The Ultimate Guide to Using Expensify for Accounting Software

Today, managing expenses well is vital for all businesses to stay profitable. This need spans startups to big companies. Expensify, a cloud-based tool, simplifies expense reporting and approvals. While it mainly tracks expenses, it also works well with other accounting software for better financial management.

In this guide, we'll showcase Expensify as a top expense management tool. We'll cover its key features, explain its integration with accounting software, and compare it with other popular solutions. Plus, we'll answer common questions to show how Expensify can benefit your business.

What is Expensify?

Expensify is a cloud-based expense management software designed to help businesses track and manage employee expenses. The software allows employees to submit expense reports for approval, while managers can easily review, approve, or reject them. Expensify uses smart technology to automate expense capture, approval, and reimbursement, saving time and reducing errors in the process.

Expensify integrates with various accounting software platforms, allowing businesses to synchronize their financial data effortlessly. It is especially popular among small and medium-sized businesses, but its scalability also makes it a suitable option for large organizations.

Key Features of Expensify
Expensify offers several features designed to simplify and automate expense management. Here are some of the standout features of Expensify:

1. Receipt Scanning and SmartScan One of Expensify's impressive offerings is its SmartScan technology, which allows users to scan receipts and automatically capture key information like the vendor name, date, amount, and category. Expensify utilizes Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to scan receipts, making it easy for employees to submit expense reports quickly and accurately. Benefits:

Eliminates manual data entry for receipts, reducing errors.
Automatically categorizes expenses based on pre-configured settings.
Supports digital and physical receipts, making expense tracking more efficient.

1. Expense Reporting Expensify makes it easy for employees to submit and track their expenses. With a user-friendly interface, employees can create expense reports by simply uploading receipts or entering expenses manually. The system allows businesses to set custom expense categories, helping them align with internal accounting processes.

Benefits:
Customizable expense categories tailored to your business needs.
Simplified expense report submission process for employees.
Supports recurring expenses for frequent business activities.

1. Automated Approval Workflows Expensify streamlines the approval process by allowing businesses to set up automated approval workflows. Once an employee submits an expense report, it can be automatically routed to the appropriate manager or team member for review and approval. Notifications are sent at each stage, keeping everyone in the loop.

Benefits:
Reduces administrative burden by automating approval workflows.
Ensures that only legitimate expenses are approved.
Speed up the approval process, enhancing efficiency.

1. Credit Card Integration Expensify can integrate with both corporate and personal credit cards, automatically importing and categorizing transactions. This feature is particularly helpful for businesses that want to streamline credit card reconciliation and ensure that credit card expenses are accurately recorded.

Benefits:
Automatically imports credit card transactions into the system.
Categorizes transactions based on your business rules.
Saves time during reconciliation and prevents missed transactions.

1. Expense Policies and Compliance With Expensify, businesses can set custom expense policies that govern what types of expenses are allowed, how much employees can spend, and other compliance rules. This ensures that employees are reimbursed for appropriate expenses and helps businesses maintain financial control.

Benefits:
Customize policies to align with your company’s specific expense rules.
Enforce spending limits and other compliance regulations.
Prevent policy violations through automated checks.

1. Multi-Currency and Multi-Language Support For businesses with international operations or remote teams, Expensify offers multi-currency and multi-language support. This makes it easier to track and manage expenses across different countries, ensuring accuracy in currency conversions and compliance with local financial regulations.

Benefits:
Supports multiple currencies for global expense tracking.
Handles currency conversions automatically.
Enables businesses to expand internationally without financial barriers.

1. Integration with Accounting Software One of Expensify’s most valuable features is its ability to integrate with various accounting software platforms. Expensify can sync with tools like QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, and others to ensure that expense data flows directly into your financial software solution. This reduces manual data entry, eliminates errors, and speeds up the financial closing process.

Benefits:
Seamless integration with popular accounting software.
Reduces the need for manual data entry and reconciliation.
Ensures consistent financial reporting across systems.

1. Reporting and Analytics Expensify offers powerful reporting and analytics features, allowing businesses to gain insights into their spending patterns. You can track expenses by category, department, project, or employee, making it easier to identify cost-saving opportunities and manage budgets effectively.

Benefits:
Generate detailed expense reports with customizable filters.
Analyze spending trends and identify inefficiencies.
Helps businesses make data-driven decisions for cost management.

How Expensify Integrates with Accounting Software

Expensify’s ability to integrate with various accounting software solutions is one of its strongest features. By syncing with tools like QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, and Sage Intacct, Expensify ensures that financial data flows seamlessly from expense reports into your accounting system. This integration allows businesses to save time, reduce manual data entry, and improve financial accuracy.

1. Integration with QuickBooks Expensify integrates effortlessly with QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop, making it an excellent choice for businesses that already use QuickBooks for their accounting needs. The integration allows expense reports and receipts to be automatically imported into QuickBooks, saving businesses time on manual entry and reconciliation.

Key Benefits:
Automatically sync expenses with QuickBooks.
Categorize expenses according to your QuickBooks chart of accounts.
Streamline reconciliation between expense reports and bank statements.

1. Integration with Xero Xero is another popular accounting platform that integrates seamlessly with Expensify. Businesses that use Xero for accounting can easily sync their expenses with the system, ensuring that financial data remains accurate and up to date.

Key Benefits:
Streamlined data transfer from Expensify to Xero.
Categorize and match expenses with Xero’s chart of accounts.
Simplified VAT/GST reporting and tax compliance.

1. Integration with NetSuite For larger businesses that use NetSuite as their enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, Expensify provides a robust integration that syncs expense data with NetSuite’s financial management tools. This integration helps businesses manage expenses across multiple departments, locations, and projects.

Key Benefits:
Seamless integration with NetSuite’s accounting and financial systems.
Automatically update financial statements with expense data.
Customizable expense categories to match NetSuite’s general ledger structure.
Comparing Expensify to Other Accounting Software
While Expensify is a powerful tool for expense management, it is not a full accounting software solution on its own. It is designed to integrate with other accounting platforms to offer a more complete financial management system. Let’s compare Expensify to other popular accounting software solutions.

Expensify vs. QuickBooks
QuickBooks is a popular accounting software that offers a comprehensive suite of financial tools, including expense tracking, invoicing, payroll, and reporting. While QuickBooks offers expense tracking features, Expensify provides more advanced capabilities, such as receipt scanning, automated approval workflows, and deeper integration with other financial systems. Expensify is ideal for businesses focused primarily on expense management, while QuickBooks provides a broader accounting solution.

Expensify vs. Xero
Xero is another strong accounting platform that offers similar capabilities to QuickBooks. Both Expensify and Xero integrate well with each other, but Expensify specializes in expense tracking and approval, while Xero offers a more comprehensive accounting suite with payroll, invoicing, and financial reporting. Expensify is better suited for businesses looking to enhance their expense management, whereas Xero is a great option for businesses that need an all-in-one accounting solution.

Expensify vs. FreshBooks
FreshBooks is an accounting software that focuses on small business needs like invoicing, time tracking, and expense management. While FreshBooks is an excellent tool for invoicing and project management, Expensify excels in expense reporting, receipt scanning, and approval workflows. For businesses that need advanced expense tracking capabilities, Expensify may be the better option, while FreshBooks is more comprehensive for overall business management.

Conclusion

Expensify simplifies expense tracking with features like receipt scanning and automated approvals. It integrates well with accounting software like QuickBooks, Xero, and NetSuite. This makes it a great choice for businesses of all sizes to streamline expense management, saving time and reducing errors.

FAQs

Is Expensify Suitable for Small Businesses?

Yes, Expensify is an excellent choice for small businesses that need an efficient way to track and manage employee expenses. Its user-friendly interface and automation features make it ideal for businesses with limited resources.

Does Expensify Offer Mobile Apps?

Yes, Expensify offers mobile apps for both iOS and Android devices. These apps allow employees to easily submit expenses, scan receipts, and track their spending on the go.

How does Expensify Handle Credit Card Transactions?

Expensify can integrate with corporate and personal credit cards, automatically importing and categorizing credit card transactions. This simplifies the reconciliation process and ensures that credit card expenses are accurately tracked.

Can Expensify be used without Accounting Software?

Yes, Expensify can be used as a standalone expense management tool. However, it offers even more value when integrated with accounting software like QuickBooks, Xero, or NetSuite.

How Secure is Expensify?

Expensify takes security seriously and uses encryption to protect user data. The platform also complies with industry standards for data protection, ensuring that sensitive financial information remains secure.