Pre-lockdown, we had around 50 employees submitting expenses on Expensify. Expensify is now looking ridiculously expensive, as they've doubled the price this year, charge you per registered user (not active user), and lock you in to an annual subscription (or charge double the price if you want monthly billing). We've also found that Expensify doesn't do a great job with UK VAT, and UK tax generally.
Any recommendations for good alternatives? Ideally I want something that's lower cost, but also mature enough to handle a decent volume of claims if/when expense claims go up again.
Xero expenses would be one option but I'm suspicious that (a) it's really only suitable for very small organisations and (b) their support and customer service is frankly terrible.
Does anyone have any experience with WebExpenses, or have any other alternatives to suggest.
Thanks
Replies (11)
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How are expenses currently dealt with? You use expensify but this is a reasonably complex product suited to all types of expense reimbursement.
So, do you refund out of pocket expenses, manage expenses on credit/pre-paid cards, do you reimburse mileage. What do your expense approval processes look like? Line managers, budget holders, limits and thresholds etc.
Lots of options out there but you need to put some flesh on the bones...
There is no best solution only the one most appropriate to your needs (and you may already have it)
Xero expenses or Receipt Bank would be reasonably suited to your needs. For Xero you per pay active user, whereas for Receipt Bank you just pay for a subscription based on features predominantly.
Xero's mileage system doesn't work well - it doesn't handle VAT, for example, so has limited appeal to VAT registered businesses. RB doesn't do mileage at all, but does integrate with TripCatcher - the best (in my opinion) mileage tracking app - you may already be using it via Expensify. TripCatcher will integrate direct with Xero too.
An alternative mileage tracking app, that integrates with Xero, to consider would be MileIQ - it's free to use and has a paid for feature that's bundled with O365. It doesn't though calculate VAT on mileage claims, so would have to be done manually.
I'm really looking forward to hearing more on this thread - we're currently vetting the results for this year's Accounting Excellence Software Awards, so we might be able to throw some light on the subject, but only in a few weeks' time.
Xero steamrollered the category last year, ahead of FreeAgent mobile, Receipt Bank and AutoEntry. Since then AutoEntry has become part of the Sage portfolio, leaving RB as the main independent supplier.
At £2.50/mo, I would suggest experimenting with Xero Expenses with a few staff members to see if it can scale up and meet your requirements.
If mileage is essential, there are a few separate apps for that, including Tripcatcher, which integrates with Xero.
Based on 2019 ratings, you can find out more from our Data and Expense Management software reviews page: https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/reviews/data-and-expense-management
Webexpenses is one of the longest-serving suppliers in the market, so I would expect them to be good on all the compliance issue, but they have been overshadowed in recent years by all the giant platforms moving into their market. The pricing is not very clear on their website, but I think it's certainly worth making an enquiry.
I think you'll find webexpenses overblown for your needs if Expensify is already too much but still worth a shot. It's really great for larger organisations