Expense Management Software
Technology has changed the way we manage our finances. In the past, people used paper and pencil to track their expenses. Today, there are many different expense management software programs available. These programs can help you track your income and expenses, set a budget, and save money.
Expense management software can be a valuable tool for anyone who wants a better handle on their finances. By learning about the different features of these programs, you can find one that best meets your needs. With expense management software, you can take control of your finances and start saving money today.
In this article, we look at both business expense reporting and employee expense reporting.
What are Business Expenses?
Business expenses are the costs that a company incurs to keep the business running. Fixed costs, such as rent and insurance, remain the same regardless of how much the business produces. Variable costs, such as travel, office expenses and materials, will vary from month to month.
A business must carefully manage fixed and variable costs to stay profitable. One way to do this is by negotiating contracts with suppliers to get the best price on materials. By carefully managing their expenses, businesses can stay afloat and thrive in today’s competitive marketplace.
What is Expenses Management Software
Expense management software typically includes features such as expense reporting, expense tracking, and reimbursement. It can help organisations save money by reducing the amount wasted on unnecessary or duplicate expenses.
Expense management software is an excellent way for any small business to manage its expenses effectively. The information these programs provide on where money is spent can help the company improve its processes and make sure they are getting value from every penny.
Quick List – Expenses Management Top Cloud-based solutions
Here is our quick list of the best cloud-based solutions; full details on each one are available in this article:
PLEO – Best For Small Businesses, offers cards, expense recording, and integrates with other software.
Klippa – Helps save time for expenses and set up approvals
Expensify – Free option available
Zoho Expenses – Part of the Zoho applications, including Zoho books
QuickBooks Online – Great choice for self-employed and small businesses
FreshBooks – Great for small businesses to keep track of spending and projects
Wallester – Free business cards available, and expense management
Xero – One of the best accounting solutions with easy to use interface
How does it work?
Expense or spend management software is a cloud-based program that helps businesses keep track of their spending. The software typically includes features for tracking expenses, creating budgets, and generating reports. It can help companies save money by identifying areas where they are overspending.
The software is typically easy to use and can be accessed from any device with an internet connection. As a result, it is an essential tool for any business that wants to manage its finances effectively.
Why do I Need to Manage Expenses?
Small Businesses need to track expenses to stay compliant with government regulations, identify areas where money is wasted, and make better financial decisions. By tracking expenses, businesses can save money by reducing unnecessary spending and better understand how their money is spent.
Many expense management software programs offer expense reimbursement, project management, and budgeting. As a result, expense management software is essential for any business that wants to manage its finances effectively.
Who can benefit from using an Expense Management Solution?
There are many different types of businesses that can benefit from using an expense management solution. Typically, any business that needs to track its expenses can benefit from using the software. It includes small businesses, large businesses, and even nonprofit organisations.
Employees also benefit from reduced paperwork and the ability to submit expenses for reimbursement easily. Additionally, managers can use expense management software to track employee spending and ensure that all expenses are appropriately approved.
How do I choose the Best Expense Management Solution?
When choosing an expense management solution, it is essential to consider your specific needs. Many different expense management software programs are available, so it is crucial to find one that offers the best features.
Some are all-inclusive accounting and expense platforms, while others offer card payment and integrate with other software.
It is essential to consider the ease of use when selecting an expense management solution. The software should be accessible from any device. Additionally, it should offer customer support if you have questions or need help using the software.
Advantages of using expense management software
Below are our top reasons for using expense management software in your business:
Cloud-based
Cloud-based systems have access to software from anywhere with an internet connection. It allows employees to upload expenses and report creation while out and about.
Reduced spending
You can save money by identifying and eliminating unnecessary or duplicate expenses.
Improved compliance
You can stay compliant with government regulations by ensuring that all expenses are documented and approved. All expense receipts are uploaded to the software.
Increased efficiency
You can save time by automating the expenses process and including easier data entry.
Improved Financial decision-making
The business can make better financial decisions by getting a clear picture of where money is spent. There are available expense reports, and the business can see the bigger picture by producing the profit and loss report.
Easier Reimbursement
Employees can easily submit expenses for reimbursement, and managers can track spending to ensure that all expenses are appropriately approved.
Project management
You can track employee expenses for specific projects and compare them to the budget. It helps you see where money is being spent and identify any overages.
Expense Reports
You can generate reports to see where money is being spent clearly. Business owners can use the information to make better financial decisions and identify areas of unnecessary spending.
What are the Disadvantages of using expense management software?
There are a few disadvantages to using expense management software, including:
Potential for errors
There is potential for human error with manual data entry into the software. It can lead to inaccurate reports and incorrect information.
Costs
A monthly cost is associated with setting up and implementing expense management software. Additionally, there may be costs for training employees on how to use the software.
Complicated setup
The initial setup of expense management software can be complicated and time-consuming. Additionally, it is essential to ensure that all employees are adequately trained to use the software to avoid errors.
Overall, expense management software can be a helpful tool for businesses of all sizes. The software can help companies to save money and stay compliant.
Top Business Expenses Management Software products
Below are our top expense-tracking software products; some are specific expense solutions, while others are integrated within accounting software, giving you an all-in-one solution.
Pleo Expense Software
PLEO is an excellent expense management system that can help you keep track of your spending. With Pleo, you can issue company cards and track employee spending in real time. If you are worried about spending, set individual spending limits on the cards.
Pleo also includes a business mileage tracker; enter where the journey started and ended, calculate the mileage and show the amount owed.
Additionally, Pleo offers expense categorisation, bill paying, and integration with accounting software. Pleo is a great business management solution for businesses of all sizes with excellent expense reporting features.
Pleo Pricing
One of the best things about Pleo Spend Management is that they offer a free plan for up to 5 users.
Klippa
Klippa is a cloud-based AI-powered expense tracking system that offers features such as automated expense categorisation, digital scanning, and integration with accounting software.
With Klippa, you can take photos of your expense receipts, and the software automatically categorises them. It is a great time-saving feature that can help you stay organised. Claim mileage using Google Maps integrations and approve expenses with a few clicks.
Klippa also offers matching credit card statements, real-time spending monitoring, spending approval, and customisable expense reporting.
Klippa Pricing
Pricing starts from 3.99 euros per month per user.
Expensify US Only
If you’re looking for a comprehensive and user-friendly expense tracking system, Expensify is the ideal solution. With Expensify, you can track your spending in real-time, submit expenses for reimbursement, and generate detailed reports.
Expensify also offers features such as automatic expense categorisation and paying bills with their card. Expensify offers integrations with popular accounting software, such as QuickBooks, Sage, and Xero. This makes it easy to keep track of your expenses and income in one place.
Expensify Pricing
Expensify has a free plan for individuals, self-employed and small businesses. Paid plans start from $5 per month per user.
Zoho Expense
Zoho Expense is an easy-to-use cloud-based software that helps businesses manage their expenses. It tracks spending, provides insights into spending patterns and detailed expense reports, and helps businesses stay within their budget. The software is available for desktop and mobile devices and integrates with Zoho’s other business software products.
Zoho Expense offers automated expense categorisation, receipt scanning, and integration with their accounting software. Zoho Expense is a powerful tool that can help businesses save money and improve their financial management.
With all of Zoho’s applications, it is an excellent business management platform. As the business grows, you can add additional apps as needed.
Zoho Expense Pricing
Zoho expense tracking software offers a free plan, and pricing starts from £4 per month per active user.
If you want to integrate the expenses with Zoho Books, here is the pricing:
QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks can save you a lot of time and energy when it comes to tracking your expenses. With its built-in GPS mileage tracker, you can automatically calculate mileage costs. QuickBooks can also help you keep track of general expenses like office supplies and equipment. By categorising your expenses, you can see at a glance where your money is going and make adjustments accordingly.
In addition, QuickBooks can help you keep track of receipts and invoices, so you can always have a record of your expenditures. With its features and benefits, QuickBooks is an essential tool for any small business owner who wants to stay on top of their finances.
QuickBooks Pricing
The best price on QuickBooks is 50% off for the first six months.
Pricing starts from £8 for self-employed and £12 for an incorporated company.
FreshBooks
FreshBooks is a cloud-based accounting package that includes expense tracking. With the easy-to-use expense tracking features, you can say goodbye to the headache of managing your finances. One advantage is using the project accounting feature to ensure that spending is not going above the budget for the project.
With the Freshbooks app, you can take a photo of your receipts and add them to your FreshBooks account, which will be categorised for you. FreshBooks can even keep track of your mileage.
FreshBooks Pricing
The Lite plan starts from £11 per month but often runs a 70% discount for the first three months.
Xero
Xero is a cloud-based expense reporting software that allows users to create and track their expenses. The software is designed to be user-friendly and offers various features to help users keep track of their spending. For example, users can create expense reports for specific periods and track their spending by category.
Project management software in Xero can help ensure that all your invoices are accurate and reflect the true cost of your project. As a result, Xero can be a valuable tool for any business that wants to streamline its invoicing process and improve its customer relations.
Xero is used by lots of accounting professionals and their clients.
Xero Pricing
Xero pricing plans start from £12.00 per month, but there is an additional fee for expense tracking of £2.50 and project management of £5.00.
SAP Concur – Comprehensive Spend Management Software
Sap Concur is a configurable expense management solution that offers businesses a convenient way to manage expenses. The solution can be customised to fit the specific needs of each business, and it provides several features that make it easy to track expenses and manage budgets.
Sap Concur also offers an online portal that makes it easy to submit expenses and track progress. The solution is simple to use and offers a variety of features that make it an ideal choice for businesses of all sizes.
Concur Pricing
Pricing varies from business to business, depending on the expense solution required.
Alternatives to Expense Management Software
Excel Templates
At Business Accounting Basics, we offer free Excel templates to assist with creating a simple expense system without additional software. These templates will never be as good as software, but they might be all you need for a start-up or small business.
Out top templates are:
Cash Book
Our cash template is our most popular template. It allows you to set up your income and expense codes to suit the business. Once the transactions are entered from the bank statement, a profit and loss is created, showing how much is spent.
It is simple to use, with full instructions available.
Business Expenses Template
The business employee expense claims template allows you to record all the employee expense claims that you have spent. You can record the mileage and general expenses, get it authorised, and send it to management to request payment.
Mileage Log
When you claim business mileage, you must keep a log of all the business trips. Our simple mileage log will do that for you.
Paper Expense Reports
Some small businesses still prefer to manage expenses in paper form. One of the best ways to do it is to use an analysis book with lots of columns that allow you to break down expenses into different categories.
Employee Expense Management Process
It is essential that clear expense policies are created in the business and that employees know what they can claim.
The expense management process is vital for any organisation to keep track of company spending. The first step is for employees to submit their expenses online or via a mobile app. Once submitted, a manager or finance team member will review the employee expenses.
If everything is in order, the expenses will be authorised, and the employee will be reimbursed. The employee will be asked to provide further documentation or clarification if there are any discrepancies. Ultimately, the expense management process ensures that all company spending is accounted for and authorised.
Expense Tracking Software Conclusion
Small business owners need to be mindful of their expenses to stay profitable. Fortunately, there are a variety of expense management software options available that can help with this process. It is essential that finance teams put a spend management application in place.
This article has looked at six different types of expense management software and outlined the benefits and features. We also explored some alternatives to software-based solutions. Ultimately, the best solution for your small business will depend on your individual needs and budget.
