Running a business means constantly keeping an eye on cash flow. For many founders and financial decision-makers, their day-to-day involves chasing down missing receipts, sorting through spreadsheets, and dealing with slow approvals. This nitty-gritty work takes focus away from crucial, big-picture matters.
Modern expense management software replaces these outdated processes with automation, connected workflows, and greater spend visibility. The following guide compares 10 of the best expense management software platforms available in 2025 and offers practical insights for emerging business leaders looking to take charge of their finances.
Why manual expense management holds teams back
Teams that stick with manual processes always run into the same issues: missing receipts, stalled approvals, delayed reimbursements. They’re perpetually trying to clean up mistakes rather than preventing them.
These inefficiencies make it harder for managers to identify overspending and over time can drain resources that should be directed toward thoughtful, long-term strategising. That’s where expense management platforms come in, bringing features built to stop problems before they start.
Key features to look for in expense management tools
When evaluating expense management platforms, consider choosing a tool that offers some or all of the following capabilities.
Smart corporate cards
Cards linked to automated systems prevent overspending (since you can easily set limits) and reduce the need for manual reimbursement claims. You can typically link these with your bookkeeping software, too, for a quicker and more accurate month-end close.
Automated receipt capture
Mobile receipt capture removes the hassle of collecting paper slips, cuts down on errors, and makes audits easier. Receipts themselves play a bigger role in compliance than many teams realise, which is why understanding their importance is worth a closer look.
Tax authorities in most regions require receipts as formal documentation for deductible business expenses, and missing records can lead to rejected claims and penalties, or can even trigger an audit. In heavily regulated industries, incomplete receipt trails could jeopardise compliance certifications.
Beyond tax purposes, receipts also confirm that expenses follow company policy. A “client entertainment” line item, for instance, can only get verified after reviewing the purchase on the receipt. Automated capture eliminates these risks by logging every transaction to reduce fraudulent claims and maintain a consistent audit record.
Moving from paper-based processes to integrated spend management applications helps businesses reinforce compliance and gives finance leaders confidence that spending is always documented.
Fast and flexible approvals
Look for a platform that improves your approval workflows, helping your team follow expense and reimbursement policies. Ideally, finance teams will be able to adapt the process to match how the operation actually works, rather than forcing everyone into a rigid system.
Real-time visibility into spend
Live dashboards deliver the kind of oversight one would expect from the best expense tracking software, giving finance teams and founders a cost savings tracking tool to spot irregularities before they become problems.
With instant data, leaders can make faster, more informed decisions and avoid surprises at the end of the month.
Seamless integrations with accounting tools
Connecting directly to platforms like Moss removes manual data entry and makes reconciliation and expense reporting easier. This also reduces the risk of errors by ensuring the same numbers appear in every system.
Together, these features form the foundation of modern expense platforms — keeping businesses compliant and freeing up teams to focus on more strategic priorities.
Top 10 expense management software solutions
With so many employee expense management software options out there, it’s not so easy to know which platform fits best, whether that’s simplicity for freelancers or end-to-end automation for scaling businesses.
The following list highlights 10 of the best expense management software solutions in 2025, outlining their advantages and disadvantages.
1. Moss
Moss offers an end-to-end-platform for scaling businesses that need both flexibility and control. Its corporate cards, automated receipt capture, and policy enforcement features cut down on manual errors while providing finance leaders with real-time spending visibility.
Moss scales with your business, covering reimbursements, accounts payable, and spend analytics for growing companies in the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands. It’s a stand-out product for early-stage small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that need dependable automation without overly complex systems.
2. Rydoo
Rydoo simplifies reimbursements and mileage calculation. Employees can submit claims through a mobile app, and finance teams benefit from streamlined approvals that minimise the back and forth.
Though it doesn’t integrate corporate cards, the platform excels for organisations that prioritise fast payments and prefer a lightweight system to replace manual spreadsheets.
3. FreeAgent
FreeAgent focuses on freelancers and very small businesses who want an easy-to-use expense tracker with simple accounting capabilities. Its basic reporting and integration with UK tax compliance tools are the major upsides; the downside is the lack of scalability. Larger teams will outgrow the limited use of automation.
Still, for independent contractors or gig workers who don’t need a full finance stack, the platform is a great value.
4. Klippa
Klippa specialises in OCR–based receipt and invoice processing. It also offers highly accurate data extraction — a huge help for teams that want to avoid manual entry (and reimbursement errors).
It doesn’t provide end-to-end spend management but is still very appealing for finance teams looking for fast, reliable receipt capture that integrates with existing accounting software.
5. Wave
Wave has gained popularity with freelancers because it’s a completely free expense management software for small businesses. It includes simple invoicing, basic receipt scanning, and light reporting.
The system is limited for scaling companies and larger teams, lacking deep automation and elaborate workflows. But it’s still suitable for solo operators and early-stage founders who want to test a digital expense platform without adding overhead.
6. Expensify
Expensify has been a long-time player in the space and works well with companies already using corporate cards.
It covers expense importing, mileage tracking, and policy-based reporting. Larger teams appreciate the integrations, although setup and ongoing management can get complicated for smaller firms. Mid-sized businesses looking for a proven, card-integrated system may find this one ideal.
7. Emburse Professional
Emburse Professional is designed for business travel management, so it’s a good fit for companies with frequent flyers. It automates mileage tracking, scans receipts on the go, and generates detailed reporting customized for trips and expenses.
The platform’s narrow focus, however, limits its use as a general spend platform. But for staff that spend plenty of time outside the office, it reduces friction between employees and finance teams.
8. Salestrip
Salestrip is unique because it connects with Salesforce, linking travel expenses directly to customer and sales data. This helps organisations measure ROI while on the road and in meetings — highly efficient for keeping finance and revenue teams aligned.
Companies with expenses that go beyond client-related travel may find its scope limited.
9. Avaza
Avaza combines project management and expense tracking — making it a go-to option for agencies and service providers that manage billable client work. It also gives teams visibility into both project budgets and internal costs, helping decision-makers coordinate expenses with profitability.
The integrated approach makes it less specialised in expense automation compared to plug-and-play software. But the platform is still ideal for agencies balancing delivery with financial oversight.
10. Dext
Dext is tailored for accountants and finance teams who want fast, accurate records passed straight into their systems. The platform focuses on automating the collection and categorisation of receipts and invoices, which can then flow directly into the bookkeeping system.
While Dext doesn’t manage approvals or reimbursements, it still stands out as a compliance and accounting tool that always keeps financial records audit-ready.
Why Moss is the best expense management software for early-stage SMBs
For SMBs looking to scale, Moss offers more than just digital expense tracking — it provides a unified system for corporate cards, reimbursements, and accounts payable. This means finance teams can automate many processes while still keeping tight oversight.
What sets Moss apart for early-stage SMBs is the flexibility. The platform is modular, so you can adopt the features you need today — like receipt capture and spend analytics — and expand into more advanced tools as you grow. Finance leaders gain real-time insights, faster reimbursements, and error reduction, without being weighed down by overly complex systems.
With Moss, you’re not just managing expenses; you’re building finance operations designed to scale.
Start gaining extensive financial visibility with Moss
Expense management software helps finance teams become more proactive, less reactive. By cutting down on errors, enforcing policies, and creating audit-ready records, the right platform offers peace of mind in every transaction.
Moss takes these benefits further by tying every element of spend management together in one place — corporate cards linked to budgets, reimbursements processed automatically, accounts payable managed within the same workflow, and analytics delivered in real time. Finance teams no longer need to juggle separate tools for each function; Moss creates one continuous system where spending is captured, approved, categorised, and reported without duplication.
Founders and finance leads ready to simplify expense workflows can explore Moss by booking a demo today.
FAQs
Moss, Expensify, and Concur are known for extensive automation. For example, Moss focuses on receipt collection, policy enforcement, and instant reconciliation, offering a broad scope for small and growing teams.
Yes, even small teams benefit from automation, faster approvals, and accurate tracking. Relying on manual systems creates unnecessary delays and errors that can be avoided with digital tools.
Automated receipt capture, real-time spend visibility, and integrations with accounting software have the strongest impact on efficiency. These features reduce manual work and help leaders make informed decisions. For CFOs, expense tools are only one part of a wider technology stack, which includes other essential software for finance teams.
Pricing varies by vendor and feature set. Some options like Wave are free, while others charge per-user fees or monthly subscriptions. Moss offers pricing that reflects the scale and needs of growing companies, ensuring affordability alongside advanced features.
Instead of time-consuming claims for reimbursement of expenses, employees can simply enter their data into their smartphone using the mobile app of an expense management software like Moss. The software offers prefabricated forms so that no information is forgotten. They can also simply take photos of their receipts and upload them. The uploaded content is instantly recognised thanks to OCR scanning.
