Unlocking efficiency: The best expense management software

2. Brex

Brex launched in 2017 and helps companies streamline their business spending with customizable expense policies, automated receipt capture, and accounting software integrations.

Why Brex stands out

Their spend platform also offers corporate credit cards and travel and expense management with booking and card-linked expenses.

Where Brex can fall short

If a manager is out of office, you’ll need to manually reassign approvals because employee data isn’t integrated.
Because payments are processed via external systems, Brex can’t always detect whether an expense was paid.
Brex does not automatically reimburse approved expenses through payroll.
No consolidated dashboard that includes costs outside of Brex, including your biggest expenditure, payroll.

Is Brex right for you?

Brex works well if you just need spend management on its own. If you ever want to consolidate your finance, payroll, and HR systems, you’ll be stuck managing integrations and eventually have to migrate to a different platform.

Feature snapshot

Feature	Brex	Rippling
Employee expense submission	Yes — with receipt capture and categorization	Yes — tied to HR/employee data
Automated approvals	Yes — policy-based workflows with customizable rules	Yes — fully automated workflows enforcing company expense policies
Corporate cards	Yes	Yes — native corporate cards connected to payroll and accounting systems
Global expense management	Yes	Yes — 130+ currencies across 185+ countries
T&E management	Limited — third-party reliance	Yes — native
Real-time expense visibility and reporting	Yes	Yes — financial reporting with direct impact on payroll and cash flow
Integrations with accounting software	Yes	Yes — with QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, and more

3. Ramp

Ramp offers a full range of finance tools from corporate cards to procurement. It reduces the administrative burden of manual expense management by automating accounting workflows, vendor payment, and expense tracking.

Why Ramp stands out

Ramp tracks employee spending against policies and reconciles expense reports, while also providing free corporate cards with built-in spend controls.

Where Ramp can fall short

Just like Brex, you’ll need to manually reassign approvals if a manager is OOO.
Card issuances or changes for onboarding, offboarding, or transitions are not automated.
Though their base expense management plan is marketed as free, Ramp's reliance on integrations and manual workarounds can raise admin costs.

Is Ramp right for you?

Choose Ramp for insights into spending patterns, vendor costs, and recurring subscriptions without digging through raw expense data. However, it can be limiting if you need advanced reporting or fully automated workflows, since some expense tasks still require exports and manual approvals.

Feature snapshot

Feature	Ramp	Rippling
Employee expense submission	Yes — with receipt scanning	Yes — tied to HR/employee data
Automated approvals	Yes	Yes — fully automated workflows for expense approvals
Corporate cards	Yes	Yes — native corporate cards connected to payroll and accounting systems
Global expense management	Limited — not as strong for multi-currency business travel	Yes — 130+ currencies across 185+ countries
T&E management	Limited — via Priceline, a third-party provider	Yes
Real-time expense visibility and reporting	Yes	Yes — financial reporting with direct impact on payroll and cash flow
Integrations with accounting software	Yes	Yes — with QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, and more

4. BILL

BILL Spend & Expense (formerly Divvy) offers adjustable spend controls, automated expense categorization, and virtual credit cards, which mitigate fraud and help finance teams manage their budgets.

Why BILL stands out

One of BILL's strengths is its built-in accounts payable workflows, which allow you to manage vendors and pay bills alongside managing employee expenses. It’s especially popular with SMBs that want to eliminate manual data entry by combining expense management tools with bill pay and cash flow management.

Where BILL can fall short

No native integrations with HR software. This means your finance and HR data will be disconnected.
Less robust for global expense management compared to tools like SAP Concur or Rippling.
Limited travel and expense management capabilities.
It can only block a small percentage of out-of-policy spend because its policy engine relies on limited data.

Is BILL right for you?

Use BILL if you want an expense management solution that ties directly into accounts payable. It may not be a fit if you need to streamline any other finance processes beyond AP/AR or spend management, such as headcount planning.

Feature snapshot

Feature	BILL	Rippling
Employee expense submission	Yes — employees can submit expenses	Yes — tied to HR/employee data
Automated approvals	Yes — workflows built into budgets and policy controls	Yes — fully automated workflows for expense approvals
Corporate cards	Yes	Yes — native corporate cards connected to payroll and accounting systems
Global expense management	Limited — not as strong for multi-currency businesses	Yes — 130+ currencies across 185+ countries
T&E management	Limited — best for spend + AP, not booking business travel	Yes
Real-time expense visibility and reporting	Yes	Yes — financial reporting with direct impact on payroll and cash flow
Integrations with accounting software	Yes	Yes — with QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, and more

“The fact that we can link permissions to our Rippling data structure and centralize it around who people report to and what department they're located in a way that's all driven from employee data in an updated system is very helpful, rather than trying to integrate to another expense platform.

Ex. BILL customer

Current Rippling customer

5. Expensify

Expensify is a widely used expense management solution aimed at small and midsize businesses looking for an affordable way to manage expenses, submit expense reports, and reimburse employees.

Why Expensify stands out

Expensify categorizes and codes each receipt, and automatically submits business expenses for approval and reimbursement. It also offers corporate card reconciliation, multi-level approval workflows, and syncs with many accounting software.

Where Expensify can fall short

Unlike Rippling, Expensify does not consolidate your finance and payroll systems.
Limited reporting and customization options.

Is Expensify right for you?

Expensify works well for budget-conscious teams, but as you scale and require complex workflows, its limited customization can become a hurdle.

Feature snapshot

Feature	Expensify	Rippling
Employee expense submission	Yes — employees can submit expenses	Yes — tied to HR/employee data
Automated approvals	Yes — policy-based workflows for expense approvals	Yes — fully automated workflows for expense approvals
Corporate cards	Yes	Yes — native corporate cards connected to payroll and accounting systems
Global expense management	Yes — supports multi-currency expense submission and reimbursement	Yes — 130+ currencies across 185+ countries
T&E management	Yes — via Expensify Travel	Yes — travel booking and travel expense management via Rippling Travel
Real-time expense visibility and reporting	Yes — dashboards and reporting with spending trends	Yes — dashboards and financial reporting directly tied to payroll and cash flow management
Integrations with accounting software	Yes	Yes — with QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, and more

6. QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks Online is mainly a cloud-based accounting solution, but it offers small businesses expense management tools for managing accounting, income, expenses, and payroll.

Why QuickBooks Online stands out

Because the QuickBooks platform already handles financial data, accounts payable, and payroll system integrations, expense management becomes a part of day-to-day bookkeeping rather than a separate workflow.

QuickBooks also lets you connect your bank account so transactions and expenses are automatically tracked on the platform.

Where QuickBooks Online can fall short

QuickBooks doesn’t provide corporate cards, making account reconciliation more complicated.
No travel and expense management features.
Limited workflow automation capabilities.
Lacks advanced functions for sectors like construction or international consulting (e.g., job costing, advanced multi-currency).
QuickBooks Online struggles with heavy data loads and extended transaction histories, especially beyond 25 users or multiple departments.

Is QuickBooks Online right for you?

If you're a small business already using QuickBooks as your accounting software and don’t want to switch to a new expense management platform, it could be the right fit for you.

Feature snapshot

Feature	QuickBooks Online	Rippling
Employee expense submission	Yes — employees can submit expenses	Yes — tied to HR/employee data
Automated approvals	Limited — lacks advanced automated workflows	Yes — fully automated workflows for expense approvals
Corporate cards	No	Yes — native corporate cards connected to payroll and accounting systems
Global expense management	Limited — designed primarily for U.S. expenses	Yes — 130+ currencies across 185+ countries
T&E management	No	Yes
Real-time expense visibility and reporting	Yes	Yes — financial reporting with direct impact on payroll and cash flow
Integrations with accounting software	No — QuickBooks is the accounting system	Yes — with QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, and more

7. SAP Concur

Part of the SAP family, Concur's cloud-based expense management platform has integrations across travel, invoice, and expenses. It also syncs with accounting software like QuickBooks, NetSuite, and SAP’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution.

Why Concur stands out

Concur provides a fully integrated travel expenses platform where employees can book flights, hotels, and cars directly within the system. All transaction data feeds into automated expense reporting, reducing manual expense management.

The system also integrates with accounts payable, payroll, and major accounting systems, making it easier to control costs and manage company funds across multiple regions.

Where Concur can fall short

Concur's interface is unintuitive and time-consuming; even simple reports take multiple clicks and page loads.
Because Concur delivers features in separate modules, users often have to move between different interfaces for travel, expense, and invoicing.
Pricing can be steep for SMBs compared to newer competitors.
Basic ERP integrations exist, but are weaker with modern SaaS tools.
Limited data manipulation and flexibility.
Steep learning curve; may require significant training for employees and admins.

Is SAP Concur right for you?

Concur could be a fit if you're a large organization with heavy travel needs and complex global expense policies, and you wouldn't mind a lengthy implementation timeline. If you’re a small or midsize company looking for low-cost, easy-to-deploy expense management tools, look at other competitors.

Feature snapshot

Feature	SAP Concur	Rippling
Employee expense submission	Yes — with receipt capture and categorization	Yes — tied to HR/employee data
Automated approvals	Yes — policy-based workflows with customizable rules	Yes — fully automated workflows enforcing company expense policies
Corporate cards	Yes	Yes — native corporate cards connected to payroll and accounting systems
Global expense management	Yes	Yes — 130+ currencies across 185+ countries across 185+ countries
T&E management	Yes — integrated	Yes — native travel and expense management
Real-time expense visibility and reporting	Yes — enterprise-level reporting	Yes — financial reporting with direct impact on payroll and cash flow
Integrations with accounting software	Yes — integrates with SAP, Oracle, and other major ERPs	Yes — with QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, and more

8. Airbase

Airbase, now part of Paylocity, consolidates guided procurement, accounts payable automation, expense report management, and corporate cards into a single, user-friendly interface.

Why Airbase stands out

Since its acquisition by Paylocity, Airbase is expanding its reach by tying into payroll and HR, bridging employee and financial data in one workflow.

Where Airbase can fall short

Airbase integrates with certain HR platforms, but only at a basic level, sharing limited data like roles and departments. You'll have to manually enter some information.
No native travel booking features; requires an integration with SAP Concur.

Is Airbase right for you?

Airbase could be a fit if you’re an existing Paylocity customer looking for expense management software that also consolidates accounts payable and corporate cards. If you only need simple expense tracking without the bells and whistles or need end-to-end data sync, look at other providers like Rippling.

Feature snapshot

Feature	Airbase	Rippling
Employee expense submission	Yes — employees can submit expenses with receipt scanning	Yes — tied to HR/employee data with automated receipt scanning
Automated approvals	Yes — configurable approval workflows	Yes — fully automated workflows for expense approvals
Corporate cards	Yes	Yes — native corporate cards connected to payroll and accounting systems
Global expense management	Limited — some international support, but not global-first	Yes — 130+ currencies across 185+ countries
T&E management	Limited — relies on third-party travel providers	Yes — native travel and expense management
Real-time expense visibility and reporting	Yes	Yes — financial reporting with direct impact on payroll and cash flow
Integrations with accounting software	Yes	Yes — with QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, and more

9. Navan

Navan (formerly TripActions) is an all-in-one travel, corporate card, and expense management solution. It offers automated expense categorization, adjustable spend controls, and global reimbursements.

Why Navan stands out

Navan’s biggest strength is its native travel expenses module. Employees can book flights, hotels, and ground transportation directly on the platform, and all transaction data automatically feeds into automated expense reporting.

The platform also supports cash back on Navan-issued corporate cards and offers integrations with top accounting systems for financial reporting and cash flow management.

Where Navan can fall short

No native HR system, so travel policies and expense settings don’t sync automatically with employee data.
Policies only apply to six predefined categories, limiting granular spend control.
Navan allows just two approver roles: Manager and Travel approver. Also, only one approver can be assigned per transaction, preventing multi-level workflows.
Navan integrates well with modern tools but offers less depth when connecting to older ERP systems.
For organizations with heavily customized systems or complex global compliance needs, Navan may feel less flexible than legacy platforms.

Is Navan right for you?

Navan is ideal for organizations with frequent international travel that want fast deployment. If your team travels rarely or you’re a large enterprise with complex expense policies, other providers may be a better fit.

Feature snapshot

Feature	Navan	Rippling
Employee expense submission	Yes — employees can submit expenses via mobile or web	Yes — tied to HR/employee data
Automated approvals	Yes — configurable approval process tied to travel and expense workflows	Yes — fully automated workflows for expense approvals
Corporate cards	Yes — Navan cards with cash back and spending controls	Yes — native corporate cards connected to payroll and accounting systems
Global expense management	Yes — supports multi-currency, but less robust than Rippling	Yes — 130+ currencies across 185+ countries
T&E management	Yes	Yes
Real-time expense visibility and reporting	Yes — dashboards for spending patterns	Yes — financial reporting with direct impact on payroll and cash flow
Integrations with accounting software	Yes	Yes — with QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, and more

10. Zoho Expense

Zoho Expense is a cloud-based solution that appeals to small and mid-size businesses looking for affordable travel and expense management tools.

Why Zoho Expense stands out

Zoho Expense offers multi-currency support, per diem and mileage tracking, and receipt scanning to collect receipts on the go.

Where Zoho Expense can fall short

Zoho doesn’t issue corporate credit cards. This creates extra steps when reconciling accounts and tracking expenses.
Limited travel expense management across all plans.
Reporting features are less customizable than enterprise-focused platforms.

Is Zoho Expense right for you?

Use Zoho Expense if you’re a budget-conscious SMB that needs expense management tools to automate expense reporting.

Feature snapshot

Feature	Zoho Expense	Rippling
Employee expense submission	Yes — employees can submit expenses	Yes — tied to HR/employee data
Automated approvals	Yes — workflows built into budgets and policy controls	Yes — fully automated workflows for expense approvals
Corporate cards	No	Yes — native corporate cards connected to payroll and accounting systems
Global expense management	Limited — multi-currency support only	Yes — 130+ currencies across 185+ countries
T&E management	Limited — supports mileage and per diem, not full business travel booking	Yes
Real-time expense visibility and reporting	Yes	Yes — financial reporting with direct impact on payroll and cash flow
Integrations with accounting software	Yes	Yes — with QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, and more

Track every dollar in real time

Key features to look for in an expense tracking software

When choosing expense management software, focus on features that drive efficiency now and scale later, like customizable spend policies, automated approvals, mobile expense tracking, global support, and spend analytics.

Customized spend policies

A key feature in expense tracking software is customizable spend policies — such as a business expense policy or travel policy — that enforce company rules and cut non-compliant spending. This keeps expenses under control and speeds approvals by flagging out-of-policy items.

With Rippling, you can automate approvals with granular rules using employee data (role, department, level), or transaction data (specific vendor, transaction category, amount).

Automated workflows

Modern expense management software should include automated workflows that reduce manual work and speed up approvals. Once an expense is submitted, workflows can route it for review, send reminders, or take predefined actions.

Instead of waiting to review weeks-old charges at the end of the month, with Rippling, you can build automated workflows that monitor and trigger actions, like sending an alert when a team’s spend spikes.

Automate as much or as little as you want

Global expense management

If your business operates across borders, your expense management software should support multiple currencies, comply with local regulations, and offer multilingual functionality. Without this, you risk errors and inefficiencies that undermine financial decision-making.

Rippling makes global expense management easier by letting you issue payments in any currency, collect receipts in any language, and auto-convert expenses into each user’s local currency.

Spend analytics

A good expense management tool doesn’t just record transaction data; it helps you understand it. Spend analytics in expense management software shows you where and how your organization’s money is spent. These analytics help identify trends, highlight areas for cost reduction, and improve budgeting accuracy.

With clear reports, finance teams can spot misuse like inflated travel, mileage, or card expenses, and use those insights to strengthen planning and strategy.

Benefits of implementing an expense management software

Modern expense management software automates tedious tasks, reduces risk, and gives finance teams real-time control over company spend. Key advantages include:

Streamlined expense reporting

When employee spending is consolidated among the rest of your company’s finances, you have an easier time tracking expenses, setting budgets, and forecasting your company’s future financial needs.

Integrated financial management

Seamless integrations with accounting, payroll, and AP unify data, cut errors, and support stronger decision-making.

Before expense management software	After expense management software
"We're spending days fixing reconciliation errors and manually re-entering payroll."	“All payroll, accounting, and AP data flows into one system, reports reconcile instantly, errors are rare, and month-end close is 7x faster.”

Reduced errors and fraud

Automated workflows and policy-based approvals prevent mistakes, flag unusual activity, and safeguard sensitive financial data.

Which expense management software is best for you?

Based on your company's stage

Company Stage	Employee Count	Best Fit	Key Considerations
Early-Stage Startup	1-25	Ramp, Brex, Expensify, QuickBooks Online	Need affordable or free expense management tools with quick setup. Focus: expense submission, receipt scanning, and simple expense approvals. May outgrow limited global expense management and travel expenses support.
Growth Stage	25-200	Rippling, BILL (Divvy), Navan	Require scalable expense management solutions that connect to payroll systems, accounts payable, and accounting systems. Travel and expense management (Navan) or integrated financial processes (Rippling, BILL) help maximize efficiency as company spend grows.
Established SMB	200-1000	Rippling, Airbase	Need to manage expenses across departments while enforcing company policies and reducing administrative burden. Priorities include financial reporting, policy enforcement, and avoiding hidden fees. Airbase adds AP workflows, while Zoho offers affordable global support.
Enterprise	1000+	Rippling, SAP Concur, Airbase	Require robust global expense management, complex approval processes, and strong compliance features to protect sensitive financial data. Travel expenses (Concur) and full business operations integrations (Rippling, Airbase) support informed financial decisions at scale.

Based on your persona

Persona	Employee Count	Best Fit	Why
The Scrappy Founder	1-25	Ramp, Expensify, QuickBooks Online	Need low-cost expense software to replace spreadsheets. Ramp’s free cards help track business expenses and control spend. Expensify’s $5 plan makes it easy for employees to submit expenses and move quickly through the expense approval process. QuickBooks Online works if you’re already using it for accounting and want built-in expense tracking without adding another tool.
The Finance Manager	25-200	Rippling	At this stage, teams need tools that tie into payroll systems, accounts payable, and accounting systems. Rippling automates the full expense management process and secures sensitive financial data.
The Operations Leader	200-1000	Rippling, Zoho Expense, Airbase	Larger SMBs need stronger policy enforcement and visibility into company spend. Airbase adds AP + cards for better financial reporting. Zoho Expense offers multi-currency expense tracking. Rippling unifies all of the above financial processes with HR and payroll.
The Enterprise CFO	1000+	Rippling, SAP Concur, Airbase	Enterprises need robust global expense management, complex approvals, and compliance. Concur is best for travel expenses and policy depth. Rippling unifies employee data and company policies for efficient, compliant financial decision making. Airbase supports AP consolidation at scale.

Simplify expense management with Rippling

While most expense management tools simplify reimbursements, they rarely connect with the rest of your company’s finance stack.

Rippling is different.

With it, all of your company's spending — expense reimbursements alongside vendor bills, payroll, and corporate cards — are together on one intuitive platform. This gives companies unprecedented control and visibility over spend.

Since Rippling Spend uses employee data to connect finance with the rest of your workforce management processes, expense management policies will automatically apply to new employees as soon as they onboard. If someone changes roles, the system instantly adjusts their expense approvals and spending limits, too.

What's more, if your company has an international presence or eyes global expansion, Rippling’s expense management solution lets you reimburse employees around the world in their local currency — all while reviewing transactions in your native currency.

Connect your people, processes, and payments

FAQs about expense management software

What is the best expense management software?

The "best” depends on your business needs. For startups, tools like Ramp or Expensify offer affordable expense management solutions. For global companies or enterprises with complex travel expenses, SAP Concur or Rippling may be better fits.

Rippling stands out as an all-in-one platform that connects expense software with payroll systems, accounts payable, and accounting systems, providing visibility into all company spending.

What are the four types of expense management?

The four main types of expense management are:

Employee expense management: Covers day-to-day business spend like travel, meals, mileage, and reimbursements submitted by employees.
Travel and entertainment (T&E) management: Focuses on business travel, lodging, flights, and client entertainment expenses, often with travel booking integrations.
Procurement and vendor expense management: Manages spend tied to suppliers, contractors, and recurring vendor payments, ensuring compliance with budgets and contracts.
Corporate card and spend management: Tracks company card transactions in real time, applies spend controls, and reconciles expenses automatically.

What is an expense management system?

An expense management system is software that automates the process of submitting expenses, reviewing expense reports, and reimbursing employees. Many expense applications also provide financial reporting features, such as travel and expense reports.

What are examples of expense management software?

Common examples of expense management software include Rippling, Ramp, Brex, Expensify, QuickBooks Online, SAP Concur, Airbase, Navan, and Zoho Expense. Each offers different strengths — from low-cost expense tracking to global travel and expense management.

Spend management software to stop waste at the source

Disclaimer

Rippling and its affiliates do not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for tax, legal, or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal, and accounting advisors before engaging in any related activities or transactions.

The Rippling Corporate Card is issued by Celtic Bank, Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa®️ U.S.A. Inc. Visa is a trademark owned by Visa International Service Association and used under license.

Rippling Payments, Inc.’s (NMLS No. 1931820) California loans made or arranged pursuant to a California Financing Law License.

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Author

Christina Marfice

Christina is a writer, editor, and content strategist based in Chicago. Having lived and worked in Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru, she’s bringing her expertise on hiring in Latin America to Rippling.

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