Expensify – Build Better Expense Reports

June 27, 2010

Expensify is an application developed with the premise that the process of creating accurate expense reports doesn’t have to be nearly as difficult as most people make it. Rather than letting receipts pile up and manually typing each item you’ve purchased into a massive spreadsheet, Expensify lets you import expenses directly from your credit card without any typing, photocopying, or calculator usage required. Although the application is aimed at employees, accountants, freelancers, contractors, and students, it could really be used by anyone at all who needs to keep track of expenses for tax purposes or to receive reimbursement from work.

To start creating expense reports with Expensify, create an account with your Gmail, Google Apps, or Yahoo! login. The application also integrates with FreshBooks, QuickBooks, and SalesForce, which means people who already use these services can input even less information before getting started. To begin creating expense reports, add your credit card or online banking information, and watch as Expensify begins populating the page with all of your most recent transactions. Click on any purchases that were business-related, and Expensify will automatically gather and save the e-receipt for that purchase. If an e-receipt isn’t available for the transaction, then Expensify will prompt you to scan the original receipt to be saved and archived as a PDF file. Once all of your receipts have been uploaded, Expensify will handle everything and produce an accurate, complete expense report without any math required.

In addition to handling basic expense reports, Expensify also offers a number of advanced features such as mileage logs, time trackers, and mobile applications that let you input expenses directly at the time of purchase. For managers who are responsible for reimbursing employee expenses, the application lets you approve expense reports online and reimburse via credit card or direct deposit. Now that paper receipts are increasingly becoming a relic of the past, Expensify is positioned to become the new way that expense reporting is done at businesses across the country.

Practical Uses:

  • Create an expense report in minutes
  • Take a photo of your receipt with your mobile phone and save it online
  • Get reimbursed for purchases without a paper receipt by getting an e-receipt instead
  • Receive expense reimbursements via credit card or direct deposit

Insider Tips:

  • Download the mobile app to input expense information on the go
  • Email a scanned copy of a paper receipt to Expensify to be added to your account
  • Export any expense reports to QuickBooks
  • Track cash purchases by sending a text message to Expensify with the transaction information

What we liked:

  • Expensify calculates expense totals for you and reduces the chance of human error
  • Mobile application lets you snap a photo of any receipt, to be saved in the system
  • Creating expense reports with Expensify takes much less time than manually copying and adding up each receipt
  • Expense reports can be approved or rejected in a matter of minutes, since everything is automated online

What we didn’t like:

  • Expensify only handles expense reports, and users must use separate web-apps for other financial business matters like invoicing or accounting

Alternatives:

Company Info:

  • Launched: May 2008
  • Privately Held
  • Headquarters: San Francisco, California
  • Founded by: David Barrett
  • Web site: www.expensify.com

Costs:

  • Free to create and submit expense reports
  • Free to approve expense reports from 2 employees (submitters) per month
  • $5 per submitter, per month for additional expense reports

Rating:

  • 5 out of 5 (wow)

(via appvita)

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