Zoho Expense

zoho.com/expense
Expense Management
Weekend Project

Travel and Expense Management Built for Businesses of All Sizes

How to Replace Zoho Expense

Overview

Zoho Expense is a comprehensive travel and expense management solution that simplifies expense reporting, automates reimbursements, and enables effective cost control. It provides end-to-end automation from trip planning and booking to expense creation, approval workflows, and employee reimbursement across 150+ countries.

Features

36 features across 17 categories

Automation(4)

Automated Per Diem CalculationsPremium

Automatic calculation of per diem expenses with GSA compliance and customization options

Itemized Receipt AutoscanAIPremium

Advanced receipt scanning that captures itemized details from receipts

Mileage Auto CapturePremium

Automatically capture mileage with live GPS tracking integration

Receipt AutoscanAI

Automatic scanning and processing of receipts to simplify expense creation and tracking

Also in: monday.com, Notion, Airtable

Card Management(1)

Corporate Card ManagementPremium

Manage corporate card spending with real-time feeds and automatch card transactions with uploaded receipts to automate reconciliation

Also in: TravelBank, Divvy, CARD

Compliance & Control(4)

Basic Audit Trail

Basic audit trail for tracking activities in the system

Country-specific Editions

Available in 10+ editions with country-specific compliance and regulations for local tax and per diem requirements

Global Tax Compliance

Compliance with global tax regulations across multiple countries

Policy Enforcement

Enforce spending policies on entities, departments, or cost centers with customizable rules and spend limits

Also in: Zilliant

Data Management(1)

SFTP ExportsPremium

Export data via SFTP for secure file transfers

Also in: monday.com, Notion, Airtable

Document Management(1)

Receipt Storage

Cloud storage for receipts with 5GB available in Free tier

Enterprise Features(1)

Multi-entity Expense ManagementPremium

Manage expenses across multiple entities and countries for enterprise organizations

Expense Management(5)

Attendee Expense ManagementPremium

Manage expenses for attendees on business trips with separate tracking

Customer/Project Tracking

Track expenses against specific customers or projects

Expense Reporting

Automated end-to-end expense reporting from expense creation to reimbursement with simplified workflows

Mileage Tracking

Swipe to record mileage expenses automatically with GPS tracking for easy reimbursement

Split ExpensesPremium

Ability to split expenses among multiple employees or cost centers

Financial Control(2)

Budget Management

Create multiple budgets based on expense types or categories to restrict employee spending and prevent overspending

Live Budget TrackingPremium

Real-time budget tracking and monitoring against actual spending

Also in: Floreant POS

Financial Management(1)

Cash Advance ManagementPremium

Manage and track cash advances given to employees for business travel

Integration(1)

ERP Integration

Seamless integration with accounting, ERP, HRMS systems and other business software

Localization(2)

Multi-currency Support

Support for multiple currencies across global operations

Multi-language Support

Configured with 12+ languages for global operations

Payment Processing(1)

ACH PaymentsPremium

Direct bank reimbursements through ACH payments

Reporting & Analytics(2)

Audit Trail Reporting

Detailed audit trail reports showing every activity and transaction within Zoho Expense

Real-time Expense Insights

Real-time analytics and reporting to empower finance teams to identify spending gaps and forecast finances

Security & Compliance(4)

Fraud DetectionAI

Powerful fraud detection engine that automatically scans expense reports and identifies suspicious transactions

IP WhitelistingPremium

IP whitelisting of admin accounts for enhanced security

Multi-factor Authentication

MFA support for enhanced account security

Single Sign-On (SSO)Premium

Integration with AD, Okta, and Jumpcloud for SSO authentication

Travel Management(2)

Travel Booking

Employees can plan and book flights, hotels, trains, and car rentals through the platform with personalized options based on company travel policy

Travel Management DeskPremium

Centralized travel desk management tool for managing corporate travel bookings and approvals

User Management(2)

Custom User RolesPremium

Configure custom user roles and permissions for different team members

Expense Access DelegationPremium

Delegate expense access and management to designated team members

Workflow Management(2)

Advanced Approval ManagementPremium

Advanced customization of approval workflows with multiple levels and criteria

Custom Approval Workflows

Configure approval workflows from simple to multilevel criteria-based approvals based on company requirements

Pricing

Free

Free
  • Expense reports
  • Expense tracking via personal cards
  • Mileage expenses via GPS
  • Accounting integrations
  • Global tax compliance
  • Multi factor authentication
  • Multi-currency expenses
  • Customer/project tracking
  • Basic audit trail
  • 5 GB receipt storage
  • 20 Receipt Autoscans
  • Email Support

Standard

$4.3/mo (billed monthly) or $3/mo (billed annually)
  • Free plan features
  • Corporate card management
  • Real-time card feeds
  • Multiple expense policies
  • Multi-level approval
  • Split expenses
  • Custom user roles
  • Expense access delegation
  • Cash advance management
  • ACH Payments
  • Direct bank reimbursements
  • Attendee expense management
  • 20 Autoscan per user
  • Email & call support

Premium

$6.5/mo (billed monthly) or $5/mo (billed annually)
  • Standard plan features
  • Online travel booking tool
  • Inbuilt travel desk management tool
  • GSA compliant automated per diem management
  • Auto mileage capture with live tracking
  • Live budget tracking
  • Itemized receipt Autoscan
  • Advanced approval management and policy customization
  • Advanced customization

Custom

Custom
  • Premium plan features
  • Dedicated account manager
  • Around-the-clock priority global support
  • Personalised implementation, onboarding and training
  • Custom ERP Integrations
  • Multi-entity/country expense management
  • Custom HRMS Integrations
  • SFTP Exports
  • Single sign-on (SSO) with AD, Okta, and Jumpcloud
  • IP whitelisting of admin accounts

Cost Calculator

Keep Paying Zoho Expense

Monthly$4.3/mo
Yearly$52/yr
5-Year Total$258

Build It Yourself

Est. Build Time~3 hrs
Hosting$20/mo
DifficultyVery Easy

Total Cost Comparison

1 Year
SaaS
$52
DIY
$240
3 Years
SaaS
$155
DIY
$720
5 Years
SaaS
$258
DIY
$1.2k

DIY hosting estimate based on Vercel + Supabase free/pro tiers (~$20/mo). Build time estimated from 36 features at very easy complexity.

Build vs Buy

Should you build a Zoho Expense alternative or buy the subscription? Estimate based on 36 features.

Buy Zoho Expense

Better Value
Monthly cost$43/mo
3-year total$1,548
Time to deployDays

Build Your Own

Development cost$24,000
Maintenance$360/mo
3-year total$36,960
Dev time~2 months

Buying Zoho Expense saves ~$35,412 over 3 years vs building.

Estimates based on 36 features and a BuildScore of 5/5. Actual costs vary.

Integrations

9 known integrations

Accounting SoftwareActive Directory (AD)ERP SystemsHRMSJumpcloudOktaTravel Booking PlatformsTravel Management Companies (TMCs)Zoho Analytics