Airbase
Airbase is a comprehensive spend management platform that combines accounts payable automation, corporate cards, and employee expense reimbursements into a single integrated solution to simplify your entire business spending process.
Zoho Expense
Zoho Expense is an online expense reporting software designed to automate your entire business travel and expense management process from receipt storage to reimbursement and accounting integration.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Airbase | Zoho Expense |
|---|---|---|
| Website | airbase.com | zoho.com |
| Pricing Model | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting Price | Free | Free |
| FREE Trial | ✘ No free trial | ✓ 14 days free trial |
| Free Plan | ✓ Has free plan | ✓ Has free plan |
| Product Demo | ✓ Request demo here | ✓ Request demo here |
| Deployment | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Target Users | ||
| Target Industries | ||
| Customer Count | 0 | 0 |
| Founded Year | 2017 | 1996 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, USA | Chennai, India |
Overview
Airbase
Airbase gives you a single place to manage every dollar your company spends. Instead of jumping between different tools for credit cards, invoices, and employee reimbursements, you can handle everything from one dashboard. You can set up automated approval workflows that ensure every purchase follows your company policy before the money is even spent.
The platform helps you close your books faster by syncing every transaction directly with your accounting software in real-time. Whether you are a growing startup or a mid-market company, you can eliminate manual data entry and gain total visibility into your department budgets. It replaces fragmented systems with a unified workflow that saves your finance team hours of manual work every month.
Zoho Expense
Zoho Expense is a comprehensive expense management solution that helps you automate your entire reporting lifecycle. Instead of manually tracking paper receipts, you can use the mobile app to scan them instantly, allowing the software to extract data and create expense entries automatically. You can manage everything from multi-stage approval workflows to corporate card reconciliation in one centralized platform.
The platform simplifies business travel by letting you book trips, set per-diem rates, and enforce spending policies before costs are even incurred. It scales effectively for any business size, offering a free plan for small teams and robust enterprise features for global organizations. By integrating directly with Zoho Books and other major accounting tools, it ensures your financial data stays synchronized without manual data entry.
Overview
Airbase Features
- Guided Procurement Direct your employees through a simple intake process that automatically routes requests to the right stakeholders for approval.
- AP Automation Scan invoices with OCR technology and automate your entire accounts payable workflow from bill creation to final payment.
- Corporate Cards Issue physical or virtual cards with built-in spend limits and automated receipt collection to prevent overspending.
- Expense Reimbursements Manage out-of-pocket employee expenses globally and sync them directly to your accounting system for faster payouts.
- Real-time Sync Connect your GL and sync transactions automatically, ensuring your financial data is always accurate and up to date.
- Automated Tax Mapping Categorize your spending automatically based on your chart of accounts to simplify your month-end close process.
Zoho Expense Features
- Autoscan Receipts. Snap photos of your receipts with your phone and let the AI automatically extract key data for instant expense creation.
- Corporate Card Mapping. Connect your corporate cards to automatically import transactions and reconcile them with your employee expense reports in seconds.
- Travel Management. Book flights, hotels, and cars directly within the platform while ensuring all bookings stay within your company's travel policy.
- Multi-stage Approvals. Set up custom approval hierarchies so reports automatically route to the right managers for faster reimbursement cycles.
- Policy Compliance. Define spending limits and categories to automatically flag violations, ensuring your team stays within budget at all times.
- Direct Reimbursements. Pay your employees back quickly by initiating reimbursements directly through integrated payment gateways like ICICI or HSBC.
Pricing Comparison
Airbase Pricing
- Bill Pay functionality
- Corporate card access
- Basic approval workflows
- Standard accounting sync
- Email support
- Everything in Standard, plus:
- Advanced procurement intake
- Purchase order management
- Multi-subsidiary support
- Custom approval routing
- Dedicated account manager
Zoho Expense Pricing
- Up to 3 users
- 20 receipt autoscans per month
- Expense reporting
- Multi-currency support
- Mobile app access
- Everything in Free, plus:
- Unlimited receipt autoscans
- Unlimited users (billed per user)
- Policy compliance checks
- Multi-stage approval flows
- Corporate card reconciliation
Pros & Cons
Airbase
Pros
- Consolidates multiple finance tools into one platform
- Deep integration with NetSuite and Sage Intacct
- Virtual cards make managing SaaS subscriptions easy
- Significantly reduces time spent on month-end close
Cons
- Initial implementation requires significant time investment
- Mobile app has fewer features than desktop
- Custom pricing can be high for smaller teams
Zoho Expense
Pros
- Excellent mobile app for scanning receipts on the go
- Seamless integration with the broader Zoho ecosystem
- Affordable pricing compared to major enterprise competitors
- Highly customizable approval workflows for complex teams
Cons
- Occasional delays in AI receipt data extraction
- Interface can feel cluttered for very simple users
- Customer support response times vary by region