Expense management software comes in all shapes and sizes.
Some more traditional solutions come boxed up in neat packages, while other more flexible providers like Expense on Demand give businesses the opportunity to choose their features based on their unique needs and challenges.
Regardless of how these features are offered, as you browse between different solutions providers, you’ll often see some differences in what’s actually available and included. And this can lead to a rather burning and pertinent question:
What features do you really need when it comes to expense management?
If you don’t have time to read the full guide, here’s a snapshot of the essentials every business should look for in expense management software. These are the features that save time, cut admin, and keep your finances in check:
Nice-to-haves are nice to have, of course, but if you get taken in by all the bells and whistles of a fancy looking tool, is there a risk you might end up missing some essential functionality that your business absolutely can’t do without?
In this blog we’re going to cover the fundamental essentials of expense management software features, so you can be certain that when you’re selecting your next provider, you’re not left with a tool that fails to deliver when you need it to.
Logging receipts is one of the most time-consuming parts of expense management, and it’s where errors often creep in.
A good expense tool removes that hassle with built-in receipt scanning. Employees can simply take a photo of a receipt, upload a file, or forward it by email, and the system automatically extracts the key details (like date, merchant, and amount) without the need for manual entry.
For busy small businesses, this means claims can be submitted quickly and accurately, even while on the move. It reduces paperwork, speeds up reimbursements, and gives finance teams reliable data from the very start of the process.
Automation is one of the biggest time-savers in modern expense management tools.
Instead of manually entering receipts, chasing approvals, or cross-checking policies, automation handles these repetitive tasks in the background. Expenses can be categorised automatically, approvals routed to the right person, and reports generated with minimal input from staff.
The result of automation in your expense management process is fewer errors, faster reimbursements, and more consistent compliance. Automated audit trails also provide transparency, so managers always know who approved what and when.
This is absolutely what you want and need in your solution: less time spent on admin, and more time freed up for running the business.
A solid expense management tool empowers businesses to quickly compile expenses into structured reports, apply policy checks, and gain real-time insights into spending patterns. Prebuilt dashboards, filters by category or team, and summary views help simplify reimbursement workflows and provide financial visibility at a glance.
By automating report generation and integrating auditing capabilities, such tools provide reliable oversight without burdening busy teams with paperwork. Small businesses benefit by handling fewer manual tasks, reducing errors, and staying on top of expenses with confidence and control.
All of this leads to clarity on spending, which can often prove business-critical, especially in times of economic hardship.
Managing travel expenses can quickly become complex, especially when juggling multiple receipts, vendors, and reimbursement processes.
Any expense management tool worth its name simplifies all this by gathering travel-related items into one streamlined workflow. You can enter supplier names, add notes, and build detailed reports that group spending by cost centres, projects, budgets, and suppliers, then submit it all in one go.
This approach delivers two-fold benefits:
Travel expenses, alongside food and drink, tend to be the most common type of expense claims made by employees, so having a specific feature built to handle them is quite significant.
An expense management tool without an inbuilt approval system isn’t really an expense management system at all.
Approve features streamline workflows through automation.
Instead of manually sending emails back-and-forth to get claims signed off, users can set up multi-level approval chains within the tool, completely tailored to your business hierarchy. This ensures expenses are reviewed by the right people without holding up reimbursements or creating administrative bottlenecks.
On top of automation, a good approval system brings visibility and accountability.
Roles like approvers and claimants are clearly defined, and administrators can customise permissions while maintaining audit trails for compliance. This not only simplifies oversight but also ensures that even when primary approvers are away, deputy approvers can step in to keep workflows moving smoothly.
While there are all these layers at play, the fundamental feature should simply allow employees to send a claim via the software, which goes directly to the next layer of approval authority, for that person/team to check the claim and approve in-software, to either go to their superior for final sign off, or straight to accounts for payment.
Expense management software shouldn’t operate in a vacuum. It needs to be able to work with your financial tools (such as ERP and Accounting) so that you don’t have to manually fill in the gaps.
A robust integration capability is therefore essential.
It keeps your financial data accurate and reduces unnecessary work by syncing expenses directly with your existing solutions. Well-integrated tools let transactions flow smoothly into platforms like Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, and others (with minimal setup) saving finance teams from repetitive manual data entry and reconciliation.
Some systems go even further by offering open APIs or prebuilt connectors, enabling custom workflows or bi-directional syncing. This flexibility enhances visibility and control, ensuring accurate, up-to-date records and audit trails, critical for small businesses that need efficiency and oversight in one integrated workflow.
While this is more a function, not a feature, integration is something you should never purchase expense management software without.
Expense analysis is different to reporting.
Powerful expense analysis gives your business the much needed ability to make smarter financial decisions.
The best tools provide real-time visibility into spending, letting you track transactions as they happen, and layer in customisable dashboards, filters, and visualisations (like charts and graphs) that turn data into clear insights. This means you can spot trends, guard against overspending, and make decisions with confidence.
Well-designed analysis features help uncover cost-saving opportunities and improve overall budgeting. This allows financial teams to plan and control spending more efficiently. Analysis dashboards are more raw than refined data reports, but no less useful.
For businesses that operate across borders (or even just pay suppliers in different countries) multi-currency support is a must-have.
Expense management tools with this capability automatically convert expenses into the correct currency, using real-time exchange rates, so finance teams don’t waste time on manual calculations.
This feature also ensures accuracy in reporting and compliance. By standardising how foreign expenses are recorded, small businesses can track international spending with confidence, keep budgets aligned, and simplify reimbursements for staff travelling abroad, all without adding unnecessary complexity to the finance process.
This one is particularly easy to forget as an essential expense management feature, especially if you generally only operate out of one region. But, it must be noted that you'll really find yourself struggling if you don’t have it when it becomes relevant to your business.
Expense management isn’t just about recording costs, it’s about making sure spending stays within company rules.
Failing to comply with company policy (and indeed going even further and committing acts of expense fraud) is far more common than you might expect, with costs ranging into the thousands even for SMEs.
Policy enforcement features help by automatically flagging duplicate claims, out-of-policy expenses, or unusual patterns before they become a problem. This reduces the risk of errors and ensures consistency across all submissions.
For small businesses, having compliance built into the system means fewer disputes, less time spent checking claims manually, and better accountability. With audit trails and automated checks in place, managers can feel confident that every approved expense meets the right standards.
The end result can be significant and noticeable savings on your expenses.
While having an accompanying mobile app for your expenses software might seem like a ‘nice-to-have- rather than an essential feature, we’d actually argue it’s a non-negotiable part of any worthwhile tool.
A mobile app makes expense management quicker and more accessible than desktop or mobile website login alone.
Employees can capture receipts, log mileage, and submit claims instantly. Approvers, too, can review and sign off on expenses in seconds, helping keep processes moving smoothly.
Beyond convenience, mobile access drives efficiency.
With expenses recorded in real time, businesses avoid lost receipts, delayed submissions, and unnecessary back-and-forth. For small businesses in particular, the ability to manage expenses on the move saves valuable time and keeps operations running at pace.
For our final item, we’ve gone for voice activated expense management
Now, similar to a mobile app, this might seem like a ‘nice-to-have’ feature; a case that is much easier to argue since Expense on Demand is currently (as of writing) the only tool on the market launching this feature in 2025.
However, there are good reasons to consider this a must-have feature going into the coming years.
Instead of typing out expense claims and approvals, voice-activated expense functionality lets busy users speak their way through expense tasks, making it hands-free, fast, and surprisingly effective.
With simple voice commands like “Create an expense: £48 for client dinner at Gaucho, charge to Project Alpha,” the tool logs expense details (including amount, category, and project tagging) all in one go.
Approvers can use equally intuitive commands like “Approve my expenses”, accelerating workflows even when on the move.
This capability isn’t just a modern convenience, it's a genuine efficiency booster.
Voice commands reduce manual entry, help avoid lost or delayed claims, and inject real-time compliance checks into the process. Especially for time-crunched small businesses, this feature turns claims and approvals into swift, hands-free tasks that keep operations smooth and workflows flowing.
It might not be well utilised now, but we’re confident voice-activated expense management will be the gold standard moving forward.
Keen to be an early adopter of voice activation? Reach out today to start your free trial or book a demo.
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