Expense Management Software Australia | 2026 Guide

TL;DR:

This 2026 guide compares the leading expense management software in Australia, focusing on what matters most to ANZ mid-market finance teams: GST accuracy, FBT readiness, multi-entity capability, ERP integrations and workflow automation. You’ll find unbiased evaluations of widely used tools, followed by guidance on choosing the right platform and how ANZ organisations can build an automation mindset.

See how ProSpend unifies expenses, AP, POs, cards and budgets

What is expense management software?

Expense management software is a system that captures, approves and reconciles employee and corporate card spending, applies correct GST and FBT treatments, and exports coded data into your accounting or ERP system.

How modern expense management works

Modern expense management systems automate four core workflows:

1. Capture – Receipts and transactions are captured automatically via mobile apps, card feeds or email forwarding. GST is extracted at line level.
2. Approval – Claims follow structured workflows based on delegation of authority, cost centre, budget or entity.
3. Compliance – GST rules, FBT attendee data and policy checks (e.g., meal entertainment, mileage thresholds) are applied before claims reach finance.
4. Export – Fully coded transactions sync into Xero, MYOB, NetSuite or TechnologyOne, including tax codes, tracking categories and entity mapping.

For ANZ mid-market teams, the key is pre-spend control, which ensures spend is approved and coded correctly before it reaches the ERP, not cleaned up at month-end.

Who this guide is for (and the challenges ANZ mid-market teams face)

This guide is written for ANZ mid-market CFOs, Finance Managers and AP leaders navigating hybrid work, rising compliance expectations and increasing invoice/transaction volumes. Common pain points include:

• Manual GST and FBT adjustments at month-end
• Chasing receipts across emails, phones and shared inboxes
• Inconsistent approval processes across departments or states
• Multi-entity coding challenges in Xero, MYOB, NetSuite or TechnologyOne
• Limited visibility of spend until after it’s incurred
• Staff frustration with clunky, outdated tools

If these resonate, the comparisons and decision frameworks below will help clarify your options.

Top Expense Management Software Tools in Australia (2026 Review)

A detailed comparison of leading expense management solutions used by Australian and New Zealand organisations, focused on how well they support ANZ tax, compliance, scale, and automation. 

SAP Concur

Enterprise-grade travel and expense platform.

Best for

Global enterprises with dedicated IT teams and complex travel requirements.

Strengths

• Deep policy enforcement and auditing
• Mature travel + expense model
• Highly configurable enterprise workflows

Limitations for ANZ mid-market organisations

• Heavy configuration load
• Longer, higher-cost implementations
• Oversized for teams needing quicker, simpler automation
• FBT features exist but require extensive setup

For ANZ mid-market organisations, Concur is often selected when travel is the dominant workflow. For non-travel-heavy teams, its complexity and configuration overhead can outweigh the benefits, especially when GST/FBT and multi-entity needs are simpler than global enterprises.

Expensify

Lightweight receipt capture and reimbursement tool.

Best for

Small teams or organisations with basic reimbursement needs.

Strengths

• User-friendly mobile app
• OCR-based receipt capture
• Integrations with Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks

Limitations for ANZ mid-market organisations

• No built-in FBT workflows
• Limited multi-entity depth
• Not designed for AP invoices, POs or budgets
• Online-only support with no local onboarding

Expensify works well for small, decentralised teams, but ANZ mid-market finance functions often require more structured governance. Without integrated POs, budgets or AP workflows, finance teams typically supplement Expensify with additional tools, increasing fragmentation.

Webexpenses

Cloud-based expenses + invoice processing.

Best for

Teams wanting a combined expenses + basic AP workflow.

Strengths

• Policy rules and audit trails
• Multi-currency expense support
• Covers both claims and invoices

Limitations for ANZ mid-market organisations

• No automated FBT module
• No native corporate cards or real-time budgets
• Interface and customisation are less modern compared with newer tools

Webexpenses can suit organisations wanting a combined receipts + invoice solution but often requires finance teams to make manual corrections in the ERP for GST or FBT accuracy. As data volumes grow, this manual layer becomes a barrier to month-end efficiency.

ApprovalMax

Approval workflow engine layered on top of existing accounting systems.

Best for

Organisations wanting structured approval governance connected to Xero, QBO or NetSuite.

Strengths

• Multi-step approval routing
• Enforces delegation-of-authority rules
• Quick to deploy

Limitations for ANZ mid-market organisations

• Not a full expense solution
• No corporate cards, reimbursements or travel
• Requires pairing with other capture and AP tools

ApprovalMax is excellent for enforcing DOA rules but does not reduce end-to-end manual work across expenses or AP. Mid-market teams frequently end up managing multiple disconnected tools, increasing governance gaps and reconciliation effort.

Airwallex

Card, wallet and payment-focused spend platform.

Best for

Organisations dealing with global payments or multi-currency spend.

Strengths

• Strong FX and global wallet capability
• Virtual cards + real-time controls
• Fast product iteration

Limitations for ANZ mid-market organisations

• GST/FBT treatment occurs in the accounting layer
• Limited AP/PO workflows
• Overpowered for domestic-only organisations

Airwallex suits high-growth global businesses but is less aligned with domestic ANZ tax requirements. Finance teams still need to correct GST/FBT coding downstream, and lack of integrated AP/PO workflows means more manual effort.

Dext

OCR capture tool for receipts, bills and bank statements.

Best for

Finance teams prioritising data capture and bookkeeping efficiency.

Strengths

• Market-leading OCR accuracy
• Pushes GST-ready data into accounting systems
• Helpful for outsourced finance teams

Limitations for ANZ mid-market organisations

• No proactive spend controls
• Light approval workflows
• Not a complete expense or AP platform

Dext remains one of the strongest OCR tools, but mid-market teams typically outgrow it once they need structured approvals, integrated cards, budgeting controls or unified AP/expense oversight.

This comparison highlights that many international systems support expenses, but few are purpose-built for ANZ mid-market compliance, GST/FBT accuracy, local support requirements and unified spend control.

Before Choosing a Tool: Build an Automation Mindset

Finance transformation sticks when the team develops a shared culture of improvement.

Focus areas

• Start with one pilot process
• Celebrate early wins
• Create psychological safety around experimentation
• Encourage peer-to-peer knowledge sharing

Why it matters

Teams that adopt this mindset see faster month-end closes, clearer ownership of spend, fewer manual corrections and higher adoption of new tools.

Why ANZ Mid-Market Teams Choose ProSpend

ProSpend is an Australian-built spend management platform designed specifically for mid-market organisations across Australia and New Zealand. It brings expenses, AP, POs, budgets, corporate cards and travel into one unified workflow.

Purpose-built for ANZ compliance

• Automatic GST calculation on all claims and invoices
• Dedicated FBT Wizard for meal entertainment and attendee capture
• Onshore hosting and Sydney-based support

What sets ProSpend apart for ANZ mid-market teams

Unlike global tools designed around US or EU tax rules, ProSpend embeds ANZ-first logic into every workflow — from GST treatment to FBT meal entertainment classification to entity-aware approval routing. This reduces downstream corrections and removes the need for time-consuming workarounds. For finance teams running lean, ProSpend becomes the operational backbone for controlling spend across departments, projects and subsidiaries.

Unified spend control

• Expenses, reimbursements, AP automation, POs, budgets, cards and travel
• Pre-spend controls including budgets, limits and approval routing
• Real-time visibility for finance leaders and cost centre managers

Deep ERP integrations

Certified connectors for over 30 ERPs including 

• Xero
• MYOB (Advanced + AccountRight)
• NetSuite
• TechnologyOne
• Business Central
• SAP & Oracle (via integration pathways)

Outcomes for ANZ mid-market organisations

• Up to 60% reduction in manual AP + expense admin
• Faster month-end
• Fewer GST/FBT errors
• Complete, audit-ready trails
• Stronger pre-spend discipline

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Which Expense Tool Should You Choose? (2026 Decision Framework)

Choose ProSpend if you need:

• Unified expenses + AP + POs + cards + budgets
• Accurate GST + FBT logic
• Deep Xero/MYOB/NetSuite/TechOne integrations
• Local support and ANZ data residency
• Multi-entity consolidation

Choose enterprise tools (e.g., Concur) if:

• You operate globally
• You have large internal IT capability
• Travel management is your primary complexity

Choose lightweight tools (e.g., Expensify, Dext) if:

• You only need basic capture and reimbursement
• AP, POs and cards are handled elsewhere
• Tax treatment can be managed manually

FAQs

What is the best expense management software for Australian organisations?

It depends on your size and compliance requirements. Tools range from lightweight capture apps to enterprise travel platforms. For ANZ mid-market teams needing unified spend control and GST/FBT accuracy, platforms built locally tend to offer the best fit.

Do most expense tools handle FBT correctly?

No. Very few offer dedicated attendee capture or automated meal entertainment classification. FBT is typically handled manually unless using a platform designed for ANZ conditions.

How long does implementation take?

Implementation timelines vary by module. Most mid-market organizations can be up and running within 2 weeks, though this depends on factors like entity count, approval workflow complexity, PO adoption scope, and ERP integration requirements.

Do expense tools integrate with Xero, MYOB and NetSuite?

Yes, but depth varies. The most effective solutions offer real-time syncing, multi-entity mapping and committed spend visibility.

Is OCR alone enough to modernise expenses?

OCR helps with data capture but does not solve approvals, GST/FBT accuracy, proactive spend control or cards. Most ANZ organisations eventually transition to unified spend platforms.

What’s the difference between expenses and AP automation?

Expenses handle employee-initiated spend. AP automation manages supplier invoices and payments. Mid-market teams benefit most when both operate in a single workflow.

Conclusion: The Right Expense System Enables Real Control, Not Just Receipt Capture

Expense management in Australia now extends far beyond scanning receipts. ANZ mid-market organisations need accurate GST and FBT handling, consistent approval governance, multi-entity clarity, and deep integrations with systems like Xero, MYOB, NetSuite and TechnologyOne. While many tools provide partial workflows, only a handful deliver the connected, compliant and scalable experience needed by modern finance teams.

ProSpend is purpose-built for this environment — bringing expenses, cards, AP, POs, budgets and travel into one platform designed for ANZ tax rules, ANZ audit expectations and ANZ finance teams. If your organisation is moving toward higher visibility, stronger governance and reduced manual workload, ProSpend offers the framework to get there confidently.

To explore related topics:

• What is FBT ? 

• FBT On Meal Entertainment: Actual Method vs 50/50 Method

Are you looking for a spend management solution that can scale with your mid-market business? Talk to our experts today - Book a ProSpend Demo