Expenses software recommendations

Alternatives to Expensify

Didn't find your answer?

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)

Please login or register to join the discussion.

By Michael Beaver
02nd Nov 2020 14:02

Don't know how it compares, but have you tried ReceiptBank?

Thanks (0)
Replying to michaelbeaver:
avatar
By Rhubarbandcustard
02nd Nov 2020 14:21

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll have a look. I suspect its ability to handle mileage claims might be too limited / clunky for our purposes, but I'll see if it's an option.

Thanks (0)
cd
By Chris Downing
02nd Nov 2020 15:24

Have you seen CakeHR:
https://cake.hr/features/expenses

Thanks (0)
John Toon
By John Toon
03rd Nov 2020 11:34

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)

Thanks (0)
Replying to johnt27:
avatar
By Rhubarbandcustard
03rd Nov 2020 14:26

Mainly refunding out of pocket expenses and reimbursing mileage. Very little in the way of company card payments.
Approval all handled by finance - no complex set up of budget holders etc.

I'd like a system that handles UK VAT and mileage rates well, and one with a decent experience for employees scanning receipts & submitting claims.
If it can handle integration with Xero (including Xero tracking categories) that would be ideal.

On Expensify for legacy reasons and we don't need all its features.

Thanks

Thanks (0)
Replying to Rhubarbandcustard:
John Toon
By John Toon
03rd Nov 2020 15:08

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.

Thanks (1)
John Stokdyk, AccountingWEB head of insight
By John Stokdyk
03rd Nov 2020 15:05

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.

Thanks (0)
avatar
By Rhubarbandcustard
04th Nov 2020 10:58

Thanks all, this has been really helpful. It's good to get views on which the serious & established players are.
It sounds to me then that a sensible shortlist to research and/or trial would be:
Xero + Tripcatcher
ReceiptBank + Tripcatcher
Webexpenses

Thanks (0)
Replying to Rhubarbandcustard:
John Toon
By John Toon
04th Nov 2020 11:10

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

Thanks (0)
Replying to johnt27:
avatar
By Rhubarbandcustard
04th Nov 2020 12:01

Thanks.
Pre-COVID we had a pretty high volume of claims, if we ever got back to that level I don't think WebExpenses would necessarily be overkill. But if most people stay WFH then yes, we don't need anything too high-powered.

Thanks (0)
avatar
By Montrose
04th Nov 2020 16:17

Concur is the Rolls Royce of all the schemes, but probable to big for your needs

Thanks (0)