The 5 best expense management tools of December 2024

Brex stands out as the premier expense management tool for growing businesses, offering a comprehensive solution that scales with your company from startup to enterprise.

Unlike other expense management tools, Brex is a full-stack spend management platform complete with global corporate cards, expense tracking, travel booking and management, and banking. Their AI-powered solution not only simplifies day-to-day financial operations but also provides valuable insights to optimize spending and drive business growth.

Key features:

• Integrated high-limit business credit cards, reimbursements, travel, bill pay
• Proactive, auto-enforced spend controls at the category, merchant, and transaction level
• Automated expense reviews and approvals with anomaly detection and alerts
• Expense report automation with auto-generated receipts plus auto-populated memos, expense categories, and more
• Accounting automation and direct ERP integration
• Real-time spend tracking via live budgets and spend limits
• Custom reporting and AI-generated insights

Pros:

• User-friendly dashboard and mobile app (Rated 4.9 on the Apple App Store)
• Enhanced security and fraud prevention to protect sensitive data
• Scalability to support your business through every growth stage
• No annual card fees and transparent pricing structure with plans starting at $0
• 24/7 customer support via live chat, email, WhatsApp, Zoom, and phone

Unlike other expense management tools, Brex enables you to easily manage and control all your spend, all in one place. Powered by AI, Brex acts as a tireless virtual assistant, automatically enforcing your expense policy, adding receipts and memos, and categorizing expenses in real time. This expense management automation not only saves countless hours but also minimizes errors, allowing your team to focus on initiatives that drive business growth.

Brex also stands out for its real-time spend tracking via live budgets and spend limits. As transactions occur, they're instantly logged and categorized, providing immediate visibility into company-wide spend. This real-time data empowers you to make informed financial decisions on the fly, rather than waiting for month-end reports. Brex's automated expense reviews and approvals, complete with anomaly detection and alerts, further streamline your financial operations.

The platform's expense report automation generates receipts automatically and pre-populates memos and expense categories, saving countless hours and minimizing errors. Plus, Brex directly syncs with the accounting and other software you already use — QuickBooks, NetSuite, and 1,000s of other essential platforms — for seamless expense reconciliation. And, with custom reporting and AI-generated insights, you can gain deeper understanding of your company's financial health and make data-driven decisions to fuel growth.

For businesses with global aspirations, Brex's international capabilities are unmatched. You can issue cards in multiple currencies, create localized spend limits, and reimburse employees in their local currency in under 3 days — a process that can take weeks with legacy expense management software.

Zoho Expense is an expense reporting software that offers basic expense management functionality.

Key features:

• Mobile app for receipt capture
• Basic expense categorization
• Integration with Zoho Books

Pros:

• Affordable for small teams
• Integrates with the Zoho ecosystem

Cons:

• Limited customization options
• Interface can be cluttered and unintuitive
• May not scale well for rapidly growing businesses

Zoho Expense offers some useful features for small businesses but lacks the advanced capabilities and scalability that growing companies need. Limited customization options can become restrictive as your expense policies evolve. And Zoho Books’ clunky UI often leads to poor employee adoption.

While Zoho offers some AI capabilities, it mostly relies on basic rule-based categorization. Meanwhile, modern solutions like Brex leverage AI to learn from your inputs, automatically categorize expenses, and adapt to your evolving needs over time. Plus, Brex offers customizable categories and subcategories, allowing for granular expense tracking.

FreshBooks is primarily an accounting software that includes some expense management features.

Key features:

• Basic expense tracking and categorization
• Receipt capture through mobile app
• Integration with invoicing features

Pros:

• Simple interface for basic needs
• Affordable for very small businesses
• Invoicing software for solo entrepreneurs

Cons:

• Does not scale for growing businesses
• Glitchy mobile app that does not allow for PDF attachments
• Hard-to-reach customer support; available only Mon-Fri
• Limited integrations with popular accounting and HRIS software

FreshBooks might be okay for freelancers, sole proprietors, and very small businesses. But it falls short for growing companies with complex expense management needs. The lack of advanced features like detailed budgeting tools can become a significant limitation as your business expands.

Another drawback: FreshBooks lacks direct connections with essential accounting software like QuickBooks and NetSuite. And, when you’re not able to automate your flow of data into your ERP, you run the risk of data silos and costly errors as your business scales. Brex, on the other hand, offers deep integrations with all the most popular accounting software, plus HRIS platforms like Gusto and Workday, for efficient management of your finances and operations.

Expensify is a cloud-based expense management platform that offers some automation features.

Key features:

• Receipt scanning and basic expense categorization
• Basic approval processes
• Corporate card integration

Pros:

• Automates some manual tasks
• Integrates with various accounting tools
• Some receipt scanning functionality

Cons:

• Pricing can be complex for larger teams
• Clunky interface
• No customer service via phone
• Slow employee reimbursements

Expensify made waves when it launched in 2008, but the platform has been slow to evolve over the last couple of decades. Their cloud-based expense management platform offers some automation features for small businesses, but lacks key functionality for mid-size and enterprise companies.

With Expensify, companies can scan receipts (with mixed results) and automate expenses to a degree. However, Expensify lacks the real-time expense tracking that fast-moving businesses need for quick decision making. The platform also doesn't allow for customizable spending limits and controls or streamlined bill pay. That’s why companies using Expensify often use separate solutions for managing vendor payments.

International reimbursements have also been a pain point for global companies using Expensify. Lacking true multi-currency support, Expensify’s payments are USD-based, which means businesses can wind up paying exorbitant foreign exchange (FX) fees. Global reimbursements are also slow, leading to frustrated employees.

Companies that have switched from Expensify to Brex have saved on FX fees and headaches with local issuance, billing, and collections in over 20 currencies.

"The thing we like the most about Brex is reimbursements, said Scott Guenther, Finance Lead at 0x. “Our US and international employees get reimbursed in their local currency in days. It's so much faster than Expensify."

Pleo offers company cards with basic expense management features.

Key features:

• Virtual company cards with spending limits
• Basic expense tracking and categorization
• Receipt matching

Pros:

• User-friendly mobile app
• Good for basic employee expenses
• Able to streamline simple expenses for non-US companies

Cons:

• Lacks local billing capabilities
• Does not serve US-based businesses; only available to European companies
• Customer support via phone only available 1am-11am PST

While Pleo can be suitable for small, non-US teams with basic needs, it lacks the advanced features and scalability that growing businesses require. Also, Pleo is only available to the European market, so it’s not a viable option for US-based companies.

When selecting the best expense management tool for your growing business, consider:

Company size and needs

As your business grows, your expense management needs will evolve. Look for a tool that can scale with you, offering features that support both your current and future needs. Think real-time expense tracking, automated invoice capture, and global capabilities.

Budget constraints

Upfront cost is always top-of-mind for growing businesses, but it's even more important to consider the long-term value of your expense management tool. The right platform will help you save on labor and errors by automating tedious expense management tasks and provide insights that drive better financial decisions.

Desired features

Look for real-time expense tracking, automated approval workflows, and robust integrations with your existing accounting software. Also consider platforms that offer proactive, auto-enforced spend controls to prevent out-of-policy expenses before they occur. Brex stands out by offering these features along with virtual and physical corporate cards, automated categorization, and advanced reporting and analytics for data-driven decision-making.

Ease of use and user adoption

Your teams won’t utilize your expense management tool if the user experience is clunky. Choose a platform that’s easy to use with a full-featured mobile app for seamless expense management on the go. The Brex mobile app, for instance, is loved by teams and rated 4.9 on the Apple App Store.

Security

The best expense management tools employ multi-layered security protocols — including encryption — to safeguard sensitive information and flag suspicious activities. Brex goes a step further by providing real-time alerts for unusual spend and corporate cards backed by Mastercard ID Theft Protection™ with 24/7 fraud monitoring, Zero Liability coverage, and audit trails to ensure compliance and security.

Implementing the right expense management tool can save your growing business significant time and money. With Brex, you can control spend before it happens, eliminate wasteful spend, and shift resources in real time to where they can have the biggest impact. Brex also enables you to automate manual processes, gain real-time insights into spend, and streamline approval workflows, freeing up your team to focus on strategic initiatives that drive growth.

As you evaluate your options, look for a solution that meets your current needs and addresses your future needs. Consider factors like global capabilities, integration with your existing software ecosystem, and the ability for customization — think tailored spend limits for any use case and scalable reporting across every spend type.

Plus, Brex makes it easy to start with the products and plan you need, then add on as your business grows. You can begin with just the corporate card and basic expense management, then seamlessly integrate more advanced features like global payments or custom reporting as your needs evolve.

Ready to see how Brex can transform your expense management process and support your future growth? Get a demo to see why Brex is the best expense management tool for today’s fastest-growing companies.