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The Best Expense Management Software for Australian Businesses in 2024
24.01.2024
What is expense management?
Expense management refers to any solution that helps your business track and reconcile business-related expenses. Traditionally, this might have been achieved through petty cash or per diems, but today’s technology affords businesses much more advanced and efficient ways of managing spending including corporate cards and expense management software. These new solutions are designed to simplify the process of paying for and managing business related expenses by reducing employee reimbursements, speeding up the approval process, digitising receipts, and ultimately giving your employees the freedom to pay for what they need, according to pre-approved limits and budgets.
Who offers expense management?
Once upon a time, traditional banks were the main institutions that businesses would turn to to help manage their expenses, primarily through corporate credit card schemes. These solutions, however, are designed for businesses to cover work-related expenses with funds borrowed from the issuing bank and therefore are only available to much larger companies with an established credit history and large annual revenues. To cater to businesses of all sizes wishing to manage their expenses with debit (not credit) a number of new web-based technology or software providers (Zeller, Airwallex, and Volopay to name but a few) have emerged in recent years. These platforms allow businesses to organise and control their spending without the reliance on a bank. While some banks such as Commbank and Westpac have attempted to offer their own equivalent expense management solutions, none of them have been able to compete with these newer tech platforms on pricing or functionality (and it is for this reason that we have not included them in the comparison above).
Use the interactive table below to compare the functionality and pricing of seven of the most popular expense management tools for Australian businesses.
Company Bio
Company Headquarters
Pricing
Physical payment cards
Physical cards that businesses issue to employees to use for their day-to-day work-related expenses.
Virtual payment cards
Virtual cards that businesses issue to employees to use for their day-to-day work-related expenses.
Google Pay and Apple Wallet
The ability to add virtual cards to a mobile wallet.
Integrated transaction account
A transaction account offered by the platform where you can settle and store all your business funds. The benefit of this (as opposed to an external bank account) is that you can quickly see your business's real-time cash balance.
Spending limits
The ability to set transaction limits and budgets to control what and where money can be spent.
Recurring budgets
The ability to set recurring budgets that automatically reset at a specified time (eg. daily, monthly, etc.)
Mobile receipt capturing
The ability to capture a receipt using the camera on a mobile phone and upload it to the expense management system.
Mobile app
The ability to track and manage expenses from a mobile app.
Transaction filtering
The ability to filter transactions by category, status, date, etc.
Xero integration
The ability to sync expenses with Xero's accounting software.
Real-time expense tracking
The ability for expenses to be recorded and visualised as soon as they are incurred.
Automated expense categorisation
The ability for expenses to be automatically categorised by type.
Expense analytics & reports
The ability to generate reports and insights about a business's spending patterns.
International payments
The ability to use cards to pay for expenses outside of Australia.
Consensus
Zeller Expense Management
Company Bio
Zeller is an Australian financial services company that helps businesses accept payments (via EFTPOS, invoicing, and more); store and save funds with transaction and savings accounts; and manage expenses with debit and Corporate Cards.
Company Headquarters
Australia
Pricing
Free for your first 60 days
$9 per month, per card thereafter
$9 per month, per card thereafter
Physical payment cards
Yes
Virtual payment cards
Yes
Google Pay and Apple Wallet
Yes
Integrated transaction account
Yes
Spending limits
Yes
Recurring budgets
Yes
Daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly
Daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly
Mobile receipt capturing
Yes
Mobile app
Yes
Transaction filtering
Yes
Xero integration
Yes
Real-time expense tracking
Yes
Automated expense categorisation
Yes
Expense analytics & reports
Yes
International payments
Yes
Consensus
Zeller Corporate Cards strike the right balance between simplicity, functionality, and price. By allowing businesses to accept payments, store funds, and then spend them all within the one dashboard – you know exactly where your money is coming from and going at all times, for the simple fee of $9 per month (or try them free for your first 60 days.)
Weel Expense Management
Weel is an Australian spend management tool that helps businesses issue virtual corporate cards, control spending and automate expense reporting.
Australia
$119, $340 or $2025 per month
Tiered monthly subscription
Tiered monthly subscription
Physical cards that businesses issue to employees to use for their day-to-day work-related expenses.
No
Virtual cards that businesses issue to employees to use for their day-to-day work-related expenses.
Yes
The ability to add virtual cards to a mobile wallet.
Yes
A transaction account offered by the platform where you can settle and store all your business funds. The benefit of this (as opposed to an external bank account) is that you can quickly see your business's real-time cash balance.
No
The ability to set transaction limits and budgets to control what and where money can be spent.
Yes
The ability to set recurring budgets that automatically reset at a specified time (eg. daily, monthly, etc.)
Yes
Weekly, monthly, annual or one-time
Weekly, monthly, annual or one-time
The ability to capture a receipt using the camera on a mobile phone and upload it to the expense management system.
Yes
The ability to track and manage expenses from a mobile app.
Yes
The ability to filter transactions by category, status, date, etc.
Yes
The ability to sync expenses with Xero's accounting software.
Yes
The ability for expenses to be recorded and visualised as soon as they are incurred.
Yes
The ability for expenses to be automatically categorised by type.
Yes
The ability to generate reports and insights about a business's spending patterns.
No
The ability to use cards to pay for expenses outside of Australia.
Yes
Weel is a good stand-alone expense management solution, however it cannot provide your business's real-time cash position and physical cards aren't yet available. It’s also not ideal for small businesses that require less than 5 cards, with the first subscription tier starting at $119 for 5 cards.
Bdugetly Expense Management
Budgetly is an Australian-based automated expense accounting platform. It helps users go paperless and capture expenses.
Australia
$89 or $240 per month
Tiered monthly subscription
Tiered monthly subscription
Physical cards that businesses issue to employees to use for their day-to-day work-related expenses.
Yes
Virtual cards that businesses issue to employees to use for their day-to-day work-related expenses.
Yes
The ability to add virtual cards to a mobile wallet.
Yes
A transaction account offered by the platform where you can settle and store all your business funds. The benefit of this (as opposed to an external bank account) is that you can quickly see your business's real-time cash balance.
No
The ability to set transaction limits and budgets to control what and where money can be spent.
Yes
The ability to set recurring budgets that automatically reset at a specified time (eg. daily, monthly, etc.)
Yes
Daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly
Daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly
The ability to capture a receipt using the camera on a mobile phone and upload it to the expense management system.
Yes
The ability to track and manage expenses from a mobile app.
Yes
The ability to filter transactions by category, status, date, etc.
Yes
The ability to sync expenses with Xero's accounting software.
Yes
The ability for expenses to be recorded and visualised as soon as they are incurred.
Yes
The ability for expenses to be automatically categorised by type.
Yes
The ability to generate reports and insights about a business's spending patterns.
No
The ability to use cards to pay for expenses outside of Australia.
Yes
Budgetly has an overly complicated and pricey fee structure. On top of the monthly subscription fee (outlined in the table) – each card incurs an issuing fee of $3 for virtual cards and $7 for physical cards, plus postage. In addition, every declined transaction will cost you $1.00.
Crunchr Expense Management
Crunchr is an Australian company that lets you capture, store, search and export receipts through a mobile app.
Australia
$6.99 per month
Monthly subscription
Monthly subscription
Physical cards that businesses issue to employees to use for their day-to-day work-related expenses.
No
Virtual cards that businesses issue to employees to use for their day-to-day work-related expenses.
No
The ability to add virtual cards to a mobile wallet.
No
A transaction account offered by the platform where you can settle and store all your business funds. The benefit of this (as opposed to an external bank account) is that you can quickly see your business's real-time cash balance.
No
The ability to set transaction limits and budgets to control what and where money can be spent.
No
The ability to set recurring budgets that automatically reset at a specified time (eg. daily, monthly, etc.)
No
The ability to capture a receipt using the camera on a mobile phone and upload it to the expense management system.
Yes
The ability to track and manage expenses from a mobile app.
Yes
The ability to filter transactions by category, status, date, etc.
No
The ability to sync expenses with Xero's accounting software.
Yes
The ability for expenses to be recorded and visualised as soon as they are incurred.
No
The ability for expenses to be automatically categorised by type.
No
The ability to generate reports and insights about a business's spending patterns.
No
The ability to use cards to pay for expenses outside of Australia.
No
While Crunchr takes the manual labour out of entering receipt information, it offers very little more in terms of expense management functionality. It does not provide a payment solution for employees or a way to track or manage transactions in real time.
Airwallex Expense Management
Airwallex is a global payments and financial platform that offers cross-border payment solutions enabling businesses to conduct international transactions, manage multiple currencies, and streamline financial operations.
Singapore
$14 per card per month
Physical cards that businesses issue to employees to use for their day-to-day work-related expenses.
Yes
Virtual cards that businesses issue to employees to use for their day-to-day work-related expenses.
Yes
The ability to add virtual cards to a mobile wallet.
Yes
A transaction account offered by the platform where you can settle and store all your business funds. The benefit of this (as opposed to an external bank account) is that you can quickly see your business's real-time cash balance.
Yes
The ability to set transaction limits and budgets to control what and where money can be spent.
Yes
The ability to set recurring budgets that automatically reset at a specified time (eg. daily, monthly, etc.)
Yes
Daily, monthly
Daily, monthly
The ability to capture a receipt using the camera on a mobile phone and upload it to the expense management system.
Yes
The ability to track and manage expenses from a mobile app.
Yes
The ability to filter transactions by category, status, date, etc.
Yes
The ability to sync expenses with Xero's accounting software.
Yes
The ability for expenses to be recorded and visualised as soon as they are incurred.
Yes
The ability for expenses to be automatically categorised by type.
Yes
The ability to generate reports and insights about a business's spending patterns.
Yes
The ability to use cards to pay for expenses outside of Australia.
Yes
While Airwallex is a good solution for international companies that work with multiple currencies, it may be over complicated for many Australian businesses that are looking for a simple expense management solution without the steep learning curve.
Expensify Expense Management
Expensify is a US-based platform that helps companies manage spending through receipt scanning and expense management, bill paying and travel booking services.
United States
$14 or $30 per user, per month
* Features only available for businesses with a US bank account.
* Features only available for businesses with a US bank account.
Physical cards that businesses issue to employees to use for their day-to-day work-related expenses.
No*
Virtual cards that businesses issue to employees to use for their day-to-day work-related expenses.
No*
The ability to add virtual cards to a mobile wallet.
No*
A transaction account offered by the platform where you can settle and store all your business funds. The benefit of this (as opposed to an external bank account) is that you can quickly see your business's real-time cash balance.
No
The ability to set transaction limits and budgets to control what and where money can be spent.
No*
The ability to set recurring budgets that automatically reset at a specified time (eg. daily, monthly, etc.)
No*
The ability to capture a receipt using the camera on a mobile phone and upload it to the expense management system.
Yes
The ability to track and manage expenses from a mobile app.
Yes
The ability to filter transactions by category, status, date, etc.
Yes
The ability to sync expenses with Xero's accounting software.
Yes
The ability for expenses to be recorded and visualised as soon as they are incurred.
Yes
The ability for expenses to be automatically categorised by type.
Yes
The ability to generate reports and insights about a business's spending patterns.
Yes
The ability to use cards to pay for expenses outside of Australia.
No
The Expensify Card and its related features are not currently available for customers using non-US banks. Additionally, Expensify only manages expenses (it doesn’t allow you to accept payments or store funds), so therefore cannot provide your business's real-time cash position.
Volopay Expense Management
Volopay is a Singapore-based company offering virtual business accounts, corporate cards, credit, money transfers, expense reimbursements, and automated accounting.
Singapore
$75 - $1,200 per month
Pricing calculated per transaction
Pricing calculated per transaction
Physical cards that businesses issue to employees to use for their day-to-day work-related expenses.
Yes
Virtual cards that businesses issue to employees to use for their day-to-day work-related expenses.
Yes
The ability to add virtual cards to a mobile wallet.
Yes
A transaction account offered by the platform where you can settle and store all your business funds. The benefit of this (as opposed to an external bank account) is that you can quickly see your business's real-time cash balance.
Yes
The ability to set transaction limits and budgets to control what and where money can be spent.
Yes
The ability to set recurring budgets that automatically reset at a specified time (eg. daily, monthly, etc.)
Yes
Monthly
Monthly
The ability to capture a receipt using the camera on a mobile phone and upload it to the expense management system.
Yes
The ability to track and manage expenses from a mobile app.
Yes
The ability to filter transactions by category, status, date, etc.
Yes
The ability to sync expenses with Xero's accounting software.
Yes
The ability for expenses to be recorded and visualised as soon as they are incurred.
Yes
The ability for expenses to be automatically categorised by type.
Yes
The ability to generate reports and insights about a business's spending patterns.
Yes
The ability to use cards to pay for expenses outside of Australia.
Yes
Volopay's pricing model is calculated per transaction, therefore, the more you spend, the higher the cost of the plan. However, even if you spend between $0 and $100 per month, you will still be charged at the lowest subscription tier of $75 per month.
Not sure what features you need? We explain them all below.
Why is expense management important?
There are five main reasons why we recommend incorporating an expense management system into your business:
1. It saves you time.
Time spent chasing up receipts, reimbursing employees, and manually entering your business’s expenses into spreadsheets is time you can get back simply by adopting an expense management system.
2. It saves you money and keeps projects within budget.
Being able to clearly see what your business is spending in realtime is a surefire way to identify cost-saving opportunities. With expense management tools, you can establish approval processes and set restrictions on spending to ensure that all your expenses remain within budget and align with company policy. What’s more, by eliminating the need to share the company card or give your employees cash, the risk of misuse or theft is greatly reduced.
3. It helps with tax compliance.
Being able to keep accurate and detailed records of all expenses, including receipts, invoices, and any other relevant details or documents makes it much easier to substantiate deductions and comply with tax regulations. What’s more, most expense management tools integrate with accounting software such as Xero or MYOB, which simplifies the process of transferring financial data, and ensuring that the information needed for tax reporting is accurate and up-to-date.
4. It helps manage cash flow.
Unlike traditional processes, which either rely on end-of-month reconciliation or monthly credit card repayments, expense management software allows businesses to track expenses in real-time. This means that as soon as an expense is incurred, it is recorded in the system, providing an up-to-date view of the company's financial situation, eliminating any surprises that could negatively impact your cash flow. What’s more, by creating and monitoring budgets, you can avoid overspending, instead, ensuring that there are always sufficient funds available.
5. It helps manage employee expectations.
By establishing a clear and standardised process for managing and reporting expenses, employees are able to better understand the expectations and limits around business spending, leading to reduced instances of unauthorised expenses, and improved financial responsibility within a business or organisation.
What services do expense management providers offer?
Expense management platforms vary greatly in functionality with some providing the most basic features and others supporting an all-inclusive suite of expense management within their accounting or financial services offering. Below, we outline the most common features:
Payment cards
Corporate Cards, as they are most commonly known, (not to be confused with Corporate Credit Cards or Corporate Debit Cards) are cards that employees can use to pay for business-related expenses. They draw funds either from your external bank account, or in the case of Zeller, from your Zeller Transaction Account. Different providers will offer a combination of physical and/or virtual cards.
Budgets & spending limits
The beauty of the payment cards (above) is the ability to tailor each one with spending controls. Expense management providers allow you to set maximum transaction limits, budgets that reset automatically (for example, daily, weekly or monthly), and other controls that will ensure that employees can only use the cards for transactions that are in line with your business’s budget and policy.
Automated expense categorisation
By analysing receipts and extracting data, expenses can be automatically categorised by type. This saves you from having to examine each expense and then enter its category manually.
Real-time expense tracking
Rather than waiting until the end of the month to reconcile expense reports or pay off a corporate credit card (which can often reveal some unpleasant surprises), expense management software allows you to track business spending as it happens. A huge advantage when it comes to managing your business’s cash flow.
Mobile receipt upload
Gone are the days of pouring over paper receipts. Expense management mobile applications allow employees to capture photos of their receipts and upload them directly onto the platform where they are saved against the transaction itself.
Integration with accounting software
Most expense management software will integrate with one (if not more) types of accounting software, such as Xero or MYOB. Having data flow seamlessly to your company’s accounting system, not only speeds up the reconciliation process, but also reduces the risk of manual error.
Expense analytics
Rather than having to plug expense data into a spreadsheet to examine your business spending patterns, expense management software can pull analysis and reports at the click of a button. This data can offer important insights into opportunities for cost savings or improved budgeting.
Try expense management for free with Zeller.
If you’re not sure whether expense management is right for you, why not try it for free? For you first 60 days following card activation, you will enjoy full access to Zeller Corporate Cards, and it won’t cost you a cent. The best part is you can sign up online in a matter of minutes, open a free Zeller Transaction Account, create a virtual card, and start managing your business expenses today.
