10 best expense management applications: Features, benefits, and pricing

Technology is changing faster than businesses can adapt. The way we’ve done work changes by the day due to innovations from business expense management solutions. 

For example, Microsoft Excel was launched in 1985 as a basic spreadsheet tool. Today,  over 1 million enterprises use Microsoft Excel.¹

Using spreadsheets for business spend management can be inefficient for growing businesses, as it requires manual data entry and analysis. Imagine how much more you can achieve once you automate your expenses. 

In this article, we’ll cover how to choose a business expense management software and the features to look out for. We’ll also take you through the best software in Singapore and why Airwallex might be a good fit for your business.

Overview of business spend management solution

Business spend management is a unified platform that regulates the expenses across all your departments and markets. It uses technology to track every dollar spent through company cards, employee reimbursements, and bill payments. The right spend management system can boost operational efficiency or improve profitability. 

What is an expense management application?

An expense management application or solution is part of business spend management. It is a software-as-service (SaaS) for businesses that lets you track and record corporate expenses submitted by your employees. It has features that let you have greater oversight and control over business expenditure: 

• Physical and virtual employee cards. Monitor company card activity and transactions in real-time, and set limits to better manage budgets or restrict purchases.

• Expense entry and management. Employees can enter expenses and categorise each item under specific labels like travel, client meetings, or office supplies. 

• Receipt claims. Employees can take photos of receipts and upload them directly to the software via a mobile app. 

• Approval workflows. Streamline the expense approval process by automatically routing expense submissions to the right managers.

• Integration capabilities. Expense management software can integrate with accounting software such as Xero or NetSuite for faster reconciliation. 

• Bill pay. Most services offer a simple and convenient way to automatically pay bills, schedule recurring payments, or pay hundreds of invoices in one go.

Let’s say your employees frequently travel for business, and use their company-issued charge card. An expense management software can track every charge on their company-issued card, instantly sending it to their manager for real-time review, approval, and visibility of spending.

Why use an expense management application software?

Spend management automation reduces your administrative workload so you can focus on growing your business. Here are some great reasons to switch to expense management software:

• Drive financial efficiency with expense categorisation. Firms can see expenses by location and department, without having to switch between documents or platforms. This level of organisation supports accurate financial oversight and ensures that resources are used efficiently across locations and divisions. 

• Increase accuracy and accelerate employee reimbursements. With AI tools like OCR technology, employees can upload receipts directly and Airwallex will automatically extract all relevant details, minimising manual entry mistakes. 

• Eliminate out-of-pocket expenses by empowering employees with corporate cards. Some expense management solutions allow you to issue both physical and virtual corporate cards, so trusted employees can directly pay for business travel, software subscriptions, and other small expenses—completely bypassing the need for reimbursement requests.

• Improve compliance and manage risks. Expense management software features multi-level approval workflows, automatically routing expense requests to the designated managers based on your approval policies. Managers can instantly review and approve expenses via mobile, streamlining the approval process. The system also enhances security by flagging policy violations and restricting spending to specific categories, minimising fraud and misuse.

• Streamline expense reconciliation. Expense management software provides a comprehensive, digital view of all your expense claims and card transactions, eliminating the need to sift through countless financial documents. With just a click, you can dive into individual transaction details, quickly spot overspending or misuse, and identify cost-saving opportunities through detailed reports. Seamless integrations with accounting software like Xero also save your team hours of manual reconciliation, making the process more efficient and accurate.

• Manage expenses in multiple currencies. Expense management solutions like Airwallex let you manage domestic and international expenses. This offers a unified view of your global business and eliminates the need to use separate systems for different markets.  

• Scale globally. As your business grows, your expenditure gets more complex. Expense management software can handle more employees and transactions as you grow. 

What is the difference between an accounting software and expense management software?

The difference between accounting software and expense management software lies in the distinct purposes they serve. Accounting software handles a business’s day-to-day accounting needs, such as bookkeeping and recording corporate tax liabilities. It is also used for monthly account reconciliation and managing your accounts payable. 

On the other hand, expense management software makes your financial management easier by centralising all company expenses in one platform. On top of tracking expenses, expense management has tools for managing employee reimbursements and providing detailed insights into spending patterns. 

While accounting software might touch on these areas, expense management software is a more specialised solution designed to enforce company spending policies and manage employee expenses.

10 best expense management applications

Business spend management software eases the administrative workload for businesses. They do this with features like receipt scanning, accounting integrations, approval workflows, expense reports, and bill payments.

By leveraging these tools, businesses can gain better visibility into their spending and improve the accuracy of their expense management processes.

Here are the 10 best expense management software for small businesses and enterprises in Singapore. This list also includes companies primarily known for their accounting software. We’ve explained the key differences between accounting software and expense management tools in the section above. 

Airwallex Global Expense Management

Airwallex’s expense management software is a top choice for global businesses seeking to streamline their entire financial operations.

Offering a comprehensive suite of financial solutions, from receiving payments to spend management, Airwallex's expense management software are designed to work in harmony with our other offerings. Airwallex’s end-to-end financial solution helps businesses around the world collect and hold international customer payments in their Airwallex multi-currency accounts and can facilitate fast and cost-efficient cross-border payments when payouts are needed. 

With 60+ licences and permits globally, Airwallex has wide global coverage and one of Airwallex’s key strengths include fast, cost-effective cross-border payments. The platform supports multiple currencies, allowing businesses to easily track and manage expenses incurred in different markets.

Airwallex’s expense management platform supports your business in 3 ways:

• Expense management for corporate cards. Airwallex virtual cards come with built-in expense management that supports automated workflows. Admins can review and approve expenses in real-time, and all expenses are automatically reconciled via integrations with Xero, QuickBooks, and other accounting software.

• Reimbursements. Employees can easily submit out-of-pocket expense claims via the Airwallex mobile app, which has OCR technology to extract relevant details from receipts.

• Bill payments. Our Bill Pay feature also automates the process of paying overseas suppliers and managing invoices. Airwallex has a wide global payout network that spans 150+ countries and 60+ currencies. This means your overseas employees can get quickly reimbursed for out-of-pocket claims via their local bank account, in their local currency. 

Soon, Airwallex will also have the ability to support expense management across different markets and entities. This means you can easily manage expenses and bills across your overseas offices and departments. Singapore businesses like KeepCup and EU Holidays also enjoy streamlined accounting and expense approvals with Airwallex.

Review: Expensify Spend Management Software 

Expensify saves you hours of manual data entry and expense approval. It has the following features:

• Scan and upload receipts with the Expensify mobile app²

• Like Airwallex, Expensify offers debit cards

• Connect your credit card account for automatic reconciliation against your bank statement. 

Currently, Expensify serves the US, UK and ANZ markets³. They may not have the ability to cater to the unique financial needs of Singaporean businesses. 

Review: Aspire Expense Management

Like Airwallex, Aspire offers an expense management solution that’s integrated with their business account. They offer the following features:

• Integrations with accounting software like Xero and SAP. 

• Multi-level approval flows 

• Budget controls on the Aspire corporate card

One major difference between Aspire vs Airwallex is that Aspire has less coverage than Airwallex for global payments. Airwallex also offers a multi-currency payment gateway, while Aspire does not. 

Airwallex is an end-to-end payments platform for global businesses of all sizes. You reduce the expense and hassle that comes with managing multiple providers, while cutting costs on conversion fees and cross-border payments. 

Review: Volopay Corporate Expense Management Software

Volopay is a financial management platform for businesses, similar to Airwallex and Aspire. They offer the following features:

• Corporate credit and debit cards

• Expense management software to keep track of all card spend. 

• Claims submissions via the Volopay mobile app

• Calculations for mileage claims 

• Integrations with accounting software

SAP Concur is a legacy software that works well with the SAP ecosystem. Its comprehensive toolset meets complex enterprise needs.

On the downside, SAP Concur has a clunky and frustrating user interface that causes delays in claims submission. 

Unlike Airwallex and other fintech counterparts, SAP Concur does not offer corporate cards. This means you need to get your card programme from a different provider and link it to the software.⁴

SAP Concur is a logical choice for enterprise firms that already use SAP to run their business. Small businesses and startups may prefer a more streamlined fintech solution.

Review: Quickbooks Accounting Software

Like Xero and NetSuite, QuickBooks is primarily known as an accounting software. It comes with the following features:

•  Expense tracking tools 

• Receipt capture via the Quickbooks mobile app

• Connect bank and credit card accounts

Quickbooks may be a good solution for small businesses who want their accounting and expense management in one place. On the downside, Quickbooks can have a high learning curve for non-accountants. They also can’t support complex expense management needs like Airwallex can.

If you already use Quickbooks for accounting, Airwallex can easily integrate with Quickbooks and sync your expense data in real-time. This can drastically simplify expense management across multiple entities.

How does an expense management software work?

An expense management system uses mobile apps and web applications to automate and streamline the entire expense process, from submission to reimbursement. 

Step 1: Employee submits the expense report

Employees capture receipts using a mobile app or by forwarding email receipts. The system automatically extracts relevant data from the receipts using OCR technology. Employees then enter any additional information, such as expense category, project, or client, and submit the expense report for approval.

Step 2: Assigned approvers receive and review the expense report

The expense report is routed to the appropriate approver(s) based on predefined approval rules and hierarchies. Approvers receive notifications and can review, approve, or reject expenses directly from their desktop or mobile device. The system enforces company spending policies and flags any potential violations for further review.

Step 3: Expense gets paid or reimbursed

Once an expense report is fully approved, the system automatically initiates reimbursement to the employee. This can be done through direct deposit, payroll integration, or payment to the employee’s bank account. 

Step 4: Accounting reconciliation

The system keeps track of all reimbursements and provides a clear audit trail. Approved expenses and reimbursements are automatically synchronised with the company’s accounting software. 

Step 5: Review expense reports in real-time

Finance teams have real-time visibility into company spending through integrations with accounting software like Xero and Quickbooks. They can monitor expenses by category, department, project, or employee, and easily identify trends or anomalies. Airwallex also supports bank feeds, which means transactions from your business bank account can get fed into your accounting software for automated reconciliation.

By automating these steps, your business can focus on core activities and strategic initiatives that drive growth and profitability. 

How to choose the best expense management software?

Now that you’ve had a look at several spend management software, how do you choose one for your business? Here are some factors to consider:

What are the software’s strongest features, and do these features support my business’s needs?

Take the time to understand the software's strengths and see how well it fits your specific needs. For example, if your company deals with overseas suppliers, you'll want software like Airwallex which is built to handle bulk bill payments in multiple currencies. Aligning software features with your needs helps you gain the most value out of your new solution.

How well can it handle foreign currency expenses and payments?

Multi-currency support is essential for businesses with overseas offices. Make sure the platform can automatically convert foreign currency expenses, apply accurate exchange rates, and manage cross-border reimbursements. Also, check if there are any extra fees or limitations to international transactions.

What integrations do they support? 

Look for expense management software that supports integrations with the accounting software you already use. This speeds up financial reporting by automatically syncing expense data and keeping your financial records accurate.

Can they support other financial services? 

Instead of a standalone expense management software, choose an all-in-one platform like Airwallex that supports other financial services like overseas transfers. This reduces the need to switch between systems and offers a comprehensive view of all business expenses.

What is their pricing model?

Popular pricing models include subscription-based plans, usage-based fees, or tiered plans. Understanding the software’s pricing model helps you avoid unexpected expenses and ensures the solution is cost-effective for your business. 

What level of customer support is available, especially during onboarding?

Implementing a new expense management system is a complex undertaking. Find out what customer support is offered during the onboarding process.  Also, check if they can offer ongoing support like live chat, phone assistance, or a dedicated account manager.

 How to implement expense management software?

The easiest way to implement expense management software is to choose one that can integrate with the accounting software you use. From here, the process should be straightforward and intuitive.

Your accounting or expense management software will have FAQ pages or a customer support team that will explain the integration process. Here’s an example of how to integrate Airwallex with Xero.

Final thoughts

If you need a better and faster way to track your business’s expenses, switch to a spend management software. It automates manual data entry, reduces errors, and provides real-time visibility into spending. Not only do you save man hours; you’ll also get more certainty about where your funds are going.

Airwallex is an excellent choice because it offers comprehensive spend management solutions for growing global companies. Its advanced integration with platforms like Xero, Netsuite, and SAP, combined with features like multi-level approval flows, budget controls, and unlimited Borderless Cards, make it a robust tool for managing expenses. Additionally, Airwallex’s global reach lets your business manage payouts effectively, no matter where your operations are located.

Create an Airwallex account and stay in control of your expenses today.

Related articles about expense management:

• Expense management software

• Employee expense claims simplified

• Open a business account online

Frequently asked questions

1. What is the best way to control spending?

The best way to control business spending is to use an expense management system that tracks and categorises all expenditures. Set clear spending policies and enforce them consistently to ensure compliance. View detailed expense reports regularly to identify areas for cost-saving or detect employee misuse early. 

2. How should I track business expenses?

We recommend using a Business Account with expense management software like Airwallex. This automates data entry, categorises expenses, and provides a mobile app for employee expense submission on-the-go. Regularly review and reconcile these reports to maintain accurate financial records and identify spending trends.

3. Can I track business expenses in Excel?

Yes, you can track business expenses in Excel by creating a detailed spreadsheet with categories for different expense types. However, as your business grows, this method can become time-consuming and prone to errors. In the long term, expense management software like Airwallex is a more efficient option that frees up your employees’ time for more business-critical tasks.

4. How do businesses record expenses?

Businesses record expenses by collecting receipts and invoices, categorising them, and entering the details into accounting systems or spreadsheets. Many businesses use expense management software to automate this process and achieve greater accuracy.

5. What is the 50 20 30 rule?

The 50-20-30 rule is a personal finance budgeting guideline that can be adapted for business budgeting. For instance, 50% of your earnings can cover your company's fixed costs, 30% for business development and innovation, and 20% for savings or emergencies.

Sources

1. https://www.statista.com/statistics/983321/worldwide-office-365-user-numbers-by-country/

2. https://use.expensify.com/expense-reports

3. https://use.expensify.com/resource-center?category=Case%20Studies

4. https://www.concur.com/receipt-management-app

5. https://aspireapp.com/pricing

6. https://www.expensify.com/pricing

7. https://www.concur.com/receipt-management-app

8. https://spenmo.com/pricing

9. https://www.volopay.com/sg/pricing/

10. https://www.netsuite.com.sg/portal/sg/solutions/smallbusiness.shtml

11. https://osome.com/sg/accounting-services-singapore/

12. https://quickbooks.intuit.com/sg/expense-tracker/#pricing

13. https://www.xero.com/sg/pricing-plans/

This publication does not constitute legal, tax, or professional advice from Airwallex nor substitute seeking such advice, and makes no express or implied representations / warranties / guarantees regarding content accuracy, completeness, or currency. If you would like to request an update, feel free to contact us at [[email protected]]. Airwallex (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. (201626561Z) is licensed as a Major Payment Institution and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.