While keeping track of expenses is a challenge for everyone, it’s particularly demanding for small businesses. Without an accounting team, most business owners have to do it themselves, on top of all the other responsibilities that running a business brings. But with apps for expenses, small business managers can breathe a sigh of relief.

Mobile-friendly apps have been helping small businesses optimise their operations. While appointment scheduling apps have made it easy to book appointments, second phone number apps have made it possible to have a business phone number to separate professional and personal lives. Expenses apps are also a must-have for small businesses and here are five of the most popular to choose from.

5 expenses apps for small businesses

1. Everlance

Everlance lets you take photos of expense receipts and is exceptionally easy to use. But what makes it the number one choice for many is the fact that you can also track your mileage. It converts GPS readings into mileage logs automatically.

Then, it tells you how much you can deduct from your taxes. The app creators claim that its users end up saving up to $6500 every year through tax deductions. That isn’t something most expense apps can boast about.

Cost: Free but for unlimited mileage tracking you will need to pay $7.99 a month

2. FreshBooks

What makes FreshBooks special is that it’s designed for small business owners who don’t have any experience in accounting. And let’s admit it, that’s most small business founders and managers. FreshBooks easily integrates with your bank accounts and credit cards and automatically integrates expenses.

Importantly, expenses are categorised with crucial information and photos of receipts to make it easy when filing taxes.

Cost: Free trial for 30 days. Plans are from $15 a month

3. BizXpenseTracker

One of the most highly-rated expenses apps for small businesses, BizXpenseTracker lets you keep track of mileage in real-time. It does so by integrating with Google Maps. Easy to use for tracking both receipts and billable hours, the app also groups expenses by location, date and client.

The app also generates reports, so that businesses can examine their expenses more closely.

Cost: $6.99 a month with extra for additional features

4. Expensify

Considering the features it offers, Expensify should be called a collective expense management app. While you can import expenses from your bank accounts and credit card reports, what makes it particularly useful is that it also allows your team members to report their expenses through the app.

Not just that, once you review and approve their expenses, you can also pay them via the app. With its SmartScan, you can also easily digitise expenses and store the details.

Cost: $5 per user

5. Shoeboxed

Organising physical receipts is a thing of the past with Shoeboxed. The app makes it effortless to save receipts and categorise them. With its Gmail integration, you can also track any receipts that come in digital form.

The app generates PDF files of your expenses, which in itself should be worth your attention.

Cost: No free trials. Charges start at $29.00

In short

These expense apps are easy to use and intuitive. The one you choose should fit the needs of your business and the expense habits of your employees. After a year or so, you can audit its performance by analysing how much you were able to save in taxes after using the app.