Business expense trackers organize your expenses and highlight where you spend the most money. Consider what features you need and the cost of the software.
Karrin Sehmbi is an editor and content strategist on the small-business team. She has more than fifteen years of editorial experience in the fields of educational publishing, content marketing and medical news. She has also held roles as a teacher and a tutor.
Hillary Crawford writes about small-business software at NerdWallet and is certified in QuickBooks Online and web design. Her previous roles include news writer and associate West Coast editor at Bustle Digital Group, where she helped shape news and tech coverage. She's appeared on Cheddar News and also worked as a policy contributor for GenFKD. Hillary earned a bachelor's degree with high honors in political science from the University of Michigan.
Email: <a href="mailto:hcrawford@nerdwallet.com">hcrawford@nerdwallet.com</a>.
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Karrin Sehmbi is an editor and content strategist on the small-business team. She has more than fifteen years of editorial experience in the fields of educational publishing, content marketing and medical news. She has also held roles as a teacher and a tutor.
Hillary Crawford writes about small-business software at NerdWallet and is certified in QuickBooks Online and web design. Her previous roles include news writer and associate West Coast editor at Bustle Digital Group, where she helped shape news and tech coverage. She's appeared on Cheddar News and also worked as a policy contributor for GenFKD. Hillary earned a bachelor's degree with high honors in political science from the University of Michigan.
Email: <a href="mailto:hcrawford@nerdwallet.com">hcrawford@nerdwallet.com</a>.
NerdWallet's content is
fact-checked for accuracy, timeliness, and relevance by humans.
It undergoes a thorough review process involving writers and editors to ensure
the information is as clear and complete as possible. Learn more by checking
our
Editorial Guidelines.
Content was accurate at the time of publication.
Why trust NerdWallet
250+ small-business products reviewed and rated by our team of experts.
95+ years of combined
experience covering small-business and personal finance.
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business loan selections.
Objective and comprehensive business loans ratings rubric
– learn more about our star ratings.
NerdWallet's small-business loans content, including ratings,
recommendations and reviews, is overseen by a team of writers and
editors who specialize in business lending. Their work has appeared in
The Associated Press, The Washington Post, MarketWatch, Nasdaq,
Entrepreneur, ABC News, MSN and other national and local media outlets.
Each writer and editor follows NerdWallet's strict guidelines for editorial integrity to ensure accuracy and fairness in our coverage.
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You’re our first priority.
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We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with
confidence. And while our site doesn’t feature every company or
financial product available on the market, we’re proud that the guidance
we offer, the information we provide and the tools we create are
objective, independent, straightforward — and free.
So how do we make money? Our partners compensate us. This may influence
which products we review and write about (and where those products
appear on the site), but it in no way affects our recommendations or
advice, which are grounded in thousands of hours of research. Our
partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products
or services. Here is a list of our partners .
Using software to track your expenses can save you time and money and help your employees operate more efficiently. In addition, it provides insight into your business’s spending habits, making your life (and your accountant’s) a whole lot easier come tax season.
Consider business expense trackers that are made specifically for your most common type of spending. For example, if your employees drive a lot for work, narrow your choices to software products that primarily track mileage. Additionally, make sure the tracker integrates with your accounting software to minimize manual data entry.
Here are some of the best business expense trackers for small businesses.
Why trust NerdWallet
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NerdWallet's small-business software content, including ratings, recommendations and reviews, is overseen by a team of writers and editors who specialize in business software, including payroll, accounting and payment processing. Their work has appeared in The Associated Press, The Washington Post, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur, ABC News, Yahoo Finance and other national and local media outlets. Each writer and editor follows NerdWallet's strict guidelines for editorial integrity to ensure accuracy and fairness in our coverage.
Easy to share information with your accountant and to find QuickBooks experts and online resources if needed.
More than 750 app integrations.
Robust feature set includes record-keeping, reporting, invoicing and inventory management, plus a capable mobile app.
Chat and phone support available Monday through Saturday in all plans.
Cons
Expensive compared with the competition.
Frequent price increases and a tendency toward upselling.
Limited account users with each plan.
QuickBooks Online is an industry leader in the accounting field, thanks to its strong feature set, scalability and ability to accommodate small businesses with more complex financial needs. With millions of users worldwide, your accountant will likely be familiar with it.
Easy to share information with your accountant and to find QuickBooks experts and online resources if needed.
More than 750 app integrations.
Robust feature set includes record-keeping, reporting, invoicing and inventory management, plus a capable mobile app.
Chat and phone support available Monday through Saturday in all plans.
Cons
Expensive compared with the competition.
Frequent price increases and a tendency toward upselling.
Limited account users with each plan.
QuickBooks Online is an industry leader in the accounting field, thanks to its strong feature set, scalability and ability to accommodate small businesses with more complex financial needs. With millions of users worldwide, your accountant will likely be familiar with it.
Stay in touch with clients through the FreshBooks mobile app and get notified when invoices have been viewed or become overdue.
Intuitive, customizable invoicing capabilities compete with those of more robust accounting solutions.
Track time and add billable hours to invoices in all plans.
Weekday phone support in all plans.
Cons
Highest-tier Select plan only comes with two users (additional users add $11 per month) and lower-tier plans put limits on billable clients.
Least expensive plan lacks double-entry accounting reports, bank reconciliation and accountant access.
FreshBooks is a simple and affordable option for freelancers and very small businesses that don’t require many users and prioritize being able to operate on the go via mobile app. It’s an especially inexpensive choice for those who can work within lower-tier plans’ billable client limits, and all plans include time tracking.
Stay in touch with clients through the FreshBooks mobile app and get notified when invoices have been viewed or become overdue.
Intuitive, customizable invoicing capabilities compete with those of more robust accounting solutions.
Track time and add billable hours to invoices in all plans.
Weekday phone support in all plans.
Cons
Highest-tier Select plan only comes with two users (additional users add $11 per month) and lower-tier plans put limits on billable clients.
Least expensive plan lacks double-entry accounting reports, bank reconciliation and accountant access.
FreshBooks is a simple and affordable option for freelancers and very small businesses that don’t require many users and prioritize being able to operate on the go via mobile app. It’s an especially inexpensive choice for those who can work within lower-tier plans’ billable client limits, and all plans include time tracking.
Feature set includes an excellent mobile app and suite of reports, capable invoicing features, plus automated bill and receipt capture through Hubdoc.
Simple layout and easy to use.
Cons
No inbound phone customer support (callbacks are available, though).
Entry-level plan limits bills and invoices to five and 20 per month, respectively.
Must subscribe to the highest-tier Established plan to claim expenses.
Xero allows unlimited users at every subscription tier, a valuable feature for businesses where several users may need at least limited access to the system to run reports or analyze performance. Xero also has a customizable analytics dashboard that lets each user rearrange or hide panels.
Feature set includes an excellent mobile app and suite of reports, capable invoicing features, plus automated bill and receipt capture through Hubdoc.
Simple layout and easy to use.
Cons
No inbound phone customer support (callbacks are available, though).
Entry-level plan limits bills and invoices to five and 20 per month, respectively.
Must subscribe to the highest-tier Established plan to claim expenses.
Xero allows unlimited users at every subscription tier, a valuable feature for businesses where several users may need at least limited access to the system to run reports or analyze performance. Xero also has a customizable analytics dashboard that lets each user rearrange or hide panels.
All plans, even the free one, include popular accounting software integrations.
Extensive list of expense management features, many included in the lowest-tier paid plan.
Feature-rich mobile apps for iOS, Android, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch.
Cons
User and receipt scan limits in free plan may necessitate upgrading to a paid plan.
Zoho Expense offers a range of plans for various business sizes and needs. Its highly rated mobile apps for iOS and Android make expense tracking more convenient.
Zoho Expense
Best for Mobile expense tracking app
Starting at
$0
Additional pricing tiers (per user per month): $5, $9, custom.
All plans, even the free one, include popular accounting software integrations.
Extensive list of expense management features, many included in the lowest-tier paid plan.
Feature-rich mobile apps for iOS, Android, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch.
Cons
User and receipt scan limits in free plan may necessitate upgrading to a paid plan.
Zoho Expense offers a range of plans for various business sizes and needs. Its highly rated mobile apps for iOS and Android make expense tracking more convenient.
Expensify
Best for Overall business expense tracker
Starting at
$5/month
Per user. Additional pricing tiers (per user per month): $9 under annual subscription.
Bonus
$0
Pros
Integrates with popular accounting and HR software.
Can scale as your business grows.
Includes many features beyond expense tracking, including invoicing, bill pay and travel management.
Cons
Pricing isn’t fully transparent.
Per-user pricing can add up quickly if you have more than a few employees.
Expensify offers a good all-around option for most small and midsize businesses to track their business expenses. You pay per employee, per month, but discounts are available if you pay annually instead or use Expensify's corporate card. (You can put cash back from that card toward subscription fees as well.) That means your costs could be as low as $0 for each employee — or as much as $36.
Expensify
Best for Overall business expense tracker
Starting at
$5/month
Per user. Additional pricing tiers (per user per month): $9 under annual subscription.
Bonus
$0
Pros
Integrates with popular accounting and HR software.
Can scale as your business grows.
Includes many features beyond expense tracking, including invoicing, bill pay and travel management.
Cons
Pricing isn’t fully transparent.
Per-user pricing can add up quickly if you have more than a few employees.
Expensify offers a good all-around option for most small and midsize businesses to track their business expenses. You pay per employee, per month, but discounts are available if you pay annually instead or use Expensify's corporate card. (You can put cash back from that card toward subscription fees as well.) That means your costs could be as low as $0 for each employee — or as much as $36.
SAP Concur Expense
Best for Business expense tracker for midsize and enterprise businesses
Promotion
15-day free trial
Pros
Automated features make expense capture and reporting quick and easy.
In-depth dashboards and reporting for business spend insights.
Integrates with QuickBooks and Xero.
Cons
Lack of pricing transparency.
SAP Concur Expense is powerful business expense tracking software that can work alongside Concur’s travel and invoice software to give your business a full spend management solution.
SAP Concur Expense
Best for Business expense tracker for midsize and enterprise businesses
Promotion
15-day free trial
Pros
Automated features make expense capture and reporting quick and easy.
In-depth dashboards and reporting for business spend insights.
Integrates with QuickBooks and Xero.
Cons
Lack of pricing transparency.
SAP Concur Expense is powerful business expense tracking software that can work alongside Concur’s travel and invoice software to give your business a full spend management solution.
Our picks for the best business expense trackers
Xero
Best accounting software with business expense tracking features
Price
$20 per month for the Early plan.
$47 per month for the Growing plan.
$80 per month for the Established plan.
Why we picked it: Xero is one of NerdWallet’s top-rated accounting software products. As an integrated accounting solution, Xero includes tools to help your small business track and manage expenses. The expense tracking features include receipt scanning, mileage tracking, a dashboard and reporting capabilities, as well as an employee mobile app for easy mileage tracking and expense report submission. Choosing an all-in-one accounting solution like Xero that includes expense management can help you consolidate software subscriptions and, overall, save money. Read our full Xero Accounting review.
QuickBooks Online
Best accounting software with business expense tracking features
Why we picked it: As one of the most ubiquitous accounting solutions on the market, QuickBooks Online has built well-rounded software that includes invoicing and bill management, project management, payment processing, reporting and mileage and expense tracking. If you’re already using QuickBooks for small-business accounting, then you may not need to look outside the product’s existing features to meet expense tracking needs. The software lets you connect business bank accounts to automatically monitor and categorize expenses, scan and upload receipts and generate reports to monitor spending and expenses. And the mobile app lets you track expenses and miles, among other capabilities, on the move. Read our QuickBooks Online review.
FreshBooks
Best accounting software with business expense tracking features
Price
$21 per month for the Lite plan.
$38 per month for the Plus plan.
$65 per month for the Premium plan.
Custom pricing for the Select plan.
Why we picked it: FreshBooks is NerdWallet’s top pick for accounting software for freelancers and self-employed professionals. If you’re a business of one with simple accounting, billing and expense tracking needs, FreshBooks is a strong and economical choice to manage all of those within a single software solution. The software gives you access to unlimited estimates and invoices, budget and billing management, unlimited time and expense tracking, automated bank imports, mileage tracking, tax reports and more in both the Lite and Plus plans. And if your business hires contractors or has a team of employees, FreshBooks offers plans with a number of additional features, including accounts payable and dedicated customer support. Read our complete FreshBooks review.
Expensify
Best overall business expense tracker
Price
$5 per user per month on an annual subscription for the Collect plan.
$9 per user per month on an annual subscription for the Control plan.
Why we picked it: Expensify’s business expense tracking features include unlimited receipt scanning, the ability to import personal and business credit card transactions and next-day reimbursement on approved expense reports. Expensify integrates with a variety of other applications, such as Uber and Lyft for automatic receipt import, QuickBooks and Xero for accounting, and Zenefits and Gusto for human resources.
To access lower pricing for paid plans, business owners can use Expensify’s business credit card and pay their subscription annually as opposed to monthly. The company offers plans for self-employed entrepreneurs, too.
Why we picked it: Zoho Expense offers a solid set of features in its free plan, including mileage tracking, personal card connections, customer and project tracking and accounting integrations. Upgrading to a paid plan opens a host of additional features related to travel, card spending and management, expense reports, budgets and more. Zoho Expense integrates with other business software products including QuickBooks, Xero, G Suite, Slack and Lyft.
SAP Concur Expense
Best expense tracker for midsize and enterprise businesses
Price
Quote-based.
Why we picked it: As part of SAP’s ecosystem of enterprise-level business software, Concur Expense places an emphasis on data security, policy compliance and automated technology capabilities. That along with the company’s quote-based pricing makes it a likely fit for medium- and enterprise-sized businesses. Concur’s additional software for travel management and invoicing round out a complete spend management solution for businesses.
How do business expense trackers work?
Business expense trackers are typically accessible online or with an app on your mobile device. When you sign up with a provider, you will receive an account and access for a set number of employees.
Sign-up processes differ from product to product, but most trackers require some basic business and banking information. To get the most out of the software, you'll want to link it to a business checking account or business credit card. Your employees will also have the option to link their personal bank accounts so that they can be reimbursed for approved, business-related expenses after submitting receipts.
Business expense trackers organize expenses and highlight where you spend the most money. They can also help you avoid overspending. For instance, you can group all inventory or marketing-related expenses to see if you are maintaining your budget for each line item. These insights make it easier to sustain cash flow.
How to choose a business expense tracker
Most business expense trackers contain at least a couple of the following features. Determine which trackers have the best versions of the features you plan to use most.
Compliance
All expense tracking software must comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), also known as the “Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act.” The purpose of SOX is to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures.
In addition, all business expense tracker apps should provide data storage for up to seven years. This is required by the IRS should an audit request ever be made.
Integrations
Your business expense tracker should integrate with your accounting software for the smooth transfer of information between stakeholders within the company. Most applications will integrate with major providers, such as QuickBooks and Xero.
User interface
If employees will be submitting expenses on behalf of the business, it should be easy for them to get set up and use the software. Finding a platform that is simple and accessible can save you logistical headaches down the road. If you have employees outside of the country, you will want to make sure they can access the software in their local language and submit expenses in their local currency (the software should do the conversion).
Mobile access
Part of being user-friendly means also having a robust mobile app. After all, the best way to track expenses is to input them into your system as soon as possible.
To that end, your app should have receipt image capture technology. This allows you to snap pictures of receipts with your phone and upload them directly to the app. The best business expense trackers have optical character recognition, which automatically converts handwritten or printed text into machine-encoded text, allowing you to glean as much specific information as possible from receipts without manually entering any information.
Analytics
Your business expense tracker should be able to organize expense data to help you better understand where your money is going. For example, you should be able to see the differences in spending week to week, month to month and year to year. You should also be able to create budgets and assign expenses to a specific project to see if you are spending within your means.