If you’ve been in business or you are just starting out, your sole focus is to succeed. Unfortunately, you cannot do this if you are not keeping on top of your accounts.
While this can be a huge challenge, the best expense tracking service can help you simplify how you keep records of your expenses and income.
Did you know that even the best accounting software cannot help you manage irregular expenses?
The worst thing is that you are likely to misplace or even mix up small expense receipts and end up losing very important documents.
Thankfully, with several apps and software available out there you can manage all your expenses and put your businesses on the path to success.
With most of these services being cloud-based, you can enter the amount and scan the receipt to get the digital image of the receipt.
This way, keeping a copy and filing it becomes much easier. So anytime this document is needed you can easily avail it using your phone.
These services also come with features such as direct reimbursement of employees and automatic generation of invoices to make work easier.
Continue reading to learn about some of the best.
Make sure you go through their features to determine the right ones for you.
1. QuickBooks
Whether you are looking for the most effective or popular accounting software, QuickBooks is the right one.
Unlike others, it comes in different forms to ensure that all your accounting processes are run smoothly.
With its dashboard, you can view all your financial transactions as they happen, keep track, and know what to do at any given time.
You can download all the account details so you don’t have to waste any time using spreadsheets. To make sure that payment does not delay you can track down all the invoices sent to the clients.
Featuring a sales tax tracking feature, you can use your mobile phone or tablet to record all your receipts.
This software also has a Desktop Pro app that allows you to get automatic payment reminders and allows you to send multiple invoices in one email.
Once you install the Desktop Pro you don’t need any internet. If you regularly spend offline then it’s the right service for you.
While it might not be the best if you have a multifaceted company it’s still the best software out there.
You can even use it without the fear of losing information because of the lack of internet. It’s also very powerful in that it has all the features that you need.
QuickBooks Pricing
It currently retails at $299.95
Pros
- It comes with several features
- It’s regularly updated
- More than one user can access it
- It has an offline appeal
Cons
- It’s a little bit complex
- You need to install it in your system
2. Rydoo
Whether it’s real-time analysis or mileage tracking of expenses, Rydoo has it all.
You can integrate it with other software and migrate from one platform to the next with relative ease.
You can also use it to submit expenses, send reports by emails, and even use apps such as Evernote and Dropbox to send information.
While scanning your receipts using the service, you can create expenses by only adding the extra information that you need.
Unlike other tools, it allows you to easily analyze your statements and match your transactions with expenses.
With this app, you’ll avoid paper-based expense reporting and manual input. You can also upload receipts through email and app and extract the most important data depending on categories and projects.
In addition, this app allows you to log mileages and cash advances thus making your work easy. With its web dashboard completely changed, you can now use it as a travel and expense app.
Furthermore, It features easy to use graphics that allows you to add an expense or book a service. You also get to have a list of items so you know what’s to be submitted and what has been submitted.
Apart from its self and easy setup process, it comes with a 14-day trial. It also has a range of controlled, approved, and reported levels.
Rydoo Pricing
- Team Pricing Plan is 6 pounds per month per active user
- Growth Pricing Plan is 8 pounds per month per active user
- You need to contact the website for Enterprise pricing plan
Pros
- It has attractive pricing
- Offers international pricing
Cons
It lacks the accuracy of other software
3. Zoho Expense
If you are looking for a service that changes expense monitoring and transforms it into something better, Zoho Expense is the best.
By automating a range of expense related operations, it allows you to record all your expense transactions within a very short time.
Zoho Expense also allows you to convert all the credit card transactions into expenses once you’ve captured them.
Regardless of the device, you are using, you can record everything and send full reports using your smartphone.
Also, if you want to get rid of all the confusion concerning spending limits and expenditures, this is the ideal tool for you.
Fitted with a hassle-free and functional interface, you’ll get several ways to monitor and enter data.
For example, you can drag and drop the receipts and send them through email or synchronize them with corporate credit cards.
You can also integrate it with Zoho CRM and Zoho Books. This way, you can use all the three features in one account and enjoy a smooth flow of information from one account to another.
The amazing thing about it is that it comes with features that suit managers, employees, and even the finance team.
From working in the office to being on the road, this tool allows you to remain on top of everything when it comes to expenses.
Once you sync your credit card transactions you can always get them wherever you want without the need of entering them afresh.
Zoho Expense Pricing
- Free plan
- The standard plan is $15 per organization per month
Pros
- It has the best customization
- It comes with impressive integration features
- Its subscription options are good
Cons
- Expenses must be submitted with a report which might delay things
4. Concur
Whether you have a small or mid-sized business, Concur is one of the best expense reporting services to use.
As a service, it will help you track expenses, travel bookings, and invoices. The best part is that you can use it wherever you are.
As compared to other tools, you’ll pay based on the number of users and features you are looking for.
With the company providing a number of products for both small and large businesses, if you want to carry out serious tracking it’s a good service.
By using predefined reports and templates, you can automate all your accounts, payable processes, and vendor payments.
It also has an intelligence feature that provides a summary of reports and enables you to develop customized dashboards.
Furthermore, it will provide you with reports from the dashboards after sharing automated alerts with the finance team.
With the app available on Android, iPhone, and Windows phones it’s quite easy to get. The mobile app kit is fitted with a clean and clear interface with a number of category features.
You can, therefore, choose the category you need depending on what features you are looking for and what your company deals with.
Some of the most common categories include Expense reports, Trips expenses, Budgets, Requests, and approvals.
Concur Pricing
- Purchasing Concur SaaS for The first time costs $82.90 per month
- The Certify Charge set up fee is $1500
Pros
- Uploading receipts is very easy
- It’s a mature tracking product
- It makes the booking process easy
- It makes expense reimbursement easy
Cons
Estimating the final pricing can be a bit hard.
5. Shoeboxed
If your business is small that you can’t afford a complicated expense tracking system, this is the right tool for you.
With Shoeboxed you can organize all your receipts, digitize them, and manage all the expenses.
Without carrying any manual data entry, you can track mileage and receipts without losing anything. To extract all the information, you just need to click on the receipts.
Because it allows a one-click mileage tracking, you can send any generated expense reports within a very short time.
You can also transfer these to software such as Xero, Excel, QuickBooks, and Wave Accounting. To ensure that everything is accurate, all the converted information and data must be manually verified.
As one of the best tools, it gathers and arranges your receipts so as to give you an easy time.
After signing up for an account, you’ll receive two prepaid envelopes where you’ll keep all the business cards, important receipts, and other documents.
Once the company has scanned and checked all the data, it will send all the documents back to you.
However, if you don’t receive the envelops, you can still send these through the mail.
You can also use your mobile phone to capture a photo of the receipt and then upload it through the app.
To ensure that the receipts are readable you need to hold your phone camera still. Plus, you can upload your receipt as a digital file or send images as attachments.
Shoeboxed Pricing
- The DIY Pricing plan is free
- Lite pricing plan is $15 per month
- The classic Pricing plan is $39 per month
- The business pricing plan is $69 per month
- Executive Pricing Plan is $125 per month
Pros
- It provides a 30-day free trial
- It has an easier to use user interface
- It provides a Gmail synching option
- It provides a human verification option
Cons
- It has document limit
- If you are already organized it might be a waste of time
6. Wally
Wally is a budgeting app that you don’t necessarily have to link to the bank. Boasting amazing features, it can help you keep track of all your expenses, bank accounts, and cards.
This way, you’ll be informed of how much money you can spend on shopping so you don’t surpass your budget.
Started in 2013, this tool is now available in different countries and over 18 languages. As compared to others, you don’t have to connect it to your bank accounts.
Every time you spend some money you just tap the red plus button on the home screen to add to the transaction.
You can also capture the photo of the screen and display the image on top of the transaction record.
On the home screen, you’ll find your total spending for the day and your most recent transactions. You can also check your upcoming expenses, remaining budget, and total balance.
On its dashboard, you can view all the details of your finances including expenses, total income, and all the remaining balances.
If you choose the basic account, you don’t have to pay for anything. It also has the Gold Option that comes with additional features at price.
If you are in Canada or the USA you can connect it directly to your bank account. But since it does not have access to your bank account you only need to worry about the data that it manages.
With this system, you can automatically convert receipts and then group them together to generate reports whenever you need that.
Wally Pricing
- The basic version is free to use
- Wally Gold Option is £3.29 a month
Pros
- Good range budgeting features
- Safe and sound
- This app looks good and slick
- Good budgeting features
Cons
You have to pay for flexible features
7. Pocketguard
If you’ve reached a point where you are worried about your spending habits then Pocketguard is the right tool for you.
As one of the best expense tracking apps, you can install and use it on Android, Mac OS, and Desktop.
Unlike other tools, it has a mobile version that comes in handy when you are looking for a quick guide at any time of the day.
It allows you to get all your income and expenditure in one place so you can make your budgeting process a bit easier.
Although it has a basic plan with all the features that you need if you are looking for additional features, you must upgrade.
As an easy to use tool, you can download it and go directly to what it offers.
By offering you a one-stop solution for your finances, you can use it to track down your expenses and know the true picture of your financial situation.
Once you’ve kept track of these, you can see how much money you still have to spare so you can manage your finances better.
It also allows you to know how much money to save even as you put a cap on your spending. If you add all these features, managing your finances, spending and expenses become easier.
One thing you’ll love about it is that it’s quite efficient on both Android and Mac iOS editions of the software.
It also has a nice and easy to use interface that you just need to tap and do your things. Setting it up and linking it to your bank account is equally easy.
More so, like most expense tracking services, it comes with a support system and all the information that you need to use it
Pocketguard Pricing
- The basic edition is free
- Pocket Plus model Edition is $3.99 per month
Pros
- It’s very easy to master and start using
- It works great for Mac and Android Phones
- It’s secure and safe
- It comes with an excellent alert system
Cons
- It does not have any phone support
- The desktop experience is not very good
8. Hurdlr
Hurdlr is a unique expense tracking service that aims to boost your tax deductions by making the whole process efficient and automated.
From freelancers to realtors, drivers to hosts, this software helps tracks every expense so know where all your money goes.
With this software, you can calculate your finances and get all your before and after profits and keep track of all your income and expenses in one place.
Although anybody can use it if you have several employees you need to choose the Enterprise Edition App to keep track of all expenses.
It boasts real-time updates and automated workflow tools that will allow you to keep on top of your expenses regardless of who you are.
Apart from the free version, the paid versions are also quite affordable for everybody. But before buying it, make sure you try out the free version to see whether it’s suitable for you.
If you like its features, you can upgrade to the premium version so as to enjoy more features.
While the free version is good for those with side gigs, the best bet is heading straight to the premium version.
With the premium version, you’ll enjoy auto expense tracking, auto mileage tracking, and real-time calculations. You can also go for the pro version.
Just like other expense tracking apps, you should not get a lot of issues when it comes to managing the app. Given that it’s efficient it will make tracking your expenses a very enjoyable experience.
Whether you are a seasoned company professional or novice, it looks great and works so well to give you the best package.
Hurdlr Pricing
- The free version is free
- Premium edition is $5 per month
- Pro Edition is $10 per month
Pros
- It comes with a free version that you can try out
- It’s an excellent app
- It’s easy to use
Cons
The free version does not come with a lot of features
9. Expensify
If you are looking for an expense tracking app that you can use to manage your expenses in real-time, Expensify is the best option.
It will help you minimize all the difficulties in accounting so you can stay safe knowing that all your books of accounts are kept updated.
With this app, you can log all your expenses, scan your receipts, produce reports, and send them to accountants for approval.
It has a unique approach that works so well whether you have small or medium-sized businesses.
Plus, it has been designed in such a way that it can help you keep track of employee’s expenditure.
The best part is that it automates much of the process. This allows you to do less work with better results.
Central to this, it’s been engineered in such a way that it looks good and is quite easy to use.
If you are always on the go, you’ll realize that this app is a very practical solution. Even when you are busy you can keep track of all the expenses that you’ve incurred throughout the day.
With the feature list including GPS and Mileage tracking, corporate card reconciliation, automatic credit card import it can help you do most of the things.
Plus if you are a business user you’ll enjoy its ease of integration with tools such as Xero, QuickBooks, NetSuite, and several others.
One thing that sets it’s a part is its range of customizable settings. This means many things have already been developed for you hence you don’t have to do much of the legwork.
Finally, the way it’s been designed and made is a real bonus. From the moment you sign up, you get an easy to use interface with several user-friendly features.
Expensify Pricing
- Track for Individuals Pricing is £3.99 per month
- Submit for Individuals Pricing is £3.99 per month
- Collect for Groups Pricing is £8 per month
- Control for Groups Pricing is £14 per month
Pros
- It’s very easy to use
- It has great reporting features
- It has a strong feature set
- It automates most tasks
Cons
The more you scale up the more the costs add up
10. Abacus
Abacus is an expense tracking app that gives you the ability to handle several tasks such as managing your finance and reconciling your expenditures.
Featuring an easy to use interface, it has a reimbursement tool that’s part of the expense tracking system for small businesses.
As a young company, its web interface resembles the mobile interface in terms of shape, usability, and font size.
This means switching from the web to the mobile or the mobile to the web becomes easy. Its dashboard includes features such as chart view, expense list, drop-down menus, and search box.
The links to the main screen include expense reports for various trips. You can also see all the people in your team, check out credit cards in your team, and manage your company’s expense policy.
Whether you have iOS or Android you can get the mobile app for the same.
Coming with simple and easy to use features once you respond to the manager’s invitation you can download the app and start using it.
As compared to the iOS app, the Android app cannot provide you with a copy of the receipt. However, you can still get the receipt from the web interface.
If your employees normally submit expense reports they are going to love the app. They can submit expenses without the need of filling a whole report.
With this tool, reimbursement turnaround time is only two days. Also, when it comes to accounting you can easily sync it with software such as QuickBooks, Xero, and Oracle NetSuite.
Further, it has taken several security measures to make sure that the customers’ accounts are safe.
Overall its ease of use, self-set up procedure, and quick direct reimbursement make it one of the best expense tracking tools.
Abacus Pricing
Starter pricing package is $9
Pros
- Contemporary design
- Reasonably priced
- Integrated text feature that quickens reimbursement and reporting process
Cons
You must include bank account
11. Certify
Certify is an expense tracking software that’s not the only cloud-based but also automates the expense tracking system.
This software allows your employees to send receipts from their phones or web and generate all their expense reports.
With this software, you don’t have to remind them to do this or worry about entering the data manually.
Certify mobile app allows you to capture a photo of the receipt, check the details, and then automatically fill the report.
Since it can work offline you can still review your expense data after adding in the receipt even if you don’t have an internet connection on your phone.
In addition to your mobile device, you can scan your receipts using webcam, scanner email, SMS text message or even upload the image from the desktop
It features a Certify RecieptParse that you can use to automatically extract data from the receipt and then include the same inside expense report.
If you are dealing with the recurring expenses, it will not reenter the data twice.
Plus, it has Certify ReportExecutive that eliminates all the spreadsheets and paper receipts by automating the expense reports.
When the expense reports are due it will send emails to employees asking them to review their expenses, report any errors, and send the same for approval.
Given that all the users have full reporting functionalities, you can track airfare, mileage, expense policy violations, and all the other expenses.
While executives can analyze reports to get a picture of the full spending on the company the managers will measure all the spending trends within their units.
Once they submit their reports, employees will be required to provide information about the vendors that they used during the trip.
Certify Pricing
- The Standard Plan is $8 per user per month
- The Professional Plan comes with a monthly service fee
- The Enterprise Plan has an annual fixed pricing
Pros
- Great Autofill features
- Complete end to end process for submissions and reporting
- Easy to use mobile app
- Solid OCR scanning of receipts images
Cons
ACH is an additional cost.
12. ExpensePath
If you are looking for robust expense software that comes with a great support system and good features, ExpensePath is the right option
Whether you are a mere employee or working in the finance office, it makes the time consuming and tedious job of expense reporting easier.
Its aim is to ensure that everyone goes on with their jobs without any issue. Since it’s easy to use and fully featured, you can easily integrate it with other software such as accounting and credit cards.
While it may not have all the good features that other software tools have, it will serve you just well.
If you have a small business or a company you’ll appreciate its flexible pricing model. If there is software that caters to users, then it’s this one.
With its well-designed app for Android and iOS, it allows your staff to capture receipt information wherever they are.
The good thing about ExpensePath is that it gives you a drop-down overview of the company policy. This saves you the frustrations of receiving rejected expense submissions.
In addition, it comes with all the features that administrators, accountants, and managers need.
For instance, it will help administrators to keep a check on the company’s spending and keep track of every transaction that the company does.
Overall it makes the whole expense tracking job as simple and intuitive as possible. Regardless of your level of technology, it will suit you just well.
Another major plus is its customer support. If you are new the company will guide you through the tools and help you customize them based on what you need.
ExpensePath Pricing
It provides a 30-day free trial. After that, the pricing starts at $5 per user per month.
Pros
- Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- It has flexible pricing which suits smaller companies
- Good range of customizations
- Very well supported
Cons
- Less suited for larger businesses
- Manual input during receipt capture
13. Receipt Bank
Receipt Bank is a powerful and well-connected expense tracking app for both small and big businesses.
As compared to other tools it does things slightly differently. It comes with three user roles namely Expense Approver, Basic User, and Administrator.
If you are a basic user, you’ll find that capturing and submitting receipts is very easy. By using your smartphone app, you can take photos of the receipt and then submit it for processing.
Although the captured photos are usually accurate you need to double-check them before submitting them.
Apart from the mobile app you can drag and drop the photos of the receipts, post the photos or even email the same to the synced address.
Plus, you can use your camera to snap several receipts and start processing them as soon as all the pictures are already in place.
Fitted with a clear and simple dashboard, you can view everything taking place. Through the inbox, you’ll get a clear view of the receipts including category, users, and status.
Unlike other software, it’s quite easy to set up and start using. In case of any problem, you can check its excellent searchable knowledge base for more details.
Receipt Bank Pricing
- The Pricing Starts at $10 per one user
- The Pricing is $20 for 5 users
- The pricing for 20 users is $40
Pros
- It has a wide range of useful integrations
- Getting started guide and good help center
- Very easy to take and send reports
- It minuses data entry time
Cons
- No way to flag policy violations
- No mileage tracker
Selecting the Best Expense Tracking Service
1. Ask Why You Need an Expense Tracking Service
Before anything else you need to ask yourself what you want to achieve with the software. By knowing what you want, you’ll easily get the right software.
May be your financial department cannot keep track of all the income and expenditure or your employees are wasting a lot of timekeeping records of their expenses.
You may also have had other benefits hence you are looking for a good system. The most important thing is to make things clear so you can move on to the next step.
2. Outline the Features You Are Looking For
Depending on what you want to achieve make sure you analyze all the options you have. Since features vary from one company to another, know the ones that you need most.
For instance, look at the size of your business and ask yourself whether the software can take care of your company’s needs.
Also, if your employees are ever in the field look for user-friendly software that can make their work easier.
You also need to choose one with an easy to use interface so you can easily introduce it to your workers. Tools that are poorly developed can be quite hard to use.
Further, you need a product that will consistently improve to ensure your business is safe and secure.
3. Consult Your Workers and Other Staff Members
Making any changes in business can be one of the most challenging things to do. Remember the changes will really impact the way you are doing things and affect your workers as well.
Central to this, you can’t just decide alone. You must take others into account.
The best way to go about this is to consult others and work together to choose the right software for your company.
Once you have some of the best software, you should present the list to the management team so they can help you choose the best.
4. Know the technological Requirements
While looking for the best expense tracking tool you also need to consider all the technological requirements.
For example, in case your business works with iOS make sure you look for a tool that’s compatible with the same. If it’s web-based it’s should work well with Safari or Google chrome
The toughest job is getting a tool that’s compatible with all the systems that your company uses. The best tool should also easily integrate with other systems such as accounting software.
Frequently Asked Questions
An expense tracking service is a software that assists companies to keep track of their expenses including business and travel.
If you are using the best expense tracking services you can rest assured that the software you are using is safe.
Since these tools only feature read-only ability they are considered as very safe. This is because no one can access your data and interfere with the same.
Unless someone hacks the server and leaks your data, these apps cannot misuse your data in any way.
If you like, you can choose custom apps that give you authority over access to the server and data.
Once you get the best expense tracking software there are some things that you need to do to track your expenses.
First, you need to check out your money habits and then go through your personal financial statements.
You should also track down your debit and credit card expenses, classify all your expenses and then check out the kind of expenses that you need to reduce or lay off.
These are reports that give an outline of the expenses that are necessary for the running of the business.
For instance, the employees of the company may be required to submit their expense reports so that they can get reimbursement for business-related spending on things such as meals and gas.
Without these reports, the company management may not know the amount of money they should get as a refund.
For all the expenses the workers must have receipts that show whether the expenses were personal, entertainment, or business-related.
The management requires that the reports contain all the details including the amount, the date, place, time, business, and purpose of all the expenses that they made.
This makes it easy for the company to make a refund.
Conclusion
There you have it- Some of the best expense tracking services for small businesses. Since there is a range of them in the market choosing the right one can be a bit hard.
Thankfully by knowing your needs, expense functionality, and price you’ll end up with the right one.
You also need to select a service that’s scalable and can take your business to the next level.
