5 Strategies For Cost Reduction in Procurement To Improve Bottom Line

An invoice has landed in your inbox. As soon as it arrived, a team member cleared the payment. Later, when another team member came across it, they made the payment again. This is a common scenario of duplicate payments that results in cash leakage. Invoices are not consolidated. There is no proper approval workflow, and stakeholders lack visibility. 

Overall, managing accounts payable (AP) becomes a nightmare. 

An automation tool solves these bottlenecks and provides a centralized platform for invoice management and accounts payable. An accounts payable automation software automates invoice capture and retrieval to consolidate all the information on a unified platform. You get real-time visibility and control over your payables. 

As a result, you establish better vendor relationships and supply chain management without impacting cash flows.

This post will cover 7 AP automation software to help you choose the right automation partner.  

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Top 7 accounts payable automation software 

Here are the top 7 AP automation software. You can pick one of these to automate your accounts payable based on your company size and needs.

1. Pluto

Pluto is an accounts payable software that transforms your AP processes by simplifying bill processing. From enabling GRN matching to setting fully customizable multi-layer approval workflows, it is the best AP automation software to manage your vendor payments. 

Key Features:

• Facilitates three-way GRN matching with purchase orders and item-based matching
• Offers a flexible approval engine capable of managing intricate hierarchies without requiring technical expertise
• Enables multi-layer invoice approvals with policies to align with your company's structure
• Ability to upload invoices easily via WhatsApp images and emails to speed up the receipt capture process
• Facilitates optical character recognition (OCR) technology to retrieve invoice information, including tax and general ledger (GL) codes
• Offers a centralized dashboard to gather bills in one place and track the status to avoid double payments
• Consolidates approved invoices in a single window to highlight pending bills and avoid delays
• Raises alerts for upcoming payments, enables scheduling payments in advance and automates invoices 
• Allows you to seamlessly carry out bulk local and international wire transfers for easy payment clearing through their treasury partners.
• Enables you to split payments for different tax and GL codes, departments, etc. 
• Provides vendor-specific corporate cards to control budgets and detect irrelevant expenses
• Supports ERP integration to synchronize your vendors, purchase orders, and bills
• Integrates with accounting software such as Oracle, NetSuite, Zoho, Quickbooks, Wafeq, Xero, etc.
• Provides a complete audit trail of the process to ensure visibility at each step
• Shows real-time analytics to facilitate deep insights for supporting budget control

Pricing: 

Free to get started 

Pros:

• Free to get started!
• Enables branch and subsidiary-level spend tracking (not offered by other platforms)
• Offers up to 2% cashback on all non-AED transactions 
• Independent PCI DSS Level 1 certification for advanced security
• SSO/SAML Capabilities for Enterprises
• Better Forex rates than most local banks 

Cons:

• Integrates with all other major ERPs except Tally
• Slightly longer on-boarding due to corporate card offering

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2. Tipalti

Tipalti is an automation tool that supports end-to-end AP processes. It streamlines accounts payables and facilitates global payments in local currencies for various recipients, from suppliers to freelancers. The cloud-based platform helps finance teams manage payments without losing visibility and control. 

Key Features:

• Supports supplier onboarding and vetting to ensure supplier reliability and trustworthiness
• Integrates with ERP and accounting systems to help with reconciliation reporting
• Uses OCR to scan, capture, match, and process invoice data to reduce manual errors
• Provides built-in approval workflows and payment scheduling 
• Offers invoice processing, including two-way and three-way purchase order matching and approval to avoid overpayments
• Assists AP processes for subsidiaries and entities

Pricing: 

Starts at $129 per month per user for the platform fee and charges for additional features separately

Pros:

• Can manage supplier bank account details in a secure environment

Cons:

• Cannot use it for prepayment invoices on inventory purchases with the ERP system
• High foreign currency exchange fees
• Tax forms can be difficult to fill out and very difficult if you do not speak English

3. Airbase

‍Airbase manages global AP processes. It focuses on ensuring compliance and syncing with your accounting tool to streamline payment. It is an automation solution for small to midsize businesses (SMBs) and large enterprises with 100-5,000 employees.

Key Features: 

• Offers OCR to populate details, including GL category, date, amount, and purpose
• Supports onboarding with a self-service vendor portal and custom questionnaires
• Has a centralized dashboard with all key information about the invoice to avoid friction 
• Accepts invoices from email or vendor portal across all subsidiaries
• Offers automated approval workflows based on multiple parameters, such as vendor, amount, GL category, etc.
• Enables three-way invoice matching to ensure compliance and reduce wasted spend
• Real-time audit trail with receipts, notes, and documentation for transparency

Pricing: 

Request a custom quote

Pros:

• Intuitive and easy to use; no training or previous knowledge required

Cons:

• The mobile app is slow and takes time to load pages 
• SSO-based login is not smooth
• Not suitable for complex branch-level approvals and expenses

4. Ramp

Ramp is an accounts payable solution for managing payments and business expenses. It automates bill entries, approvals, and payments while offering complete visibility and control. By tracking each AP step from data recording to approvals, it simplifies payment processing and takes the burden off teams. 

Key Features:

• Uses artificial intelligence (AI) to extract key details from invoices to offer accuracy and eliminate data-entry errors
• Identifies duplicate invoices and helps with two-way matching to purchase orders
• Offers custom approval workflows to minimize errors and ensure timely payments 
• Provides a unified dashboard with visibility into the status of invoices
• Consolidates multiple payment options, such as check, card, same-day ACH, or international wire
• Integrates with accounting solutions, such as QuickBooks, Xero, Oracle NetSuite, Sage, etc. for auto-sync bill pay transactions
• Supports international payment processing in multiple currencies 
• Tracks vendor data and transactions for easy reporting and data-driven decisions

Pricing: 

Three pricing packages—free or basic features, $15 per user per month for Ramp Plus, and custom quote for enterprises with features like enterprise ERP integration, custom implementation, and local card issuance

Pros:

• Works with multiple subsidiaries
• Offers cash back on credit card purchases made using VISA cards

Cons:

• Can’t unmatch an incorrectly matched invoice (invoice to credit card)
• Approval routing can only be set on the vendor level, not the department level
• Limitations in syncing repayments

5. Bill

Bill is an accounts payable solution for SMBs to control payables, receivables, expenses, and all corporate expenses. It allows businesses to streamline scattered AP processes into a single platform and gain more control over their finances. 

Key Features:

• Enables custom approval workflows for minimal hassle
• Automates purchase order workflows with the option for automated two-way and three-way matching
• Automates receipt matching, categorization, and expense reporting, decreasing administrative tasks
• Syncs with all major accounting systems like QuickBooks, Sage, Intacct, and NetSuite
• OCR auto-populates invoices for data entry
• Provides bulk payments of approved invoices with payment choices, such as ACH, credit cards, checks, and international wire transfers
• Offers audit trail of any changes or actions related to the invoice on a single page

Pricing: 

Provides a free trial and essentials pack starting at $45 for six standard user roles. Its team and corporate pack are for $55 and $79, respectively. Enterprises need to request a custom quote.

Pros:

• One-click swift payments
• Minimum training required
• Easy-to-use mobile app

Cons:

• Customer support is difficult to initiate, slow, and unresponsive
• Frequent changes in the interface create confusion for users

6. Procurify

Procurify streamlines AP reconciliation, offering a straightforward solution for financial operations. From catalog management to custom user controls, it helps to track the procurement process in real time. Its no-code configuration allows for a prompt deployment in under six weeks, making it a suitable choice for mid-market to enterprise organizations.

Key Features:

• Creates, tracks, and maintains an audit trail of all procurement transactions for transparency and compliance
• Ensures that requested items are approved against budgets before procurement
• Integrates with trusted vendors through punchout catalogs to streamline the ordering process
• Syncs bills and completes bill payments directly with platforms like QuickBooks Online, NetSuite, and other major accounting systems
• Supports OCR  technology to extract data from invoices

Pricing: 

Starts at $2000/month with a custom pricing tier

Pros:

• Ability to upload different invoices in the same PO and group invoices

Cons:

• Doesn’t offer payment services, so you need to carry out payments on a different platform
• Physical inventory has to be tracked outside Procurify

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7. ZipHq

Ziphq is an end-to-end procure to pay software designed to streamline the entire procurement process, from purchase order to payment. It caters to businesses of all sizes — startups, mid-size companies, and enterprises with no-code configuration and deployment in under six weeks.

Key Features:

• Offers vendor cards to automate recurring and one-time payments
• Centralizes purchasing workflows, providing real-time visibility into the AP process
• Facilitates automatic purchase order matching, ensuring invoice accuracy and timely payments
• Provides automated, no-code workflows, referencing all stakeholders in the approval chain
• Allows employees to comment on invoices and tag stakeholders, ensuring everyone has the context and visibility needed
• Automates renewal planning with workflows initiated well ahead of deadlines, enabling stakeholders to make informed decisions
• Supports vendor payments in 140+ countries and 40+ currencies
• Integrates with ERP, ensuring quick and easy reconciliation, even for complex, multi-subsidiary operations

Pricing: 

Request a demo quote

Pros:

• Provides various customization options to configure internal processes

Cons:

• Localized to the USA market
• Takes over five days to settle vendor payments 
• Can’t bulk upload documents

How to choose the right accounts payable automation software?

User-friendliness

Select software that is adaptable and user-friendly, with intuitive trigger-based workflows and a clean interface, ensuring ease of use without excessive reliance on support for basic tasks.

Versatile payment capabilities

Choose a solution that supports a broad spectrum of payment methods, including the ability to issue vendor-specific cards for secure and speedy payments, a feature not commonly found in many platforms.

Accurate Invoice Processing

Opt for software with OCR technology to enhance invoice processing speed and accuracy, capable of handling invoices from various sources and integrating them into a centralized database for reduced manual entry.

Efficient Approval Workflows

The software should include a straightforward, no-code workflow builder that can handle complex hierarchies, essential for large organizations with intricate approval processes.

Seamless System Integration

Ensure the software integrates well with existing accounting systems to automate data entry and maintain synchronized records, which is crucial for effective financial management.

Advanced Reporting Features

Reporting functionality that offers insights into spending patterns and department-specific expenditures is vital. The software should provide a robust reporting dashboard with options for deeper analytics.

Choosing the right accounts payable automation software 

Implementing accounts payable software will support your procurement process only when you carefully pick an option that provides flexibility, visibility, and security without losing on functionality. 

Imagine software that makes it easy to clear payments but doesn’t settle payments for days on the vendor’s end. Contrarily, consider an option your legal or IT team is skeptical of implementing. 

That is why, at Pluto, we focus on simplifying processes and cutting all the chaos without risking security, flexibility, or functionality. We simplify accounts payable by syncing with your payment gateways for faster payments at better forex rates than banks. You get a PCI DSS Level 1 certified solution that provides you with bank-grade security. 

So, book a demo and learn more about how you can optimize your entire procurement process.

Collecting, storing, and otherwise managing receipts is essential to a well-oiled expense reporting machine. 

Each receipt serves as confirmation of payment processing between yourself and the customer or vendor. You also need expense and sales receipts to file taxes and maintain your peace of mind.

Unfortunately, while saying receipt management is easy, the whole process itself is daunting. Tracking hundreds, thousands, even millions of employee and customer receipts leaves loopholes for fraud and misreporting. 

Physical expense receipts are especially susceptible to being lost, damaged, or fading with time.

Fortunately, there’s a better way to do it: digital receipt management with Pluto.

• Automate more of the expense management process
• Reduce the risk of fraud and inaccuracies
• Create more efficient workflows and financial departments
• And overall streamline modern business operations

While you probably can’t eliminate 100% of paper receipts from your workday, you can still improve your process with an increasingly-digital footprint!

What is Receipt Management?

Receipt management is the process of collecting, tracking, and storing business receipts. This task is usually handled by internal finance teams. Their role involves collecting various receipts, tracking costs in accounting software, and storing these receipts for future reference. Additionally, they may need to manually sort each expense, depending on the system in place.

Why Do You Need It?

• A well-run receipt management protocol is crucial for businesses for several reasons:

1. Simplify Employee Reimbursement Programs: It aids in the smooth operation of reimbursement programs for employees.

2. Track and Report Tax Deductions: It's essential for accurately tracking and reporting tax deductions.

3. Provide Proof during Tax Audits: It serves as necessary documentation during tax audits.

4. Streamline Expense Reports and Budgets: Helps in making expense reports and budgeting more efficient.

5. Combat Internal Fraud and Inauthentic Chargebacks: Plays a key role in preventing fraud and false chargebacks within the company.

6. Avoid Repair or Replacement Costs for Items Under Warranty: Keeps track of receipts necessary for warranty claims, saving costs on repairs or replacements.

7. Calculate and Improve Long-Term Profitability: Receipt management is vital in calculating and enhancing the long-term profitability of a business.

Different types of receipt management systems are in use today, including those for printed receipts, e-receipts, and even handwritten receipts. This diversity can be challenging for businesses, as they need to follow multiple procedures to reconcile their books effectively.

Types of receipt management

Today, there are three basic ways to handle receipts directly:

• Manual receipt management involves handling, tracking, and storing paper receipts
• Digitization receipt management scans physical receipts to digitize the tracking process
• Digital-only receipt management is used for online or digitally generated receipts

While many businesses are moving toward digitization and digital-only receipts, some businesses are stuck in the dark ages. (The kind that involves typing physical receipt information into a digital spreadsheet.)  

And as we’ll see below, manual entry strategies come with some…problems.  

Difficulties of Manual Receipt Management

1. Easily Lost or Damaged Receipts

Perhaps the most obvious problem with physically tracking expense receipts is that there’s so much that can go wrong. Lost, damaged, or faded receipts make the business expense tracking process that much harder.

Even if the employee who spent the money doesn’t drop their receipt, it’s possible for paperwork to get lost on a desk somewhere. And if you need to find a receipt two years later? Better hope it was filed properly and hasn’t faded completely.  

2. Consumes Human Resources

Manual receipt management is an extremely hours-intensive process.

Your financial team has to collect invoices, type their data into your accounting software, and double-check their work. Then, they have to reconcile business expenses against company credit card statements and track down potential instances of fraud or misreporting.

Not only does this require a lot of time, but it also impacts employee productivity. Every hour an accountant spends tracking receipts is an hour of productivity lost elsewhere.

3. Leaves Room for Human Error

Aside from the time and human resource cost, manual receipt management presents the potential for human error. And unlike on the product line or in customer service, every reporting mistake risks an unfavorable tax audit.

Even the simplest receipt management and tracking process involves several steps from collection to reconciliation. Every stage is an opportunity for an employee to get distracted, mistype a name or number, or duplicate entries. In bigger cases, they might even duplicate a payment, costing you more money.

And even if you catch the mistakes before they’re submitted, that’s more human hours wasted double-checking and correcting completed work.

4. Increases Fraud and Misreporting Risk

The risk of fraud is higher in manual receipt management programs, and instances of fraud may be harder to detect. Types of fraud that commonly crop up in expense reporting include:

• Inflated claim amounts
• Claiming personal costs on the business’ dime
• Submitting expense reports twice
• Falsifying “proof” to claim for money that wasn’t spent

Unfortunately, manual receipt management makes these kinds of fraud more likely and difficult to catch. For example, if the employee who authenticates receipts is committing or permitting the fraud, it’s harder to detect until after you’ve lost money.

Over time, even small acts of fraud can have massive financial consequences.

5. Contributes to Employee Dissatisfaction

For many companies, employee reimbursement programs contribute both to the need for manual receipt management – and to employee dissatisfaction.

Think about it. In a modern, tech-savvy business world, why should employees have to pay out of pocket, ever? 

Virtual cards and online-based businesses have all but eliminated the need for an employee to front your expenses.

But if you’re still stuck doing manual receipt management, chances are, your employees are still submitting reimbursement tickets. (And grumbling about the time it takes to get paid back.)

And that’s not even touching on the frustration, tedium, and headaches manual receipt management programs cause your high-paid finance teams.  

6. Jacks Up Business Costs

Together, all these factors paint a picture of increased business costs.

The time and human resource cost to track, reconcile, and store receipts.

The human and financial cost of detecting and counteracting fraud.

Even the maintenance costs for your printer and filing cabinets.

Every dollar spent on manual receipt management is a dollar sucked from office parties, growth, or your bottom line.

Benefits of Digital Receipt Management

It’s easy to see the costs that manual receipt management impose. Fortunately, there’s a simple solution: digital receipt management.

In short, digital receipt management involves using digital copies of receipts in your expense reporting strategy. Digital smart receipts are easy – simply integrate them into your accounting software and let automation take you away.

But even physical sales receipts can be digitized, Pluto allows you to digitize your receipt very simply - through your phone. 

Incorporating such technology means that even paper receipts fold neatly into your overarching digital strategy.

And as you’ll see, the process comes with tons of benefits.

1. Increases Integration Potential

A massive benefit of digital tracking is the sheer integration potential. Most receipt management tools, from receipt scanning devices to receipt tracking software, easily mesh with your existing expense reports system.

From there, you can automate mindless tasks and set up occasional human checks to ensure the system works as intended.

2. Fewer Costly Errors

Another way that a digital receipt management program saves costs is by reducing employee errors. Digital receipts should meld seamlessly into your tracking system – no surprises there.

But even processing physical receipts is cheaper and easier.

With their mobile phones, employees can scan receipts and upload them instantly. From there, Pluto categorizes the information and adds it to the overall report.

While employees may spend a second filling in any blanks, increased automation greatly reduces the risk of input errors.

3. Reduces Risk of Fraud

Less human interference means your financial system is more resilient to fraudulent activities. Pluto improves speed and accuracy while digitizing the receipts.

That leaves fewer opportunities for fraudulent claims.

4. Reduces Clutter

Uploading physical receipts means less physical space is needed for storage. That can save you on storage costs and reduce desktop and file cabinet clutter.

And because everything’s digitally maintained, you’ll still meet or exceed your tax authority’s required financial record storage period. 

Not to mention, just finding your records will be easier than ever!

5. Easier Audits

No person or business enjoys tax season. But digital management makes the process at least a little easier. 

Because all of your information is stored online, it’s easier to access and export receipts as needed. 

When tax time or the dreaded audit comes around, your data will be well-organized and easily accessible.  

6. More Efficient Expense Reporting

Traditional receipt management is a costly, time-intensive, error-prone manual process that used to be necessary. With modern tools, businesses can streamline the entire financial structure of their organization.

No more lost receipts or worrying about fraud.

Less time spent inputting and double-checking data, and more time helping your business grow.

All these positive benefits will improve efficiency – and even bring smiles to your accountants’ faces.

7. Faster Reimbursements

Like using a virtual corporate card, digital receipt management speeds up the reimbursement process. 

Since everything is tracked and verified electronically, it’s easy to set up an automatic or streamlined reimbursement protocol.

8. Putting Your Eco-Friendly Foot Forward

Lastly, any step your business can take toward going paperless is good news for the environment. 

Cutting down fewer trees and reducing printer ink usage are laudable goals that can decrease your environmental footprint. 

Not only will you enjoy cost savings, but you’ll feel better about doing business in an increasingly eco-conscious world.

8 Tips for Efficient Receipt Management

Digitizing your receipt management strategy is just the first step toward expense report success. To ensure you’re operating at maximum efficiency, consider the following tips.

1. Use Pluto App

The first step is to get Pluto and start managing your spending digitally. 

While you’re moving toward digital efficiency, your vendors aren’t required to follow. Keeping the proper tech on hand ensures you can digitize any paper receipts that come your way.

Pluto allows you to take a picture of the receipt, upload it to your expense and just like that the reconciliation process is done!

2. Save Your Receipts

While you can set up secure digital folders to store all your digital originals and copies - Pluto does that for you! 

Just take a picture of the receipt, upload it to the app and that is it.  

3. Ensure High-Quality Digital Format Uploads

There’s no point in uploading and saving documents if you can’t read them. 

Before tossing your physical copies, make sure you can clearly read the essential information on each receipt. (Such as the company name, date, purchased item(s), and amount.)

4. Categorize Submitted Expenses

Take some time to categorize your expenses (most businesses do this in chronological order). Pluto helps you with that, but just make sure to check the right category so the reporting stays in top notch condition. 

5. Set Up a Simple Expense Report Strategy

Expense reporting is the backbone of any business’ financials. For prompt, complete reporting and tracking, ensure that you design a straightforward strategy. 

Same-day submissions, fewer Excel sheets, and faster reimbursement protocols will improve efficiency and attitudes. Better yet, invest in a quality expense and receipt management software.

Or even better - start with Pluto, we have a free package. It will allow you to completely digitize and control your spending, while keeping your reporting in the best possible shape. 

6. Establish Accountability

A top-notch expense reporting strategy only works if people use it.

To ensure your protocols are followed, emphasize and encourage accountability. Keep all managers and supervisors up-to-date with company spending and card policies and remind them to disseminate that information appropriately. Follow up with employee expenditures as needed.

7. Run Regular Internal Audits

Regular expense report audits help businesses track receipts fraud, clear up discrepancies, and streamline inefficiencies. 

Take time each month or quarter to check for fictitious or overblown expenses or troubles with your expense reporting strategy. 

Pluto allows you to run real-time reports at any given moment for any period of time.

8. Switch to Virtual Corporate Cards

Virtual corporate cards make managing receipt tracking even easier. Not only can you digitize the entire process end-to-end, but corporate p cards give you greater control over your expenditures and tracking.

Sure, you can’t prevent vendors from handing you physical receipts. But you can greatly minimize instances of employees walking in with a big stack of thermal paper to scan in.

Pluto offers unlimited virtual cards which will book all your expenses right into the dashboard!

Key Takeaways

• Proper receipt management is key to running a financially successful business.
• While manual receipt management reconciles physical copies, it’s increasingly unnecessary in an increasingly digital world.
• Digital receipt management simplifies the collection, reconciliation, and storage process.
• Digital tracking also reduces fraud potential, time and financial waste, and increases employee satisfaction.
• Digitizing your expense reports pairs nicely with digitizing your own payments with virtual corporate cards.

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Managing business spend is a key concern for most companies. The use of spreadsheets, paper receipts, paper vouchers and handwritten notes makes processes inefficient, time-consuming, and resource-intensive. It also reduces the finance team’s visibility over the company’s spend. 

The lack of control over spend causes stress within finance teams, who lag behind due to lack of visibility.  Moreover, the cash chaos leads to unspoken internal resentment wherein CFOs think that their teams aren’t providing the necessary key financial insights they require.

A spend management platform can solve this problem. But not every software offers the same functionalities and benefits. You need to select the one that has a good UX and in-depth offerings, enables more reporting, is flexible and scalable, integrates with your ERP, supports the complexities of your business, and has robust security. It should also fit into your organizational structure.

To help you choose the most suitable one for your organization, this article will cover the top 7 spend management software to manage your corporate spending. 

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What Is Spend Management Software?

A spend management software is a tool that helps manage corporate spend, i.e., all non-payroll expenses. It does this by:

• Simplifying capture, storage, and retrieval of receipts and documents to reduce the risk of misplaced receipts
• Deploying approval workflows to ensure that business spending follows the company's approval hierarchy
• Providing real-time visibility into business expenses, helping to identify any irregularities
• Generating alerts when an expenditure violates company policies
• Automating employee reimbursement processes to reduce delays in employees getting paid
• Maintaining a complete audit log, including spending approvals and changes
• Easily sync with your ERP/accounting tool for streamlined month-end close
• Managing petty cash expenses by tracking and recording small, miscellaneous expenses in real-time
• Facilitating payment capabilities to handle outgoing financial transactions
• Integrating corporate cards for real-time expense tracking and control spending
• Facilitating procurement processes for the purchase of goods and services
• Handling invoice management to ensure timely payment and record-keeping to foster healthy vendor relations

Hence, spend management software provides financial visibility and control.

Top 7 Spend Management Software

These are the top 7 spend management software to consider:

1.Pluto 

‍Pluto is a spend management platform for enterprises that transforms your finance processes with automation to provide more visibility and control. It brings together the spenders, savers, and sourcers of your business to offer a complete revolution from a chaotic spend management system to a seamless collaborative workflow. It is the fastest way to manage your finances, including account payables and employee reimbursement. 

Key Features:

• Custom approval workflows that adapt to the company's hierarchy for timely and accurate approvals 
• Facilitate intricate multi-layer workflows to adapt to complex hierarchies to support seamless purchase requests and automate purchase orders
• Unlimited corporate cards with budget controls to maintain expenses within corporate policies
• Offers zero-balance cards, which get funded once the expense is approved.
• Card-specific policies to make branch & subsidiary-level reimbursements easy
• Ability to add comments and document the conversation along with other transaction details to maintain a comprehensive audit log
• View-only access available for external accountants to review financial data without making changes
• Automated receipt capture through OCR, with the ability to support bulk upload via WhatsApp and emails 
• Alerts in case of duplicate receipt uploads to avoid fraud and compliance issues
• Custom expense reports to overview business expenses and spending trends
• Integration with accounting platforms like Netsuite for advanced general ledger (GL) coding, tax tracking, vendor syncing, etc. 
• Secure document storage with a 5-year audit log and bank-grade encryption

Pricing:

 Request a custom quote

Pros:

• Enables branch & subsidiary-level spend tracking (not offered by other platforms)
• WhatsApp integration to make receipt upload easy
• Offers up to 2% cashback on all non-AED transactions 
• Independent PCI DSS Level 1 Certification

Cons:

• Slightly longer on-boarding due to corporate card offering 
• Integrates with all other major ERPs except Tally

2.Procurify 

Procurify simplifies spend management by accelerating the approval and reconciliation process. It helps to track the business spending with real-time tracking and breaking down data silos. With a core focus on simplifying invoice payments and management, it helps businesses in vendor and spend management.  

Key Features:

• Ability to approve requests based on attached receipts and leave comments for clarification
• Custom budgets for different departments or projects
• OCR to auto-extract invoice data with a dedicated centralized invoice box and automatic matching with purchase orders
• Detailed reports based on different departments, categories, or other relevant parameters
• Tailored expense request forms to capture specific information relevant to the organization's needs
• Compatibility with multiple currencies, streamlining international expenses
• Storage of all expense-related documents, including receipts, invoices, and expense reports
• Integration with ERP to sync expense data

Pricing: 

It has standard all-in-one pricing of $2000/month. But custom pricing quotes are provided for add-ons like more users, more domains, NetSuite integration, on-premise training, implementation services, and on-premise hybrid implementation.

Pros:

• Easy to make amendments, for instance, to invoice amounts, which helps when raising a PO before receiving the invoice
• Responsive support team when handling technical issues

Cons:

• Does not offer corporate cards in UAE 
• Only supports procurement based spending 
• Poor reporting capabilities—lacks functionality  

3. Spendesk 

Spendesk combines approvals, corporate cards, expense reimbursements, and invoice management to automate the spend management process. Specifically designed for finance teams, it offers real-time expense tracking and offers custom workflows for complete control. By consolidating all payments, it provides a spend management solution that enhances financial transparency. 

Key Features:

• 100% digital expense reports
• OCR technology to capture and extract key details from receipts 
• Expense claim history, available anytime, anywhere, for quick and accurate reporting
• A mobile app for quick reimbursement requests by snapping a photo of receipts
• Real-time expense monitoring to spot errors and missing receipts and stay compliant
• Automates categorization of expenses and VAT account
• Detects duplicate invoices and errors to support three-way matching
• Tracks all purchase orders and invoices with the ability to schedule payments

Pricing: 

Request the sales team for a custom quote. A free trial is available.

Pros:

• Single purchases are straightforward and simple
• Easy to integrate with an SSO provider, making login easy and secure for users 
• Handy drag-and-drop receipt functionality

Cons:

• Virtual cards are glitchy, with merchants rejecting transactions that have already gone through
• Some basic features are not included in the basic option where they should have been (i.e., memorizing accounting patterns for vendors). 
• Corporate cards have defects (especially for travel expenses)

4. Airbase

Airbase simplifies expense reporting with AI and ML. It ensures quick, hassle-free, and smart corporate expense management. It is an automation solution for SMBs and large enterprises. It packages various modules such as AP automation and corporate cards to ease the spend management process for accounting teams and employees.

Key Features: 

• OCR to populate details, including GL category, date, amount, and purpose
• Ensures compliance by sending reminders and, if needed, locking cards until policies are met
• Reminders to upload receipts, eliminating the need to chase employees for receipts
• Custom approval workflows and budget limits for physical cards
• Real-time alerts for suspicious activity, enabling quick responses to potential fraudulent purchases
• Supports onboarding with a self-service vendor portal and custom questionnaires
• Facilitates payments and approvals, including multi-subsidiary support, international currency, and real-time GL sync
• Real-time audit trail with receipts, notes, and documentation for transparency.

Pricing: 

Request the sales team for a custom quote.

Pros:

• Intuitive and easy to use; no training or previous knowledge required
• Seamless approval workflows

Cons:

• Poor reporting capabilities
• The mobile app is slow and takes time to load pages 
• SSO-based login sometimes takes a few tries
• Not suitable for complex branch-level approvals and expenses

5. Coupa

Coupa is a cloud-based automation platform to manage business spending, ranging from procurement to expense management. It facilitates supply chain optimization by providing visibility and control. It streamlines expenses, reduces risk, and ensures compliance by automating reporting, simplifying reimbursements, and offering mobile tracking. 

Key Features:

• Offers virtual payment cards for pre-approved expenses, speeding up the reconciliation
• OCR technology and integration with accounting software eliminates manual data entry
• Provides expense reports with intelligent algorithms to prevent fraud and ensure compliance
• A centralized view of all expense spending, enabling accurate assessment
• Enables visibility and control over travel expenses before they occur, ensuring budget control
• Simplifies procurement by offering a centralized area for comparing items from various suppliers and managing punchouts and hosted catalogs
• Provides real-time visibility into purchase orders, order lifecycle, and order line availability
• SmarterTrip feature to automate expense tracking based on the user's location, including mileage and receipt capture

Pricing: 

Request the sales team for a custom quote.

Pros:

• Several categories and filters in the analytics section to streamline data
• Chat option enables approver and claimant to discuss issues with receipts
• Enables setting up of customized approval chains and including additional new approvers  

Cons:

• Lots of unnecessary notifications, making it difficult to select the ones that need action or comment
• Low receipt searchability, making retrieval time-consuming
• Inconsistent syncing of remit-to address from NetSuite
• Complex to implement and not intuitive, forcing admins to spend more time resolving employees' queries
• Slow customer service 
• Very expensive

6.BILL

‍BILL simplifies expense tracking by providing real-time visibility and customization to manage expenses. It is a spend management solution for SMBs to control payables, receivables expenses, and all corporate expenses. It allows businesses to combine a scattered spend management process into a single platform with seamless syncing. 

Key Features:

• Provides credit limits ranging from $500 to $5 million to control spending within constraints
• Makes it easier to monitor spending with real-time visibility into the business finances
• Custom approval workflows to speed up the approval process with minimal friction
• Multiple payment options, including ACH, credit card, check, international wire transfers
• Automates purchase order workflows with the ability to sync and automate two-way matching and three-way matching
• Ability to do quick coding and sync with accounting systems to streamline expense reconciliation
• Enables automated receipt matching, categorization, and expense reporting, reducing administrative workload
• Offers security features, including the ability to freeze and create corporate cards instantly
• Notifies administrators of each employee's transactions, ensuring timely oversight

Pricing: 

Bill provides a free trial and essentials pack starting at $45 for six standard user roles. Its team and corporate pack are for $55 and $79, respectively. Enterprises need to request a custom quote.

Pros: 

• One-click swift payments
• Minimum training required
• Easy-to-use mobile app

Cons: 

• Customer support is difficult to initiate, slow, and unresponsive
• Frequent changes in the interface create confusion for users

How to Choose the Right Spend Management Software 

To pick the right software, understand your organization's unique needs.

• What are your goals—cutting costs, enhancing compliance, or making expense processing more efficient?
• What issues do you face with expenses now—a time-consuming process, too many errors, or poor vendor relationships?
• How many employees will use the software, and should it be scalable to accommodate future hires?
• Do you have specific industry rules or in-house policies the software must follow?

Consider these eight factors:

Ease of Use

The software should require minimal training or support with a not-too-steep learning curve. Admins shouldn’t have to spend hours training their employees.

Automation

Choose software with features like automated approval workflows, expense categorization, and notifications. This will improve not only visibility but also accuracy and speed. You will have complete control over finances without having to do tedious manual tasks. 

Security

Pick software that complies with security and is certified. It should provide data encryption, role-based access control, and regular security updates.

ERP Integration

The software should integrate with existing financial and accounting systems. This provides a unified view of your financial data without any disruptions. You shouldn’t have to sync data from multiple sources, which can add up to the manual tasks. 

Document Capture and Retrieval

Pick a software that has simple document capture and retrieval capabilities. Attaching or retrieving receipts, invoices, and other relevant documents should not take more than a minute. OCR-based software that detects the information to auto-populate expense reports is better than that requiring manual entry.

Budget Control

Select software that enables specifying budgets for different projects, departments, or expense categories. It should be able to monitor the set budgets and raise alerts in case of breach. It should also allow you to modify these budgets at your discretion, ensuring funds reach the right place at the right time. 

Multiple Payment Options

The software should allow you to configure custom payment options to suit your business needs. This includes credit cards, ACH, or other payment methods.

Scalability and Flexibility

Select software that can accommodate increased usage for growing businesses. It must also be flexible enough to adapt to changing needs, such as new expense categories, compliance requirements, and organizational structures.

The Spend Management Solution for Your Team

Investing in a spend management tool like Pluto is a smart decision that can improve your financial visibility. From set-up to integration and managing intricate workflows, Pluto handles all aspects of spend management. 

• It seamlessly integrates with your current processes, ensuring a smooth transition. 
• It offers flexibility to handle complex operations, catering to the needs of both small and large teams. 
• Its automation capabilities reduce manual tasks and enhance accuracy for better expense management. 

Pluto is the only independently audited PCI DSS Level 1 provider in the UAE, ensuring the highest security standards for enterprises.

Pluto offers a spend management tool that adapts to your evolving needs and provides freedom from financial chaos.

If you want to see how Pluto can transform your spend management into a simpler process, book a demo today.