A popular adage states that “in order to make money, you have to spend money.” Truer words were never spoken when it comes to business expenses: the business trip, the roadshow presentation, and lunch with clients.

Back then, road expenses meant you need to keep receipts, and the next time you arrive at the office, you consolidate all your payments and submit a report to accounting. With luck, and if your office uses some of the best accounting methodologies, you can have your clearance or reimbursement within a day or two.

Thankfully, now you can process your expenses immediately upon payment, as you can use your mobile device to capture your receipt details, create a report and send it to the office directly using an expense management software. While there are many products to choose from, we will undertake a Concur Expense vs Expensify comparison for this article and see how they can help manage your costs while on business.

Expense management software lets you do away with manual expense reports and solves the problem of keeping track of receipts, which are prone to getting lost or thrown away. The faster you process your expenses, the faster you get reimbursed. Among the biggest names in expense management software are Concur Expense and Expensify, two solutions that might have taken different approaches to automating and processing expense reports. We’ll point out the similarities and differences between these two through this Concur Expense vs Expensify Comparison article.

So, which software is better?

If you need an expense management software that helps you with your payables, especially on the road, you can’t go wrong with either software. Concur, which is now part of the SAP software conglomerate, offers the Expense3module as part of a bigger Concur suite, so you may have to purchase additional modules or buy the entire lot altogether to unlock the full Concur complement.  Expensify, on the other hand, can handle expense management on its own but offers an increasing number of features when you upgrade to a better plan.

Concur Expense vs Expensify differences

Suite

Concur Expense is part of the Concur Suite of applications that specialize in travel and expense management. Apart from Expense, Concur also includes Travel, Invoices, Drive, Locate and more. Expensify, on the other hand, is a standalone SaaS solution, but with upgrade provisions that add more features to the software.

SAP Concur expense management dashboard.

Integrations

Expensify boasts integrations with popular tools such as Quickbooks, Xero, Netsuite, Sage Intacct, FinancialForce, Oracle, Bill.com, and TSheets. It also works with popular receipt systems from travel agencies, parking and transport services, food and catering services, and POS systems. Concur Expense automatically gets integrated with other members of the SAP Concur family, including Travel and Invoice. Concur as a whole is also integrated with Salesforce and Netsuite, and similarly accepts receipts from most providers.

Pricing 

The basic Expensify setup, which allows up to five receipt scans per month, is free. Upgrading to the Track (for individuals or freelancers) or Submit plan (for small businesses and employees that require purchase approval) costs $4.99/ a month and removes the receipt scan limit. The Group plan Collect is for companies that want simplified accounting and requires automated receipt collection and costs $5/user per month. The Control plan is $9/user per month and is designed for businesses that require expense reporting, multi-level spending approvals and reimbursements, and company card management. For Concur, the Expense Efficiency edition is available at $9/per report and is great for small businesses or startups who want a beginning introduction to SAP Concur. Meanwhile, Expense Insight (added reporting capabilities) and Expense  Control (improved spend control) are higher versions that require a custom quote upon request.

Audit and compliance

Concur Expense and Expensify both have provisions to ensure correct submissions, including flagging duplicate receipts and verifying transactions. However, Concur offers this as an additional module, while Expensify includes it as part of the package if you avail of any of the Group plans.

Credit card provision

The Expensify card is an available option for Expensify group plan users that provides added convenience. Employees do not need to pay upfront for company expenses, and receipts get transmitted automatically to the Expensify app. Also, business owners can load up on the card and set limits for daily users based on what funds are available. Concur does not have this provision.

Receipt Integrations

Expensify can connect to popular travel and destination apps, including Uber, Lyft, and HotelTonight so that receipts from these transactions can be automatically imported and encoded. Concur does not have integration but can still recognize and scan receipts from external companies.

Expensify expense report.

Mileage Tracking

To help track driving expenses, Expensify allows you to log mileage automatically from start to finish via GPS tracking. Taxes on distance can also be reclaimed during reporting. Concur Expense requires the Concur Travel module to allow mileage logging.

Security

Both products offer security for data going through their software. Concur Expense offers data security via ISO 27001 certification and compliance with SOC 1/SSAE16, and PCI standards. Expensify features world-class security standards and is Privacy Shield and GDPR compliant.

Concur Expense vs Expensify similarities

Platform

Both Expensify and Concur Expense are SaaS and therefore accessible via a web browser. As both software touts the convenience of reporting and approving expenses even while on the field, they are available as native apps for Android and iOS for use in company mobile devices.

Portability

Both Concur Expense and Expensify allow for the creation, submission, viewing, and approval of expense reports via mobile devices. Employees can submit theirs from anywhere, while managers can receive reports and approve on the go as well.

Receipt Scanning

Both mobile apps for Expensify and Concur Expense let you take pictures of receipts. The software will encode the data in the receipts automatically and add it to your expense report. This greatly lessens the time needed to include items, increase accuracy by eliminating manual input, and ultimately lead to faster approval from management.

External credit card management

Expensify lets you import personal and company card information and transactions that let you automatically receive and encode receipts. Similarly, Concur Expense also lets you manage business expenses made through company credit cards.

Takeaway

This is a bit tricky, as while we are comparing two specific products in this Concur Expense vs Expensify comparison article, it becomes apparent that one is a module that is part of a greater suite instead of both being standalone solutions. To be fair, Concur Expense can work on its own, but its integration with its sister modules like Travel and Invoice may be too good to ignore.

The confusing pricing of Concur didn’t help, as you cannot tell from their literature whether modules are sold separately, or packaged, or even if you get a discounted price when availing more than one. In addition, custom quotes are required for business plans. Assuming the $9/month charge is strictly for Concur Expense module, you might prepare for a new round of charges if you require the other components like Travel, Drive, or Invoice.

Another primary consideration is integration with accounting software or HR suites, as Concur Expense (in a standalone form) and Extensify might require data exchange with accounts, payroll, tax, travel management systems, or even systems from this list of accounts receivable software.

Take stock of your business requirements, and consider the breadth and width of your operations before you decide on your purchase. Concur Expense may be just the beginning if you go with an SAP, so expect your productivity to get more efficient although your costs might balloon. If you are a business that is looking to take the slow but steady approach, Expensify might be more to your liking as you can let the software grow as your business does.