SAP Concur vs Expensify: Which expense management solution fits your business?

Whether you're managing a small business or operating at enterprise scale, efficient expense management is essential for maintaining financial health. Fortunately, there are a variety of tools available to streamline the process of tracking, submitting, and approving expenses.

In this article, we’ll compare two leading expense management solutions—SAP Concur vs Expensify. While both platforms are designed to simplify expense reporting, they cater to different types of businesses and offer distinct features. We’ll take a closer look at the strengths and weaknesses of each solution, as well as their key differences, to help you decide which is better suited for your organization’s needs.

SAP Concur and Expensify are two top contenders in the world of financial management software, each offering unique features designed to meet the diverse needs of different businesses.

SAP Concur is known for its robust, enterprise-level capabilities and deep integration with a wide range of business applications. It provides comprehensive tools for managing travel, expenses, and invoicing, making it particularly well-suited for large organizations with complex workflows and a need for extensive automation. On the other hand, Expensify is highly regarded for its simplicity and user-friendly interface. Targeting small to mid-sized businesses, Expensify offers an intuitive platform that automates expense tracking with features like receipt scanning and one-click expense reporting.

Now, let’s dive into the SAP Concur vs. Expensify comparison to help you determine which expense management solution is the best fit for your business needs.

SAP Concur and Expensify are two leading expense management platforms that share common features, such as expense tracking, receipt scanning, and automation capabilities. However, a significant difference between these platforms lies in their target markets and the depth of their features, which influences their use cases.

Expensify is primarily designed for small to mid-sized businesses or individuals who need a straightforward, easy-to-use expense reporting solution. Its intuitive user interface allows users to quickly scan receipts, automatically categorize expenses, and create expense reports with minimal effort. Expensify is known for its simplicity, making it popular among startups, freelancers, and growing businesses looking for an affordable and efficient way to manage expenses without unnecessary complexity.

Conversely, SAP Concur caters to large enterprises with complex expense, travel, and invoice management needs. Concur offers an extensive suite of features, including advanced reporting, policy compliance tools, and integrations with other enterprise systems like ERP and HR platforms. It also provides travel booking features and global compliance support, which is crucial for businesses with international operations. The platform’s flexibility and ability to handle more complex workflows make it ideal for organizations needing a comprehensive, scalable solution. However, this also means SAP Concur requires more time to implement and comes with a steeper learning curve, as well as higher costs compared to Expensify.

Another key difference between the two platforms is their approach to integrations. While Expensify integrates with popular accounting software like QuickBooks and Xero, SAP Concur goes further by offering deep integrations with a broader range of enterprise systems and tools, making it a better fit for large businesses seeking a fully integrated financial ecosystem.

In summary, Expensify is best for smaller businesses seeking simplicity, while SAP Concur is tailored for large enterprises requiring advanced features and robust integrations.

• Comprehensive expense and travel management: SAP Concur provides a complete suite of tools for managing not only expenses but also travel and invoicing. This makes it a powerful, all-in-one solution for large organizations with complex needs.
• Global compliance and policy enforcement: Concur offers robust features for maintaining compliance with local and international regulations, making it a great choice for multinational companies. It also helps enforce internal expense policies automatically.
• Advanced reporting and analytics: The platform offers detailed reporting and analytics capabilities, allowing businesses to gain deep insights into their expenses and spending patterns, which can aid in budgeting and cost control.
• Seamless integrations with enterprise systems: SAP Concur integrates seamlessly with ERP, HR, and other enterprise systems, allowing for better coordination between different departments and improved data accuracy.
• Customizable workflows: SAP Concur offers customizable workflows and approval processes, allowing businesses to tailor the platform to fit their specific requirements and streamline their operations.

• High cost: SAP Concur is one of the more expensive options in the expense management space, especially for smaller businesses. The platform’s robust features come with a higher price tag, which may not be justifiable for smaller companies.
• Steep learning curve: Due to its comprehensive features, SAP Concur can be overwhelming for new users. The platform requires training and time to master, which may delay implementation and onboarding.
• Complex implementation: Implementing SAP Concur can be time-consuming and requires careful planning, especially for large enterprises. The setup can take longer compared to simpler, more lightweight solutions.
• Limited user interface customization: Some users report that the user interface feels outdated and lacks flexibility in customization, which can impact user experience, especially compared to newer, more user-friendly tools.
• Support response times: Some users have reported that customer support response times can be slow, particularly when dealing with more complex issues, which can hinder problem resolution.

• User-friendly interface: Expensify is known for its clean, intuitive interface that allows users to easily scan receipts, categorize expenses, and submit reports. This simplicity makes it ideal for smaller businesses or users who want a fast and easy expense management solution.
• Automated expense tracking: Expensify’s SmartScan feature automatically extracts data from receipts, making expense tracking efficient. Users can simply snap a photo of a receipt, and the system fills in the details, reducing manual data entry.
• Affordable pricing: Expensify offers competitive pricing, including a free plan for individual users and affordable options for businesses. This makes it a cost-effective solution for startups, freelancers, and small-to-mid-sized companies.
• Seamless integration with accounting software: Expensify integrates well with popular accounting software like QuickBooks, Xero, and NetSuite, enabling smooth data transfer between platforms and making it easy for finance teams to keep accounts up to date.
• Mobile accessibility: Expensify’s mobile app allows users to manage expenses on the go. It’s optimized for both Android and iOS, making it highly accessible and convenient for users who need to track expenses while traveling.

• Limited features for larger enterprises: While Expensify is great for small businesses, it lacks the advanced features required by large enterprises, such as more comprehensive reporting tools or deep policy enforcement and compliance features.
• Occasional accuracy issues with SmartScan: Though SmartScan is a helpful tool, some users report occasional inaccuracies when extracting receipt data. This can lead to time spent correcting the errors manually.
• Basic reporting capabilities: Expensify’s reporting capabilities are relatively simple compared to more advanced platforms like SAP Concur. Businesses requiring detailed, customizable reports may find it lacking.
• Limited customization options: The platform offers limited customization when it comes to workflows and approval processes. Larger businesses or those with complex needs may find these constraints frustrating.
• Support for complex multi-currency expenses: Expensify’s handling of multi-currency expenses can be less seamless than some larger competitors. For companies with extensive international operations, this may cause challenges in accurate reporting and reconciliation.

SAP Concur and Expensify are both popular expense management solutions, but they cater to different business needs. SAP Concur is a robust, enterprise-level platform designed for large organizations requiring comprehensive features such as advanced reporting, global compliance, and deep system integrations. It is ideal for companies with complex expense workflows and international operations. 

In contrast, Expensify is a simpler, more affordable solution tailored for small to mid-sized businesses. It offers an intuitive interface with automated receipt scanning and basic expense reporting, making it ideal for companies seeking ease of use and cost-effectiveness over advanced functionality.

Whether SAP Concur is better than Expensify depends on the specific needs of your business. SAP Concur is superior for large enterprises needing comprehensive expense tracking, global compliance, and complex workflows, offering advanced features and deep integrations with ERP and HR systems. However, this level of functionality comes with a higher price and a steeper learning curve. 

Expensify, on the other hand, excels for smaller businesses or freelancers who need a simple, affordable tool that automates expense reporting without unnecessary complexity. If ease of use and budget-friendliness are priorities, Expensify may be the better choice for smaller-scale operations.

SAP Concur is best used for managing and automating complex business travel, expense, and invoice processes. It is highly suited for large organizations or enterprises with extensive global operations that require advanced features such as compliance with international regulations, customizable workflows, and detailed financial reporting. 

SAP Concur integrates seamlessly with other enterprise systems like ERP and HR platforms, making it ideal for companies needing a comprehensive solution to streamline expense tracking, travel bookings, and invoice management. Its ability to enforce policy compliance and provide real-time insights into spending makes it invaluable for businesses seeking to optimize financial control.

SAP Concur can replace Expensify, but whether it should depends on the specific needs of the business. SAP Concur offers a broader range of features and is designed for large enterprises that require more advanced tools for managing expenses, travel, and invoicing, along with deep integrations and global compliance support. 

However, for smaller businesses or those seeking a simpler, more affordable solution, Expensify might be a better fit due to its ease of use and cost-effectiveness. While Concur can handle the same functions as Expensify, it may introduce unnecessary complexity for businesses with straightforward expense management needs.

SAP Concur is generally not cheaper than Expensify. Concur is designed for large enterprises with complex expense, travel, and invoice management needs, offering a comprehensive set of features, which typically come at a higher price point. Concur’s quote can give you an estimated pricing for your needs. The platform’s advanced capabilities, integrations, and customization options make it more expensive, often requiring a substantial investment for implementation and ongoing use. 

Expensify, on the other hand, is geared toward small to mid-sized businesses, offering a more affordable, straightforward solution with basic expense tracking and reporting. While Concur provides more robust functionality, Expensify remains the more budget-friendly option for most smaller organizations.

Whether there is "better" software than SAP Concur depends on your business’s specific expense management needs. SAP Concur provides a powerful, feature-rich platform for managing expenses, travel, and invoices, especially for large enterprises with complex requirements.

However, alternatives to SAP Concur like Expensify, Zoho Expense, Navan, and Certify may be better suited for certain businesses. Expensify is simpler and more affordable for small businesses, Zoho Expense offers strong automation at a lower price point, and Certify focuses on user-friendly interfaces with straightforward reporting. Choosing the "better" software depends on factors like company size, budget, complexity of workflows, and the need for integrations or global compliance.

Expensify and SAP Concur serve different markets, with Expensify catering primarily to small to mid-sized businesses and SAP Concur targeting large enterprises. Expensify offers a simpler, more user-friendly platform that focuses on ease of use and affordability, making it ideal for businesses looking for quick, efficient expense tracking. 

SAP Concur, on the other hand, provides a more comprehensive, enterprise-level solution with advanced features such as global compliance, detailed reporting, and deep integrations with other systems. While SAP Concur handles complex workflows, Expensify’s streamlined approach is better suited for companies seeking a straightforward, budget-friendly solution.

Whether Expensify is better than SAP Concur depends on your business needs. Expensify is better suited for small to mid-sized businesses that prioritize simplicity and affordability in expense management. It offers quick setup, user-friendly features like receipt scanning, and efficient expense reporting, making it ideal for companies that don't need extensive customization or advanced functionality. 

In contrast, SAP Concur excels for larger organizations requiring complex workflows, compliance tracking, and deep system integrations. Expensify's streamlined approach makes it a better choice for businesses that want straightforward, budget-friendly expense management without the complexity of enterprise-level solutions like SAP Concur.

Expensify is best used for simplifying and automating expense reporting, making it ideal for small to mid-sized businesses, freelancers, and startups. It streamlines the process of capturing receipts through its SmartScan feature, which automatically extracts expense details, reducing manual data entry. 

Expensify also enables quick expense report submission, approval workflows, and integration with popular accounting software like QuickBooks and Xero. Its user-friendly interface and mobile accessibility make it convenient for users to track expenses on the go. Overall, Expensify is highly effective for businesses seeking a cost-efficient, easy-to-use solution for managing basic expense tracking and reporting.

Expensify can replace SAP Concur for small to mid-sized businesses with simpler expense management needs, but it may not be suitable for large enterprises with complex workflows. Expensify excels in ease of use, affordability, and quick setup, making it ideal for businesses that prioritize straightforward expense tracking and reporting. 

However, SAP Concur offers more advanced features such as global compliance, detailed analytics, travel management, and deeper system integrations, which are essential for large organizations. While Expensify provides a streamlined solution, it lacks the comprehensive capabilities of SAP Concur, making it less suitable for businesses with extensive expense management requirements.

Expensify is generally cheaper than SAP Concur, making it a more affordable option for small to mid-sized businesses. Expensify offers straightforward pricing with lower subscription costs and even has a free plan for individual users, making it budget-friendly for companies with basic expense management needs. 

In contrast, SAP Concur is designed for larger enterprises and offers a more robust feature set, including advanced reporting, compliance tools, and system integrations, which come at a higher price point. While Expensify’s pricing is cost-effective for simpler use cases, SAP Concur’s comprehensive capabilities make it more expensive but essential for complex business environments.

Deciding whether there is better software than Expensify depends on your specific expense management needs and business objectives. Several alternatives cater to different use cases and business sizes.

Alternatives to Expensify include SAP Concur, Zoho Expense, Brex, and Certify, each offering unique strengths. For example, SAP Concur is ideal for larger enterprises requiring advanced features like global compliance and deep system integrations, while Zoho Expense offers a cost-effective solution with strong automation capabilities. Carefully evaluating these elements will help determine the tool that best suits your expense management needs.

Expensify shines in its support for multi-currency transactions, making it an ideal choice for international business travelers. The platform automatically converts foreign transactions into the user’s home currency based on real-time exchange rates, simplifying the process of expense tracking for global travelers. For instance, a user can snap a receipt in Euros, and Expensify will automatically convert it into U.S. dollars in the expense report. 

While SAP Concur offers multi-currency functionality, it lacks the same seamless, automated currency conversion feature that Expensify provides, making Expensify more user-friendly for businesses that frequently operate across borders or deal with international transactions.

With SAP Concur, businesses can track and manage company expenses comprehensively, streamlining the process for employees while offering deeper insights into spending patterns. Concur’s advanced features allow companies to track expenses across multiple dimensions, such as by department, project, or individual employee, providing a clear view of where budgets are being utilized. For example, finance teams can analyze specific spending trends, identify inefficiencies, and ensure policy compliance in real time. 

Expensify, while also effective in managing expenses, focuses more on simplifying the expense reporting process and lacks the detailed tracking and management capabilities that SAP Concur provides, making Concur a better option for larger enterprises needing in-depth financial oversight.

Expensify's mileage tracking feature, leveraging your smartphone’s GPS, allows users to easily log miles during business trips with high accuracy. This feature simplifies the reimbursement process, automatically calculating mileage rates and generating detailed reports that are useful for both tax purposes and expense submissions. For example, users can set Expensify to track a trip in real-time, eliminating the need to manually input distances or addresses. 

In contrast, SAP Concur does not emphasize a dedicated mileage tracking tool within its feature set, making Expensify a better choice for businesses or individuals who frequently need to track miles for travel reimbursements.

When it comes to user-friendliness, both SAP Concur and Expensify have focused on improving the user experience of their platforms. SAP Concur, while comprehensive, can feel overwhelming for new users due to its extensive feature set and complex workflows, making it better suited for large organizations with dedicated training resources. 

In contrast, Expensify is designed with simplicity in mind, offering an intuitive interface that allows users to quickly scan receipts, submit expenses, and generate reports with minimal effort. For example, Expensify’s SmartScan feature automatically extracts data from receipts, streamlining the expense reporting process, whereas SAP Concur's more advanced features require additional setup and training.

Considering the need for seamless integration to enhance overall productivity, both SAP Concur and Expensify offer various options to connect with other platforms. However, SAP Concur takes the lead in this area due to its extensive integration capabilities with major enterprise systems. For instance, SAP Concur integrates deeply with ERP systems like SAP itself, Oracle, and Microsoft Dynamics, as well as HR platforms and financial tools, allowing large businesses to streamline workflows across departments. 

Expensify, while effective for smaller businesses, focuses primarily on integrations with popular accounting tools such as QuickBooks and Xero, making it less robust for enterprises needing a more comprehensive ecosystem.

SAP Concur’s ability to track expenses by employee, department, and project provides businesses with a more comprehensive view of their financial data. This granular tracking allows companies to monitor spending patterns across different areas of the organization, offering insights that can drive better decision-making. For example, businesses can see which departments are overspending or identify cost-saving opportunities through detailed real-time reports and advanced analytics. 

In contrast, Expensify, while offering basic expense tracking and reporting, does not provide the same level of detailed insights into departmental or project-based expenses, making it less suitable for companies needing deeper financial visibility and control.

Both SAP Concur and Expensify offer robust automation features for managing expenses, but with slightly different approaches. SAP Concur provides end-to-end automation throughout the expense management process, automating everything from receipt scanning to policy compliance checks and reimbursement approvals. For example, once an employee submits an expense report, Concur can automatically verify it against company policies and send it for approval, saving time for finance teams. 

Expensify, on the other hand, focuses on automating key tasks like SmartScan receipt capture, categorizing expenses, and compiling them into easy-to-read reports. While both platforms enhance accuracy and timeliness, SAP Concur offers a more comprehensive, fully automated workflow, ideal for larger organizations with complex processes.