Founded in 2008 by CEO David Barrett, Expensify is one of the most popular spend management and expense reporting software companies worldwide. Expensify boasts more than $100 million in recurring revenue and over 10 million users, solidifying it as the premier name in the industry.
While the fintech company has grown substantially since its inception, the question remains: “Is Expensify the right expense management software for my business?” Discover the answer to this question as we analyze the main features, benefits, drawbacks, and possible alternatives in this Expensify review.
Expensify is a robust platform designed to improve and streamline expense tracking, company credit card usage, employee reimbursement, and business travel. In the most modern iteration of its technology, Expensify has taken an AI-centric edge, using the technology to power real-time visibility and automation.
Though Expensify’s reputation speaks for itself, diving deeper into the features in this Expensify review can give you more insight into one of the top expense reporting programs available today. Let’s get started.
SmartScan is the premier feature of Expensify, vaulting it into popularity since its inception. The concept is simple: Scan receipts in the Expensify mobile app or at Expensify.com. Once uploaded, Expensify’s software pulls all of the key data — merchant, date, currency, and amount spent.
Expensify compares the data and matches it to your credit card transaction, and gets filed to the correct expense report in seconds.
Every company conducts its workflows in different ways, and Expensify understands. To boost the ease of use on their platform, you can create customizable workflows for business expenses and reimbursement approval processes. Instead of changing the way you work, Expensify caters to you.
If your employees travel frequently, scheduling flights, trains, and hotels can prove burdensome. Expensify removes the hassle of travel booking and travel expenses. You can book flights, hotels, trains, and rideshares right in the app, as well as log mileage in line with your gas or vehicle stipend.
With everything in one place, Expensify greatly enhances the user experience in travel — one of the most stressful aspects of running a business.
Use the Expensify card or link with your bank account for quick, easy expense approvals, per-diem usage tracking, and reimbursements. It’s certainly one thing that stands out in this Expensify review, whether you have veteran or novice travelers in your organization.
When you use Expensify, integration with other software platforms is essential. Expensify seamlessly allows you to connect your bookkeeping or accounting software, so there’s no need to go from system to system on your own.
Expensify not only integrates with some of the most common accounting systems, but also ERP and HR software, including Xero, NetSuite, QuickBooks or QuickBooks Online, Workday, and more.
Expensify was one of the early adopters of AI technology, introducing its AI virtual assistant all the way back in 2016. Concierge is an AI-powered technology built directly into almost every aspect of Expensify’s software.
Concierge is at the center of each transaction, but also helps with onboarding new users to the platform, as well as customer support. With nearly 10 years of usage, Concierge can put your mind at ease compared to newfangled AI platforms that may still have issues or bugs.
Almost anything you can do on the Expensify website, you can do on the Expensify app, thanks to enhanced functionality. Offering a user-friendly interface, the Expensify app is a valuable expense management tool on the go. Snap and store receipts, get expense approvals, reimburse employees, book travel arrangements, and track employee expenses all in one place.
The Expensify app is available for both Android and iOS.
Expensify already compiles your spending and expenses to draft reports, but if you need a more involved or specialized report, they have you covered. With these reports, you can track spending in real time, gain insights faster, analyze spending by category or employee, and detect unusual spending or fraudulent activity.
As with any software, pricing is an utmost concern for businesses of all sizes. Expensify offers three pricing models, each with their own set of benefits and features. Take a look at our Expensify review of each pricing model and what each one includes.
With so many excellent features, Expensify isn’t short on benefits for your company. Though the benefits may vary based on your plan and company size, here are some of the major advantages of using Expensify.
Writing and submitting expense reports are among the most tedious, hated tasks in the modern workplace. With Expensify, employees can skip the reports and spend their time doing something far more fruitful.
Plenty of Fortune 500 companies use Expensify to track and categorize their spending, but Expensify didn’t forget about the little guy. Designed to automate capturing, approving, and reimbursing expenses, the software eliminates the mundane task of manual entry and spreadsheets, allowing business owners and the self-employed to focus on the core of their operations.
When you capture a receipt with Expensify, the software automatically uploads the amount. However, Expensify takes this idea one step further, offering compatibility in over 160 local currencies. If you offer a travel stipend or corporate card and have workers spread across the globe, multi-currency compatibility is a huge bonus for tracking and expenses.
Even the best business-friendly products — such as employee stipend software — don’t gel with every user, and Expensify is no different. Users report several issues, and while we’re not sure whether it’s user error or with Expensify, these drawbacks are worth mentioning in the spirit of impartiality in an Expensify review.
Offering dozens of features isn’t always as intuitive. As such, some users say that the dashboard and interface have a learning curve. How long it takes a user to manage that learning curve is debatable, but you should definitely consider it when choosing which employees manage your spending and expense accounts.
Despite Concierge and human customer service associates on paid plans, some users have reported that actually talking to a person is sometimes impossible. In addition, customer service works off a script, reiterating solutions that may not have worked instead of offering alternative solutions to problems.
Expensify is the original spend management software, but a little healthy competition is always a boon for the consumer. If you’re not sold on this Expensify review, check out a few of these competitors that have similar offerings.
Hoppier is a global rewards and incentives program that offers digital gift cards to recipients in over 60 countries. While it’s not a spend management platform per se, its e-gift cards enable you to start employee gifting and recognition programs with ease.
The platform allows you to capture receipts and automatically confirm what they correspond to, which makes tracking easy. You can also choose the expiration date for each card and choose from a list of vendors so you know where the money’s being spent.
As an added bonus, any money left on the gift card at expiration goes back into your bank account, giving you a head start on your next gifting or recognition campaign.
If you love what Expensify does, but you’re struggling with the interface or limited functions outside of expense management, Rippling might be the best option.
Rippling offers a broader platform that includes finance and HR functions, negating the need for integrations in an all-in-one solution. The company also has a powerful policy engine for more customized expense policies and automated controls.
The only major drawback is that Rippling is intended for companies with 50 or more employees, making it unsuitable for smaller businesses. Â
Powered by AI, Brex is an Expensify alternative that offers spend management, reimbursements, global credit cards, travel bookings, and bill pay all in one platform.
What separates Brex from Expensify is its scalability. Unlike Expensify and its three-tiered pricing plans, Brex allows users to build a platform based on their own needs through either a full suite of products or a la carte options.
For users who want to cut costs but still enjoy some of Expensify’s pricier features, Brex is an excellent alternative.
With free and paid plans, a comprehensive list of features, and a simple user interface, Expensify is a sound option for expense reporting and spend management. Whether it’s right for you depends on your specific situation, but Expensify is a strong option to streamline many of the mundane, everyday business processes.
Even so, competitors have emerged in the industry that may offer similar products that fit the mold better. Take time to research each option, and with any luck, you’ll be scanning receipts instead of filling out spreadsheets.
Ready to 2x your global engagement at your next event, with Ox stress?
Make Hoppier your unfair advantage today, schedule a demo
Ready to 2x your global engagement at your next event, with Ox stress?
Make Hoppier your unfair advantage today, schedule a demo
Ready to 2x your global engagement at your next event, with Ox stress?
Make Hoppier your unfair advantage today, schedule a demo
Ready to 2x your global engagement at your next event, with Ox stress?
Make Hoppier your unfair advantage today, schedule a demo
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