Xero Expenses: overview for UK businesses

Does your business need help getting organised with managing employee expenses? An expenses management tool like Xero Expenses could make life easier.

Xero Expenses is a claims management tool and expense tracker app, part of the Xero accounting software suite. It’s targeted towards small businesses, making it easier and more convenient to track employee spend.

In this guide, we’ll cover all the essentials you need to know about the Xero Expenses app. This includes features, pricing and integrations.

🔗 Connect Xero Expenses and Wise Business Account, to automatically sync expenses for over 40 currencies

📝 Table of contents:
What is Xero Expenses? Xero Expenses features Xero Expenses App How much does Xero Expenses cost? Xero Expenses integrations Go global with Wise Business

What is Xero Expenses?

Xero Expenses is an expenses management tool for processing employee claims. Both employers and workers can snap and upload photos of receipts, to make expense claims quick, convenient and paper-free. The tool lets employers reimburse expense claims, track mileage and view analytics information to monitor spending.

It’s designed so that busy employers can manage expenses claims on the go, through a user-friendly mobile app.

Xero Expenses itself is a popular pick among business owners. The accounting software has received a score of 4.2/5 on Trustpilot¹, with many reviewers particularly praising the company’s customer service performance. However, some business owners have mentioned that the platform can potentially be a little tricky to set up for first timers.

Xero Expenses features

Here’s a quick overview of the main features you can expect with Xero Expenses²:

• Receipt scanner - employees can submit paper-free claims on the spot simply by uploading a photo of their receipt. The key details from the receipt are captured and used to automatically populate the expenses claim, which is submitted with the receipt attached.
• Review and approve expenses claims in just one tap, so employees don’t have to wait around for reimbursement.
• Instant notifications - you’ll receive a notification as soon as an expense claim is submitted, so you can take a look right away.
• Detailed analytics - this includes forecasts, expense reporting and budgets based on real-time figures, so you can manage cashflow and keep accounting expenses in order.
• Mileage tracking - including a handy route planning map.

Xero Expenses app

You can access Xero Expenses through the Xero accounting software suite, but you’ll get the most out of it when you use the Xero Expenses app.

The mobile app, available for both Android and iOS devices, is convenient for both employers and their staff. Employees can scan receipts to capture costs as they happen, and employers can review and reimburse claims on the move.

If you’re a business owner, you’ll invite your team to download the Xero Expenses app, and then assign each a specific user permission. This determines whether they can submit or approve a claim, or both.

How much does Xero Expenses cost?

Xero Expenses is an optional add-on for Xero. This means you’ll need to choose a pricing plan (if you’re not already with Xero) then sign up to use Xero Expenses for an additional cost.

The standard pricing for Xero Expenses is £2.50 a month for one user, then an extra £2.50 a month for each additional active user³. At the moment though, Xero is offering 3 months free use of Expenses for Starter, Standard and Premium plans³.

Now, here’s a quick look at Xero expenses pricing plans³:

	Starter	Standard	Premium	Ultimate
Cost	£14/month⁴	£28/month⁴	£36/month⁴	£49/month³
Target	Sole traders, startups and the self-employed	Growing small businesses	Established businesses of all sizes	Larger employers and more complex small businesses
Features	- Send up to 20 invoices - Enter 5 bills - Reconcile bank transactions - Submit VAT returns - Capture bills with Hubdoc - Automatic CIS calculations and reports	- All Starter plan features (inc. unlimited invoices and bills) - Bulk reconcile transactions - Short-term cash flow and business snapshot	- All Standard features - Use multiple currencies	- All Premium features - Payroll for up to 10 people - Expenses for up to 5 people - Projects for up to 5 people - Advanced Insights with Analytics Plus

*Pricing from 15th September 2022

Another useful add-on to know about is Xero Pay with Wise. This lets you pay multiple and bulk payments efficiently, quickly and securely. So for example, you can pay all your monthly bills in one transaction, without needing a payment file.

Using Xero Pay with Wise costs from £3 for 10 transactions a month, rising to £20 for 100 transactions a month - and you get the first month free³.

Lear more about Wise

Xero Expenses integrations

Xero Expenses is seamlessly integrated with the rest of the Xero accounting software suite, including other tools like Xero Bills⁵.

But you can also connect Xero itself to other business apps, to make bookkeeping, expenses and cashflow management more convenient. For example, Xero can be integrated with⁶:

• CRM platforms like HubSpot CRM and Capsule CRM
• Time tracking tools like Deputy and Planday
• Inventory software such as EzzyBills and DEAR inventory
• Reporting tools like Calxa
• Payroll apps like Xero Payroll, BrightPay and KeyPay.

And of course, you can also connect Xero to your Wise Business account. This lets you automatically sync and manage activity for over 40 currencies, so you can keep track of international payments.

Manage business expenses with Wise

When it comes to streamlining expense management, Xero and Wise Business go hand in hand. They can be integrated seamlessly, and help to make submitting, reviewing, paying and tracking employee expenses a breeze.

The Wise Business multi-currency account is especially useful if your company sends or receives international payments. You can easily pay international invoices, along with suppliers, contractors and staff worldwide - all at the mid-market exchange rate.

And for a simple, clean way to sort daily employee expenses, you can order a Wise expense card for every staff member who needs one. You can pre-set spending limits, and track international cashflow once you connect your account to Xero.

This means more clever automation, and more time back for you to focus on what you do best - growing your business.

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And that’s pretty much it - all you need to know about using Xero Expenses. We’ve covered features, pricing, plans, integrations and add-ons.

So, you should have a better idea of whether this could be the right expense management software for you.

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Sources used for this article:

1. Trustpilot - Xero.com
2. Xero.com - Expenses
3. Xero.com - Pricing Plans
4. Xero.com - Pricing Plans Update
5. Xero Apps - Xero Expenses
6. Xero Apps - Integrations

Sources checked on 14-09-2022.