Expense Management Systems features

Back to Expense Management Systems products

Tools tracking operational expenses, travel costs, and allocation of expenses between management company and funds.

We ask vendors to mark their product against our feature list. It is not available for all products and in some cases we have derived data from publicly available sources. The list of features follows. Vendors can add a further 10 key features of their own.

Approval Workflow

Tools that manage expense approvals, routing, role-based permissions, and notification mechanisms.

Approval notification speed: Average time between expense submission and notification sent to approver.
Audit trail: Full logging of approvals, changes, and actions for compliance and transparency.
Automated escalation: Automatic escalation if an expense isn’t approved within a set timeframe.
Batch approvals: Ability to approve multiple expenses at once.
Custom approval routing: Configurable workflow according to team structures and policies.
Customizable notifications: Configurable notification settings (email, SMS, push) for different stages of approval.
Delegated approvals: Allow temporary delegation of approval rights during absences.
Mobile approvals: Ability for approvers to review and approve expenses via a mobile app.
Multi-level approvals: Support for multi-step approval chains based on dollar amounts, departments, or entity.
Role-based permissions: Permission control for different user types (employee, manager, admin, finance).

Compliance & Audit Controls

Critical for funds/management companies; these features enable audit readiness, regulatory compliance, and transparency.

Audit trail logging: Immutable, time-stamped record of all actions taken within the system.
Automated expense matching: Automatic cross-referencing of expense reports, card transactions, and receipts.
Configurable audit export: Ability to quickly export a full audit package with receipts, approvals, and allocations.
Custom retention policies: Ability to set how long expense documents/records are retained.
Detection of duplicate submissions: Automatic flagging of duplicate expense claims.
Exceptions reporting: Custom rules for identifying potential compliance breaches.
GDPR compliance: Conformance with EU data privacy regulations.
SEC reporting support: Assistance with preparing reports/regulatory filings for SEC or other regulators.
SOX compliance features: Support for Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) act compliance workflows.

Core Expense Tracking

Features related to fundamental expense capture, categorization, and allocation across entities such as management company and funds.

Automated receipt capture: Upload, scan, or email receipts with OCR to automatically attach them to expense entries.
Bulk import: Import bank or credit card statements and map transactions to expenses in bulk.
Custom allocation rules: Ability to automatically split expenses between entities or cost centers based on preset rules.
Custom fields: Support for user-selected custom fields on expense entries (deal code, event, etc.).
Expense categorization: Automatic or manual classification of expenses into user-defined categories (travel, office supplies, etc.).
Manual allocation override: Ability to manually adjust or override automatic allocations per transaction.
Multi-currency support: Capture and reconcile expenses in multiple currencies with automatic conversion.
Multi-entity support: Ability to track and allocate expenses across multiple legal entities (e.g., management company, multiple funds).
Sync with accounting systems: Direct integration or export to accounting/ERP platforms.
Tagging: Ability to add searchable tags to expenses for better reporting and search.
Transaction processing speed: Average time taken to process an expense entry from upload to approval.

Deployment & Scalability

Considerations for implementation flexibility, performance, and growth.

Cloud-based deployment: Hosted in a secure cloud environment accessible from anywhere.
Integration sandbox: Test environment for integration development and QA.
Mobile device compatibility: Optimized for a wide range of mobile and tablet devices.
On-premises deployment option: Option for on-premises hosting for enhanced control.
System concurrent user capacity: Maximum number of users who can access the system simultaneously.
Uptime guarantee: Service level agreement (SLA) commitment to system uptime.

Integration & Connectivity

Features that enable data exchange between the expense management system and external platforms.

API access: Open APIs for data import/export to custom systems.
Accounting software integration: Direct two-way sync with leading accounting systems (QuickBooks, NetSuite, Sage, Xero, etc.).
Bank & credit card integration: Automated import of transactions directly from bank or credit card feeds.
Calendar & email integration: Ability to extract expenses from calendar events, or auto-generate expenses from corporate email receipts.
File export formats: Support for exporting data in CSV, XLSX, PDF, and custom templates.
Integration setup speed: Average time required to connect and configure an integration.
Payroll integration: Sync reimbursements or expense payments with payroll providers.
Single sign-on (SSO): Support for single sign-on via SAML, OAuth, and/or SSO providers (Okta, Google Workspace, etc.).

Reporting & Analytics

Capabilities to generate reports and analytics by entity, category, period, and more.

Audit export reports: Produce detailed audit-friendly reports for compliance review.
Automated scheduled delivery: Automatically deliver pre-set reports to stakeholders at scheduled intervals.
Budget tracking & variance analysis: Track budgets by cost center/entity and analyze variance vs. forecasts.
Custom reporting: Create, save, and schedule custom reports by team, entity, expense type, etc.
Fund vs. management company reporting: Segregated reporting for expenses allocated to funds vs. management company.
Historical comparison: Compare expense performance over different periods (year-on-year, month-on-month).
Real-time dashboards: Interactive dashboards with real-time data visualization.
Report generation speed: Average time to generate and export a standard report.

Security & Data Privacy

Essential security features to protect confidential financial and personal data.

Audit log retention period: Length of time full security audit logs are available for review.
Automatic session timeout: Automatic logout after a period of inactivity.
Data residency options: Ability to select where data is physically stored (data center region/country).
End-to-end data encryption: Encryption of data at rest and during transmission.
Granular access controls: Configurable user and group access permissions.
Multi-factor authentication: Support for MFA on all user accounts.
Regular penetration testing: Third-party conducted security reviews and penetration tests.

Support & Service

Resources and assistance available to users and administrators.

24/7 customer support: Access to support agents at any time, with multiple channels (chat, phone, email).
Dedicated account manager: Assignment of a direct point-of-contact for larger clients.
Feature request process: Ability for users to suggest new features or enhancements.
Implementation support: Expert assistance during system setup and configuration.
Online knowledge base: Comprehensive and searchable self-service support resources.
Response time (support requests): Average initial response time to support tickets.
Training resources: Online courses, webinars, or in-person training for users.

Travel & Policy Management

Specialized features for handling travel expense capture, policy enforcement, and compliance.

Built-in travel booking: Integrated booking engine for travel (flights, hotels, car rental) linked to expense capture.
Integration with travel vendors: Direct connection to preferred travel providers, aggregators, or travel agencies.
Mileage tracking: Automated tracking of personal/business mileage for reimbursement.
Per diem management: Calculation and allocation of per-diem rates based on location/days.
Policy violation reports: Automatic generation of reports highlighting policy breaches.
Pre-trip authorization: Ability to request and document authorization prior to business travel.
Travel approval workflow: Separate approval flows specifically for travel-related expenses.
Travel policy enforcement: Automated flagging of non-compliant travel bookings or expenses.
Travel spend analytics: In-depth analysis and reporting on travel-related spend and trends.

User Experience & Accessibility

Aspects that improve ease-of-use, accessibility, and adoption across the team.

Accessibility compliance: Compliance with accessibility standards (WCAG, ADA).
Customizable layouts: User-configurable dashboards and screen layouts.
Drag-and-drop upload: Simple drag-and-drop interface for documents and receipts.
Guided onboarding: Interactive product tours and onboarding flows for new users.
Intuitive user interface: Modern, easy-to-use, and thoughtfully designed UI.
Mobile app availability: Native mobile apps for iOS and Android.
Multi-language support: Ability to select from a variety of supported languages.
User onboarding time: Average time required for a new user to become proficient.

Features in Expense Management Systems

for Operations and Finance