Best Expense Management Software

Cost

Most expense management software is very affordable. Software companies offer this product for as little as $5 per month.

A quick warning to buyers about the price of expense management software, cost varies depending on added features. The software some companies offer may be more expensive than competitors because they provide several key features. Depending on the software, these features could be very beneficial or they could be useless.

The cheapest software is not always the best, but neither is the most expensive. Find the company that has the features you need. If you’re looking for only an expense management system, many companies will offer that function for free.

Features

Most companies are starting to use this type of software because of the benefits it adds to a company. Not only can a company save thousands of dollars in taxes, but these tools can save your employees time and ensure that your expenses are tracked and managed correctly. Many of these companies have added features and tools available to help their clients. These features give you access to other money saving tools and software:

• Expense management. This function is all about tracking your company’s expenses and making sure that your company is reimbursing employees for their transactions.
• Accounting software. With the possibility to track all of your expenses, your accountant will have access to all of the tax benefits available. Many expense management software will organize your costs to ensure your accountant can easily read them and identify tax breaks that your company is eligible to receive.
• Budgeting tool. This software comes with budgeting tools which help companies save money on unneeded expenses. Companies can track short-term and recurring expenses through many of these platforms.
• Receipt scanning software. This software allows individuals to take pictures of a receipt and it immediately gets sent to HR or someone in charge of expenses. The individual can be reimbursed, and the payment will be tracked for tax season.
• Mobile accessibility. All expense management software can be accessed through a desktop, but not all of these software systems have a mobile version. Mobile accessibility can be a great tool, especially to track receipts and other expenses on the go.

Additional features: Credit cards, mileage GPS tracker, time clocks, etc. These functions are available through specific companies. In many cases, your company can download all of its software from just a single site.

You can check out our Top Software Companies here.

How to create an expense management policy

Leaders create an expense management policy to clarify what the company will pay for and what it won’t pay for when it comes to things like traveling, business lunches, or incentives.

Although many expenses on work trips can be paid in advance (hotel, rental car, plane ticket, etc.), some expenses will need to be paid during travel (meals, gas, etc.). With the expenses paid during the trip, you can place an expense cap through most of these software systems.

For example, if employees want to be reimbursed for food expenses on a trip, but you don’t want to pay for a $200 meal, clearly state that you will refund them for any meal worth $20, with the employee covering the rest of the cost themselves.

A personal expense management policy differs between businesses and should be thoughtfully considered by the heads of each company. Some software will automatically reimburse employees, or it will categorize expenses by using scanned receipts. You can manually change the settings in each software at any point.

Most employers like to be as detailed as possible when creating an expense management policy to make sure that it is company wide and not change from case to case.

For example: Are you going to pay for the ticket? Will you pay for a plus one? Will you pay if the individual is moving to that location? Will you pay if it is an employee trying to get extra training in a different state? What will you do about forgotten receipts? Do employees fly first class?

Allow all employees to view the policies and the list of reimbursed and unreimbursed items as well as an expense cap and your company’s regulations. This is a form of accountability and allows your entire office to understand the guidelines, as well as voice concerns.