up as your business grows.

Not sure Expensify is the right expense tracking software for you? Most money tracking apps for businesses offer free basic plans or free trials. Expense tracking is essential to good business budgeting, so feel free to try out different options until you find one you prefer.

Most expense tracker apps offer free basic plans. For instance, Expensify is free for freelancers who upload only 25 expenses a month. Free accounting software , like Wave Accounting and ZipBooks, also includes expense tracking with their free plans.

But if you want to use a company card, reimburse employees for business expenses, and get in-depth expense reporting for tax time, even the best free expense tracker app won’t cut it. Still, you have affordable options. Expensify’s small-business plans start at $4.95 a month. And accounting software like FreshBooks can cost as little as $15 a month (or less if you lock in FreshBooks’s frequent deals, like saving 60% for 6 months).

What is the best way to track expenses if I’m self-employed?

Whether you’re a part-time freelancer or a small-business owner with one or two employees, expense tracker apps are the easiest, fastest way to track business expenses.

You can always use spreadsheet software to track expenses by hand: for instance, Microsoft Excel offers expense tracking templates. (If you want a truly free option, Google Sheets is easy to customize to your business’s budgeting needs.) But even if you log just a few business expenses a month, we recommend an expense tracker app over spreadsheets.

Why? For one thing, expense tracking apps usually automate expense tracking, which gives you more time to focus on your business. They also let you track mileage, which is important for tax write-offs at the end of the year, and scan or upload receipts to ensure all your expense data is in one place. Many also double as bill management apps, especially accounting software with built-in expense and billing solutions.

Budget tracker a pps like Mint and YNAB are excellent for getting your personal finances in line, which can make you a more financially savvy business owner. But we don’t recommend using personal finance or budgeting apps for tracking business expenses , even if you’re self-employed. For one thing, it’s too easy to accidentally label personal expenses as business expenses (or vice versa), which makes taxes harder instead of simpler. Feel free to use both types of apps, but as soon as you become self-employed, make sure to separate your business and personal finances ASAP. 

Methodology

To find and rank the best expense trackers for small businesses, we analyzed several key business budget and spending features:

• Expense tracking features, including recurring expense categorization, billable hours and expense tracking, types of tax categories, and receipt capturing
• Ease of use, including customizability, automatic expense tracking, and automatic accounting software integration
• Mobile app ratings and reviews on both Google Play and Apple’s App Store
• Travel-based features, including mileage tracking, travel planning, and GPS tracking
• Employee-facing features, including employee reimbursement and budget approval
• User limits
• Pricing and affordability

At Business.org, our research is meant to offer general product and service recommendations. We don't guarantee that our suggestions will work best for each individual or business, so consider your unique needs when choosing products and services.

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Accounting | Buyer's Guide

10 Best Business Expense Tracker Apps for 2024

Published May 2, 2024

REVIEWED BY: Tim Yoder, Ph.D., CPA

WRITTEN BY: Eric Gerard Ruiz, CPA

This article is part of a larger series on Accounting Software .

• Quick Comparison
• 1. Best Overall With Real-time Card Feeds
• 2. Best for Zoho Books Users
• 3. Best for Assisted Expense Processing
• 4. Best for Solopreneurs
• 5. Best for Startup Corporations & LLCs
• 6. Best for BILL Users
• 7. Best for Real-time Expense Reporting
• 8. Best Tracker in a Complete Bookkeeping System
• 9. Best Free
• 10. Best for Freelancers
• Our Methodology
• How to Choose an Expense Tracker
• When to Use an Expense Tracker
• Accounting Software vs Expense Tracker

Bottom Line

The best business expense tracker app must be able to track business expenses from incurrence to reimbursement. It must also have features that can categorize business expenses, organize expense entries by status, generate expense reports, and reimburse expenses using different reimbursement methods. Aside from these, bonus features like prepaid card issuance and third-party card integration can enhance overall ease of use.

With that premise, here are our recommendations for the best business expense tracker apps.

Standalone Business Expense Trackers:

• Fyle : Best overall with real-time card feeds
• Zoho Expense : Best for Zoho Books users
• Rydoo : Best for assisted expense processing
• Expensify : Best for solopreneurs
• Ramp : Best for startup corporations and limited liability companies (LLCs)
• BILL Spend & Expense : Best for BILL users
• Emburse Spend : Best for real-time expense reporting

Expense Trackers Within Accounting Software:

• QuickBooks Online : Best expense tracker in a complete bookkeeping system
• Wave : Best free simple expense tracking and accounting
• FreshBooks : Best for freelancers

Why You Can Trust Fit Small Business

The Fit Small Business editorial policy is driven by the mission to provide you with the best answers to your small business questions. Our meticulous evaluation process makes us a trustworthy source for insights and tips in selecting the best business expense tracker app. We don’t just scratch the surface; we immerse ourselves in every platform we review by exploring the features down to the finest nuances.

For our roundup of business expense tracker apps, we created a special rubric that evaluates the features of our chosen providers. This gives our audience our unbiased opinion about the software’s capabilities and fitness for your organization.

When to Supplement Bookkeeping Software With Expense Tracking Software

The main goal of accounting software is to record, summarize, and report financial transactions in financial statements. With that goal, all decent accounting software can record and summarize expense transactions. However, most accounting software stop there and don’t offer additional expense features like expense approval, employee reimbursements, or debit and credit cards. Expense tracker integrations fill in the feature gaps in accounting software.

Here are some reasons why your business might need an expense tracker to supplement accounting software:

• Less work for the accounting team : Once employees have access to their expense tracker accounts, they can send and submit expense reports and receipts on a self-service basis. This means that the accounting department will not be burdened with the additional work of collecting expenses from employees. Instead, employees can submit expenses to the expense tracking software and the accounting team can import all expense data to the accounting software.
• Expense tracking via cards : Standalone expense trackers can either issue prepaid cards or integrate with corporate card programs. Using cards is an efficient way of tracking expenses since all expense data will automatically sync card feed transactions upon transmission. An expense tracker reduces data entry, and employees only need to upload the receipt to the expense entry once it’s recorded in the expense tracker.
• Workflows and approval routing : Expense tracking features within accounting software often don’t have workflows and approval routing features. By using a separate expense tracker, you can create custom workflows and approval rules to ensure that all expenses submitted are within allowable limits or company policy. This series of approval workflows ensures that the accounting department will record legitimate business expenses in the books of accounts.
• Emphasis on employee accountability : If employees submit expenses, they’ll be held accountable for all the figures they submit as business expenses. This means that if reported expenses aren’t legitimate business expenses or are outside allowable limits, managers can reject and prevent reimbursement of such expenses.

Comparison of Business Expense Tracker Apps

• Standalone Expense Trackers
• Accounting Software With Expense Trackers

Best Standalone Business Expense Tracker Apps

Fyle: best overall with real-time card feeds.

• Has real-time updates on transactions charged to Visa and Mastercard cards
• Is compatible with any Visa or Mastercard credit or corporate card
• Offers automatic receipt attachment via SMS after using Visa card
• Has a clean and intuitive user interface (UI) User Interface
• Is expensive if compared with other expense trackers
• Has limited capabilities in the Standard plan
• Has no free trial

Plans & Pricing

Fyle has no free trial, but you can request a product demo to learn the software:

• Standard: $8.99 per active user, per month with a minimum of five users
• Business: $14.99 per active user, per month with a minimum of 10 users
• Enterprise: Custom pricing

Why We Like It

Fyle is a convenient solution if you already have a corporate card program using Visa or Mastercard. If your corporate card is affiliated with either of these two payment networks, all transactions will automatically reflect in Fyle. This real-time card feed enables you to track and review expenses as they are incurred. However, Fyle’s expense tracking solution is still worth it even if you use cards that don’t partner with payment gateways like Visa and Mastercard.

Our Evaluation

Fyle scored high in expense tracking because of the flexibility that it offers in recording, submitting, reviewing, and approving expenses. It allows employees to submit expenses and receipts in various ways and admins to set up multiple approval workflows to ensure the legitimacy of expenses.

Its clean and attractive interface and accessible customer support options earned Fyle high marks in ease of use. Users will not have a hard time navigating around the software and can easily access support via email, live chat, and a comprehensive knowledge base.

On the flip side, Fyle didn’t score as well in card programs because it doesn’t issue prepaid cards. Users can only integrate third-party corporate cards within Fyle. However, we don’t consider this as a major miss because Fyle’s real-time Mastercard and Visa feeds compensate for this missing feature. If you prefer prepaid cards instead of corporate card programs, we recommend Emburse because it also has real-time expense reporting and issues company prepaid and credit cards.

• Deciding Factors
• Real-time feeds for Mastercard and Visa cards : Fyle offers real-time tracking of Visa and Mastercard transactions. Your transactions are reported automatically in the system the moment you use the card—you won’t have to wait for bank feeds that take several hours before they are fetched from your corporate card provider. After using the card, the cardholder will receive an SMS requesting them to send a picture of the receipt.
• Send receipts via email : Besides real-time card feeds, Fyle offers convenient expense tracking on Gmail, Slack, and Outlook. It can recognize expenses and receipts sent through these platforms and pick them up automatically for recording.
• Send receipts via SMS : When you use an enrolled card in Fyle for payments, it will send an SMS asking you to capture the receipt and send it. This feature helps employees send receipts right away after the transaction occurs.
• Approvals through email or communication platforms : Although Fyle has an outstanding approval workflow system within the web app, approvers can also approve expenses on Gmail, Outlook, Slack, and Microsoft Teams.
• Businesses using Mastercard and Visa cards : Through Fyle’s real-time card feeds, expense approvers can approve or reject expenses as they are reflected in Fyle. This feature can help businesses speed up expense processing.
• Remote teams : Remote team members won’t ever forget to submit receipts because Fyle will send an SMS to ask them to submit receipts right after the transaction. This feature ensures that remote employees always attach receipts for documentation purposes.
• Expense monitoring and compliance : Fyle has extensive approval workflow features and automation that allow small businesses to review submitted expenses. With these workflows in place, you can ensure that all submitted and approved expenses are within company allowable limits and policy.

Zoho Expense: Best Expense Tracker for Zoho Books Users

• Integrates well within the Zoho environment
• Has fraud detection features
• Has end-to-end travel expense management
• Has a steep learning curve
• Has a confusing UI for first-time users
• Requires at least 200 active users for the Enterprise plan

You can try the paid plans for 14 days or start with the Free plan to get acquainted with the software:

• Free: $0 for three users
• Standard: $5 per user, per month; minimum of three active users
• Premium: $8 per user, per month; minimum of three active users
• Enterprise: $12 per user, per month; minimum of 500 users

We recommend Zoho Expense for Zoho Books users because of its seamless integration with the accounting software. You can process all expenses within Zoho Expense and transmit via an integration link to Zoho Books for recording. Besides Zoho Books, users of other Zoho products like Zoho CRM or Zoho Mail can enjoy direct integration for expense processing and single sign-on (SSO) features.

Zoho Expense received high marks in our evaluation and is only a few points behind Fyle, our best overall pick. Its expense tracking features score took a hit because the platform doesn’t allow employees to submit expenses via SMS, and its card programs received only above-average marks because Zoho Expense doesn’t have real-time card feeds, something that Fyle offers.

Besides that, Zoho Expense doesn’t issue prepaid cards. If you’re leaning towards real-time card feeds for Mastercards and Visa, look into Fyle. Otherwise, we recommend Emburse for prepaid card issuance with real-time feeds.

• Batch recording of expenses : When managing expenses, you can create entries one by one or by batch and upload receipts from suppliers. Bulk-adding expenses is a great feature because it saves a lot of data entry time and helps the bookkeeper enter similar expenses in one window.
• Workflow rules : You can use the platform to track reimbursable expenses from employees and apply approval workflows to ensure that all reimbursement requests are legitimate or allowable expenses. You can either use simplified approval or make custom approvals.
• Approval presets : Zoho Expense comes with approval presets that you can use right out of the box for simple approvals.
• Zoho users : If your business is currently using Zoho services, you can utilize the seamless integration with other Zoho products.
• New freelancers : Zoho Expense’s free plan is perfect for individuals who have just started working as a freelancer. The free plan comes with 5GB of receipt storage and 20 receipt autoscans. As a single user, the free plan is enough for a freelancer’s expense needs.

Rydoo Expense: Best for Assisted Expense Processing

• Offers easy migration from competitors' apps to Rydoo
• Has add-on for assisted expense approval
• Can integrate with multiple enterprise resource planning (ERP) packages
• Has affordable pricing
• Has no reimbursement system
• Has no detailed expense reporting features, expense filters, and forecasts—these are only available as an add-on called Rydoo Insights
• Is not ideal for freelancers because of minimum user requirement
• Essentials: $12 per user, per month; minimum of five users
• Pro: $14 per user, per month; minimum of five users

Rydoo is our best pick for assisted expense processing because it offers controller services. This feature allows a team of reviewers from Rydoo to review receipts and expenses before they are forwarded to the approver. It also reduces the time needed to review expenses since approvers will not need to check if expense submissions are complete with receipts and other documents. With the help of Rydoo, all they need to do is to check if the expense is within company policy.

In our buyer’s guide, Rydoo received the highest score in pricing because it offers small businesses the most flexible pricing plan. You can choose to pay monthly or annually—and all plans are on a pay-per-user basis. It also has custom-priced plans for organizations looking for specific features.

Its card program features score took a hit in our evaluation because Rydoo Cards are separate from the expense management platform. Regardless, Rydoo can still integrate third-party corporate cards with its system for tracking card transactions.

Alternatively, we recommend Expensify for affordability and accessibility. You can even get Expensify for free if more than 50% of business expenses are paid using Expensify cards. Besides Expensify, Fyle is a good alternative if you have an existing corporate card program. Its real-time card feeds for Mastercard and Visa can help in faster reporting of expenses.

• Controller services : Rydoo’s team of experts can do the repetitive work of checking if all expense submissions are complete. This means that approvers can focus on reviewing expense submissions, not on checking if required attachments or documents are present.
• Multiple card options : Rydoo can integrate with third-party corporate card programs for expense tracking, but they also issue Rydoo Cards that are charged separately. This feature offers a lot of flexibility to companies that have existing third-party corporate programs but want to also issue prepaid cards through Rydoo Cards.
• Real-time expense tracking : With Rydoo, users don’t need to consolidate all expenses in an expense report. They can submit expenses right away and receive feedback or approval from approvers.
• Local compliance for a global workforce : Rydoo’s system is capable of addressing local rules and regulations in different countries and jurisdictions. If you have employees working outside the US, Rydoo’s features can help ensure that expenses comply with local laws.
• Giving per diem to employees : Rydoo has a dedicated per diem management module that allows managers to issue per diem to employees based on country- or region-specific rates. This module ensures that your company follows per diem laws in certain countries and regions.

Expensify: Best for Solopreneurs

• Offers a free plan that can issue unlimited Expensify cards
• Accepts third-party corporate cards
• Offers zero cost per user if 50% of expenses are charged using Expensify cards
• Has limited SmartScans in the free plan
• Has expensive per-user pricing
• Can’t integrate third-party corporate cards in the Free plan
• Free : $0 with 25 SmartScans per month and unlimited Expensify cards
• Collect : $20 per user, per month, with unlimited SmartScans and Expensify cards
• Control : $36 per user, per month, with unlimited SmartScans and Expensify cards

The Collect plan features premium features like expense approvals, expense rules, and automated clearing house (ACH) reimbursements. Meanwhile, the Control plan includes everything in Collect, plus additional features like NetSuite and Sage Intacct Integrations and multiple expense approvers.

Expensify is the only option on the list of standalone business expense trackers that can issue unlimited prepaid cards in the free plan. Ramp is also a free option in this guide, but it doesn’t accept self-employed individuals in its program. That’s why Expensify is the best pick for self-employed individuals.

Expensify scored well in expense tracking because it has most of the features we want to see in an expense tracker. It missed a little around submitting receipts via text and restricting certain vendors in reimbursements, though these aren’t major features in our evaluation. However, we would appreciate it if Expensify could add those in the future to provide a smoother and better experience for users.

On the contrary, it didn’t get high marks in card programs. This is because Expensify has a requirement that businesses must have 50% of business expenses in Expensify Cards to get Expensify for free. If the requirement isn’t met, then you have to pay the monthly price.

We find this requirement cumbersome for small businesses with existing corporate cards because they might pay regular per-user fees if they don’t meet the 50% requirements. This also comes at a disadvantage if most of the business expenses are tied to corporate cards, not Expensify cards.

• Ability to integrate third-party corporate cards and issue prepaid cards : Expensify is the only provider listed here that accepts third-party corporate cards and issues prepaid cards. Some expense trackers in this guide either accept third-party cards or issue prepaid cards. We like this feature because it provides more flexibility to users. For instance, corporate cards can be given to managers while prepaid cards can be issued to employees for allowances.
• Tracking expense statuses : Users can easily see expense status based on colors. This feature enables users to visually identify expenses that need to be reported, approved, or reimbursed without reading the details. Aside from that, it allows you to filter out expenses based on the particular status that you want to see.
• Self-employed individuals and sole proprietors : Expensify accepts self-employed individuals and sole proprietors without requiring them to have specific bank account balances.
• Issuing unlimited prepaid cards : In the free plan, users can already issue unlimited Expensify cards. There’s no need to upgrade to a paid plan.

Ramp: Best for Startup Corporations & LLCs

• Offers free expense management platform and corporate cards
• Has artificial intelligence (AI)-powered receipt capture for faster data entry
• Provides access to over 1,000 integrations with productivity software and banks
• Doesn’t issue credit cards
• Can’t carry card balances to the next period
• Has limited customer support
• Doesn’t accept sole proprietors and self-employed individuals

Ramp’s expense management feature and corporate card issuance are free to use. However, Ramp imposes strict requirements and limits the platform to registered businesses. Sole proprietors and self-employed individuals aren’t qualified.

We recommend Ramp for startups because it’s a free expense tracker that also issues prepaid cards. Since most startups are registered as corporations or LLCs in the US, they can easily qualify for Ramp. Besides that, Ramp is highly scalable and can accommodate the fast-changing environment of startups. You don’t have to worry about paying more as your startups grow because Ramp doesn’t limit the number of users in the system.

If you’re not qualified because you are a sole proprietor or self-employed individual, we suggest looking into Expensify. It’s like Ramp because you can issue unlimited Expensify cards in the free plan, but it doesn’t impose strict requirements.

In our evaluation, Ramp earned the highest score in expense tracking features. It missed on only one feature—and that is restricting certain vendors in expense reimbursements. We don’t consider this a major feature but having it can further enhance user experience.

In terms of card programs, Ramp didn’t score well because it can only issue prepaid Visa cards. Moreover, it doesn’t feature real-time card feed transactions. Our best alternative to Ramp would be Expensify. We recommend it because you can get it for free if you process 50% of business expenses through Expensify cards. Besides that, it doesn’t have strict registration requirements.

• Multiple integration options: Ramp has more than 1,000 integrations in accounting, expense automation, productivity, and security. This makes Ramp easy to integrate into your business processes and systems.
• Discounts: Ramp gives discounts and additional rewards if you use the card to pay for subscriptions or purchases from its partner companies, like Slack and Amazon Web Services. Read our Ramp Card review to learn more.
• Spending limits per card: You can set spending limits and approval thresholds to control all spending that gets charged to Ramp cards. In case employees pay out-of-pocket, Ramp allows electronic and manual reimbursements to employees, provided the reimbursement is within the expense policies set by the company.
• Startups : Ramp is free software that captures all essential startup needs in a single platform. You get card issuance, expense tracking, bill pay, and cash back rewards. The 1.5% cash back rewards can help startups save money on every purchase made using Ramp cards.
• Established small businesses with large teams : Small businesses with a large workforce will benefit most from Ramp’s free plan because they don’t have to pay per active user, unlike other choices on this list.

BILL Spend & Expense (Formerly Divvy): Best for BILL Users

• Comes free with a BILL subscription
• Issues virtual prepaid and credit cards
• Can track reimbursements in real time
• Is exclusive for BILL users
• Has no mileage tracking features
• Doesn’t have phone support

BILL Spend & Expense is free for BILL users and comes with unlimited users. Here is BILL’s pricing for your reference:

• Essentials : $45 per user per month for Billing (accounts payable or A/P) or Invoicing (accounts receivable or A/R)
• Team : $55 per user per month for Billing (A/P) or Invoicing (A/R) with accounting software integration
• Corporate : $79 per user per month for both Billing (A/P) or Invoicing (A/R) and accounting software integration
• Enterprise : Custom pricing; includes Billing (A/P) or Invoicing (A/R) plus premium support

BILL Spend & Expense is an expense tracking software integrated within BILL. We recommend it for BILL users because it’s free and supplements BILL’s accounts payable tracking. Users can also issue prepaid corporate cards through the BILL Divvy Corporate Card program. This program allows businesses to issue corporate cards to employees. However, BILL also issues prepaid cards if you don’t want credit cards.

In our evaluation, BILL Spend & Expense aced pricing and received a high score in expense tracking features because it allows users to create expense policies, design approval workflows, and process expense reimbursements. It missed on some nice features like mileage tracking and per diem allocations.

It took a hit in card programs because BILL Spend & Expense only issues virtual cards. It would be better if it had physical card issuance as well. Besides that, the issue cards are limited to the Visa network only. Adding Mastercard or other networks provides more flexibility for some users. Our recommended alternative is Fyle because you can issue physical cards that can either be Visa or Mastercard.

• Virtual card : Through BILL Spend & Expense, you can issue as many virtual cards as you need. You can freeze individual cards, adjust spending limits, and manage recurring payments per card. Aside from virtual cards, physical cards are also issued.
• Budget management : Aside from expense tracking, BILL Spend & Expense can also create spending budgets. BILL matches expenses with budget so that you don’t go over budget.
• Approval workflows : BILL Spend & Expense can create multi-level or simple workflows. Depending on the process complexity, users have the flexibility to design workflows for reviewing and approving expenses.
• BILL users : Since it’s integrated within BILL, we recommend BILL Spend & Expense for tracking expenses. This app is a good addition to BILL’s accounts payable tracking.
• Issuing credit cards : The BILL Divvy Corporate Card can offer business credit to companies. Having credit can help in speeding up business spending and paying it off at a later date.

Emburse Spend: Best for Real-time Expense Reporting

• Has real-time expense reporting
• Assigns specific cards for different purposes
• Can issue prepaid or credit Emburse Cards
• Charges a monthly fee for connecting third-party corporate cards
• Doesn’t include credit card issuance in the Emburse Spend plan
• Limits 150 free automated clearing house (ACH) payments for non-Emburse cards

As a standalone software, Emburse Spend’s pricing is quote-based depending on the business size and features enabled. However, Emburse cards are unlimited and free to issue for Emburse Spend users. Emburse earns money from the transaction fees charged to vendors when you use Emburse Cards.

Emburse Spend is another provider in this guide that offers real-time expense reporting; the other one is Fyle. What separates Emburse Spend from Fyle and the others on our list is it also has real-time corporate card reconciliation. Another thing that makes Emburse Spend stand out is it offers credit cards aside from prepaid cards, which gives more financial flexibility in managing cash flow.

Emburse Spend didn’t get a high overall score in our evaluation due to two major reasons. First, its pricing score is just above average because pricing is undisclosed. We appreciate transparent pricing since it can help users make a decision right away. Besides that, adding Emburse credit cards to Emburse Spend may entail additional costs in the custom quote.

Small businesses on a budget should consider Zoho Expense as an affordable expense tracking solution.

• Credit cards: Issuing credit cards enables you to finance business expenses without prefunding them like debit cards. This can help you better plan out cash flow. These cards are also controllable and you can set credit limits to different cards.
• Application programming interface (API) feature: Emburse Spend’s API can help you create customized solutions for expense tracking and card issuance that are tailor-fit to your processes.
• Real-time card reconciliation: Whenever you use an enrolled card in Emburse Spend, it will show in the platform automatically and possibly route it to specific approvers if it matches routing conditions. Approvers can approve expenses right away after they review each item.
• Businesses wanting credit cards: Emburse credit cards are controllable to enforce company spending limits and policies. With limits in place, Emburse Spend can automatically spot out-of-policy transactions and alert you of these instances. Moreover, cards can be shared with a group, department, or team, so you can budget on a granular level.
• Real-time expense tracking: You don’t need for departments or teams to submit expense reports to review expenses. Every employee can submit expenses right away and approvers can review them as they enter the system. This process makes it faster to approve expenses and makes it easier to address problems with expense submissions.

Best Accounting Software With Expense Tracking Features

Quickbooks online: best expense tracker in a complete bookkeeping system.

• Is both a full bookkeeping system and an expense management tool
• Integrates with multiple third-party apps
• Has a wide network of accountants and bookkeepers
• Is expensive if all you need is expense management
• Has no employee expense reports or reimbursement
• Simple Start : $30 per month for one user
• Essential : $60 per month for three users
• Plus : $90 per month for five users
• Advanced : $200 per month for five users

We picked QuickBooks Online, our best small business accounting software , as it offers detailed expense tracking. It can automatically categorize expenses from card feeds and enable users to directly add more expenses within the platform. You can also assign expenses to classes and locations, making it easier to allocate expenses to particular items.

QuickBooks Online did well in our evaluation, but its scores aren’t high compared to other options on this list. Its expense tracking and card program scores took a hit, which is understandable given that it’s not a standalone expense tracker.

Users must enter expenses into QuickBooks Online, which limits the number of users to 25 at its highest plan. Its expense tracker is more than enough, however, for a small business with minimal expenses from employees.

If you want a dedicated expense tracking solution, we recommend Fyle. It integrates with QuickBooks Online, allowing you to fill in QuickBooks Online’s missing expense tracking capabilities easily.

• Automatic feeds: You can sync corporate cards and bank accounts for automatic feeds. These automatic feeds make bank reconciliation easier as QuickBooks Online will fetch them from your card provider automatically.
• Built-in expense tracking: Since expense tracking is part of QuickBooks Online’s accounting system, all expense entries are recorded in the accounts once you hit save.
• Access to US-based ProAdvisors: One of QuickBooks Online’s advantages is its vast network of ProAdvisors. You can either find a bookkeeper via QuickBooks Live or look for independent ProAdvisors within your area. See our guide on how to find a QuickBooks ProAdvisor or read our review of QuickBooks Live .
• Businesses looking for a complete bookkeeping solution : QuickBooks Online is the only provider on this list that provides a complete bookkeeping solution. It is versatile and can fit into many industries like nonprofits, construction companies, and retail businesses.
• Businesses with inventory : QuickBooks Online can track inventory costs and cost of goods sold (COGS), making it a good pick for businesses selling inventory. With the help of its expense tracker, you can also track how much you spend on inventory-related expenses, such as shipments and packaging.

Wave: Best Free Simple Expense Tracking & Accounting

• Has a free plan for basic accounting, including invoicing and income and expense tracking
• Is easy to set up and use
• Has access to assisted bookkeeping options through the Wave Advisor program
• Lets you add receipt scanning for an affordable fee in the free plan or access it for free in the paid version
• Only accommodates a single user in the free plan
• Doesn’t let you connect bank accounts unless you upgrade to the paid plan
• Isn’t a good fit for businesses that sell inventory
• Has no class and location tracking
• Has limited customer support in the free version

Wave offers a free plan (Starter) which includes basic accounting features, including invoicing and income and expense tracking. With the free plan, you can add receipt scanning for $11 per month.

You can upgrade to the paid plan (Pro) for $16 per month if you need to connect your bank accounts and use receipt scanning without any additional fees.

There’s nothing fancy in Wave since everything is straightforward when recording expenses. The free Starter plan allows you to upload transactions from a bank statement and then quickly categorize them.

The Pro plan goes a step further and has bank and credit card feeds that automatically import transactions. We chose Wave for simplicity because it’s a good pick for users with a small volume of expenses to process.

Wave scored fairly in our evaluation even though it has limited features. We docked it for expense tracking features because it lacks some of the advanced features that we’re looking for, such as approval workflows and email integrations. Additionally, it took a hit in our evaluation of card programs since you can only connect to bank and card feeds for reconciliation when you upgrade to the paid plan.

If you think Wave isn’t enough for your needs, we recommend QuickBooks Online if you’d like to have accounting software with enhanced expense tracking features. However, if you want standalone software, Expensify’s free plan is our best recommendation, especially for issuing unlimited cards.

• Free expense tracking, accounting, and invoicing: Wave offers a free plan that doesn’t skimp on accounting features. It can even record recurring expenses, which is a feature often present in paid software. But in Wave, you get that for free.
• Receipt scanning: For only $11 per month, you can scan receipts in Wave’s free plan. You also have the option to upgrade to the paid plan for $16 per month which includes unlimited receipt scanning at no extra cost.
• Gig workers: Wave’s free version is ideal for gig workers who want a simple expense tracking app. Given that they have fluctuating incomes, going for Wave is a cost-effective solution.
• Occasional sellers: If you join bazaars or similar events, you can use Wave to track all expenses for that particular event. You don’t need advanced features like approval workflows because you’re just tracking expenses for a single event—and Wave is more than enough for that.

FreshBooks: Best for Freelancers

• Offers a simple and easy-to-navigate interface
• Can assign tracked expenses to individual projects
• Is ideal for freelancers and solopreneurs with minimal accounting needs
• Imports and auto-creates expense entries from credit card transactions
• Requires bank feed connection to track cash flow
• Has no expense reimbursement feature
• Has no expense approval flow
• Has no inventory accounting features for companies with inventory that want an expense tracker

You can try any FreshBooks plan for 30 days before subscribing:

• Lite: $19 per month for five billable clients
• Plus: $33 per month for 50 billable clients
• Premium: $60 per month with unlimited billable clients
• Select: Custom-priced depending on company needs

You can add additional users for $11 per month.

FreshBooks is suitable for freelancers and solopreneurs because of its project accounting features and easy-to-use interface. The software makes it easy to do accounting even if you don’t have the background or knowledge.

Its expense tracking features allow you to track categories, record expenses in different currencies, and import credit card transactions. On top of that, FreshBooks tops our list of the best mobile accounting apps for service-based businesses.

FreshBooks’ expense tracking features’ score is decent since the platform has all the basic features and some advanced ones. What it missed are approval workflows, automatic approval limits, and adding per diem rules. However, even though it lacks these, we believe freelancers won’t need them in daily bookkeeping.

If you’re planning to expand your business, FreshBooks is not a good choice. We recommend QuickBooks Online because it has approval workflows and is a more complete accounting software. It can also integrate with other dedicated expense trackers on this list.

• Project accounting : FreshBooks is suitable for project-based freelancers and solopreneurs because of its outstanding project accounting module. Its expense tracking features are also in this module, where you can add project-related expenses and have the option to bill them to clients.
• Easy-to-understand interface : The platform’s highlight is simplicity and ease of use. FreshBooks’ design is straightforward and has no significant learning curve.
• Freelancers with no background in accounting : If you want to do-it-yourself (DIY) accounting, FreshBooks is our best pick. You don’t need experience in accounting software because you can easily navigate around FreshBooks to access all its features.
• Service providers : With the help of FreshBooks’ project accounting module, service providers can track time and expenses for the services they provide. If ever they incur expenses on behalf of clients, they can add them as billable expenses and then add them to invoices.

How We Evaluated the Best App for Business Expenses

We evaluated our best business expense tracker apps based on the following criteria:

• Expense Tracking
• Card Programs
• Ease of Use

15% of Overall Score

Pricing is an important part of your decision. In evaluating this criterion, we considered factors, such as a free trial, monthly and annual billing options, scalability, plan customizability, and price comparison with competitors.

40% of Overall Score

Since we’re evaluating expense trackers, we placed significant weight on expense tracking features. We evaluated this criterion based on the major expense workflow steps: recording, review, approval, and reimbursement.

25% of Overall Score

We include card programs in our rubric since we believe that expense tracking should be tied to the business’ card program. Here, we considered whether the provider can issue cards or enroll in third-party corporate programs.

20% of Overall Score

The ease of use score revolves around customer support channels, integrations, user reviews, and our expert rating. The software must make it easy for users to access support in case of problems. Moreover, it must have adequate integrations with other software so that it would be easier to insert it into existing business processes. We looked at user reviews from third-party websites for the user review scores. We weighed the comments and made sure that we remained objective in our evaluation.

How to Choose a Business Expense Tracker

Every business has different needs in reporting and reimbursing expenses. Sometimes, manual tracking of expenses is more cost-efficient and beneficial for businesses with very few employees, such as fewer than 10. But as your team grows, an app for tracking business expenses can speed up and standardize the process.

Here are some factors you should consider in choosing an expense tracker:

• Affordability: Consider your budget. Can you spare a few dollars per employee for an expense tracker? If yes, then do you think paying annually at a lower monthly cost can give you more savings? Alternatively, would a monthly plan at a higher cost be cash flow-friendly? These are only some of the questions that you need to consider.
• Integration: A small business expense tracker that can’t integrate with your accounting software requires more work for your accountant. It would be best if the expense tracker could automatically export expense data to your accounting software to reduce data entry.
• Reimbursement capabilities: Some business expense trackers can process debit and ACH transfers for reimbursements. Having a built-in reimbursement system makes it easier to reimburse instead of doing it manually in your online banking app or a third-party reimbursement software.
• Security: Data breaches aren’t rare nowadays. Big and small companies alike can be a target for hackers. Hence, your expense tracker must have bank-level security features to protect your data from breaches. All the providers in this guide have bank-level security features.
• Compliance: Not all expenses can be reimbursed, especially if it is beyond the allowance or is outright nonreimbursable. Your expense tracker must have approval workflows in place so that all approved expenses are business expenses.

When to Use a Business Expense Tracker

Not all businesses need an expense tracker, as some small businesses can manage expenses adequately through a basic bookkeeping system. However, getting an expense tracker becomes important if you meet one or more of the scenarios below:

• There are expenses passed on to customers. Professional and personal services sometimes bill clients or customers for expenses incurred. Many expense trackers allow you to assign expenses to customers and even projects, so the information will be easy to gather when it is time to bill the client.
• There is a high volume of reimbursable expenses. Some companies reimburse the out-of-pocket expenses of their employees. Considering that documentation will be a challenge, having an expense tracker can help employees record their expenses. The tracker facilitates everything and can require the proper documentation to be attached prior to submitting the expense. The digital process and complete documentation will make the submission, approval, and reimbursement process go much faster.
• There is a need to streamline business processes. A streamlined business process flow leads to cost reduction. If your business grows and expands to a larger area, expense tracking via traditional methods can be difficult and costly to manage. Instead of hiring new employees to satisfy the demand for processing, getting a business expense tracker can help you save money. With automated and integrated tracking features, you can retain your current workforce and let them use these tools to reduce their load.

What's the Difference Between Accounting Software and a Business Expense Tracker?

Accounting software tracks income, expenses, liabilities, and assets and provides financial statements to monitor your business performance. By definition, accounting software tracks expenses—but sometimes, it requires manual entry and doesn’t provide for reimbursements to employees.

Meanwhile, expense trackers provide for the easy recording of expenses, often by scanning a receipt. Some accounting software has this feature built-in, whereas other accounting software needs to be integrated with an expense tracker.

An expense tracker can also help monitor your expenses with detailed charts and reports. Many developers go a step further by including an employee expense submission, approval, and reimbursement process. Others even offer integrations with ride-hailing and travel apps to record expenses automatically.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Are business expense tracker apps safe to use.

Yes, business expense tracker apps are safe to use because of bank-level data security like secure sockets layer (SSL) 256-bit encryption and two-factor authentication (2FA). While that may be the case, proper password hygiene and other such practices are still necessary to enhance the security of expense tracker apps.

Can I track business expenses for free?

Yes, you can, with free options, such as Zoho Expense Free, Emburse Spend, and Ramp, which are good for basic business expense tracking. Other free software on the market may focus more on personal expense tracking rather than business expenses.

The best business expense tracker app isn’t the same for everyone. The apps we’ve recommended in our guide perform well in a given area or business function and are the best for their intended use—although each has its respective drawbacks. We suggest that you analyze your business’s needs and choose the app that can best meet them.

About the Author

Find Eric Gerard On LinkedIn

Eric Gerard Ruiz, CPA

Eric is an accounting and bookkeeping expert for Fit Small Business. He has a CPA license in the Philippines and a BS in Accountancy graduate at Silliman University. Since joining FSB, Eric has used his expertise and authority in curating and writing content about small business accounting and bookkeeping, accounting software, financial accounting and reporting, managerial accounting, and financial management.

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What is expense management software?

Expense management software helps businesses streamline spending—from employee expenses, reimbursement, and corporate travel to operational spend—by automating expense reporting , enforcing policies , and streamlining approvals .

Who should use an expense management software?

Expense management software are used by employees to record and submit expenses, finance teams to track expenses and reimburse employees , and travel teams to manage business travel . CFOs and CEOs can use them to get insights on their business spending, too.

Why do organizations need expense management software?

Without expense management software, your organization will find it difficult to manually manage receipts , expense reports , and travel expenses . Expense management software has a direct impact on optimizing business spend, while drastically cutting down time on manual data entry and management.

Why should businesses avoid using spreadsheets to manage expenses?

Managing expenses via spreadsheet becomes tedious as the size of the organization increases. Using spreadsheets to manage business travel and expenses is neither efficient nor safe. Accountants need to ensure that there are no formula errors, as it may lead to costly financial mistakes during monthly or yearly financial calculations—and it's also expensive in terms of manually managing policy violations and fraudulent claims.

Why should organizations automate the expense management process?

A manual expense reporting process is a pain for employees—as well as travel and finance teams—as it involves a lot of work to create reports, approve or rectify them, and manually check for duplicate and fraudulent claims. Automating your expense management process helps in reducing manual work and improving compliance and policy adherence.

How should one evaluate expense management software for their organization?

Before investing in expense management software, businesses need to have evaluation criteria in place . Some of the main reasons for implementing expense management software are to help save time, increase compliance , and simplify the reimbursement process . If you're unsure about gathering requirements by yourself, talk to a product expert , explain what you're looking for, and let them suggest the best plan that suits your business needs.

How to choose expense management software?

Here are some of the key points to consider before choosing expense management software:

No hidden costs

Active-user-based pricing is one of the most cost-effective methods of pricing, where you end up only paying for the users who are actually using the product.

Ease of use

Businesses need to keep track of countless activities, so managing expenses and travel requests should be streamlined, and the software should provide an overall user-friendly experience.

Data security

As expense management software deals with a lot of sensitive data—like employee bills, business spend details, corporate cards, and travel documents—it's important that the software is compliant with all security standards .

Scalability

Changing software and migrating data is exhausting. So when you decide to implement expense management software at your organization, it should be able to meet your requirements when your business expands . The software that you choose should also align with your growth strategy and help you scale your business.

A reliable support team should be available to help you resolve any issues or questions. You should also closely examine how easy it is to get in touch with the team via mobile or email.

What's the best expense management software?

We may be a little biased here, but Zoho Expense is used by businesses of all sizes in 150+ countries across the globe. For more than 7 years, Zoho Expense has been serving world-class software for businesses and delivering user-friendly experiences for their employees. Sign up for a free trial today and start your expense management journey with Zoho Expense.

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The 7 Best Expense Tracking Apps for Smarter Business Travel

Expense reports aren’t fun. Manually scouring through paper receipts then keying in every transaction from the past month is stressful—another thing you don't have time for at the end of the month.

It doesn't have to be that hard. You could snap photos of receipts with your phone—or with an expense reporting app, you could quickly log expenses and send them to finance to review, approve, and reimburse automatically. It might be even simpler—the best apps can automatically find business expenses on their own.

Don't type in those receipts from your wallet. Instead, here are seven of the best expense reporting software, with tools for freelancers, business teams, and even those who need to track miles driven. They're the tools your business needs to perfect the expense reporting process and give your team more time to do their jobs.

The Best Expense Reporting Apps

How we evaluate and test apps.

After years of manually keying in expenses after each business trip, it was time to find a better way to create and process expense reports. We researched and tested twelve expense report apps and narrowed our favorites down to the top seven. Criteria for expense reporting apps to make it to the top seven include:

Have an intuitive interface for both field employees and finance

Make it genuinely easier for employees and finance to fill out and approve expense reports

Have a standout feature that differentiates said application from the competition

These apps each help you track expenses—with many of the same features such as importing expenses and tracking mileage. Then, they each have their own special focus, with tools to use GPS to track miles, scan receipts from your phone, and more.

Here are the apps that made the cut:

Expensify (Web, Android, iOS)

Best for automated expense tracking of popular business services

Expensify makes expense reports practically write themselves. Link your Expensify account to common business services including Uber, SaneBox, Oracle, and more. When a purchase is made, Expensify will automatically log the purchase amount, attach the receipt, and sends it to whoever is responsible for approving purchases.

Expensify has other cool features, too, including Applicant Reimbursement. This lets you create temporary Expensify accounts for job applicants when they travel to your office for interviews, or consultants who are working with your team on a short project. Your team can set per-diem spending limits, and applicants are reimbursed to their checking account the next day. Additionally, Applicant Reimbursement integrates with recruiting software Greenhouse so you can track an applicant’s application status and purchases in one place.

Your finance department will love Expensify. It integrates directly with QuickBooks and other financial software your team is already using to easily balance books at the end of each month. Expensify’s dashboard is great too, with easy access to your team’s purchases in real-time so management can approve or deny expenses with a click.

Expensify Price: from $5/month per user Team plan for basic expense tracking, online reimbursement, and QuickBooks and Xero integration

Automate your expense tracking from thousands of apps with Zapier's Expensify integrations .

Zoho Expense (Web, Android, iOS, Windows)

Best for automated expense reporting from company cards

Have a company card? Zoho Expense is the expense tracking app you should use. It integrates directly with most major corporate credit card issuers in the United States, Canada, and Europe, and automatically pulls in your credit card purchases each day. All you have to do is code the expenses and add pictures of receipts using Zoho Expense's mobile app, or upload scans from your computer.

If your bank isn’t supported (or if you don’t want to link your card), you can manually upload your credit card statements and Zoho Expense will automatically parse each transaction into a separate expense on your report—something that worked quite well in our testing.

Zoho Expense is best on mobile. Not only can you scan receipts, but you can submit full expense reports and track miles driven on the job. You can even submit and approve expense reports from iMessage on iOS.

Zoho Expense Price: Free for 3 users and 100 receipt scans; from $15/month for 10 users, plus $2 per additional user Standard plan for unlimited receipt storage and scans, along with workflow tools

Xpenditure (Web, Android, iOS)

Best for insights into company expenses

If you’re an employer, you want to know where company funds are going—especially when you trust in employees to charge things to company accounts. For better insight into your company expenses, look no further than Xpenditure .

As you’d expect, Xpenditure makes it easy for employees to record expenses. Not only can you record expenses on the mobile app and website, you can also forward receipts to Xpenditure via email. This makes it easy to expense hotel stays, airline tickets, and Amazon purchases without having to upload a receipt manually—just forward the receipt from your inbox.

You can then break down employee purchases by category, projects, or office location, giving you useful data for future budget planning and an easy way to track where company money is going. Additionally, you can add company spending policies to Xpenditure so you’re notified instantly when an employee submits an expense that isn’t in-line with company code.

Xpenditure Price: from $4.27/month per user Single plan (billed annually) for expense report rules

MileIQ (Web, Android, iOS, Windows Phone)

Best for mileage tracking

Anyone who drives for work knows how tedious logging miles can be. You have to check your car’s odometer before and after every drive, calculating exactly how many miles you drove to pick up copy paper from the office supply store. There has to be an easier way, right?

There is: MileIQ .

MileIQ is expense reporting software created for people who drive for work. When you hop in your car, just open the MileIQ mobile app and start logging your miles with a tap. At the end of your drive, you’ll see how much you’re eligible for reimbursement. Then, can export your driving records as an automatically generated expense report to give to your employer at the end of the month.

MileIQ isn’t just for corporate and small business users, though. Uber and Lyft drivers, delivery drivers, and other independent contractors can use the application to track miles driven on the job. This makes it easier to deduct gas and other vehicle related expenses on your tax returns.

MileIQ Price: Free for up to forty rides per month; $5.99 per month Premium plan for unlimited rides

Abacus (Web, Android, iOS)

Best for automated approval workflows

After expense reports are submitted at the end of every month, finance has to read through each transaction on every expense report, ensuring they’re in-line with company policy. This can take days to complete and siphon valuable time away from other company needs.

Abacus speeds up this process with expense approval workflows. In the app’s admin panel, you set certain expenses to be automatically approved and others to automatically require a manual review. For example, you can set all air travel purchases under $300 to be automatically approved but require all technology expenses over $1000 to be signed off by the CFO before reimbursement. You can add as many of these parameters as you’d like to automate your expense approval process, giving your finance department their valuable time back.

Abacus Price: from $9/month per user Starter plan for basic expense reporting and automation workflows

Automate your expense tracking from thousands of apps with Zapier's Abacus integrations .

Shoeboxed (Web, Android, iOS)

Best for mailed-in receipt scanning

Have lots of paper receipts that need digitized? Before you whip out your desktop scanner, consider Shoeboxed . Its expense reporting platform includes a nifty feature called The Magic Envelope . Shoeboxed will send you one (or more) postage paid envelopes every month that you can fill with receipts and drop in your mailbox. In a few days, your receipts will be scanned, uploaded, and parsed into Shoeboxed expense reports magically.

Magic Envelope isn’t limited to expense reporting either. You can use Magic Envelope to digitize receipts for personal expense tracking, tracking tax write-offs, and business card management. The service promises that all of it’s scans are human-verified and accepted by the IRS and CRA, so you can rest assured there won’t be any surprises come Tax Day.

Do note that Shoeboxed’s expense reporting is geared towards freelancers and small businesses. This is because, unlike others on this list, it doesn’t have an admin panel for approving and denying expenses. However, it generates beautiful PDF expense reports that you can email to clients—or your company's finance team.

Price: from $15/month Lite plan for fifty digitized receipts each month

Certify (Web, Android, iOS)

Best for making better purchasing decisions

Like most other apps on this list, Certify makes it easy for employees to submit expense reports and for your finance team to approve expenses for reimbursement. However, Certify stands out because it helps your team make better travel purchases with SpendSmart —its business travel-centric review board.

After submitting an expense report with Certify, the app asks your employees if they’d like to fill out an optional survey about their previous month’s travel. These surveys are simple and only ask for a quick rating and optional text review of the places they visited. Your team can then view this data and use it to make better informed decisions when booking travel and off-site meetings.

For business travelers, this is more useful than a traditional travel review service like TripAdvisor as the reviews are created by other business travelers—not leisure travelers. If your company is planning a conference at a hotel in Orlando, chances are your employees don’t need to know how close it is to Disney World—they care about fast Wi-Fi, free coffee, and large conference rooms.

Certify Price: from $8/month per user Now plan for core features

Other Expense Report Apps

Still looking for the perfect expense report app? Here are a few more options to consider:

And there you have it: the best expense report apps. They may not take all the pain out of filling out a month-end expense report, but they do speed up the expense reporting process for employees and the approval process for your finance team.

Does your team use an expense report app on this list? Have a favorite that we didn’t include? Sound off in the comments below.

Still need to scan paper documents, sign approval forms, or fax expense reports to your accountant? Check out these 24 best apps to sign, scan, and fax documents .

Image Credit: Header photo by Josh Sorenson via Pexels .

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Andrew Kunesh

Andrew is a freelance writer and user experience nerd from Chicago, IL. In his free time, you’ll find Andrew trotting the globe in search of the perfect cup of coffee. Follow @andrewkunesh on Twitter.

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• Best for capturing receipts: Expensify
• Best for comprehensive expense reporting: QuickBooks Online
• Best for beginners: Goodbudget
• Best for mileage tracking: Everlance
• Best for quick approvals: Emburse Spend

Gathering receipts from business trips and other expenses can be a tedious and painful process. At the end of the month, the last thing an employee wants to worry about is digging up the documentation they need for an expense report. The traditional approach to expense reporting uses up your team’s precious time and may even add to their work-related stress and frustrations.

SEE: Travel and business expense policy (TechRepublic Premium)

Expense tracking and reporting applications are solutions that help to alleviate some of these pains for both the employee and the employer. For the employer or manager specifically, being able to track spending can provide better and more immediate visibility into how well the business is handling money and if any changes need to be made to business travel policies.

If your business is interested in adding a business expense management tool to your tech stack but you’re not sure where to start your search, we’ve compiled a list of five of the best expense tracking solutions for business travelers. We’ll discuss these apps’ key features, pros, cons and pricing.

Top expense tracking solutions: Comparison table

Best expense tracking solutions for business travelers, expense reporting app faq, expensify: best for capturing receipts.

Expensify is great at capturing receipts, but that’s not all. In addition, it offers other helpful expense tracking features, including automatic mileage tracking, trip reminders, expense categories and flight delay notifications.

The problem with paper receipts is that they can be easily misplaced. Expensify allows you to immediately upload receipts into its app by taking a photo through your smartphone’s camera. Although most of the top expense reporting apps offer receipt capturing, Expensify’s approach is particularly effective and user-friendly.

Key features

• Integrates with various applications, including Uber, QuickBooks and Gusto
• Business travel mileage tracker using GPS
• Expensify business credit card
• Automatic receipt scanning for details
• Easy to tag, group and categorize expenses in a report
• Next-day reimbursement
• Complimentary receipt scans per month available with free version
• Automatic receipt reading can take longer than manual input
• Uploading PDF receipts is not as intuitive
• Collect: $5 per month per user
• Control: $9 per month per user

With the paid version, users get custom reporting, access control features and more.

QuickBooks Online: Best for comprehensive expense reporting

QuickBooks Online is a well-known accounting software package. It offers one of the most comprehensive expense reporting apps with several advanced features, including real-time dashboards, automatic bank accounts, PayPal and credit card sync. The app automatically categorizes expenses, although you can overrule that manually.

If your business already uses QuickBooks for accounting, then using it for expense reporting will be a natural fit. However, the interface can be challenging for new users, especially compared to other competitors that offer cleaner and simpler UI.

• Integrations with over 650 third-party apps
• Profit and loss report generation
• Customized reports with business logo
• Multiple permission levels for user access
• Accountant access
• Excellent security features, including firewall-protected service and encryption technology
• Ability to link credit card and bank accounts
• Automatic expense tracking in multiple currencies
• Not-so-friendly user interface
• Simple Start: $30 per month
• Essentials: $55 per month
• Plus: $85 per month
• Advanced: $200 per month

QuickBooks Online has frequent discount offers for each of its plans.

Goodbudget: Best for beginners

Goodbudget is ideal for business users who want to report expenses with a simple and easy-to-use app. Goodbudget offers “digital envelopes,” allowing users to more easily track their expenses, savings, taxes and more. Users can also view the data with graphs for a quick visual representation. Goodbudget’s intuitive user interface means it takes little time to figure out how to use the app.

If you don’t want an app with a steep learning curve, Goodbudget could be the best choice for you. However, there are a few downsides to consider when making your decision. With this app, you need to manually enter expenses, as there is no automatic scanning. It is also lacking an auto-sync feature for bank accounts and credit cards.

• Imports for bank transaction files
• Support for multiple users and devices with the paid plan
• Debt Accounts feature to track payoff progress
• Ability to sync and share budgets across users
• Friendly user interface
• Support for multiple devices through auto-syncing
• Limited features
• Manual inputs needed
• No syncing with bank accounts and credit cards
• Plus: $8 per month or $70 annually

Everlance: Best for mileage tracking

Everlance is an expense tracking app for businesses and self-employed professionals. It is ideal for users who need to track mileage, simplify reimbursements and meet tax compliance requirements. The app allows users to track 30 business trips per month for free, but if they need more, they can subscribe to a paid plan.

Everlance is one the few expense tracking apps that offers automatic mileage tracking in its free version. The free version comes with a seven-day premium trial, so you can test it before deciding if the paid plan is worth it. Finally, Everlance’s customizable workflows are excellent, giving you the ability to set custom expense rules and automate recurring expenses.

• Automatic mileage tracking
• Long sessions tracking
• Customizable workflows
• Team reporting
• Ability to export mileage reports to different formats
• All plans have an unlimited number of users
• IRS-compliant mileage log
• Mileage and expense tracking in one app
• Free plan does not link to bank accounts or credit cards
• Paid plans can get expensive
• Mileage Tracking and CPM Programs plan: $12 per user per month
• Fixed & Variable Rate (FAVR) Programs plan: Contact Everlance for more information

Emburse Spend: Best for quick approvals

Emburse Spend offers some of the fastest processing speeds on this list. Users can input expenses from various sources, including receipts and credit card transactions.

One of the key features of Emburse Spend is the ability to automate expense approval hierarchy, making it faster to approve expenses. In addition, you can add expense policy rules, which can automatically check each report’s levels of compliance before submission. The simple dashboard further expedites the approval process.

• Budget control features to limit expenses
• Expense reconciliation through multiple devices and users
• GPS mileage tracking
• Automatic credit card monitoring
• Quick approvals
• Direct reimbursement for employees
• Integrations with many top accounting software solutions
• Many features available in free version
• Users report technical issues with receipt scanning and reimbursement

Emburse Spend primarily advertises its free version. However, interested prospective buyers can talk to the Emburse team directly if they would like a quote for a customized package.

What is the best way to track expenses?

The best way to track expenses is with an expense tracking app that stores data and automates several steps of the process. The top expense tracking apps allow users to capture receipts and automatically scan them to gather information such as date, bill amount and location. Expense tracking apps are ideal for companies with frequent business travel and/or companies with multiple employees and departments needing to track expenses.

SEE: Payroll processing checklist (TechRepublic Premium)

There are a variety of methods to track business expenses. The traditional method is to record all expenses in a notebook or personal ledger and store all of the receipts. This method has become outdated, as it’s inefficient and prone to data loss and errors. A better way to manage expenses is to use an expense tracking app.

What are expense trackers used for?

Whether it’s a small business or a large enterprise, tracking expenses is vital to the business’s health. Expense trackers allow employees to track their expenditures along with receipts or other documents that are needed to verify the expenses.

Employees can use an expense tracking app to get reimbursement for their spending on business-related activities. If they have used a company credit card , the expense report can be used to monitor and verify the expenses.

While tracking and verifying expenses is important, employers prefer that expense tracking does not interfere with other job responsibilities and duties of the employee. Expense tracking apps come in handy, because they allow the employee to capture photos of receipts through their smartphone, send the expense report for approval to their supervisor and utilize other expense management features to maximize efficiency.

How to choose the best expense tracker app

You must consider several factors to choose the best expense tracker app for your business. It is best to start by making a list of priorities or features you need. For example, if you have employees that do a lot of business travel on the road, you would benefit from using an expense tracking app that offers GPS tracking, making it easier for users to track their mileage.

SEE: Mobile device security policy (TechRepublic Premium)

Similarly, if you plan on integrating the app with your existing tech stack, check compatibility before making your decision. Other factors to consider include automatic syncing with bank accounts and credit cards, price, and ease of use. Most expense tracking apps offer a free version, so it’s a good idea to try the app for a few days before making the purchase.

Read next: Top invoicing apps for small businesses and self-employed individuals (TechRepublic)

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40 Best Apps for Business Travel Expenses, Organization, Bookings & More

Surround yourself with an arsenal of tools thanks to our curated list of 40 best apps for business travel.

All of them cater to all aspects of professional journeys – including expense tracking, itinerary organization and hassle-free bookings.

These apps are tailored to empower business travelers and increase efficiency and convenience.

• Best App For Business Travel Expenses

Wishing to handle business travel expenses smoothly ?

Here are the three best apps to manage your finances and expenses while abroad.

1. Expensify

Expensify simplifies the task of tracking expenses during business travel. Snap a photo of your receipt and the app effortlessly creates an expense claim.

It’s available for both iOS and Android at a minimal cost of $5 per month for a business plan. We love it for its comprehensive audit trail feature, ease of use and affordability.

2. Zoho Expenses

Zoho Expenses offers a platform for expense management on the go . It’s free for individuals but it also has paid plans for businesses. Zoho is intuitive to use and available on both Apple and Android platforms.

We highly recommended its integration with Zoho’s suite of business apps and ability to create multi-currency expense reports.

3. SAP Concur

SAP Concur is a comprehensive solution to manage business expenses and invoices. Use the app to snap photos of receipts, file them, send information for expense reports and more.

Available on iOS and Android, SAP Concur offers free and paid options . This app is great for its advanced approval and processing workflow capabilities !

Read later – SafetyWing VS World Nomads: What’s the best travel insurance for you?

• Best App For Business Travelers to Book a Flight

Booking flights is a challenging aspect of business travel for you ?

It all belongs to the past thanks to these flight booking apps that will ease your flight schedules.

Flio is an airport app that caters to all your in-transit needs, including flight bookings. This app is free to use, user-friendly and available on both iOS and Android platforms.

We recommend Flio for its ability to navigate through airports worldwide, book flights and offer airport-exclusive deals.

5. Skyscanner

Skyscanner offers an easy-to-use platform for comparing and booking the cheapest flights.

It’s a free app available on both Apple and Android devices. Skyscanner stands out for its extensive flight comparisons, flexible search options and price alert features to save money.

Kayak acts as a complete travel assistant , particularly in flight bookings. It’s a free app, easy to navigate and accessible on iOS and Android devices.

We love Kayak for its robust search engine that aggregates information from hundreds of travel sites.

• Best Travel Apps For Business Travelers For Getting Around (Navigation apps)

During your business trips, you will probably have to drive and walk through unfamiliar cities.

Get yourself the right tools thanks to these top-rated navigation apps.

7. CityMapper

CityMapper eases the complexities of urban navigation for business travelers.

It’s a free app, highly user-friendly and available for both iOS and Android. CityMapper stands out for providing detailed journey planning information across several transport modes. A great alternative to Google Maps !

Waze is a community-driven navigation app that provides real-time traffic updates and road information .

It’s free, easy to use and accessible on both iOS and Android platforms.

We love Waze for its ability to provide the quickest, reliable and accurate routes based on current road conditions.

Maps.me offers detailed offline maps , perfect if you’re wary of data consumption or traveling to areas with limited connectivity.

It’s free, user-friendly and available on both Apple and Android devices. One of the best interactive maps accessible with no internet connection !

• Best All In One Apps For Business Travelers (Booking Hotels, Flights And Car Rentals)

Are you looking for the best all in one business travel app for your next business trip ? An app that manages hotel bookings, car rental and flight status ?

Here are the best comprehensive business travel apps we could find.

10. TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor offers comprehensive travel planning for business travelers, from a flight to car rental and hotel room, plus user-generated reviews .

This free, user-friendly travel app is available on iOS and Android. We recommend TripAdvisor for its extensive travel community reviews.

11. TravelPerk

TravelPerk provides a seamless platform for booking and managing all aspects of business travel .

Although it has free features, premium services are available for a fee. Compatible with both iOS and Android devices, TravelPerk stands out for its 24/7 traveler support and travel policy management.

12. Booking.com

Booking.com is one of the best business travel apps for booking flights, hotels and car rentals globally. It’s a free app, easy to use and available on both iOS and Android.

We recommend Booking.com for its extensive property listings, price-match guarantee and user-friendly interface. A great way to save time while traveling internationally !

• Best Apps For Online Work For Business Travelers

For business travelers who need to stay connected to their work, the right online work apps will be indispensable tools !

Zoom is a powerful tool for video business meeting and webinar. It offers both free and paid versions, is easy to use and available on iOS and Android platforms.

We especially love its high-quality video and audio, screen sharing capabilities and wide acceptance in the business community.

Slack offers a dynamic platform for team communication and collaboration. While it has free features, advanced capabilities come with a cost.

This business travel app is available on both iOS and Android. We recommend Slack for its organized chat channels, file sharing and integration with other work apps.

15. Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is a fantastic tool for collaboration, communication and document sharing .

Both free and premium versions are available, and it’s compatible with iOS and Android devices. We recommend Teams for its seamless integration with Microsoft 365, robust video meeting capabilities and well-structured team channels.

• Best Dating Apps For Business Travelers

Are you seeking to make connections during your journeys ?

Then dating apps like Tinder and Bumble will be a great addition to your digital toolkit.

Want to organize some trip dates ? Tinder will allow you to meet new people, no matter where your business travels take you.

It’s a freemium app , which means it’s free to use with paid premium features. Available on iOS and Android, Tinder is simple to use and popular in the whole world.

Bumble offers a unique twist to the dating game as it empowers women to make the first move. This travel app is freemium, easy to use and available on both iOS and Android platforms.

We mainly recommend it for its women-first approach that promotes a respectful and empowering dating environment.

Looking for something more serious while traveling ? Hinge might be your go-to. With its slogan “Designed to be Deleted”, Hinge aims to facilitate meaningful connections .

It’s freemium, user-friendly and available on iOS and Android. We like it because it encourages in-depth profiles and conversation-starting prompts.

• Best Android Apps For Business Travel

As a business traveler using Android devices, you should consider integrating tools like Google Pay and Microsoft Office into your app arsenal for easy financial transactions and productive work on-the-go.

19. Google Pay

Google Pay offers a quick and secure way to pay in apps, on the web and in stores.

This free, user-friendly app is available only for Android devices and aims to streamline your payment process by storing your debit, credit and loyalty cards in one place.

20. Microsoft Office

Microsoft Office offers a suite of productivity tools like Word, Excel and PowerPoint. It’s a freemium app that is easy to use and exclusively available for Android users.

We like Microsoft Office for its compatibility with various file formats, cloud storage integration and comprehensive features that facilitate mobile work.

21. LinkedIn

Leading professional networking platform , LinkedIn can be an invaluable tool for business travelers.

It allows you to connect with professionals in your destination city and facilitate business networking on the go.

• Best Weather Apps For Business Travelers

Being prepared for the weather is a must for any business traveler !

Weather apps are great tools to help you stay ahead of the weather.

22. The Weather Channel

The Weather Channel app provides accurate and timely weather updates . It’s a free app, user-friendly and available for both iOS and Android platforms.

We like The Weather Channel for its comprehensive weather forecasts, radar maps and customizable alerts.

23. CARROT Weather

CARROT Weather delivers weather forecasts with a humorous twist . This paid app, available on both iOS and Android, is easy to use and presents weather data in a fun and engaging way.

We recommend CARROT Weather for its accurate forecasts, customizable real time notifications and unique approach to presenting weather information !

24. AccuWeather

For more detailed weather insights, consider AccuWeather. This free app, available on Android, offers minute-by-minute weather forecasts with superior accuracy.

It’s easy to navigate and delivers real-time alerts for severe weather conditions. We recommend AccuWeather for its reliable weather predictions and user-friendly interface.

• Best Business Travel Apps For iPhone

For iPhone users, some business travel apps are designed to leverage the capabilities of the iOS ecosystem.

25. Apple Wallet

Apple Wallet is a free and convenient way for iPhone users to stay organized with their credit and debit cards, boarding passes, tickets and more.

Exclusive to iOS, this easy-to-use app enhances the security and convenience of financial transactions during travel . We love Apple digital wallet for its seamless integration with other Apple services !

26. Things 3

Things 3 is a beautifully designed task manager . While it’s a paid app, its ease of use, clean interface and powerful features make it worth the cost.

Exclusive to iOS, Things 3 is ideal for organizing your business tasks on-the-go. You won’t be disappointed by its project management capabilities and intuitive design !

27. Fantastical

Fantastical is a smart calendar and task app with a strong focus on ease of use.

Available only for iOS users, it offers a free version with additional features available through a subscription. We like its natural language parsing, intuitive reminders and event scheduling.

• Best Planner Apps For Business Travel

For travelers on a business trip who seek to streamline their trip planning process, these apps come in handy.

TripIt is a great travel organizer that turns your scattered travel plans into a cohesive entire travel itinerary .

Available for both iOS and Android, it offers both free and paid versions, the latter providing added features like real-time flight alerts.

We recommend TripIt for its itinerary synchronization feature which compiles travel details from various sources into a single and easy-to-access location.

Tripsy is a comprehensive and extremely helpful travel planner to manage your itinerary, bookings and notes in one place.

Available on both iOS and Android, this app offers a free version with optional in-app purchases for more features. We love its ability to manage and share travel plans, sync with your calendar and receive flight updates.

• Best Travel Apps For Small Business

For small businesses, we always recommend maintaining a streamlined workflow during travel.

These apps can assist in managing operations efficiently while on the go.

30. CamCard

CamCard is a highly efficient business card scanner and reader . Available for both iOS and Android, this app offers free and premium versions.

With CamCard, you can digitize business cards instantly and network during your business trip. We like CamCard for its superior text recognition and ease of use.

Slack is a team collaboration tool that allows for real-time communication and file sharing.

It’s available on both iOS and Android and offers free and paid tiers. We recommend Slack for its ability to integrate with various apps and services.

Asana is a powerful project management tool available on both iOS and Android.

It offers free and premium versions. Asana helps you track the progress of your business tasks in a visually appealing and intuitive interface.

• Best Apps for Business Travelers to Book a Restaurant

Do you wish to book a restaurant hassle-free ?

These apps are excellent tools to find and book a table at the perfect restaurant.

33. OpenTable

OpenTable is a must-have for any business traveler. Available for free on both iOS and Android, this app allows you to discover, reserve and manage restaurant reservations instantly .

It offers an extensive list of restaurants, easy-to-use interface and real-time confirmation feature !

Yelp is more than just a restaurant review site ; it also allows restaurant bookings !

Available on both iOS and Android, Yelp is free to use and offers detailed customer reviews and ratings to help you make your dining decisions.

35. TheFork

TheFork is a restaurant reservation app that also offers special deals at thousands of restaurants.

This free app is available on both iOS and Android, and we recommend it for its straightforward reservation system and its loyalty program which can lead to significant discounts.

• Best App For Business Travelers to Learn a Language

During your business trip, you may find yourself in different countries where you don’t speak the local language.

Language learning apps will be useful tools to break down language barrier !

With Busuu , you can take language learning to your hands. Available on both iOS and Android, this smartphone application is free with optional paid plans for a more extensive learning experience .

Its easy-to-use interface, personalized lessons and community of native speakers make it our top recommendation !

37. Duolingo

Duolingo turns language learning into a game . Free on both iOS and Android, it offers bite-sized lessons that are fun and effective.

We absolutely love Duolingo for its interactive approach, wide range of languages and user-friendly interface.

Babbel , available on iOS and Android, is a paid app that focuses on conversation skills .

It comes with a practical approach and focuses on real-life scenarios that you may encounter on your business trips.

• Best Currency Converter App For Business Travelers

As a business traveler, you will often have to deal with various currencies.

For this purpose, the currency conversion apps offer real-time exchange rates to help you keep track of your finances.

39. Valuta+

Valuta+ is a user-friendly and free app available for both iOS and Android that offers real-time exchange rates for over 160 currencies worldwide .

With its offline mode, you can access currency conversions even without internet access !

40. XE Currency

XE Currency is a free app available on both iOS and Android, that offers live exchange rates and charts for every world currency and precious metals .

Its easy-to-use interface and ability to store the last updated rates make it perfect for business travelers !

• FAQs about Best Apps for Business Travel

What is the best app for tracking business travel expenses ?

Expensify is a great app for managing business travel expenses as it allows easy scanning of receipts and tracking of expenses for smooth reporting.

What is the best hookup app for business travelers ?

Tinder is a popular hookup app among business travelers due to its global user base. It facilitates connections even while traveling.

What is the best android app for business travel ?

Google Trips is an excellent Android app for business travel. It offers itinerary management, travel recommendations and it works offline with vital information.

What is the best android weather app for business travelers ?

Weather Channel is a reliable Android weather app that provides accurate forecasts, storm updates and travel planning information for business travelers.

What is the best business travel expense app for iPhone ?

SAP Concur is a highly-rated iPhone app for tracking business travel expenses. It provides seamless integration with booking, expense tracking and invoice management.

What is the best time clock app for business travel ?

Toggl Track is a powerful time clock app for business travel as it offers time tracking across different time zones and project-based tracking for remote work.

Getting the right apps will turn business travel from a chore into a breeze.

From expense management with Expensify to seamless travel bookings via TripAdvisor and from language learning with Busuu to navigation assistance with CityMapper or Google Maps, these apps will become essential for international travelers.

They provide convenience, efficiency and access to valuable resources at your fingertips !

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Best Expense Management Software of 2024

Table of Contents

• Best Expense Management Software
• Things To Consider When Buying
• How We Chose

The best expense management software helps small, mid-sized, and large businesses automate and monitor employee expenses. It uses optical character recognition (OCR) technology to capture receipt details and auto-populate report fields, reducing manual and tedious data entry. Spend limits help companies avoid surprises while policy rules flag or reject erroneous submissions. Automated approval workflows ensure employee or contractor reimbursements occur quickly.

We consulted with business leaders to learn how they use expense management apps and why they gravitate toward specific tools. Our research considered user reviews, features, and ease of use. We also looked at pricing and scalability, including integrations, travel and accounts payable (AP) modules, and global capabilities. Learn how top-rated expense management platforms compare.

• Best Overall: Emburse Certify »
• Best for Built-in Company Credit Cards: Expensify »
• Best Booking, Travel, and Expense Tool: TravelBank »
• Most Budget-Friendly Expense Management Software: Zoho Expense »
• Most Scalable for Global Expansion: Sap Concur Expense »
• Best Free Business Expense Tracking Software: Everlance »
• Best for Ease of Use: Airbase »

Best Overall: Emburse Certify

Quick deployment

Supports custom categories and fields

14-day free trial

No pricing information for add-ons or upper-tier plans

Employee and vendor reimbursement are optional add-ons

Mobile apps can be buggy

Emburse Certify automates your expense reporting, enforces corporate policies, and can be set up in about 20 minutes. With over 40 built-in reports and accounting integrations, Emburse Certify is our top pick as the best overall expense management solution.

Employee features include GPS mileage tracking and Google Maps integration and the software automatically tracks details like distance, date, and duration. The patented receipt technology classifies expense fields from photos for up to 15 categories. For team members constantly on the go, the ReportExecutive feature will automatically create expense reports based on a preset schedule.

Emburse Certify stores receipts so your employees can upload them even when on a plane or away from Wi-Fi. The software also has features accountants will appreciate, like custom reports and advanced travel and entertainment analytics. Multi-level approval workflows enable companies to automatically accept small purchases but get one or more sign-offs from supervisors for larger expenses.

Upgrading to the Professional plan allows businesses to sync corporate and personal credit cards. It also supports more integrations, including connections with enterprise resource planning (ERP) and human management software (HMS).

• Pricing: Starts at $12 for one to 25 employees
• Scalability: Small businesses, medium-sized organizations, and enterprises
• Core Features: GPS mileage tracking, automatic expense report creation, receipt scanning, automated policy enforcement, custom categories and fields, user roles, mobile apps, and over 140 supported currencies
• Integrations: Oracle NetSuite, Paycor, QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, Sage Intacct, UKG, and custom integrations
• Customer Support: 24/5 live support by chat and phone; Customer service email and ticketing; Free training camp; Knowledge center and FAQs; Customer success manager
• Reporting Capabilities: More than 40 standard reports, including T&E analytics, financial oversight and auditing, integration and data fields, and custom reports

Best for Built-in Company Credit Cards: Expensify

Built-in fraud detection tool

Get Expensify corporate cards with up to 2% cash back

Individual Smart Limits let companies cap cardholder spending

Fewer help resources in the new Expensify knowledge base

Must meet a minimum, undisclosed monthly card spend

Users rate New Expensify mobile apps less favorably than previous versions

Expensify offers company cards for your whole team with customizable spending limits. Any transactions with an Expensify card sync immediately to the app (no need to manually enter anything), and employees can use it anywhere that accepts Visa. Expensify approves accounts in seconds and within minutes you can set up your account.

Administrators can set cardholder limits on unreported, processing, or open expenses. Expensify automatically declines transactions if employees try to go over the limit. Upon approval, ACH reimbursements take four to five days. But Expensify also offers next-day reimbursement.

Expensify leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to verify transaction accuracy and detect duplicate receipts. Co-founder of BibleKeeper Kimberly Wall explains, “The automation process has saved us countless hours and reduced potential human errors.” For cash or other purchases, staff can scan a receipt, and the SmartScan tool will capture the merchant, amount, and date. Its optical character recognition (OCR) technology has a 98.6% accuracy rate.

Matt Little, the owner of Festoon House, says, “When it comes to managing your expenses, it's all about finding the right software to help you out. At Festoon House, Expensify was our perfect partner – they were efficient, dependable, and there for us whenever we needed them.”

• Pricing: Free when using Expensify cards with certain restrictions or plans starting at $10
• Scalability:  Freelancer, small business, and mid-sized companies
• Core Features: Expense reimbursement, mileage tracking, spend limits, invoicing, one-click receipt scanning, credit card import, customizable approval workflows and expense policy rules, corporate card reconciliation, multi-level general ledger coding, in-app chat, and AI-powered receipt auditing 
• Integrations: QuickBooks, Xero, Oracle NetSuite, Gusto, ADP, Zenefits, Workday, Uber, Lyft, Delta, Revel Systems, Hotel Engine, Kayak Business, TravelPerk, and more
• Customer Support: 24/7 customer service by chat, phone, email, or video; Concierge in-app virtual assistant; self-serve knowledge hub; Setup specialists; Account managers
• Reporting Capabilities: Detailed expense level, category, per diem, tag, and custom reports

Best Booking, Travel, and Expense Tool: TravelBank

A dedicated team of travel agents is available 24/7

Integrates with accounting and payroll programs

Premium analytics come with all subscriptions

No free trial

Travel and expense subscription requires a custom quote

TravelBank is an all-in-one booking and expense-tracking platform. It stands out for its round-the-clock travel concierge support via Slack, phone, chat, or email. Moreover, companies can access over 500,000 hotel properties and alternative lodging options.

For businesses arranging company-wide trips, TravelBank will negotiate hotel blocks and manage rooming lists. It’s possible to cancel reservations without agent intervention, and you can view unused flight credits in the cloud-based web application. TravelBank offers premium metrics with automated alerts, allowing administrators and department managers to receive hourly, daily, or weekly insights.

The software syncs with over 48,000 corporate and personal credit cards and banks. However, organizations can also sign up for a virtual U.S. Bank instant card. TravelBank recommends virtual cards for employees, event planners, contractors, and consultants.

Employees can snap photos of a receipt, upload an image, forward an email, or import credit card transactions. TravelBank lets managers approve or reject expenses and leave a comment so employees understand why a submission wasn’t cleared.

• Pricing: Expense is $10 per user monthly, Travel is $25 per user monthly, and Travel & Expense pricing is available via a custom quote.
• Scalability: Solopreneurs, early-stage companies, small businesses, mid-sized companies, and enterprises
• Core Features: Unlimited expense reports and receipt scans, multi-level approval workflows, virtual cards, custom fields, credit card sync, instant reimbursements, unlimited travel bookings, travel management, and customizable travel policies 
• Integrations: QuickBooks Online, Sage Intacct, Certinia (formerly FinancialForce), Bill, NetSuite, Zero, Oracle, Workday, Sap, Epicor, Infor, ADP, Paychex, Rippling, Paycom, Paycor, TriNet, Zenefits, Okta, Google Workspace, LastPass, Microsoft, Azure Active Directory, Keeper, Jumpcloud, Auth0, OneLogin, Duo, and Citrix
• Customer Support: Travel concierge 24/7, Quick start implementation packages, knowledge base, email, in-app chat, and phone 
• Reporting Capabilities: Real-time reporting, dashboards, custom reports, and premium analytics

Most Budget-Friendly Expense Software: Zoho Expense

Direct deposit reimbursements

Project and customer-based expense allocation

Fewer reports and analytics than Emburse Certify

Most automation features require the Premium plan

Only Enterprise users can integrate with Oracle, Sap, and Netsuite

With a feature-rich Premium subscription priced at $5 per active user monthly with annual billing, Zoho Expense is our top pick as the most budget-friendly travel and expense management software. Competitors charge double or triple for top-tier plans or require additional modules for travel and reimbursements.

Employees can track mileage via GPS, scan receipts with smartphones, and receive cash advances. CEO of Perfect Locks, Priyanka Swamy, says, “The mobile app was a game changer for us. Our team can now submit expenses on the go.” Zoho Expense Premium manages travel requests and itineraries, including documents, policies, and travel allowances.

Companies can set up multi-level approvals for many situations, from project or destination-based to automatic approval or rejections. Swamy also explains, “Automated approval workflows are one of its best features. They allow us to process expenses faster and more accurately.” Zoho Expense Premium supports automated expense reports, settlement notifications, and reminders.

We like the included budget management and collaboration tools. Project or department leaders can hash out budgets or questionable expenses even when working remotely. Zoho Expense Premium offers a great deal of customization, as well. Personalizing forms, buttons, and modules or developing custom reports is possible.

• Pricing: Free for up to three users; Standard is $5 per active user monthly with a minimum of three users; Premium is $8 per active user monthly with a minimum of three users; Enterprise is $12 per active user monthly with a minimum of 200 users
• Scalability: Small companies, mid-sized businesses, and enterprises 
• Core Features: Offline receipt upload, GPS mileage tracking, automatic expense reminders, personal and corporate card integration, user roles, approval, expense report, and per diem automation, expense policies, duplicate detection, trip and travel management, purchase request, budget management, reimbursements, and receipt auto-scan
• Integrations: Zoho Suite, QuickBooks Online, Xero, QuickBooks Desktop, Oracle, SAP, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics, CSG Forte, Sabre GetThere, Uber, Lyft, OLA, Bolt, G Suite, Slack, Microsoft 365, Amazon Business, Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, and Evernote
• Customer Support: Live support is available five days a week, eight hours a day via phone, email, and remote assistance; Enterprise users have a dedicated account manager; FAQs; help documentation; webinars; add-ons for premium support and onboarding
• Reporting Capabilities: Audit trail and policy violation reports, monthly expense details, activity logs, custom reports, trip analytics, and expenses by category, attendee, project, customer, merchant, or currency

Most Scalable for Global Expansion: Sap Concur

Robust integrations for many regions

Reimbursements supported in over 35 countries

Calculates exchange rates and value-added taxes (VAT)

May be overkill for smaller U.S.-based teams

Full capabilities require several Concur modules

No online pricing transparency

Sap Concur solutions provide near real-time data through receipt capture technology and use AI to scrutinize transactions, even if trips or employees are across the world. Consequently, Sap Concur is the most scalable expense management software for global expansion. It offers modules for expense, travel, and invoice management.

The integrated system handles exchange rates and VAT for international trips and allows companies to reimburse employees located in over 35 countries. Travelers can snap a photo of receipts, and Concur Expense automatically classifies the entries. Dr. Mollie Newton, founder of PetMeTwice and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM), says, “Whether in a taxi or at a coffee shop, the team appreciates the ease of capturing receipt images and immediately recording expenses via mobile devices.”

Sap Concur integrates with accounting, payroll, and travel platforms. It supports region-specific tools, making it perfect for companies with international locations. According to Newton, “The system effortlessly integrates with the existing infrastructure, ensuring operations proceed seamlessly.”

All Sap Concur solutions come with Analytics Essentials. It includes standard dashboards with views of expense accruals and spending. Newton further explains, “Gaining insight into the company's expenditure trends is pivotal, aiding in the formulation of more astute financial approaches.”

• Pricing: Quote-based 
• Scalability: Small business, mid-sized companies, and large enterprises 
• Core Features: Varies by module, but some tools include expense reporting, receipt capture, mobile apps, policy enforcement, auto-fill for T&E expenses, automated invoice approvals, AI transaction analysis,  VAT and exchange rate calculations, travel allowance, company card integration, mileage tracking, and reimbursements
• Integrations: Uber, Lyft, SpotHero Parking, Ola Cabs, Groundlink, Grubhub, SmartRyde, The Parking Spot, Panera Catering, Avis Preferred Enrollment, QuickBooks, Sage Intacct, Xero, and more
• Customer Support: 24/7 phone and chat support and a SAP Concur Training Library for authorized support contacts; community forums; FAQs; paid user support desk options
• Reporting Capabilities: Varies by module, but these top reports come with Sap Concur Expense: expense overview, spend analysis, billed transaction reconciliation details, expense accrual, credit card transactions, allocation details, and attendee details

Best Free Business Expense Tracking Software: Everlance

Has separate plans for companies and individuals

Unlimited free users and photo receipt captures

Can mix and match subscriptions

No credit card integration on the free version

Free users are limited to 30 automatic trip detections monthly

Can’t pay employees directly from Everlance for free

Everlance provides complimentary expense tools for individuals and businesses. Its expense and GPS-based trip-tracking features make Everlance the best free expense management software.

The IRS-compliant mileage logs, full route maps, and vehicle management capabilities work well for sales and field teams. We also liked that Everlance’s free version supports customizing tags and expense categories. Its mobile apps have more than 45,000 reviews on Apple and Google app stores, with an average score of 4.6 out of 5 stars. Developers regularly respond to reviews and offer personal assistance.

iOS users on a paid plan can use the instant deduction finder, which scans credit card transactions and asks if they are business or personal expenses. Since Everlance lets companies mix and match plans, leaders can select paid versions for heavy travelers versus occasional users. The seven-day free trial of Everlance Premium is a good starting point.

The Everlance Tax Center is a neat feature. It centralizes business expenses, total mileage, and work-classified mileage. Users can categorize unclassified trips and export totals from the Tax Center to their tax prep program.

• Pricing: Occasional Driver is free; CPM Program is $12 per user billed monthly; FAVR Program is $33 per user monthly billed annually
• Scalability: Solopreneurs, small businesses, mid-sized companies, and enterprises
• Core Features: Automatic and manual mileage tracking, auto-classification, vehicle management, receipt photo capture, trip notes, custom expense categories and tags, management dashboard, auto-created expense reports, report approval workflows, bulk report approvals, and multi-level user permissions
• Integrations: FAVR Program offers custom APIs (application programming interfaces) and ERP (enterprise resource planning) and HR (human resource) integrations
• Customer Support: Email-only for free users; paid plans include email, phone, chat, live user training, customer success manager, and quarterly business reviews; help center
• Reporting Capabilities: Summary report

Best for Ease of Use: Airbase

Airbase modules can replace several business tools

Higher than average ratings for usability

It offers custom onboarding and implementation plans

Not ideal for companies with less than 100 employees

Doesn’t disclose pricing online

Deploying the full platform can take 30 to 90 days

Airbase earns higher than average ratings for usability, with customers saying the software is intuitive, fast, and powerful. Best of all, it requires little to no employee training.

It offers expense management, accounts payable (AP) automation, corporate cards, and guided procurement. Companies can choose one or more to deploy. The modules can replace bill payments, expense reimbursement, and procurement systems. Along with custom quotes, Airbase works with you to develop a tailored implementation and guided onboarding plan.

Employees photograph receipts on their smartphones and can instantly submit them for reimbursement or save them in their inbox until later. Administrators can automate approval workflows to align with company policies. Airbase will block or flag any out-of-policy requests.

The spend management system sends payments directly to employees’ bank accounts. In addition, it tracks all transactions, approvals, and rejections, so your business always has a complete, accurate audit trail.

• Pricing: Quote-based
• Scalability: Small businesses, medium-sized companies, and enterprises
• Core Features: Varies by package and may include approval workflows, user management, multi-currency support, mobile apps, OCR, auto-categorization, physical and virtual cards, auto-matching, temporary spend limits, subscription management, and expense policies
• Integrations: Slack, email programs, Ironclad, Jira, HRIS platforms, single-sign-on (SSO) services, NetSuite, Intacct, QuickBooks, and Xero
• Customer Support: Varies by package and may include self-serve help center, guided onboarding
• Reporting Capabilities: Trend analysis and real-time reporting

The Bottom Line

Expense management apps simplify employee expense reporting while automating approval workflows. With a 20-minute setup time and over 40 built-in reports, Emburse Certify is the best overall expense management software. Administrators can create custom categories and enforce policies automatically.

However, our biggest takeaway is that free and affordable solutions exist for startups and small businesses as well. Zoho Expense offers an inexpensive premium plan with all the bells and whistles, whereas Everlance focuses on IRS-compliant mileage logs and vehicle management.

Things To Consider When Looking for Expense Management Software

Compatibility with internal and external apps: Being able to pull expense data into your accounting software is essential. It lets business owners use this information for reporting purposes and taxes. Most expense management tools integrate with QuickBooks and Xero. This connection is the easiest, as data sharing happens automatically. Others allow you to export a file format that many accounting programs support but require manual intervention. 

Companies that reimburse expenses via employee paychecks will appreciate payroll software integrations. These reduce manual data errors by transferring employee expense totals directly from the expense management app to the payroll software. For businesses with sales and travelers, T&E integrations are beneficial as well. These include Uber, Lyft, various hotel and airline chains, and restaurants. When an employee uses these services, the receipt is automatically uploaded to the expense app and registered. No need to scan a receipt. It saves time and reduces errors.

User-friendly interface: There isn’t a single sales rep who wants to fiddle with entering receipts after an extended trip. They want to follow up and close the deal. Expense apps that are buggy or hard to use frustrate employees, resulting in errors or uncompleted expense reports. As a result, your admin team must call or email them to sort it out. It turns into a source of contention all around. 

Although businesses should expect a slight learning curve with some expense management tools, especially on the administration side, end users should be able to use the software with minimal training. Any friction and your company will struggle to get people onboarded and behind the program. Instead of finalizing deals, your sales reps squint at their smartphones. Always review user reviews on the mobile app stores and request trials of the mobile apps before signing a contract. Designate members of your staff to test the software features, including receipt scanning, expense reporting, mileage tracking, and submitting for approval.

Customization options: Many expense management platforms allow businesses to customize various elements. However, some tools limit these capabilities to paid subscriptions or higher-tier packages. Customization lets you configure the software to fit your company’s processes, expenses, and industry. Options often include custom approval workflows, expense tags, categories, policies, automations, and reports. Look carefully at plans or speak to the vendor representative about approval workflows and policies. 

Some plans allow multi-tier approvals, whereas others are more basic. Suppose your business has a complex approval process or has different workflows depending on the expense amount, type, or employee role. In that case, you may want an expense management program that offers that level of customization. In addition, platforms may offer personalization capabilities for forms and buttons. This lets organizations brand or white-label assets to improve employee loyalty and keep everyone on the same page.

Automation capabilities: This feature is critical to expense management software. At a minimum, an expense management tool should have receipt capture, where an employee scans or emails a receipt, and the software saves it to the cloud. However, the best expense management solutions auto-categorize the receipt, auto-generate expense reports, and auto-populate fields. The software can automatically flag expense reports for errors and ask employees to review the highlighted issue. 

Regarding approvals, expense apps can automatically approve small dollar reports while requiring multi-level approval for larger ones. Likewise, it will scan for duplicates and send reminders when expense reports are due. The bottom line is that the more functions your business automates, the more time your employees save, and fewer errors are made. This means your sales team is focused on selling, and your finance team handles mission-critical tasks. Neither are wasting time on data entry or playing phone tag with each other.

Scalability for future growth: Several expense management solutions offer modules for procurement, AP, travel, invoicing, and more. Businesses can use the expense management tool as a standalone product and add capabilities as their company expands. In addition to the modules, the expense subscription may have tiers with pricier options, including more customization and global capabilities. Essentially, these systems can eliminate several other programs you may be using, consolidating your technology stack into a single vendor. 

It also increases the overall functionality of your expense management program. For instance, expense management apps may have travel add-ons. With these, the expense tool turns into a travel and booking app. You can set up hotels, flights, and rentals from one spot. Employees can view itineraries.

Additionally, companies can handle vendor or independent contractor payments or view granular insights with data analytics. Most of these high-level systems support enterprises with hundreds and thousands of employees. The tools work internationally, meaning you can reimburse staff who live in foreign countries and track international travel and taxes.

How We Chose the Best Expense Management Software

At U.S. News 360 Reviews, our writers and editors spoke with several business users, including founders and CEOs, to create this rating of the best expense management software. We asked why they chose (and continue to use) certain expense apps. Then, we researched expense management solutions, considering price, automation features, integrations, and ease of use. We also factored personal experience and user ratings to narrow our selection.

WHY SHOULD YOU TRUST US?

Jessica Elliott , the author of this article, has over a decade of experience researching and reviewing business software. She has used several expense management tools as a contractor and employee to submit travel, mileage, and dining receipts. Some businesses also use their spend management software to pay independent contractors, so Jessica has been onboarded onto several systems. As a business owner, she understands the need for transparency in finances. At the same time, Jessica believes programs should be user-friendly for employees.

Expense management software ranges from free to $33 or more per user monthly with annual billing. Many platforms allow a certain number of administrators then charge a fee per active user. An active user is typically an employee who completes an end-user expense-related activity on the software or mobile app, such as scanning a receipt or creating an expense report.

However, several spend management tools offer additional modules, allowing companies to customize their software program and add capabilities as they grow. Programs for AP automation, invoicing, and procurement can increase the monthly costs.

Top-rated expense management platforms integrate with accounting and payroll software. Nearly all the systems we reviewed connect to QuickBooks and Xero. Most also work with various travel, restaurant, and entertainment companies. Integrations with airlines, transportation services, and hospitality organizations allow employees to order an Uber or buy dinner, and the receipt automatically syncs to the expense management software.

The best expense management services provide robust knowledge bases for administrators and end users. These often include videos, tutorials, and FAQs. Some offer guided onboarding sessions or tailored implementation programs.

The most common tool is receipt scanning. Users snap a photo on their cell phone, and the expense management mobile app auto-categorizes it and can pull details from the receipt. Other standard features include custom approval workflows and policies, mileage tracking, and duplicate expense detection. Most allow for user management or profiles and support bespoke categories or tags.

Establishing clear policies and using your expense management program to enforce them can prevent fraud and misunderstandings. Moreover, spend limits can reduce surprisingly high expense reports. Also, remember to find tools that are simple for employees to use. Look for software that automates expense reporting and auto-categorizes receipts.

U.S. News 360 Reviews takes an unbiased approach to our recommendations. When you use our links to buy products, we may earn a commission but that in no way affects our editorial independence.

Emburse Certify

Get visibility and optimize spend with an all-in-one platform for expense management

4 Best Business Expense Tracker Apps in 2023

Staying on top of expenses and having visibility into corporate spend can be one of the biggest challenges to your business. While far from a walk in the park, making sure your team keeps track of receipts and expenditures, files expense reports in a timely manner, and properly allocates purchases is essential for accurate operations and budget forecasting. Fortunately, business expense tracking apps are available to not only make it easier for your employees, but also help improve visibility into company spend and can help reduce costs.

>> Related: Automation Is Now the Foundation of Corporate Travel, Payment, and Expense Software <<

However, finding a good business expense tracking app is hard! You need to consider what features are essential for your company, pricing, implementation, and ease of adoption across your organization.

What is a Business Expense Tracker App?

Let’s start with the basics. Business expense tracking apps are reporting tools that assist in streamlining finances by simplifying expense documentation, receipt capture process, reporting, and approvals.

How Does an Expense Tracking App Work?

A business expense tracking app allows for the upload of receipts, as well as expense and mileage recording. Typically the tracking technology is available in both mobile and desktop versions, and enables employees to capture receipts and track expenses on-the-go. The technology then organizes the data and transforms it into reports that can be saved, sent for approvals, or analyzed by finance teams.

TravelBank, for instance, offers an intuitive app that manages business expenses and travel needs. Your team can capture receipts on-the-go and we’ll automatically scan them into expenses. You may also invite managers to automate approvals and reimbursement, or simply use it as a business expense tracker for tax purposes.

What Features Should a Business Expense Tracking App Have?

If you have yet to implement a business expense tracking app, or are looking to change providers, it’s important to understand the available features and review the strengths and weaknesses of what is available in the market today.

Here are the eight top features your business expense app evaluation team should think about:

1. Ease of expense capture

Can employees easily upload photos of receipts?  Is there a mobile app?  Can employees or admins bulk import transactions or sync a credit card?

2. Transparent pricing

Fine print matters.  Some vendors require you to switch your current corporate credit card to theirs, or pay double if you don’t.

3. Fast and instant receipt scanning ability

Does the platform offer OCR (Optical Character Recognition) so that employees and accountants do not have to hand-enter receipt costs?

4. Automated reports

Both admins and department managers should be able to track and report on every metric within their respective teams.  Look for reporting capabilities that help you visualize real-time spend, monitor compliance, schedule reports, and track outstanding expense reports. 

5. Transparent expense visibility

Are approved expense reports automatically synced to the general ledger?  Can you see draft expense reports and anticipate future expenses? 

6. Easy and hassle-free approvals

Can managers review and approve expense reports from any device. Are notifications and “red flags” automated?  How many clicks does it take to approve a trip or expense report?  If a manager needs to reject a trip or report, can they add comments explaining why? 

7. Sync with personal and corporate cards and banks

Can employees import transactions from their virtual or plastic cards?  Personal or corporate cards?  Or are they limited to certain providers?

8. Travel expense management functionality

Can employees book all flights, hotels, and cars on a single platform?  Are trip fares automatically converted to draft expense reports?  Can employees troubleshoot with travel agents 24/7 via phone, chat, Slack, and/or email?  

For an in-depth review of features for your evaluation committee to consider when looking into an expense tracking app and other tips, check out our post, Making the Leap to Managed Travel: Buying Process Considerations .

Best Business Expense Tracker Apps

In the meantime, here’s a quick comparison of the strengths and weaknesses for some of the most popular expense management options on the market today for small-to-midsize businesses (SMBs).

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet editor. It has calculation or computation capabilities, and pivot tables for manual tracking.  Here is a sample business expense template that you can clone >

• Strengths:  Excel is the lowest cost option available, but it requires a good amount of manual lift. It is still leveraged by SMBs that don’t want to spend money on an expense management tool.
• Weaknesses:  While the spreadsheets can be customized, they leave lots of room for human error thanks to the manual data entry component. Due to the inability to put in controls; poor policy compliances and additional work for the finance team is an absolute weakness.
• TravelBank Advantage:  In comparison, TravelBank integrates expense and travel policies into one platform and makes it easy to keep guidelines current and ensure employee compliance. Finance teams benefit from more accurate data and reconciliation thanks to features like general ledger sync, and due to the user-friendly platform, expense submission is more timely and accurate. Additionally there are time and cost savings associated with automation of expense reporting .

Expensify offers a user-friendly platform with an in-house corporate card to simplify policy compliance and reconciliations.

• Strengths:  The receipt scanning portion of the app is very accurate and it integrates with accounting, human resource management systems, and travel platforms.
• Weaknesses:  Expensify is known for its poor customer support, a very light touch account management team, and aggressively pushing their corporate card on its customers. For non-card users, the pricing is very high. Additionally, it does not offer a travel management component and relies on integrations with other managed travel companies.
• TravelBank Advantage:  TravelBank offers a clear advantage over Expensify. First, TravelBank works with all company cards , not just one, and customers aren’t penalized for not using a certain card. Second, and most importantly, we offer an all-in-one travel and expense management solution , not just expense management. This allows you to roll-out a single platform to capture expenses and book travel to your team, and wrap policies directly into the tool to enhance compliance.

SAP Concur is a suite of softwares that automate, connect, and simplify expense, travel, and AP processes.

• Strengths:  SAP Concur has a large market presence and is well known by finance leaders for its strong reporting, reconciliation tools, and enhanced features for admins. Concur also provides a decent integration between its travel and expense platforms.
• Weaknesses:  Concur is known for its sub-par customer support, extremely high price point for small-to-midsize businesses, antiquated technology and app, and slow implementation.
• TravelBank Advantage:  TravelBank can deliver the key functionality needed by SMBs, but at a fraction of Concur’s price tag. We provide personalized onboarding, fantastic chat support, and a seamless sales and implementation process. Our ability to rapidly change policy and workflows is a user favorite and our customers know they are getting an industry-leading travel and expense management tool.

The TravelBank Difference

If you are looking to have better control over your travel and expense management, improve adoption and compliance through a superior user experience, all while saving significant time through automated accounting processes, we’ve got a solution for you.

TravelBank’s customers enjoy the benefits of the first all-in-one natively built travel, expense, and virtual card solution for SMBs across three platforms (Web, iOS, and Android). In addition to a unique rewards program that drives up to 30% cost savings, TravelBank offers a one-stop-shop for T&E management, and strong integrations with HR systems, employee resource planning software, and general ledger tools to reduce manual entry.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. why should i use a business expense tracker app.

Using a business expense tracker app can bring numerous benefits to small business owners. It helps to streamline the expense tracking process, ensures accurate record-keeping, provides better control over business spending, enables real-time expense tracking, and simplifies the task of generating expense reports.

2. What is the best business expense tracker app?

The best business expense tracker app may vary depending on your specific needs and preferences. However, some popular options include TravelBank, Concur, Excel, Zoho Expense, Expensify, QuickBooks Online, FreshBooks, and Shoeboxed. It is recommended to compare the features, pricing, and user reviews of different apps to choose the one that aligns with your requirements.

3. Can I try a business expense tracker app before purchasing?

Most business expense tracker apps offer free trials for a limited period. This allows you to test the app’s features and functionality before making a purchase decision. Take advantage of the free trial to determine if the app meets your business needs and if it is easy to use.

4. How can a business expense tracker app help me with expense reporting?

A business expense tracker app can significantly simplify the expense reporting process. By using the app, you can easily categorize expenses, attach receipts, and generate comprehensive reports with just a few clicks. This eliminates the need for manual calculations and reduces the time and effort required for expense reporting.

5. Is there a business expense tracker app that offers a free plan?

Yes, TravelBank and some other business expense tracker apps offer a free plan with limited features or usage restrictions. This can be a good option for small businesses with minimal expense tracking requirements. However, keep in mind that the features and functionality offered in the free plan may be limited compared to paid plans. 

6. How can a business expense tracker app help small businesses?

A business expense tracker app can help small businesses in several ways:

• Expense Tracking : The app allows small businesses to easily track their expenses in a digital format, eliminating the need for manual record keeping.
• Expense Categories : It provides predefined expense categories that can be customized to suit the business’s specific needs.
• Expense Management : The app enables businesses to manage their expenses effectively, helping them identify areas for cost savings and budgeting.
• Record Keeping : It allows businesses to securely store and organize their expense data, making it easily accessible for future reference or tax purposes.
• Financial Analysis : The app provides insightful reports and analysis of the business’s expenses, allowing owners to make informed financial decisions.
• Mileage Tracking : Some business expense tracker apps also offer mileage tracking features, which are beneficial for businesses that require frequent travel.
• Integration with Accounting Software : Many expense tracker apps integrate with popular accounting software, such as TravelBank Expense, simplifying the process of syncing expense data.

Ready to learn more? Check out our Expense Buyer’s Guide >

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These are the best expense tracker apps of 2024

Prioritize your expenses with these top apps, available on multiple devices and highly rated..

Tracking your spending is often the first step to getting your finances in order. By understanding what you spend money on and just how much things cost, you can see exactly where your cash is going and areas where you can scale back.

It's easy to make this part of your everyday routine thanks to expense tracker apps that help you manage your money on the go. These apps certainly overlap with budgeting apps , but while the latter provides a big-picture view of your finances, expense tracker apps put more of an emphasis on your spending. These apps usually categorize your expenses and help you get a good idea of your purchasing behavior.

CNBC Select  set out to find which expense tracker apps are the best. We reviewed more than a dozen and narrowed down our list to the top ones, whether you want an app that easily captures all your transaction data, one that automates the expense reporting process at your job or one that holds you accountable by requiring you to manually input each one of your transactions. (See  our methodology  for more information on how we chose the best expense tracker apps.)

Best expense tracker apps

• Best app for planners:   Quicken Simplifi
• Best app for serious budgeters: You Need a Budget (YNAB)
• Best app for beginners: Goodbudget
• Best app for over-spenders:   PocketGuard
• Best app for small business owners: QuickBooks® Online
• Best app for employees' business expenses: Expensify

Best app for planners

Quicken simplifi.

$2.99 per month. No free trial, but users can request full refund within first 30 days.

Standout features

Users can run customizable reports based on their spending, income and savings. Personalized spending plan adjusts in real-time.

Categorizes your expenses

Yes, but users can modify.

Links to accounts

Yes, bank, credit card and investment accounts and loans

Availability

Offered in both the App Store (for iOS) and on Google Play (for Android)

Security features

Financial data from bank servers transmitted using 256-bit encryption

Terms apply.

• Syncs with bank, credit card and investment accounts
• Customizable reports based on income, spending and savings
• Robust investments dashboard
• Refund tracker
• Credit monitoring
• No free tier
• No bill pay feature
• Quicken data can't be imported

Who's this for? Quicken Simplifi provides users with a personalized spending plan based on their income and costs and adjusts it as they spend in real-time, allowing them to always see where their expenses stand. Its simple user interface also makes it easy for users to add planned spending like vacations.

[ Jump to more details ]

Best app for serious budgeters

You need a budget (ynab).

34-day free trial then $99 per year or $14.99 per month (college students who provide proof of enrollment get 12 months free)

Instead of using traditional budgeting buckets, users allocate every dollar they earn to something (known as the "zero-based budgeting system" where no dollar is unaccounted for). Every dollar is assigned a "job," whether it's to go toward bills, savings, investments, etc.

Yes, bank and credit cards

Encrypted data, accredited data centers, third-party audits and more

• Offers a 34-day free trial, and college students get 12 months free
• Designed to help you get out of debt
• YNAB website claims average user saves $600 in their first two months and $6,000 in their first year
• Syncs to your bank accounts and credit cards
• Users can set goals, customize spending categories
• Offers educational resources, such as budgeting advice and free, live workshops
• Personal customer support
• Security features include encrypted data, accredited data centers, third-party audits and more
• Costs $99 per year or $14.99 per month
• Customer reviews note that it takes longer to set up than other apps

Who's this for?  With YNAB , users use its zero-based budgeting system where every dollar is essentially assigned a "job." Whether it be to cover groceries, pay rent or go toward your credit card bill, users allocate every dollar they earn to something so no dollar goes unaccounted for. This process allows you to really see how each dollar gets spent.

Best app for beginners

Free for 20 total envelopes; $8/month (or $70/year) for unlimited envelopes

Allows couples to use the envelope system digitally for budgeting, and allows couples to track their debt

Yes, but users must manually input transactions since the app does not sync to your bank account

No, users must manually input purchases and transactions

Offered in both the App Store (for iOS) and on Google Play (for Android) and as a version for laptops

Information is secured using bank-grade 256-bit SSL

• Free version of the app
• Helps couples manage their money together, track spending and track debt
• Ability to share budget with your partner
• Digital envelopes help couples save for big goals that matter to them
• Money management courses and resources available
• Can't connect bank accounts so users must manually enter transactions

Who's this for?  When you're just starting to get your finances in check, Goodbudget is a solid go-to. Users will begin tracking their expenses by using the app's digitalized version of the envelope budgeting method  — a method where you divide up your cash into different spending categories with each category having its own envelope. This allows you to see your different expense types, how much each type takes up of your income and hopefully help you save money.

Best app for over-spenders

Pocketguard.

Upgrade to a Pocketguard Plus monthly subscription, for $12.99 per month, or a yearly subscription for $74.99 per year, which broken down equals $6.25 per month giving members an over all 50% savings.

Taking into account your estimated income, upcoming expenses and savings goals, "In My Pocket" feature uses an algorithm to show how much you have available for everyday spending

Yes, but users can modify

Major bank-level encryption, PIN codes and biometrics like Touch ID and Face ID

• "In My Pocket" feature uses an algorithm to show how much you have available for everyday spending
• Users can create savings goals
• Has bill payment tracker and bill negotiation feature (negotiated bills cost a fee)
• Basic version costs $74.99/year and premium version costs $155.88/year
• Some user reviews report that transactions are categorized incorrectly on occasion

Who's this for? Part of the reason to track your expenses is to make sure you don't overspend. With PocketGuard , you'll get alerted whenever one of your spending categories is almost over its limit, giving you a better idea of how much you can afford to take on.

Best app for small business owners

Quickbooks® online.

30-day free trial then plan options include: Simple Start for $15 per month, Plus for $45 per month and Advanced for $100 per month

Tracks your business expenses as they happen, as well as your income. Users can use app to do invoicing, accept payments, manage their cash flow, maximize tax deductions, track travel miles, run reports, send estimates, manage bills and 1099 contractors, plus pay employees

Yes, bank and credit cards, plus third-party apps like PayPal and Square

Accessible from any web browser and also offered in both the App Store (for iOS) and on Google Play (for Android)

Verisign scanning, password-protected login, firewall protected servers and the same encryption technology (128 bit SSL) used by the world's top banks. QuickBooks also offers multiple permission levels that you can set for additional users' access

• Offers a 30-day free trial
• Syncs to your bank accounts, credit cards and third-party apps like PayPal and Square
• Offers real-time dashboards so you can stay updated on all financial transactions related to your business
• The most basic "Simple Start" plan tracks income, sales and expenses, organizes receipts, creates invoices, helps you prepare your taxes, categorizes your business and personal trips, offers a QuickBooks Cash account, runs reports like P&Ls and balance sheets and includes 1 user
• "Essentials" plan, in addition to the above, helps you pay your bills, clock employee time and billable hours and includes up to 3 users
• "Plus" plan, in addition to the above, lets you oversees projects, track inventory and includes up to 5 users
• "Advanced" plan, in addition to the above, provides business analytics and insights, speeds up transactions, gives users access to VIP service QuickBooks Priority Circle that includes a dedicated account team and free online QuickBooks training, includes up to 25 usersQuickBooks offers a fourth "Self-Employed" plan for freelancers
• Security features include Verisign scanning, encryption technology (128 bit SSL) used by the world's top banks and customized access for other users
• Costs range from $15 per month to $100 per month, depending on the plan
• Some user reviews complain of glitches in app and a not so user-friendly interface

Who's this for? QuickBooks Online is ideal for small- to medium-sized business owners because it allows them to connect to their bank accounts, credit cards and other third-party apps like PayPal and Square.

Best app for employees' business expenses

Free for up to 25 SmartScans of receipts per month. For unlimited SmartScans, pricing is as follows: six-week free trial then for employees, individual pricing is $4.99 per month. For companies, group pricing starts at $5 per user, per month

Individuals can track receipts and submit expenses to their employer. Users scan their receipts and the app will automatically read the receipt then translate it into a logged expense. Also offers mileage and GPS tracking and automatic credit card importing

Yes, but users can customize

Yes, bank and personal/company credit cards

Two-factor authentication so users input a generated code when logging in; banking data is protected by world-class security standards and compliant with Privacy Shield and GDPR requirements

• Free to use for up to 25 SmartScans per month
• Offers a six-week free trial for unlimited SmartScans
• Designed to help you get your expenses done quickly while on the go and in real time
• Expensify website claims expense reports with Expensify take 83% less time
• One-click receipt scanning and SmartScan automatically transcribes receipt details with the date, merchant and amount
• Receipts are automatically coded and categorized once user takes photo and assigns to a report or emails their receipts to [email protected]
• Users can split their expenses by using the ExpensePoint feature to split the cost
• Allows users to track their mileage by manual entry, odometer readings or by using the GPS
• Web dashboard shows spending by different categories and uses time references
• Automatically generates and submits expense reports for automatic next-day reimbursement
• Users can share or print documents/expense reports from the app for review
• Lets users send and receive money via Venmo
• Connects to apps like Uber, Lyft and HotelTonight for automatic receipt import and transcription
• Security features include two-factor authentication, world-class security standards and Privacy Shield / GDPR compliance
• With a group plan, employers can integrate with their accounting software, including QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite and others
• Two plans offered for individuals: "Track" is $4.99 per month, with unlimited SmartScans, automatic mileage tracking and categorizing expenses; "Submit" is $4.99 per month and, in addition to the above, automatically submits reports for reimbursement, submits receipts
• Two plans offered for groups: "Collect" is $5 per user, per month and, in addition to the above, automates receipt collection and reimbursement, auto-syncs to accounting software and offers free Expensify card with auto-reconciliation; "Control" is $9 per user, per month and, in addition to the above, manages approval workflows
• Costs $4.99 per month for individuals and starts at $5 per user, per month for groups
• Some user reviews report that the interface isn't intuitive

Who's this for? Expensify is a solid choice for employees who are often filling out expense reports — a painfully time-consuming task. Its SmartScan technology allows users to just snap photos of their receipts and it generates an expense report for them. Once an expense report is approved by a company admin, users can get paid as soon as the next day.

More on our top expense tracker apps

$2.99 per month; no free trial, but users can request a full refund within first 30 days if not satisfied

Yes, bank, credit cards, investments and loans

[ Return to summary ]

Free for 20 total envelopes; $8 per month (or $70 per year) for unlimited envelopes

The app offers a free version, but users can upgrade to a Pocketguard Plus monthly subscription, for $12.99 per month, or a yearly subscription for $74.99 per year, which broken down equals $6.25 per month giving members an overall 50% savings.

QuickBooks Online

Free for up to 25 SmartScans of receipts per month. For unlimited SmartScans, pricing is as follows: six-week free trial; then, for employees, individual pricing is $4.99 per month; for companies, group pricing starts at $5 per user, per month

Compare offers to find the best savings account

How to make the most of the money you do spend.

Now that you have the right tools to track your everyday spending, your next step is to ensure you're maximizing every dollar that gets counted. Get rewarded for your day-to-day spending by using a credit card that rewards everyday purchases .

With the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express , for example, cardholders earn bonus cash back for many common spending categories:

• 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%)
• 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions
• 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations
• 3% cash back on transit including taxis/rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more
• 1% cash back on other purchases

Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express

6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%), 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions, 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations, 3% cash back on transit (including taxis/rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more) and 1% cash back on other purchases. Cash Back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout.

Welcome bonus

Earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new card within the first 6 months. 

$0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.

0% for 12 months on purchases from the date of account opening

Regular APR

19.24% - 29.99% variable. Variable APRs will not exceed 29.99%.

Balance transfer fee

Either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.

Foreign transaction fee

Credit needed.

Excellent/Good

See rates and fees , terms apply.

If you'd rather earn travel rewards , consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card . As you spend on the card, you'll earn:

• 5X points per dollar spent on Lyft rides through March 31, 2025
• 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel SM
• 3X points on dining, including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out
• 3X points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
• 3X points on select streaming services
• 2X points on all other travel purchases
• 1X point on all other purchases

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases, and $50 annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, plus more.

Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's over $900 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.

21.49% - 28.49% variable on purchases and balance transfers

Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater

Read our Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card review .

Business owners can maximize their everyday expenses with a credit card, too. One of our top-rated small business credit cards is the *Capital One Spark Cash Plus Credit Card for its straightforward offering of unlimited 2% cash back on every purchase. The card also offers business benefits, including free employee cards that earn unlimited % cash back on their purchases, account management tools (such as the ability to view recurring transactions and download purchase records to Quicken®, QuickBooks and Excel®), extended warranty and protection, travel benefits and more.

Capital One Spark 2% Cash Plus

Unlimited 2% cash back on every purchase

Earn a one-time cash bonus of $1,200 once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months

No APR; pay off your balance in full every month to avoid a 2.99% late fee

Read our Capital One Spark Cash Plus Credit Card review.

By making the most of your spending, you can also invest your savings to maximize the earning potential of each dollar and start building wealth .

What is the best way to track your expenses?

There's no perfect expense tracking plan that fits everyone. Each person has their own method — unless, of course, you have no method at all.

While some people may find looking at their monthly credit or debit card statements enough to keep their spending in check, others need something more hands-on. You can opt to track your transactions daily in a spreadsheet or to use technology like an expense tracker app. If you're not sure which is the best program for you, try out a few different methods to see what sticks.

What does an expense tracker app do?

Expense tracker apps connect to your bank account and/or credit cards to track and categorize your expenses, giving you a good idea of your purchasing behavior. This can help identify spending areas where you could make cuts.

Should I use an expense tracker app?

Keeping track of your expenses is important in managing your overall finances. While you don't need an app to help you record your purchases, it can certainly come in handy.

Some expense tracker apps automatically sync to your bank accounts and credit cards, which can save you time instead of having to manually gather all your different credit card statements and such. Other apps help you categorize your spending so you can better understand your purchasing habits. Plus, some of the best expense tracker apps offer educational tools like blogs and courses to help you learn more about budgeting and your money.

Are expense tracker apps worth the cost?

Expense tracker apps are often either free, offer a free version, have a free trial or offer a refund for users to test out. This way, you can decide for yourself if the app is right for you. If you're a serious budgeter or are tracking expenses for a small business, it generally will be worth splurging on a paid app.

Bottom line

Tracking your spending is smart for just about anyone since it shows possible areas you can cut back on, and a mobile app makes it easier to do. Consider the expense tracker apps listed here as a good place to get started and see which one works best for managing your money on the go.

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At  CNBC Select , our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every expense tracker app review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of personal finance products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See  our methodology  for more information on how we choose the best expense tracker apps.

Our methodology

To determine which expense tracker apps offer the best user experience,  CNBC Select  analyzed over a dozen apps offered by the top companies in this market and looked at their pricing, features, user reviews and ratings.

We narrowed down our ranking by only considering apps that specialize in tracking expenses and have at least a free trial or refund to test the app out. We looked for apps that are easy to use and accessible on multiple devices, as well as considering apps' syncing with bank accounts, their security features, user customization and educational tools offered. We favored those with a considerable number of user reviews and high ratings.

The apps we selected for this ranking are either free, offer a free version, have a free trial or offer a full refund within the first month. All of the apps in our round-up have a sizable number of user reviews and high ratings. Each app on this list has at least 3,500 reviews in both the App Store (for iOS) and on Google Play (for Android) combined, as well as a rating of over 4 stars (out of 5) on either platform.

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Top 9 Corporate Travel Expense Tracking Apps And Platforms

Home » B2B » Top 9 Corporate Travel Expense Tracking Apps And Platforms

Managing business travel and related expenses can be a massive exercise, depending on your organization’s size and your executives’ travel frequency. Further, it is critically important to collect and report all work related travel expenses accurately. However, this can prove challenging, especially if you have to handle huge volumes of booking data emanating from hundreds of invoices, bills, and documents. Here is when travel expense tracking apps come into the picture.

Fortunately, the increasing number of travel-related documents and invoices is not a hassle anymore for the management. Modern software applications and platforms help business managers remain in control of the processes. Business travel expense tracking apps are now available to help organizations manage their travel expenses more efficiently. It also eliminates the need for paper reports, manual checking, reimbursement, and going back and forth approvals.

What is a business travel expense tracker app?

A budgeting technique known as expense tracking allows you to keep track of all of your outlays over time and stay on track with your spending plan. An expense tracker app is an automated and easy solution to manage all the expenses in one place for a smooth reporting and reimbursement process. Business travelers should have an expense tracker app to be mindful of their expenses and report to the organization accordingly.

Benefits of streamlined business travel expense tracker

• A technologically advanced travel expense tracker offers real time visibility into the traveling employees expenses, helping in managing travel costs
• Eliminates the need and associated errors with manual data tracking and entry; thereby, frees up the time of employees
• Assists in managing expenses and ensures travel policy compliance
• As these applications require logins from individual IDs, they removes the risk of unauthorized payments

Things to Look For in a Travel Expense Tracker

• While taking the demo of the apps, ensure to choose the one that is powerful and easy to understand
• Travel expense tracker should easily be integrated with other softwares such as booking software, HRMSs, etc.
• The tracker should be accessible through mobile and has essential feature to manage the expense

Top corporate expense tracking app and platforms

1. Expensify

Expensify offers unlimited receipt scanning, mileage tracking, quick reimbursement, and many other features. An important aspect is its one-click receipt scanning. Travel managers can create approval workflows to match the company’s expense policy. It is among the best app for tracking travel expenses with the following features.

Key Features

• Expense reporting
• Mileage tracking
• Importing of credit card
• Auditor access
• Automatic approvals
• Expensify is compatible with all operating systems
• Supports multiple languages, such as English, Spanish, French, German, and Chinese

Rydoo’s business travel budget app is a bit different from other expense apps. The corporate travel management app ensures your travel executives remain compliant with the changing business travel policies of the company. The app runs an automated check on everything from timestamps to duplicate receipts. Companies can start right away as they offer a 14-day free trial.

• Can be quickly integrated with Enterprise Resource Planning packages
• Mileage tracker
• Supports multiple currencies
• Uploading of digital receipt
• Makes reimbursement easy
• Offers credit card statement analysis
• Rydoo is compatible with both iOS and Android
• Supports English, Dutch, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese

3. Xero Expense

Xero Expense is a cloud-based business trip expense app. It works best for small and growing businesses and has one of the best expense management tools. Claims can be submitted on the go with a photo of the receipts. It also reviews and approves expenses in one click. With its powerful analytics, Xero helps travel managers closely monitor employee spending.

• Processes payroll
• Provides financial reporting
• Accurate reporting of expenses
• Offers digitized billing
• Zero Expense is compatible with iOS and Android operating systems
• It supports only the English

4. Webexpenses Travel

This user-friendly business management tool is best suited for business travel management and booking. It makes use of industry-leading AI to save time and costs. It is designed to remember executive preferences and limits and automatically applies the same to new bookings. The set pre-approvals help streamline travel requests and bookings. The company’s updated travel policy can be integrated into the corporate travel management app easily.

• Comes with optical character recognition (OCR) technology
• Drag-and-drop reporting in real-time
• Digital receipt capture
• Corporate card management
• Mileage tracking and verification
• Webexpenses Travel is compatible with iOS and Android mobile apps
• It supports English, Spanish, and Portuguese

Fyle is one of the most accessible travel expense tracker apps with automatic business rules check system and one-click expense reporting . Travel managers can use this corporate travel management app to track business expenses from commonly used software systems. It offers an effortless expense management system that provides real-time visibility and control.

• Automated credit card reconciliation
• Real-time expense analytics
• Automated reminders
• Fraud detection
• Fyle supports English

6. ExpenseIn

ExpenseIn is a low-cost but feature-rich business travel expenses tracking app. It is the best choice for small businesses as the app has everything needed to create, approve and report on costs in one place. It has some robust features that can work well for medium and large companies.

• Digital scanning of receipts
• Real-time reporting
• Currency converter
• Automatic mileage calculations
• Compliance with corporate travel policies
• ExpenseIn is compatible with Android, iOS, and Windows
• It supports the English

TripLog is a leading business travel expense management solution that calculates mileage and time, among other things. It is best suited for mid-sized businesses and enterprises. TripLog tracks mileage automatically and makes reimbursement and mileage log management easy. The mileage reports are tax compliant.

• Offers real-time location monitoring
• Bank and credit card integration
• Tracks established trip rules
• Tax-compliant mileage reports
• TripLog supports the English

8. Shoeboxed

Shoeboxed offers regular travel expense features that can be found in many other similar apps. What makes it stand apart is the ‘Magic Envelope’ feature. It allows organizations to mail their business-related travel receipts in prepaid envelopes. The same is digitalized. Organizations can extract the relevant data from the receipts. The travel management team can organize and report the data as needed.

• Optical character recognition (OCR) and human data verification
• Automatic archiving of receipts from Gmail
• Receipt and mileage tracker
• Employee expense reporting
• Supports the maximum number of languages

Paxes is a SaaS-based platform serving the corporate travel needs of companies of all types and sizes. It also helps travel management companies efficiently manage their global corporate travel management processes of various clients. Paxes allows corporate administrators to create multiple invoices, manage budgets, and analyze expenses in micro detail. Further, the corporate travel management app assists in the easy self-booking of flights and hotels.

• Self-booking tools
• Hybrid inventory engine
• Implementation in a few clicks with a SaaS-based platform
• Single solution for multiple forms
• Concierge services
• Paxes supports multiple languages

Must Read: Top Benefits Of Using Travel And Expense Management Software

With user-friendly, feature-rich, role-specific, and powerful software to manage your corporate travel expenses, you won’t have to deal with the negatives associated with travel management tasks. The best travel budget app provides complete visibility into all the core aspects of business travel.

Business travelers prefer to choose their trip options but don’t want to stray beyond travel policies. Business travel expense tracking apps and platforms such as Paxes make it easy for your executives to stick to their style of staying and traveling and ensure it happens within your budget. It also saves the travel management team and the executives a lot of manual work.

Business Travel Expense Tracking Apps FAQs

What are the top apps and platforms for expense tracking for corporate travel.

There are many applications and platforms that can be used by TMCs for expense tracking for corporate travel. Some of the top apps that one can use for a seamless tracking experience are Paxes, Rydoo, and Expensify.

How can corporates personalize their bookings by themselves?

Many apps and platforms offer a self-booking tool like Paxes, where the corporate traveler can book their travel necessities at their convenience.

How can corporates track their expenses during business travel?

Certain travel expense platforms and applications provide features such as real-time expense analysis, where the corporate traveler can access, report, and track all the expenses that are incurred during the trip. Fyle is an expense tracker app that offers such a feature for a hassle-free experience.

What travel expense apps support all major currencies during corporate travel?

There are many travel expense applications and platforms that support major currencies, such as Rydoo and Xero Expense.

How can TMCs and corporations track or monitor the location of the business traveler?

Certain applications and platforms provide location tracking for managers to monitor the location of the traveler while on a business trip. This helps in preventing any major risk or threat that might occur. Triplog offers such a tracking feature in their application.

How to choose the best business travel expense tracking app?

Different apps offer different benefits; hence, corporates should choose the most suited app as per their individual requirements.

How does an expense tracker app work?

Expense tracker app generates reports, invoices, and tax details and more that is helpful in managing the finance of a business.

Why should you use expense tracker app?

Expense tracker app help in budgeting, tax calculations and deduction and more; hence, you should use these apps.

What types of expenses can I track with a dedicated travel expense tracker?

Transportation costs (flights, trains, rental cars), accommodation expenses, meals and entertainment expenses, and incidentals (parking fees, tolls, tips).

Is my data secure with a dedicated travel expense tracker?

Yes, most of the trackers use highly secure techniques to provide reliable services. However, you should be vigilant while selecting the best tracker.

Pratyush is a traveling enthusiast who always looks for innovations in business travel management. He has 5 years of experience writing content on corporate travel management and working closely with expert business travel facilitators.

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5 Best Business Travel Expense Tracker Tools to look out for in 2023

Team Kissflow

Updated on 12 Feb 2024 • 3 min read

At some point, every business struggles with managing their travel expenses. Whether you make everyone responsible for their own details, or try to impose standard policies, claiming travel expenses can be extremely high and the process is extremely complicated. Everyone’s eager to find a way to make the process better, control costs, and reduce the back and forth.

The job to streamline the effectiveness of this area often falls on the finance department. But many finance heads are not equipped to handle the legacy of paper forms, spreadsheets, and emails to handle business   travel requests   and   expense management processes . Outdated travel expense tracker results in ineffective travel expense management and an incredible waste of time. That’s where you need a streamlined, automated business travel management.

What is a travel expense tracker?

A travel expense tracker is a portal where all employees can submit travel expenses and claim reimbursements. The system helps identify expenses that don’t comply with the organization’s business travel policy, making it easy for managers and the finance team to approve or reject a claim.

Once the expense claims are approved, the travel expense tracker categorizes the expenses and the employee gets reimbursed.

5 best travel expense trackers to look out for in 2022

There are tons of corporate traveller apps out there. Here are some of them that you can start evaluating before choosing the one that suits you best:

Certify is an easy-to-use, web-based expense management tool that has an in-built travel management functionality as well. Beyond airfare booking, Certify includes several other features like displaying penalties, price verification, result filters, and expandable flight details.

Ideal for:   SMBs, Enterprises

2. SAP Concur

Concur is a comprehensive travel and expense management solution that lets you take control of every aspect of corporate travel management with a connected, end-to-end solution. Their slick mobile app lets you enforce travel policies and gives you negotiated rates.

3. Travel Perk

Travel Perk is an easy-to-use tool that’s mostly geared toward medium businesses. You can make group bookings and it helps you find the lowest fares possible. It is also one of the few tools that let you book train tickets.

Rydoo is a complete travel and expense management solution that helps you with bookings, tickets, and payments. It has a central billing option where a consolidated invoice for all trips is sent to your business at the end of each month.

Trippeo is a travel and expense tracking app developed for the mobile workforce. It offers a mobile-first approach to handle business travel and book tickets. Trippeo tracks, submits, and reimburses travel expenses quickly and painlessly. It also helps business get negotiated rates and better prices for tickets.

On the expense management side of things, Trippeo takes the pain away by eliminating manual expense entry with OCR scanning and credit card integrations.

Why Do You Need a Dedicated Travel Expense Tracker?

The problem with a conventional pen-and-paper system is that it’s prone to human errors, expense frauds, an exhaustive paper trail, and   travel reimbursements   that take weeks to get to the employee’s bank account. Most of this comes back to the manual nature; there’s a need for human intervention, right from submitting travel expense reports to identifying non-compliant claims to reimbursing employees.

To escape this drudgery, you need a fool-proof, automated travel expense tracker that takes care of the entire   travel request workflow , right from submitting expense reports to processing reimbursements.

Things to Look For in a Travel Expense Tracker

It’s easy to get distracted with lots of bells and whistles from a travel expense management system. However, it’s best to focus on what you need. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to a travel expense tracker. However, you do need something that:

• is easy to use
• supports multiple users
• accommodates your approval hierarchies
• ensures business travel policies are adhered to
• is accessible from everywhere
• grows as you scale
• helps you cut down on costs with insightful reports

Benefits of Streamlined Business Travel Expense Tracker

• Compliance with travel policies
• Visibility into financial health
• Tax deductions and audits
• Happier employees

Compliance With Travel Policies

Ensuring that corporate travel policies are adhered to takes a huge burden off the finance team’s shoulders. It makes it easier for them to approve or reject a travel expense claim. This will also help reduce expense frauds and enforce compliance.

Visibility Into Financial Health

Finding where your money goes helps you plan out an effective budget for business trips. When you track how much money goes out with the help of a travel expense tracker, you get a better picture of the cash flow. You can identify areas where you’re spending unnecessarily and make insightful decisions that can help you cut down on costs.

Tax Deductions and Audits

Claiming travel expenses must be handled in the right way in order for an organization to mark them as a legitimate expense. Without tight control over the process, you may be missing out on benefits. In addition, records and audit trails need to be present to show that you’ve properly managed to claim travel expenses and haven’t opened up yourself to claims to mishandling funds.

Happier Employees

You can make your employees’ lives a lot easier by making it simple for them to submit their travel expenses and get faster reimbursements.

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5 step solution to complete travel and expense management process

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Top 20 best apps for business travelers

Best business travel apps, 1. travelperk.

App Details:

• Platforms supported : iOS, Android
• Languages supported : English, French, German, Spanish, Italian
• Premium : $99/month + 3% booking fee
• Pro : $299/month + 3% booking fee
• Enterprise : custom

See why so many businesses are choosing TravelPerk

2. tripadvisor.

• Languages supported : 30+ languages supported, including English, Arabic,  French, German, and more 
• Pricing : Free to browse, 5-20% booking fee added automatically when booking

• Languages supported : 10+ languages supported, including English, French, German, Italian, and more
• Pricing : Free to use

4. LoungeBuddy

• Platforms supported : iOS
• Languages supported : English
• Pricing : Free to browse, booking lounge incurs lounge fees (location specific)

• Languages supported : 45+ languages supported,, including English, Arabic, Portuguese, Russian, Romanian, French, and more 
• Pricing : Free to use, 14% service fee (based on booking subtotal)

6. GetYourGuide

• Languages supported : 10+ languages supported, including English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and more 

Best business travel apps for getting around

7. citymapper.

• Languages supported : 10+ languages supported, including English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and more 
• Pricing : Free to use. Citymapper PASS gives the holder access to free public transport, cycles, and cabs for £34.70/week (London only).

8. Google Maps

• Languages supported : 30+ languages supported,, including English, Arabic, Catalan, French, Spanish, and more 

• Languages supported : 10+ languages supported, including English, Arabic, French, German, Japanese, Korean, and more 
• Premium: $9.99/month
• Premium Plus: $13.99/month

10. The right taxi app in the right place

11. Google Translate

• Languages supported : 55+ languages supported, including English, Spanish, Arabic, and more 

Best apps for managing travel spend

12. expensify.

• Pricing : Pricing split into businesses and self-employed/individuals/entrepreneurs. Free plan offers limited functionalities. Paid plans start at $20 per user per month for businesses, or $4.99 month for individuals. 

13. Valuta+

• Languages supported : 15+ languages supported, including English, Arabic,, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, and Spanish

Best virtual wallet apps

14. apple wallet.

• Languages supported : 30+ languages supported, including English, Arabic, Catalan, and more 
• Pricing : Free money transfers and payments using debit card, 3% fee for sending money to friends and family. No fee for credit card payments.

15. Google Pay

• Languages supported : 30+ languages supported, including native languages 
• Pricing : Free debit card friend and family transfers and payments, 2.9% charge if using a credit card.

Best apps for working remotely

16. camcard.

• Platforms supported : iOS, Android, Windows
• Languages supported : English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese
• Pricing : Free version offers limited scans and features ads. Paid version  starts at $8.49/month for unlimited scans, ad-free experience, and multi-device support.

17. Workfrom

• Pricing : Free, pricing specific to chosen workspace.

18. Google Drive

• Languages supported : 60+ languages supported, , including English, Arabic, French, Italian, German, and more 

19. Croissant

• Pricing : Varies depending on location. Check out full pricing details here .

20. ClassPass

• Languages supported : 10+ languages supported, including English, French, German, Japanese, and more 
• 8 credits, $19/month
• 23 credits, $49/month
• 43 credits, $89/month
• 80 credits, $159/month
• 100 credits, $199/month

Sit back and save on business travel today

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How To Keep Track of Business Expenses - 3 Simple Steps (With Examples)

7 minute read

Three Steps to Track Business Expenses

Step 1: Use a Business Account

Step 2: select accounting setup, step 3: manage receipts and records.

“How do I keep track of business expenses?” is a crucial question for any entrepreneur or business owner, especially when starting out as a small business . Proper expense management not only helps in maintaining detailed financial records but also assists in tax return preparation, ensuring compliance, and optimizing business operations for better profitability. 

Here, we outline three steps that will help you efficiently monitor your business expenditures. But first, let’s define what a business expense is.

What Is a Business Expense?

Business expenses are the costs involved in the daily operation of your business. These expenses can be categorized into various types.

Four Categories of Business Expenses

There are four main categories of business expenses that you should keep detailed records of and manage effectively. Here are the five categories and their examples.

• Fixed Expenses : These costs do not change with business performance and are essential for running the business, such as rent, salaries, and insurance.
• Variable Expenses : These vary directly with the level of production or business activity, like raw materials and marketing costs.
• Operational Expenses : Daily operational costs, including utilities, repairs, and office supplies.
• Non-Cash Expenses : Expenses like depreciation and amortization or capitalized expenses, and so on, reflect the gradual loss of value in assets over time without direct cash outflow. For example, depreciation of a company car, the value of which goes down as miles are put on it or amortization of intangible assets like patents, as the patent becomes less relevant as technology changes.

Did You Know? In Japan and other parts of Asia, it's common for business entertainment expenses to include karaoke after formal meetings.

Three Main Benefits of Tracking Business Expenses

There are three main benefits of tracking business expenses properly. Tax deductions, better financial decision-making, and fraud prevention.

Tax Deductions

Tax deductions are the first benefit of tracking business expenses. By maintaining thorough records of expenses, businesses can maximize their eligible tax deductions in the relevant tax year, reducing overall taxable income.

Example of Tax-Deductible Business Expenses

Authorities often scrutinize such business expenses and ensure they are justified as ordinary and necessary for a business purpose to qualify as a tax deduction.

• Travel and Meals : Costs related to business travel and meals with clients are partially deductible and can reduce taxable income. However, such deductions are often scrutinized and must be justified as ordinary and necessary for business operations.
• Office Expenses : Purchases like office supplies and furniture that are necessary for business operations are typically deductible. To qualify, these items must be used solely for business purposes.

Professional Services : Fees for services like accounting, legal advice, or consulting used for business purposes are deductible expenses. These must be directly related to the running of the business.

Better Decision Making

The second benefit of tracking business expenses is to obtain detailed insights into where money is spent and what the outcomes may be. 

Impact of Tracking Business Expenses on Decision-Making

Effective tracking of business expenses provides valuable insights into financial management, enabling strategic adjustments in spending and investment to optimize overall business performance.

• Budget Optimization : Regular expense monitoring helps identify areas where spending can be cut or needs to be increased, allowing for more effective budget forecasting .

Cash Flow Insights : Detailed records provide a clearer picture of how money is moving, aiding in cash flow management .

Financial Security

The third main benefit of tracking expenses is to ensure your business finances are compliant and to prevent fraud. 

Fraud and Compliance

Maintaining rigorous oversight of business expenses is crucial for detecting fraud and ensuring compliance with financial regulations, thus safeguarding the company's assets and reputation.

• Fraud Detection: Regular reviews of expense reports can quickly uncover anomalies or suspicious patterns, enabling timely interventions to prevent potential fraud. For example, if an employee is secretly expensing personal dinners on your business’ expenses, you can look for evidence of this in your well-kept records.

Regulatory Compliance: Accurate and organized records are crucial for compliance with tax laws and accounting standards, helping avoid legal penalties and fines.

Business Expense Definitions Across Regions

In different regions, tax authorities have specific criteria for what constitutes a deductible business expense:

• Hong Kong : The Inland Revenue Department allows deductions for expenses incurred in producing chargeable profits. Entertainment or personal expenses are not deductible.
• Singapore : The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore permits deductions for expenses directly related to the production of income. Non-capital and unreimbursed expenses can be claimed.
• United Kingdom : HM Revenue and Customs specify that expenses must be wholly and exclusively for the purpose of the business to be deductible. This excludes any dual-purpose expenses that might have a personal component.
• United States : The Internal Revenue Service requires that business expenses must be both "ordinary and necessary." Entertainment expenses are no longer deductible, but meals provided to employees on the business premises are 50% deductible.

Recommended: Check out Statrys’ detailed guide on corporate tax rates in Hong Kong and Singapore in 2024.

How to Track Business Expenses

Separating your personal finances from your business transactions is essential for clarity and simplifies accounting processes. It also allows you to deduct business expenses, which is the most common reason people track business expenses. 

Tip : Discover invaluable insights from an insider on choosing a business account .

Ideally, you should choose a business account that offers seamless integration with your accounting software , has competitive fee structures, and has additional benefits such as overdraft facilities and rewards programs.

Examples of Business Accounts:

• Statrys : Statrys is a financial service provider in Hong Kong for businesses looking for efficient expense tracking and financial management. Its integration with Xero is seamless and easier to set up than other options in the market. 
• DBS Business Bank Account : DBS is a major bank in Singapore and a prominent player in Asia. DBS offers business banking solutions that include easy online banking, integration with accounting software like QuickBooks, and specialized services for startups and SMEs.

HSBC Business Bank Account : HSBC is a global bank with a strong presence in Hong Kong, and HSBC offers comprehensive business accounts that include features like multi-currency accounts, extensive ATM network access, and integration capabilities with various accounting software platforms.

Did you know? A business account functions similarly to a business bank account for the end user—the difference is primarily how authorities categorize them. 

Open a Business Account with Statrys

No minimum deposit. No maximum transaction. Support from an account manager.

Choosing the right accounting setup is crucial for any business owner. Modern platforms like QuickBooks and Xero handle not only basic bookkeeping but also offer advanced features such as automatic expense categorization, bank feed synchronization, and integration with other business systems, which streamline operations. These platforms help maintain accurate records throughout the tax year, ensuring that all deductions are maximized.

Note : While there is nothing wrong with using Excel to do one’s accounting manually, it’s highly recommended to use professional software.

When tailoring accounting software to fit your business's specific needs, consider custom features that reflect the nuances of your operations. This could include departmental accounting for businesses with multiple segments, managing multi-currency transactions for international dealings, and integrating with other software systems like CRM platforms or inventory management systems.

In selecting accounting software, prioritize user-friendly interfaces, scalability, and robust features that suit your business size and industry. QuickBooks is known for its ease of use, FreshBooks for invoicing, and Xero for its comprehensive cloud-based capabilities. Automating expense tracking by integrating software with banking and credit card feeds simplifies financial management, ensuring real-time, accurate categorization of transactions.

In today’s digital age, digitizing receipts is advised whenever possible. This approach not only reduces physical clutter but also simplifies and streamlines the process of integrating spending data into accounting software. This also ensures that no financial detail is overlooked.

Expert Insight - Jon Morgan

CEO of Venture Smarter , a business consulting firm that specializes in helping startups and small businesses scale and grow.

“At Venture Smarter, we use online business accounts which come with expense tracking tools and Xero integration. This makes managing finances smooth and efficient.” 

In terms of managing and tracking business expenses, what made you choose your business bank account?

For Venture Smarter, we went with a couple of key features in mind. First, we needed easy online access and mobile banking. This allows our team to make deposits, manage funds, and categorize transactions anywhere, anytime. Second, we opted for an account with built-in expense tracking tools. These features automatically categorize transactions, generate reports, and even connect to some accounting software, such as Xero – a real time-saver.

How do you manage paper receipts in your day-to-day business operations?

We use a dedicated filing system where all receipts are stored in chronological order. This makes it easier to locate a specific receipt when needed. Plus, we make digital copies of all receipts. This not only serves as a backup but also allows us to easily share receipts with our accountant or other team members.

Could you share which accounting software you currently use and why you selected it?

We currently use Xero for our accounting needs because it offers a range of features that are beneficial for our business. It allows us to manage invoices, track expenses, and even handle payroll. Its user-friendly interface makes it easy for our team to use, and it integrates well with other software we use in our business. 

Plus, it offers a lot of reporting features that help us keep a close eye on our financial health. While QuickBooks is a popular choice, we found that Xero was a better fit for our specific needs.

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Daily Management of Receipts and Records

Tools like Expensify or Dext (Receipt Bank) allow you to scan and organize receipts using your smartphone, integrating this information directly with your accounting software. This automation not only saves time but also enhances data accuracy.

However, for those who continue to receive or prefer paper receipts, it’s important to establish a systematic method for their collection and storage. Regularly transferring these details into your digital system will ensure consistency and completeness of financial records.

Analyzing Expenses

Regularly analyzing your expenses is key to effective financial management. Conducting regular audits of your expenses helps to ensure accuracy and can uncover any irregularities or opportunities for cost savings, especially tax-deductible expenses. By reviewing your financial reports and expense patterns, you can make informed decisions that lead to better budgeting and more strategic business planning.

Using the analytics tools provided by your accounting software, assess how your expenses align with your budget and identify trends. For instance, if your analysis reveals a consistent overspending in certain categories, you might consider renegotiating supplier contracts or finding more cost-effective alternatives.

The Importance of Detailed Records of Expenses

Keeping detailed records of all financial transactions is not just a requirement but a necessity for audited businesses. This includes keeping digital copies of receipts and sales commission records, as well as tracking the depreciation of assets. An effective accounting system helps in categorizing expenses and income, aiding in precise financial reporting and expense management. These records help demonstrate compliance with legal standards and are invaluable during an audit or when assessing your company's financial health.

Tip : If you have employees, offer to formally train them on your business's expense policy and the proper procedure for recording and submitting their expenses.

Another reason to keep detailed records is to ensure there is a clear distinction between business expenses and personal expenses. You might accidentally use a personal card for a business expense, so you’ll have to make a reimbursement form for tax purposes, for example. When tax time comes, this expense will be recorded in a compliant manner for tax purposes.

This ensures that your records are beneficial when tax time comes, simplifying the process of preparing tax returns and reducing tax liability. For small business owners, using a separate business bank account is one of the most effective ways to track your business expenses and ensure that all expenses are tax deductible where applicable.

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Tracking business expenses is essential for effective financial management. By setting up a dedicated business account, selecting appropriate accounting software, and managing receipts efficiently, you can maintain a clear overview of your financial health, ensure compliance, and potentially increase profitability.

How Do You Record Daily Business Expenses?

Track all income, business expenses, receipts, invoices, and tax documents. Regularly update and review your financial records.

How Do I Manually Track Business Expenses?

Though this is not recommended for most businesses, it may be appropriate for small, sole-proprietor businesses. You should maintain a ledger or spreadsheet where you record all transactions, categorize business expenses, and keep physical or digital copies of receipts.

How Do I Keep Track of Business Expenses if I’m Self-Employed?

Use a simple accounting software or spreadsheet to track business expenses and related business transactions. Keep a separate business checking account from your personal account and save all receipts related to business activities.

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