Managing business expenses can be a time-consuming and frustrating task – from keeping track of receipts and mileage to controlling company spending and approving invoices. Luckily, expense management software is designed to make the whole process easier, faster and more accurate.
Expense management tools help businesses gain real-time visibility, enforce spend policies, reduce manual errors and save valuable time – for finance teams and employees alike.
In this article, we’ll explore different types of expense management tools, from corporate cards and travel platforms to mileage trackers and small business apps. Whether you’re a growing company or a solo entrepreneur, there’s an expense solution (or two) out there to help you make managing spend simpler than ever.
Ready to boost your expense management? Let’s get started.
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Key takeaways:
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What is expense management software?
Expense management software is a category of tools that help businesses track, control and process employee spending and company expenses. From capturing receipts and mileage tracking to corporate card management and automated approvals, there’s a wide range of different solutions out there designed to handle various parts of the expense workflow.
Expense management tools save time, reduce manual errors and improve compliance – in short, they give finance teams better visibility and control over company spending.
Whether you’re looking to simplify expense reporting, enforce spend policies or gain real-time insights into business costs, there’s an expense management tool to fit your needs.
If you’ve yet to explore what expense management software can do for your business, there’s no time like the present!
Corporate cards and spend control
Managing company spending across multiple teams, projects and locations can get messy – but corporate cards and spend control tools help keep everything in check. These platforms offer smart, flexible ways to issue physical and virtual cards whilst giving finance teams real-time visibility into where money is going.
Corporate card tools let you set custom spend limits, track transactions instantly and automate approvals before the money leaves the business. No more mystery charges, out-of-policy expenses or clunky reconciliation processes: these tools give you full control over company spend – without slowing teams down.
1. Pleo
With more than 1,480 five star reviews, Pleo is Europe’s most loved and trusted spend management platform. From daily business expenses to software subscriptions, Pleo gives you instant visibility of all your company spend.
Pleo's analytics dashboard offers detailed reports on spending patterns to help you identify trends, monitor budgets and make informed financial decisions. And with real-time tracking, easy categorisation of expenses and automated expense reporting, your finance team can keep up with expenses as they happen – no need to worry about overspending.
Travel and expense management
Managing corporate travel and expenses can be a hassle – but it doesn’t have to be. Travel and expense management platforms simplify the entire process, from booking trips to tracking costs and processing reimbursements.
Travel and expense management tools centralise bookings, manage itineraries, track expenses on the go, and automate approval workflows. No more juggling spreadsheets, chasing receipts, or manually reviewing claims – these platforms help you stay on top of travel plans and spending in one streamlined system.
2. TravelPerk
Travelperk is the perfect solution for booking corporate travel and managing and reporting travel spend – all in one place. It makes booking flights, hotels, trains and car rentals easy whilst providing travel policy compliance tools and real-time expense tracking.
And here’s the best part: TravelPerk integrates with Pleo to make business trips plain sailing. Use your Pleo card to make your booking on TravelPerk, and automatically reconcile your expenses and invoices in one place – wherever you are.
3. Navan (formerly TripActions)
Navan (formerly TripActions) is a next-generation corporate travel management platform designed for businesses looking for flexibility, automation and real-time control over their corporate travel.
Navan combines a slick, user-friendly experience with tools for managing everything from booking trips for employees and execs to creating company travel programmes and arranging team offsites.
Want more corporate travel management tools? Check out our article: 9 tools for corporate travel management
Invoice and supplier payment management
Keeping track of incoming invoices and paying suppliers on time are essential parts of maintaining healthy cash flow. Traditionally, they’re manual, time-consuming jobs – but that’s where invoice and supplier payment management tools come in.
These platforms streamline the process, helping you manage, approve and pay invoices and suppliers efficiently. Centralise incoming bills, automate approval workflows, keep track of payment deadlines – and never miss a due date again.
4. Tipalti
Tipalti is a great option for businesses that need to handle payments at scale, especially if you’re dealing with suppliers or partners around the world. It takes care of the entire payment process for you and works with all kinds of payment methods, including ACH, wire transfers and PayPal.
It’s built to handle international payments smoothly and even helps you stay on top of tax and compliance requirements.
5. Pleo
Not to toot our own horn again, but Pleo offers an end-to-end invoice management solution to capture, process, approve, pay and bookkeep your invoices, all in one place.
Pleo’s invoice management solution saves you time on tedious tasks, automates approval processes and tracks invoices in real time. The solution simplifies invoice management for everyone – finance teams, bookkeepers and employees alike.
Mileage tracking and vehicle expense management
Tracking mileage and vehicle-related expenses can be a hassle for employees on the move – and a headache for finance teams processing claims. Luckily, mileage tracking and vehicle expense management tools make it easy to log journeys, calculate reimbursements and stay compliant with company policies and tax rules.
Forget about paper logs, guesswork and back-and-forth over mileage claims. These tools automatically track trips, calculate mileage rates and generate expense reports with minimal admin.
6. MileIQ
Classify trips as business or personal with a quick swipe and get accurate mileage reports ready for expense claims or tax reductions. It’s a simple, fuss-free tool that saves time and makes mileage tracking one less thing to worry about.
7. Everlance
Everlance is a smart mileage and expense tracking app designed for people on the go. It automatically records your trips using GPS, so you don't have to worry about logging mileage manually.
You can easily categorise trips, track expenses and store receipts all in one place. Whether you’re a freelancer, contractor or part of a business team, Everlance makes it easy to keep your travel and expenses organised and ready for reimbursement or tax time.
Freelancer and small business tools
For freelancers, sole traders and small business owners, keeping up on expenses can quickly eat into valuable time. That’s why some expense tools are designed specifically to simplify everyday financial admin for them – from tracking receipts and logging expenses to managing invoices and preparing for tax season.
These tools are often lightweight, affordable and built with small teams (or one-person businesses) in mind, making it easy to stay organised without getting bogged down in spreadsheets or complex systems.
8. QuickBooks Self-Employed
QuickBooks Self-Employed is built for freelancers and sole traders who want to stay on top of their business finances without drowning in spreadsheets. It makes it easy to track expenses, log mileage and separate business from personal transactions.
You can snap photos of receipts, send invoices and estimate your tax payments all from the app. It’s a simple, all-in-one tool that keeps your financial admin under control so you can focus on the work that matters.
9. Wave
Wave is a free, easy-to-use financial tool designed for small businesses, freelancers and side hustlers. It covers the essentials like expense tracking, invoicing and basic accounting without the hefty price tag.
Scan receipts, manage cash flow and track business expenses – all in one place. It’s great for people who want a straightforward, no-fuss way to stay organised and keep an eye on their finances.
What to look for in an expense management tool
The tools we’ve covered tackle different parts of the expense management process – from capturing receipts and managing mileage to issuing corporate cards and automating approvals. Together, they can help you save time, reduce manual admin and get better visibility and control over company spending.
When it comes to choosing the right expense management tools for your business, here are a few essentials to keep in mind:
- Ease of use: An expense management solution should make life easier, not harder. Look for solutions with a clean, user-friendly interface that works well for both employees and finance teams – whether it’s for submitting expenses on the go or reviewing approvals.
- Seamless integrations: To keep everything connected, pick tools that integrate smoothly with your existing systems – such as your accounting software, ERP, payroll platform or travel booking tools. This way, you’ll save time and cut down on manual data entry.
- Flexibility and scalability: Your business needs will change as you grow. Choose tools that can scale with you, whether that means managing larger volumes or expenses, adding new teams or handling multi-currency claims and international payments.
- Good value for money: Make sure you’re getting the right mix of features for the price. Compare pricing models, check what’s included and consider the long-term time savings, cost control and reporting benefits the tool could deliver.
At the end of the day, it’s about finding the right combination of tools for your business – but hopefully this list has helped give you a clearer idea of what’s out there and what to look for.
Final thoughts
And there you have it – a list of tools for taking the hassle out of managing business expenses. Whether you’re looking to simplify receipts and reimbursements, keep tighter control over company spending or ditch the spreadsheets for good, there’s a tool (or a couple) out there for you.
As business spending gets more digital and more dynamic, having the right tech in place makes a real difference. Time to build an expense management setup that works smarter – not harder.
