However, relying solely on your business bank account for everyday expenses can be risky – it’s easy to lose track of how much you have and how much you need, even for the most cautious of business owners.
That’s why businesses are increasingly choosing third party expense management solutions, allowing you to easily maintain and manage an expenses account with just the tap of a button.
We’ve collected five of the best solutions you can find for your business in the UK today.
Wallester
Wallester prides itself on being an ‘all-in-one solution’ for business expenses, and with its wide range of features, it’s difficult to argue against it. Wallester makes business payments and expenses as simple as possible, with a three-step process:
- Sign up
- Set corporate cards
- Control expenses in real time
Visa cards can be issued both digitally and physically, meaning they can be ready to use immediately if required. Once these are issued, you can monitor transactions in real time and approve purchase requests from employees, all through the app.
Accounting and reporting are also made easy, allowing you to upload invoices via the mobile app and generate detailed reports on corporate expenses.
Wallester really excels in how fast you can get set up and start issuing cards, making it ideal if you’re a business owner on the go or have employees working remotely or travelling.
At a glance
- Digital and physical corporate expense cards
- Easy expense control and payment approvals
- Real-time budget management
- Automated reporting and invoicing
- API for easy integration
Revolut
Revolut is one of the bigger names in the expense management space, offering both personal and business accounts. With over 10,000 businesses signing up monthly and more than 25 currencies supported, there are plenty of compelling reasons to join as a business owner.
As well as functions to make and take payments worldwide, Revolut offers both virtual and physical company cards, allowing you to add your whole team to one account. No matter where your team are in the world, you’ll be able to send them a card instantly.
Managing expenses is also a vital part of any expenses solution, and Revolut has a number of features that make this simple. Users can set their own rules for company spending, setting limits for individual team members and creating custom roles. For example, you can set a user to be able to view transfers, but not make payments.
At a glance
- Virtual and physical debit cards (even available in metal!)
- Spend like a local with 150 currencies
- See real-time company spending with notifications
- Upload and receive receipts remotely
- Automated bookkeeping tools
Airwallex
Airwallex’s no-nonsense approach to business expense management makes it one of the most trusted and secure options on the market. Whether you’re a small business with a few employees or a scale-up with whole teams to manage, Airwallex has plenty of options for you.
It’s expense management software works seamlessly between the app and desktop version, meaning you can control your team’s finances wherever you are. Your employees can submit expenses on the go while you get real-time visibility of their spending, making managing risk easier.
Users can also eliminate manual data entry with the help of Airwallex’s AI tools, which analyses invoices and receipts and automatically extracts the data.
At a glance
- Dedicated account managers
- Multi-currency transactions
- Instant business debit cards with no hidden fees
- Set spending limits and controls and instantly freeze cards
- AI-supported invoice data extraction
Tide
Tide likes to keep things simple. Its expenses management system allows you to set up to 50 cards for your employees, making it perfect for smaller businesses looking to expand, or if you only employ a few people and don’t require a huge number of options.
The Tide app allows you to manage everything with just a tap, from freezing and cancelling cards to setting monthly spending limits and tracking company expenses. Ideal if you do a lot of business on the go.
Using the app, you can also upload receipts by taking a photo, which will automatically be matched to the relevant transaction and categorised appropriately. You can also add your own notes if you’d prefer to label your expenses manually.
At a glance
- Set Mastercard Tide Expense Cards for up to 50 employees
- Set spending limits in-app
- Scan and upload receipts from your phone
- Automatically categorised transactions
- Track your company’s expenses
Payhawk
Payhawk specializes in scale-up and mid-sized companies, with an easy-to-use dashboard that allows you to oversee your company spending either on a desktop or phone.
Payhawk boasts that users experience a 50 per cent reduction in manual workload and a faster month end close. Its corporate Visa debit cards work in 7 currencies across over 32 countries, with businesses able to track spending with automated receipt collection.
A standout feature of Payhawk is its compatibility with other types of business software, with native integrations and developer API. Payhawk users can connect automatically with services like Google Workspace, Bamboo HR, Microsoft Dynamics and Quickbooks.
At a glance
- 100% real-time visibility on spend
- Prevent overspending with custom approval flows
- Scan and log receipts with your phone
- Automate tedious tasks like data entry
- Native developer API integration
See also:
Inter-company loans: are there tax implications to consider?
