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Expensify Review 2023
Expensify's corporate cards and easy employee reimbursements set it apart as one of the best expense trackers for corporations.
Data as of 2/9/23. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
February 09, 2023
3 min read
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The bottom line: Expensify is a fantastic, fully automated expense-tracking service with extremely comprehensive corporate plans.
While Expensify’s individual, sole proprietor, and small-business plans are well worth the price, Expensify is geared towards bigger corporations that want hefty expense solutions for multiple users. Its free plan for businesses includes corporate card management, employee reimbursement, invoicing, and bill management. It’s affordable, comprehensive, and well-suited to companies where multiple employees submit expenses.
Expensify pros
Thoroughly automated expense tracking and categorization
Highly rated iOS and Android apps
Free plans for individuals, sole proprietors, and some businesses
Seamless integration with third-party accounting software Expensify cons
Month-to-month plans double the cost of annual plans
Higher software learning curve than some competitors 
Expensify’s key features
As an expense-management and receipt-scanning solution, Expensify’s main feature is its high-quality mobile receipt scanning and automatic expense categorization. These features remain the same regardless of the plan you pick: whether you’re a sole proprietor uploading a few receipts a month or the leader of a corporation where every manager has corporate card access, Expensify gives you the same fantastic receipt scans and detailed expense categorization.
What is a SmartScan?
A SmartScan is basically Expensify’s branded, fancy name for a receipt upload. If you choose one of Expensify’s free plans for individuals, you get up to 25 SmartScans a month (meaning you can upload 25 receipts a month). Most other plans include unlimited SmartScans.
The most notable aspect of Expensify's receipt scanning and uploading is probably its ability to translate the most illegible numbers into easy-to-categorize data. Zoho Expense comes close, but no one else rivals Expensify’s optical character recognition (OCR) technology.
Honestly, with Expensify, you can aim your phone’s camera at any crumpled up piece of paper. As long as there’s a number somewhere on the page, Expensify can translate it into an accurate expense amount, then categorize it correctly (for instance, as a food or travel expense).
Let's be clear: a receipt scan can mean using your phone to snap a picture of a physical receipt, then uploading it to your Expensify account. But it’s the 21st century, and Expensify uploads and categorizes all types of receipts:
- Emailed receipts (forwarded to your Expensify account)
- Screen shots
- Credit card account syncing
- Third-party app uploads (via Evernote, Dropbox, and so on)
Every Expensify plan also includes automatic mileage tracking, basic bill management, and invoicing. The free business plan adds corporate card access via the Expensify Card, as well as employee expense reimbursement.
Those basic plans are perfect for sole proprietors, solopreneurs, freelancers, and small-business owners with a handful of employees. They can also work nicely for partnerships where both business owners need corporate card access.
But like we said above, Expensify is ideal for bigger business and corporations that want thoroughly automated expense tracking across their entire company. Its business-level plans add some essential corporate features to those included with its cheaper plans.
Best Bookkeeping Software
QuickBooks Online
Best overall
Xero
Best for freelance
Zoho Books
Best invoices
Wave
Budget pick
Sage Accounting
Best for basics
With corporate plans, you're looking at:
- Automatic syncing with third-party accounting software like Xero and QuickBooks Online, including GL (general ledger) journal entry generation
- Smart Limits, expense limits you can customize for different types of users (for instance, managers vs. company owners)
- Extensive financial reporting
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Key Expensify drawbacks
Expensify's interface has a slightly higher learning curve than some users (especially those new to accounting and expense tracking) would like. It’s also comparatively pricy if you don't choose to bundle with the Expensify Card—the price doubles when you don't bundle, and paying $18 per user instead of $9 per user is a huge difference that won't be worth it to some users.
Additional features
Outstanding mobile app
Expensify has a truly outstanding mobile app. It works just as well for Apple fans as for Android users, and customer service is extremelyresponsive to user reviews on both the App Store and Google Play. Plus, Expensify’s OCR software is second to none—the app can capture, translate, and categorize just about any receipt you take a picture of, no matter how crumpled or illegible it is.
Excellent third-party integration
Expensify is kind of like the QuickBooks Online of expense tracking software: It’s so popular that it syncs with just about any third-party software. In particular, Expensify syncs with the best accounting and bookkeeping solutions for small businesses, including FreshBooks, QuickBooks, and Xero. Expensify also integrates with dozens of other apps in categories like HR, taxes, and travel.
The takeaway
Expensify is a well-rounded expense management program that works nicely for startups, freelancers, and growing companies alike. Its corporate features set it apart from other expense management solutions, including basic expense management built into accounting software like QuickBooks and FreshBooks. And its free individual plans are much better for tracking mileage and expenses, saving receipts, and planning for tax season than, say, QuickBooks Self-Employed.
Most Expensify plans include a free trial (depending on your business, you may be able to use it free for up to six weeks). If you’re interested, we recommend taking it for a spin—and if Expensify doesn’t work for you, maybe one of our other expense management recommendations will.
Need accounting software to match your expense management plan? Hop over to our piece on the year’s best accounting software for small businesses.
Related reading
Expensify FAQ
If you need to scan only 25 receipts a month, Expensify is free. If you want unlimited scans, Expensify starts at $4.99 a month for individuals and $5.00 per user per month for corporate plans.
Yes, you can use Expensify for free. Businesses with employees can access a free plan if they also use the Expensify Card. And if you’re an individual, freelancer, or solopreneur who just wants to scan and catalogue up to 25 receipts a month, you can use Expensify’s Track or Submit plans for free.
To use Expensify, sign up for a plan, then download the Expensify app to scan any and all receipts that come your way. Once you upload the receipts to your account, the cloud-based software categorizes expenses, enables next-day employee reimbursement, and tracks taxes.
Expensify is a receipt-scanning and expense-organizing software program. You can use it to reimburse employees for any expenses they incur for the business, like office supplies or business lunches. Freelancers and self-employed business owners can also use Expensify for expense categorization and tax tracking.
Yes. Expensify’s group plans are compatible with both QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online, as well as Xero and a host of other accounting software options. Depending on the plan you pick, you can also sync the app with Oracle NetSuite, Sage Intacct, FinancialForce Accounting, and FinancialForce PSA.
Methodology
To evaluate Expensify and assign a star rating, we looked at:
- Number of plans, number of users with each plan, and features included with each plan
- Pricing and free plans
- Mobile app reviews and ratings
- Customer service hours and modes of contact
- Reputation and rating on third-party consumer review sites like Trustpilot, Trustradius, and Consumer Affairs
- Interface user-friendliness
We also took our expert's opinion into account when evaluating software. Star ratings are updated frequently and subject to change.
Disclaimer
At Business.org, our research is meant to offer general product and service recommendations. We don't guarantee that our suggestions will work best for each individual or business, so consider your unique needs when choosing products and services.
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