ExpensePoint is a cloud-based mobile expense management tool that allows business owners and their employees to keep track of costs on the go. With its keenly-priced service options ExpensePoint offers good value, particularly for small businesses with lower volumes of expense claims to process each month during the coronavirus crisis.

• Want to try ExpensePoint? Check out the website here

However, ExpensePoint has also been suitably well-built to allow larger companies with multiple employees to harness its suite of power tools to tame relentless expense claims. In fact, its back end administrator tools will definitely appeal to accountancy specialists. The service works with multi-currencies, can be accessed via any kind of device and with its ability to allow submitting, approval and reporting of expenses from one location makes it a great one-stop option.

Pricing

When it comes to pricing then ExpensePoint has tried to keep things straightforward and fuss free. It currently offers an ‘all in’ option that gets you all of the features in the ExpensePoint arsenal for $7.50, which includes unlimited monthly expense reports. This also gets you the use of ExpensePoints Receipt Reader team, which is a group of real individuals who pick over your paperwork when it is uploaded into the system.

Features

ExpensePoint comes packaged with all you’ll need to cover every aspect of processing expenses. It offers convenience with multi-device access, an innovative receipt imaging system, credit card integration, provides lots of spending data and delivers swift employee reimbursement via Automated Clearing House (ACH) batch processing when needed. 

ExpensePoint can also work with multiple currencies and is safe, secure and compliant. Once you’ve got an account you’ll be able to create and submit expense claims along with getting them reviewed and approved by administrators. Expense controllers can also wrangle the data from these claims and produce detailed reports based on the securely collected information. 

Interestingly, ExpensePoint even allows you to fax scanned receipt images into reports, along with slightly more modern methods such as email and digital uploads.

Performance

Thanks to its cloud-based setup ExpensePoint is perfect for office administrators as it allows them to receive automatic updates when reports are submitted for approval. This lets them view both the report and any receipts that have been uploaded by employees out in the field and a click to approve system means that claims can be processed quickly and efficiently. 

Employees should find the app helps speed up the process as the entire expense report can be produced on the go. Receipts can be placed in a Receipt Wallet feature, including those that have been captured on a mobile. 

In addition, these are read by the receipt reader team, real people in other words, rather than relying on OCR, and get input into the system while credit card transactions arrive in a My Transactions folder. This means that everything can be pulled in together to produce a claim that includes the likes of dates, vendors, taxes, amounts and much more besides.

Ease of use

It’s easy to see the appeal of ExpensePoint, due in the main to its capacity for being used anywhere. The cloud-based service can be accessed using desktop or laptop machines, along with mobile devices. Adding to the appeal is the mobile app edition, which offers a full suite of supplementary features for employees on the move. 

Office administrators will find that ExpensePoint comes with plenty of tools for processing claims too, while its reporting tools are simple but powerful. Better still, ExpensePoint can be used in tandem with popular accounting packages, such as QuickBooks and Sage.

Support

You’ll find that support for ExpensePoint comes in the usual form of help via the website that includes a rather annoying live support chat option. This is a good idea if you're in need of help, but the fact that it kept popping up while we were making our first exploration of ExpensePoint and its features soon became annoying. 

However, the cloud-based service seems to offer a pretty good standard of assistance aside from that. There’s a blog too, that gives some useful insights into all manner of ExpensePoint’s feature set.

Final verdict

ExpensePoint seems like a pretty good value proposition if you're in need of an expense claim system that will handle varying volumes of claims. While there’s obvious appeal with the competitive pricing, especially considering the report producing side of things, ExpensePoint is also beefy enough for bigger businesses. 

The desktop interface is more suited to those who use accountancy tools on a regular basis, but the app delivers a decent enough experience if you’re looking to stay on top of your expenses when you’re out and about. 

For the money ExpensePoint has plenty to recommend, particularly thanks to those key features that include the mobile convenience, the ability to import credit card transactions alongside receipts, plus strong controls for approval by administrators. That said, however, rivals such as QuickBooks, Rydoo, Hurdlr, Zoho Expense and Pocketguard are worth looking at too.

• We've also highlighted the best expense tracker apps and software

Abacus is a cloud-based expense reporting package that is available to US businesses of all shapes and sizes. Designed to automate many aspects of the expense process and increase efficiency, Abacus can be tailored to suit different business needs thanks to custom variants of its packages for larger volume customers.

• Want to try Abacus? Check out the website here

There’s a stylish browser-based dashboard and supporting app, which makes Abacus look bang up to date and offers users easy control of expense management. The software comes with appeal for both employees and employers, having lots of tools and functionality aimed at smoothing the normally tedious job of expense filing. A chore made even more laborious due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

Pricing

There are three different Abacus plans to choose from, with something to suit all levels of business user. A Starter edition costs just $9 per active user, billed monthly and this is based on a minimum of 2 users. It’s aimed at small businesses that need to keep an effective track on what’s going out, and subsequently reimburse employees promptly. 

Next up is a Professional package, for which Abacus advises you’ll need a custom quote. You can schedule a demo too. This is aimed at companies with higher volumes of expenses to monitor and is billed annually. Finally, there’s an Enterprise edition, which again requires a customer quote from Abacus. Billed annually, this targets companies with more complex expense tracking requirements.

Features

There are two core aspects of Abacus to explore, with a dashboard that allows administrators and employees to handle expense tasks, plus an app. The mobile side of things will find most favor with employees as it allows them to submit expenses the moment they happen. 

Users can take a photo of a receipt and the resulting file, or files can be dynamically approved by system administrators. Abacus has an app for both iOS and Android, which offers all of the convenience of being able to keep tabs of receipts and other expenses while you’re on the go.

Expense administrators will love the ability to quickly compile receipts and card transactions along with other data from within Abacus. They can also preset expense policy rules in advance too. Meanwhile, the ability to organize transactions into live reports means the process of reimbursing employees is more efficient. 

On another practical note, Abacus works and indeed syncs with the likes of QuickBooks, Xero and NetSuite accounting software, which is a boon for businesses that use these programs. It can also be integrated to work alongside tools such as Slack and popular HR systems.

Performance

While some users have reported one or two bugs with the app editions of Abacus recent updates seem to have largely corrected any minor faults. Alongside the mobile edition of Abacus, which company employees will see most of, the dashboard side of the experience is equally as zesty. 

In fact, with its modern look and feel, plus an interface that’s been designed with a slimline feature set on show, the web browser edition of Abacus seems to draw praise from all and sundry. Abacus also keeps a keen eye on security, requiring users to get their accounts verified in order to prevent abuse of reimbursement payments.

Ease of use

Expense tracking packages invariably have to satisfy the needs of numerous, and sometimes many users. In that respect Abacus has gone for a funky modern feel with its interface and overall design, which makes it appealing to start with. For administration tasks the dashboard is clean, simple and works as expected. 

Mobile users, meanwhile, will find the app similarly well thought out, with nothing tricky to get to grips with. Taking a picture with your phone and getting the ball rolling with administrators able to approve expenses on-the-fly means money can be paid back both quickly and easily.

Support

The support side of things with Abacus tends to follow a similar theme to many expense tracking packages. There’s a comprehensive knowledge base that can be tapped into in order to gain a better understanding of the features and functions. Outside of common queries, or if you develop a problem, then it's possible to raise and submit a ticket via an online support form.

Final verdict

Abacus does a grand job of refining the often laborious expense tracking process by creating a much more dynamic link between employees submitting receipts and office administrators approving them. Abacus also provides businesses with a great overview of trends based on the data it captures, allowing business owners to better calculate budget spends moving forwards. 

The company has gone the extra mile to make the app and dashboard experience more appealing too, with great layouts, simple menus and sensible tool options along with an overall design that just works. At the lower end of the package scale the Starter edition looks like a little bit of a bargain too. Abacus has rivals however, such as QuickBooks, Rydoo, Hurdlr, Zoho Expense and Pocketguard.

• We've also highlighted the best expense tracker apps and software

ExpensePath is an expense reporting tool that is suitably lean and affordable so that it’ll appeal primarily to small businesses, especially during coronavirus. Perhaps the best thing about this software as a service product is its flexibility, with pricing that will suit smaller ventures that don't need all of the trimmings that some other rivals provide at a higher price.

• Want to try ExpensePath? Check out the website here

With a strong presence on the app front ExpensePath is also tailored to suit employees looking to get on top of expenses while they're out and about, with a learning curve that won't put them off either. In fact, ExpensePath has lots to offer employees and office administrators alike, thanks to its simple-but-effective arsenal of features and functions, designed to basically get the job done in no-frills fashion. Similar products include QuickBooks, Expensify, Hurdlr and Zoho Expense.

Pricing

ExpensePath appeals largely because of its pricing plans, which are highly competitive and there’s a strong start with a trial period too. You can request a demo, which can be quickly set up so you can peruse what’s on offer. As for spending money then pricing is based around the number of users you have and the amount of reports generated. 

It’s the lesser of the two and the system can dynamically adjust this based on expense reports that are produced moving forwards. This effectively means that pricing is very keen, with overheads starting out at around $5 per month. Overall, the Expense Path pricing seems pretty fair in that you’re only really paying for what gets used.

Features

While ExpensePath doesn't come with lots of tools that you might not ever need, the slimmed down and highly intuitive feature set works a treat for the smaller business owner. ExpensePath does a great job of letting office administrators set up expense criteria, which employees can then follow when they’re out in the field. 

ExpensePath also has the capability to work with other business tools, including the likes of SageIntacct, NetSuite, Netchex, Quickbooks and more besides. For small business users who spend much of their time in something like Quickbooks, the integration possibilities are very useful for pulling different batches of data together. 

The software as a service also ties in easily with Mastercard, Visa and American Express too, so there’s plenty of ways to join up the dots of your business activities.

Performance

With its pretty basic interface and user-friendly persona ExpensePath doesn't have too much baggage to cause performance issues. While the desktop administration aspect seems largely faultless, there are some minor obstacles on the performance front via the app. 

You’ll need to input more details manually than you might have been expecting, even though the system does let you capture images of receipts like so many others in the expense software marketplace. The lack of OCR capability mean that some aspects of the expense filing process are rather more labored. But, smaller companies that need to process relatively minimal expense claims shouldn’t find this too offputting for their employees.

Ease of use

Getting to grips with ExpensePath is certainly easy with a neat and tidy interface that provides novice users with little in the way of obstacles. Office-based users, or indeed those on laptops can dip into the web dashboard, which delivers a quality experience thanks to no-nonsense menus that cover all of the main expense topics, along with options for producing those all-important reports. 

Administrators can have a field day with the configuration tools inside here. Employees should also revel in the app, a version of which is available for both iOS and Android. 

This has been very nicely put together and works without fuss. Just what you want so that employees don't let their expense tracking duties slip over time. Usefully, they can get receipts and the associated information into the system from wherever they may be, which means receipts get filed in a timely fashion.

Support

Despite the fact that ExpensePath doesn’t deliver too much in the way of a steep learning curve, the support options within your chosen package might prove useful. You get the usual phone and email options, plus a knowledge base to pick through if there’s an outstanding query you’re looking to solve on your own. ExpensePath gets off to a strong start too, with a guided demo being the first thing you experience from the support team, plus help with getting up and running during the initial stages.

Final verdict

ExpensePath keeps things simple on all fronts. If you're a small business owner that needs to keep a tight reign on overheads then this is a package worth exploring. The pricing comes across as very reasonable, given that you only really pay for what you use. The boffins have also done a very good job with the design of ExpensePath with a desktop dashboard that offers up plenty of tools for office administrators. 

Similarly, the app has been improved to make expense reporting on the go even more easy than before. There are one or two rough edges, such as the lack of OCR for speedier expense filing. However, the trade-off is that ExpensePath remains very affordable, and will probably offer many SMBs almost everything they need to keep track of costs.

• We've also highlighted the best expense tracker apps and software

Certify is cloud-based software for desktop and mobile use that aims to take the legwork out of expense management. With a packed set of features that can help automate most of the expenses process, and with tools that let business owners get a better picture of their finances, Certify already counts many large companies amongst its user base even during the coronavirus crisis.

• Want to try Certify? Check out the website here

However, alongside corporate setups Certify is also useful for small and medium-sized businesses thanks to its features, which can help improve efficiency, keep tabs on spending and cut down on time spent dealing with expenses. Thanks to its mobile-centric tools, which allow employees to track expenditure with ease, the appeal of Certify is that on face value it proves invaluable for both employees and employers.

Other expense trackers in this marketplace include QuickBooks, Expensify, Hurdlr and Zoho Expense all of which are worthy of investigation.

Pricing

Certify is currently available in three different package options with Certify Now! being the entry-level option. Suited for businesses with 1-25 employees, this has all the tools a smaller-sized venture needs and can be setup online for $8 per user, per month. 

If you’ve got a bigger business then the Professional package is aimed at companies with 25-200 employees. It features a raft of power tools for managing expenses and can be up and running in under 30 days according to Certify, for a monthly service fee. 

Finally, Enterprise is a package targeting larger companies with over 200 employees and can be tailored to match the needs of individual businesses. That comes with annual fixed pricing.

Features

If you’re going to be using Certify via its entry edition, Certify Now! then you’ll find that it can be setup quickly and efficiently. Central to this is the instructional help you get in order to configure the program to work as you want it to, along with a Wizard to get you though all of the basics. 

Once you’re done with the configuration all of the tools and functionality can be controlled via the main dashboard area. Employees will love the usefulness of the Certify app, which packs a pretty sizeable punch and allows them to log expenses on the go simply by taking a picture of their receipts on a mobile device. 

Certify has a great selection of menu options that allows pinpoint management of everything too, with the ability to check approval requests and keep track of each user’s information via a Certify Wallet. Even if you're a small concern, being able to pop everyone into a relevant department within the software delivers precision tracking of everybody in the system.

Performance

You’ll be able to expect rock-solid performance from Certify, even if you’re using the edition at the lower end of the product spectrum. It’s been well put together and the desktop dashboard and app combination work in tandem to great effect. Certify is safe and secure too including Symantec SSL certification.

Ease of use

Employees often look at expense tracking as a real chore, although technology is helping to eradicate much of the hassle factor. Certify is no exception, with a supporting app for iOS and Android that lets you do a lot of the work from anywhere, while you’re on the go. 

That works a treat, while the other appealing aspects of Certify are the high levels of auto-fill features and a detailed interface that allows for the easy population of data fields. 

The app part of this equation in particular is very impressive, with the uploading of receipts while you’re on the move hugely practical. Certify also comes with other supplementary features such as travel and AP programs if you need additional resources to add to the excellent expense aspect.

Support

Unsurprisingly given that Certify is a large concern, the level of support for users is comprehensive and that begins at the company website. There’s a very good help center, which comes with lots of different guides and tutorials, including videos, on every aspect of the Certify experience. Be it expenses, invoices, AP or Travel, all of the supplementary areas of the software are covered too. 

Being a global concern means that there are support centers around the world, which should mean that you can make use of the local numbers and contact forms suited to your own area. Certify says it supports up to 60 different languages and 24-hour live support is available Monday to Friday.

Final verdict

Certify will certainly appeal to smaller businesses with fewer employees as it can be implemented online and without fuss, with a price tag that’s decidedly good value. Larger companies will find there is just as much appeal, with a scalable edge to the bigger packages that makes it suitable for businesses of all sizes. However, the larger the package option the more complex the implementation becomes. 

SMEs though will love the time saving features that sit within the Certify Now! edition, all of which remove much of the drudgery from everyday expense tracking. With strong app and desktop versions, plus an impressive set of reporting options, Certify comes recommended for anyone looking to tame their expenses.

• We've also highlighted the best expense tracker apps and software

Divvy is a rather unusually named package, but it’s free to use and offers to fully automate all of your tasks related to expense tracking. Registered users can be issued with a physical or virtual Divvy Mastercard that provides companies with an integrated expense tracking solution, which is even more handy given the current coronavirus situation. While the service can be used by individuals, the app has been designed primarily with businesses in mind, so that employees can monitor their spending, file claims and be reimbursed using the data collected by the software.

• Want to try Divvy? Check out the website here

Small and medium-sized business owners should find it highly useful as it covers several areas of expense tracking management and it’s also possible to export transactions into popular accounting packages, such as QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, Intacct and more besides. Divvy is available as a free download for iOS and Android devices, while the app is also being continually evolved with a steady stream of updates and improvements.

Pricing

The good news on the pricing front is that Divvy can be downloaded and used for free. Businesses can therefore use the app on individual employer and employee devices for keeping tabs on expense and budgets. Divvy makes money based around its deal with Mastercard via an interchange fee, paid by the merchant during a transaction, as employees use either their physical or digital cards to spend money as part of their overall expenses journey. 

However, employers and employees can monitor these spendings and set budget limits to ensure that workers stick to the overall amount of finance allowed for business trips, travel and so on.

Features

It’s all about speed and efficiency if you’re using Divvy to take on the whole expenses chain of events. Getting employees to keep track and record them accurately can often be a real chore, while employers need to know that figures are correct so they can provide accurate reimbursement. 

Divvy lets you automatically record, report and submit expenses and delivers live expense reporting so that employers can see a dynamic picture of costs as they emerge. There are workflow tools too, such as automated receipt capture and detailed data on spending, all of which is itemized within the app. Divvy is additionally practical as it has global currency compatibility and can work in tandem with popular accounting software packages.

Performance

As you’d hope from any app, using Divvy is generally straightforward and fuss free. While there have been some reports from users about a certain degree of bugginess on both iOS and Android editions, the app seems generally solid. Divvy engineers also issue regular updates to the way it works, along with frequent new features. For piece of mind, Divvy has been built using 256-bit SSL encryption to ensure that personal data is kept secure.

Ease of use

Most of your time spent with Divvy will be via the app interface, which once it’s installed and setup features a dependable and user-friendly layout that’s made for people on the move. When you get back to base, however, there’s also the option to tap into the browser dashboard too, which is similarly well laid-out. 

Indeed, for managers who need to keep close tabs on expenses and budgets there’s a very slick administration area that gives a dynamic snapshot of the overall business picture. It’s possible to see who else in the organization is enrolled in the system, while you can drill down into the hierarchical menus to cherry pick specific issues on expenses or budgeting.

Support

Assistance, should you need it, is at hand from a variety of sources within the Divvy framework, with a particularly useful Help Center providing answers to many of your queries. In fact, the searchable knowledge base works a treat as it comes a whole stack of commonly asked questions. Add to that, there’s an online FAQs section, which does a good job of tackling anything else you might want to find out about. 

If you’re not at the point of actually using Divvy though it's also possible to sign up for a demo, where you’ll be shown how the app works without the need for committing anything to it. A beefy blog area on the Divvy website rounds things out with a comprehensive mini mountain of practical articles on using the software. There’s a help email and US landline number to call with enquiries.

Final verdict

Divvy is a useful option for small and medium-sized businesses that want a quick and efficient means of keeping track of outgoings along with dynamic budget tracking. By automating the process employees can get reimbursement much more speedily, while the ability to set limits on the Divvy Mastercard, be it virtual or physical, has obvious benefits for keeping a tight reign on expenditure. 

Given that there’s no cost for downloading and using the app, and with a demo at your disposal if you’d like to see exactly how it works, then Divvy looks well worthy of further investigation.

• We've also highlighted the best expense tracker apps and software

Sweep is an app for iOS or Android that aims to simplify the whole process of keeping track of travel and expense outgoings. Sweep comes with the added benefit of being powered by Open Banking, which means that you can use the app to connect to your bank accounts and, theoretically at least, make light work of tracking both outgoings and money coming in too. 

• Want to try Sweep? Check out the website here

On face value, the makers of Sweep have aimed to streamline the travel and expenses process by amalgamating everything into one package. However, you can currently choose between using two variants: Sweep Expenses and Sweep Travel, which is a little confusing for those looking at the app for the first time. The automated expense tracking system is aimed at everything from freelancers and start-ups through to small and medium enterprises. 

Sweep also comes with a collection of reporting tools, for better account management. The Travel edition offers up more features including being able to book accommodation and other business trip necessities. Other options worth looking at include FreshBooks, Invoice Expert Lite, Paypal Invoicing and NCH Express Invoice.

Pricing

As we mentioned above, there are actually two different products to choose from: Sweep Expenses and Sweep Travel. Sweep Expenses is currently priced at £5/month/user, with the first 5 expenses of the month free of charge. This makes it a tool that’s suitable for small teams with minimal expenses to file. 

The other product, Sweep Travel is priced at £10/month/user (+2.5% booking) and includes access to Sweep Expenses. According to a spokesperson for the company, this was formerly named Sweep Premium. If you’ve got the need to process more expenses and generally want a more feature-loaded package then Sweep Travel is the package to go for. 

To put it simply: Sweep Travel lets you use all the features of Sweep Expenses.

Features

There are several key features that make Sweep a worthy option if you’re looking to tackle both travel and expense chores. There’s a self-service booking platform for travel-related issues plus an in-app trip and expense approval design. Tackling expenses can be done using Sweep’s smart payment categorization tools while there’s real-time transaction tracking too. 

The app seems to be a bit of a work in process with more features appearing all the time. Logging expenses can be done in the time-honored tradition of taking a photo on your smartphone or capturing them as a PDF to log online transactions. Sweep is handy in that it auto-populates a lot of the fields when you add new expenses, so feature-wise it does everything you’d expect from software of this type. 

Once you’ve got a selection of expenses, say from a month or an event, you’ll be able to produce a detailed report, which can then be distributed as a CSV file, PDF or sent by email. This details all of your expenses, which can then be approved by the relevant department. Easy.

Performance

Overall, Sweep seems to be pretty good at holding your hand when it comes to keeping track of expenses and works well via the app. A feature such as the dynamic manner in which it can notify you of expenses is a little thing, but it’s hugely practical. The interface is light and airy, so there are no real clunky irritations as you find your way around.

Ease of use

After downloading the app, for either iOS or Android, the first thing you’ll want to do is link to your bank accounts. The software interface is nicely laid out, so going through this process for more than one account is very straightforward. A simple screen tap allows you to add additional accounts as and when you need to. This is really the key to how Sweep works, because transactions are dynamically updated on-the-fly. 

That means you’re always going to be getting up to date information on your finances and any new transactions. The app lets you create projects areas within the software that allow you to manage your various travel and expense responsibilities. It’s therefore easy to quickly create a dedicated folder for month-by-month tracking or, for example, a dedicated project folder for a specific event or business trip.

Support

While there doesn't seem to be all that much to get confused about once you’re in the Sweep app the supporting website isn't quite as intuitive as we’d have hoped for. There’s the capacity for messaging the Sweep team using a browser window chat tool, plus an area that covers FAQs does the job of answering many of your questions. 

Sweep’s website is so minimal though you do feel as though you’re on your own a bit, which in the case of the new features that look set to be added on a rolling basis, feels like a bit of a shortcoming.

Final verdict

Sweep seems well targeted with its core focus being on SMEs, which don't have time and large budgets available in order to stay on tome of processing travel and expenses. Both variants of the app (Expenses and Travel) are based around secure Open Banking technology, which means that much of the legwork is fully automated. 

There are plenty of solid features too, with lots of one-click functionality for getting normally long-winded expense claims processes completed, along with instant currency conversions for all transactions. Add the powerful reporting options that are available and Sweep becomes a very appealing not to mention affordable expense tracking solution. 

While this is an app that’s very clearly still evolving, it’s pretty useful as is.

• These are the best expense tracker apps and software 

MoneyGram is one of the largest and longest running money transfer companies in the world. The very well seasoned service has a huge array of agent locations dotted right around the globe with all kinds of presence in at least 200 different countries. The business offers a selection of services such as sending and receiving cash along with the ability to pick up money from outlets too. 

Whilst it is used by large numbers of people around the world MoneyGram does also seem to attract its fair share of detractors and negative reviews. Nevertheless, anyone wanting speedy cash transfers, especially during coronavirus, should find it worthy of investigation. Competitor products include WorldRemit, Azimo, Venmo, Western Union, PayPal and Zelle.

• Want to try MoneyGram? Check out the website here

Pricing

Transferring money invariably involves a cost for the convenience and MoneyGram is no exception. If you’re moving money, either domestically or internationally then you’ll be charged for the privilege. What you’ll pay depends on where the online transfer is being carried out, so fees will be dependent on where money is being sent from and where it’s supposed to end up. 

MoneyGram has engineered a tier-based fee system and moving money by bank is more likely to be cheaper than doing it on your credit or debit card. Recipients who get their transfer straight into a bank account are likely to keep fees lower too, as opposed to having physical cash available at the other end. 

You’ll also need to keep an eye on exchange rates as these can fluctuate according to how you’re paying for the transaction. MoneyGram also operates a rewards system that offers a percentage off future transactions if you’re planning on using it regularly.

Features

Flexibility is perhaps the main factor that attracts people to MoneyGram, thanks to its countless outlets around the world and the ability to transfer money quickly using a variety of methods. MoneyGram can be used in several different ways, including solely online as well as offering the ability to pick up cash at one of those many agent outlets. 

You can also move money to a traditional bank account, mobile wallets or to a Visa debit card if, for example, you’re using it in the UK. The convenience factor is boosted by the fact that transfers can be carried out to over 200 countries and in around 50 different currencies.

Performance

As with anything, if you’re prepared to pay more then the MoneyGram service can be a lot speedier. If you pay for a transfer using a card then it could mean that funds will go from A to B in around 10 minutes. However, using a credit card in order to do this will likely mean you pay a cash advance fee into the bargain. If you’re in no particular hurry and have advance warning about needing to move money using MoneyGram, then the more sedate but lower costing bank account route is the better option. That could take as long as five working days however.

Ease of use

While there is nothing too demanding about using MoneyGram to transfer cash, it’s also worth noting that the company has suffered some issues with security scares. There are also numerous scams that have been linked to money transfer services. If you need to transfer money you should be as diligent as possible and carry out the same level of checks as you’d make for any other online transaction. 

As for actually making a transaction online, you’ll need to register for an account, select a bank or MoneyGram outlet and then decide how you want to move your money. Transfers can also be set up online and you can then pop to a MoneyGram outlet and pay with cash. MoneyGram even offers the ability to send money via Facebook.

Support

While there’s nothing too involved with using MoneyGram, the company has thankfully done its bit when providing support options. There’s a whole hub online within its website. Including in here are options for contacting MoneyGram directly, for general questions, complaints or issues surrounding fraud. In the same area you’ll find a decent set of FAQs, which cover all of the major features of MoneyGram that you need to know about. There’s a live chat-style widget for instant contact too.

Final verdict

MoneyGram could prove useful if you need to send or receive cash but it is not without its downsides. The company seems to get a fair amount of negative reviews for a raft of reasons. However, the business has been around for a long time, and with such a large user base it’s hardly surprising that a percentage of customers will feel MoneyGram hasn't provided them with the best experience. 

While there are positives, especially thanks to the worldwide availability of MoneyGram, the services it provides can be costly and exchange rates aren’t always the most competitive. As with most exchange models, you get a bit of a mixed bag and, it seems, quite widely varying levels of customer satisfaction.

• We've also highlighted the best personal finance software  

MoneyGram is one of the largest and longest running money transfer companies in the world. The very well seasoned service has a huge array of agent locations dotted right around the globe with all kinds of presence in at least 200 different countries. The business offers a selection of services such as sending and receiving cash along with the ability to pick up money from outlets too. 

Whilst it is used by large numbers of people around the world MoneyGram does also seem to attract its fair share of detractors and negative reviews. Nevertheless, anyone wanting speedy cash transfers, especially during coronavirus, should find it worthy of investigation. Competitor products include WorldRemit, Azimo, Venmo, Western Union, PayPal and Zelle.

• Want to try MoneyGram? Check out the website here

Pricing

Transferring money invariably involves a cost for the convenience and MoneyGram is no exception. If you’re moving money, either domestically or internationally then you’ll be charged for the privilege. What you’ll pay depends on where the online transfer is being carried out, so fees will be dependent on where money is being sent from and where it’s supposed to end up. 

MoneyGram has engineered a tier-based fee system and moving money by bank is more likely to be cheaper than doing it on your credit or debit card. Recipients who get their transfer straight into a bank account are likely to keep fees lower too, as opposed to having physical cash available at the other end. 

You’ll also need to keep an eye on exchange rates as these can fluctuate according to how you’re paying for the transaction. MoneyGram also operates a rewards system that offers a percentage off future transactions if you’re planning on using it regularly.

Features

Flexibility is perhaps the main factor that attracts people to MoneyGram, thanks to its countless outlets around the world and the ability to transfer money quickly using a variety of methods. MoneyGram can be used in several different ways, including solely online as well as offering the ability to pick up cash at one of those many agent outlets. 

You can also move money to a traditional bank account, mobile wallets or to a Visa debit card if, for example, you’re using it in the UK. The convenience factor is boosted by the fact that transfers can be carried out to over 200 countries and in around 50 different currencies.

Performance

As with anything, if you’re prepared to pay more then the MoneyGram service can be a lot speedier. If you pay for a transfer using a card then it could mean that funds will go from A to B in around 10 minutes. However, using a credit card in order to do this will likely mean you pay a cash advance fee into the bargain. If you’re in no particular hurry and have advance warning about needing to move money using MoneyGram, then the more sedate but lower costing bank account route is the better option. That could take as long as five working days however.

Ease of use

While there is nothing too demanding about using MoneyGram to transfer cash, it’s also worth noting that the company has suffered some issues with security scares. There are also numerous scams that have been linked to money transfer services. If you need to transfer money you should be as diligent as possible and carry out the same level of checks as you’d make for any other online transaction. 

As for actually making a transaction online, you’ll need to register for an account, select a bank or MoneyGram outlet and then decide how you want to move your money. Transfers can also be set up online and you can then pop to a MoneyGram outlet and pay with cash. MoneyGram even offers the ability to send money via Facebook.

Support

While there’s nothing too involved with using MoneyGram, the company has thankfully done its bit when providing support options. There’s a whole hub online within its website. Including in here are options for contacting MoneyGram directly, for general questions, complaints or issues surrounding fraud. In the same area you’ll find a decent set of FAQs, which cover all of the major features of MoneyGram that you need to know about. There’s a live chat-style widget for instant contact too.

Final verdict

MoneyGram could prove useful if you need to send or receive cash but it is not without its downsides. The company seems to get a fair amount of negative reviews for a raft of reasons. However, the business has been around for a long time, and with such a large user base it’s hardly surprising that a percentage of customers will feel MoneyGram hasn't provided them with the best experience. 

While there are positives, especially thanks to the worldwide availability of MoneyGram, the services it provides can be costly and exchange rates aren’t always the most competitive. As with most exchange models, you get a bit of a mixed bag and, it seems, quite widely varying levels of customer satisfaction.

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Rydoo is an expense tracking platform that was formerly known as Xpenditure Small Business. In its new and improved incarnation Rydoo will appeal to both employers and employees who are looking for more efficient ways to manage their travel and expenses. The service is available in three different package options, meaning that it’s of use to business both big and small. It's a practical solution given the current situation with coronavirus.

Even in its most basic Team package Rydoo has the capacity to take the strain out of doing expenses and throws in lots of other practical tools as part of the deal. However, if you run a business and have lots of employees, who have to file expenses and travel requests then you’ll find that the higher-end options within the Rydoo portfolio could save you quite a lot of both time and money.

Rydoo sits alongside other similar products in this area including QuickBooks, Expensify, Hurdlr and Zoho Expense.

• Want to try Rydoo? Check out the website here

Pricing

There’s a Rydoo plan to suit any kind of user. It starts out with the Team package, which is recommended for up to 50 active users and allows the core tracking of expenses. It includes OCR scanning, mileage expenses and there’s an approval flow too. That’s currently $7/€6 monthly per active user, which is billed annually. There’s a 5 active users minimum. 

Next, there’s the Growth package, which is recommended for 50+ active users and delivers more advanced features including everything in the Team bundle along with a second level of approval, built-in expense policy rules and Per Diems. It currently costs $9/€8 monthly per active user, billed annually (or $11/€10 if billed monthly). 

Rydoo has a third option in the shape of Enterprise, which is designed for high-volume clients with 500+ active users. This will require you to get a quote from Rydoo, in line with your needs, but comes with everything in Growth plus direct bank transactions, ERP integrations, API access and more.

Features

The entry-level Rydoo experience has lots to recommend, with a raft of tools that let you do everything and anything related to expenses and travel outgoings. There’s approval flow, OCR scanning, mileage expense tracking, multi-currency conversion, the ability to detect duplicate expenses, cost center allocation, trip allocation, project allocation and multi-language support. 

Rydoo can also work out VAT automatically, allows the upload of CSV and PDF transactions, can issue cash advances and work with user permissions. Move on up to the other two packages though and you’ll be able to add on the likes of expense policy rules, Per Diems, trip approvals, additional account currencies and a controlling module too. Throw in custom bank transaction feeds along with a custom conversion rate and you’re looking at a pretty powerful set of features.

Performance

Used in its most basic capacity Rydoo easily has enough capability to take care of travel and expense matters for your business without hassle. However, it's also been engineered to work as a solution for large-scale companies, so the web-based dashboard and multi-level approval tools are pretty bulletproof in that respect. And, as this platform has been adapted from an earlier idea, the best bits seem to have got better.

Ease of use

Full marks should go to the Rydoo designers who have done a fantastic job with the latest incarnation of the service. The overall web dashboard feel is great on the eyes, with a modern look and controls that are simple and intuitive to use. Getting around the various menu options is quick, easy and, crucially, efficient even if you’re a newcomer to the way that Rydoo works. 

The interface has also been developed to work with a series of integrated tools such as Slack and Dropbox, while the other appealing aspect is that Rydoo can be easily configured to work in many different languages. Everyday tasks such as the often groaned about issue of getting receipts into the system is generally a smooth and trouble-free exercise, which gets Rydoo an additional thumbs up.

Support

Even with the basic edition of Rydoo you’ll be able to make use of both mail and chat support. Indeed, the Rydoo website has plenty of options for getting in touch with them, including numbers for regional offices located right around the globe. If you’re still at the stage of deciding whether or not Rydoo might be a good fit for your business needs then you can contact them to request a demo of the service. Or just give the free trial a whirl. 

The Rydoo website also has a stack of information under menu options that include a blog area, whitepapers, case studies, webinars, a dev center and, finally, a dedicated help center too. While there’s plenty of standard help for everyone, if you’re a business owner who’s got the Enterprise plan then you’ll be able to enjoy more support from a dedicated account manager.

Final verdict

Rydoo has been skillfully engineered to make it a product that will appeal to users around the globe who need to tackle the often-stressful issue of expenses. Even in its most simple version, Rydoo comes with more than enough tools and functionality to make light work of travel and expense duties. 

However, if you’re running a larger business then the Enterprise edition packs in a huge amount of value added features, including support from an allocated account manager. It offers great value on every level as well as being appealing to employees who would otherwise baulk at the thought of tackling their latest set of expenses.

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