Airbase

Airbase is a comprehensive spend management platform that consolidates accounts payable, corporate cards, and expense reimbursements into a single automated system for finance teams.

OCR Receipt ScanningMobile Receipt CaptureEmail Receipt ForwardingAutomatic Receipt Matching

Expense Capture & Travel

Features that automate the collection of expense data from receipts, travel bookings, and mileage. This capability simplifies the submission process for employees across various spending categories.

Capability Score
3.06/ 4

Receipt Capture & Digitization

Tools that automate the collection and digitization of physical and digital receipts. These features eliminate manual entry and ensure immediate documentation of expenses.

Avg Score
3.7/ 4
OCR Receipt Scanning
Best4
Airbase utilizes advanced AI-driven OCR that not only extracts standard receipt data with high accuracy but also automatically matches receipts to card transactions, categorizes expenses based on context, and provides real-time duplicate detection.
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OCR Receipt Scanning utilizes optical character recognition to automatically extract transaction details such as merchant, date, and amount from uploaded images. This automation significantly reduces manual data entry, minimizes errors, and accelerates the expense reconciliation process.

What Score 4 Means

The system employs market-leading AI to interpret handwriting, auto-categorize expenses based on context, detect duplicates or fraud in real-time, and match receipts to card transactions with near-perfect accuracy.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native optical character recognition capabilities, requiring users to manually key in all expense details even when a receipt image is attached.
1Automated data extraction is only possible through custom integrations with third-party OCR providers or generic document parsing APIs, requiring significant configuration to map text to expense fields.
2Native OCR is available but basic, often capturing only the total amount and date while frequently missing merchant names or requiring manual correction for complex receipts.
3The feature delivers strong, reliable extraction of all key fields including line items and taxes, seamlessly integrating with the mobile app to populate reports immediately upon capture.
4The system employs market-leading AI to interpret handwriting, auto-categorize expenses based on context, detect duplicates or fraud in real-time, and match receipts to card transactions with near-perfect accuracy.
Mobile Receipt Capture
Best4
Airbase offers a market-leading mobile experience that utilizes AI-powered OCR to instantly extract data, automatically match receipts to corporate card transactions, and flag policy violations in real-time for a zero-entry workflow.
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Mobile receipt capture enables employees to photograph and upload receipts directly through a smartphone application, ensuring immediate digitization at the point of sale. This feature reduces manual data entry errors and accelerates the reimbursement cycle by eliminating the need to retain physical copies.

What Score 4 Means

The solution provides industry-leading AI that instantly extracts data, categorizes the expense, matches it to corporate card feeds, and flags policy violations immediately upon capture, enabling a fully automated, zero-entry workflow.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native mobile capability for capturing receipts, forcing users to manually scan and upload files via a desktop interface.
1Mobile capture is possible only through workarounds like emailing photos to a specific address or using a non-optimized web portal on a phone, with no dedicated app support.
2The platform offers a basic mobile app that captures receipt images and attaches them to reports, but it lacks Optical Character Recognition (OCR), meaning users must still manually type in transaction details.
3The mobile application includes robust OCR capabilities that automatically extract merchant, date, and amount details from the photo, seamlessly creating expense line items with minimal user correction.
4The solution provides industry-leading AI that instantly extracts data, categorizes the expense, matches it to corporate card feeds, and flags policy violations immediately upon capture, enabling a fully automated, zero-entry workflow.
Email Receipt Forwarding
Best4
Airbase provides a market-leading email forwarding feature that utilizes advanced AI to automatically extract merchant, date, and amount data, while seamlessly matching receipts to transactions and auto-categorizing expenses based on company policy.
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Email receipt forwarding allows users to send digital receipts directly to the expense management platform via a dedicated email address, eliminating manual uploads and ensuring transaction documentation is captured immediately.

What Score 4 Means

The feature uses advanced AI to parse complex HTML emails and multiple attachments simultaneously, extracting line-item details and auto-categorizing expenses based on policy without any user intervention.

Full Rubric
0The product has no capability to accept receipts via email forwarding, requiring users to save email attachments locally and manually upload them to the system.
1Users can only ingest email receipts by building custom parsers against the API or configuring third-party middleware (like Zapier) to trigger uploads from an email inbox.
2The system provides a generic inbound email address to capture receipts, but it simply stores the email body or attachment as a file without parsing data or creating a draft expense entry.
3Users have dedicated forwarding addresses that automatically trigger OCR to extract the date, merchant, and amount, creating a draft expense or matching the receipt to a corporate card transaction.
4The feature uses advanced AI to parse complex HTML emails and multiple attachments simultaneously, extracting line-item details and auto-categorizing expenses based on policy without any user intervention.
Offline Mode
Basic2
Airbase allows users to capture and store receipt images within the mobile app while offline, but advanced features like OCR data extraction and full report submission require a connection to sync with their cloud-based processing engine.
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Offline mode enables users to capture receipts, create expenses, and manage reports within the mobile application without an active internet connection. This ensures travelers can stay productive on flights or in remote locations, with data syncing automatically once connectivity is restored.

What Score 2 Means

Native support exists, allowing users to capture receipt images while offline, but advanced features like OCR data extraction, categorization, or report submission are disabled until the device reconnects.

Full Rubric
0The product has no capability to function without an active internet connection, rendering the mobile app unusable for data entry or receipt capture until connectivity is restored.
1Possible to achieve via workarounds, such as users taking photos with their native camera app and manually uploading them later, but the application itself does not cache data locally for delayed syncing.
2Native support exists, allowing users to capture receipt images while offline, but advanced features like OCR data extraction, categorization, or report submission are disabled until the device reconnects.
3Strong, deep functionality allows users to fully create, edit, and save expense reports offline. The app caches all changes locally and syncs them automatically in the background without data loss or user intervention.
4Best-in-class implementation utilizes on-device OCR and machine learning to extract receipt data instantly without internet access. It offers a seamless experience indistinguishable from online usage, with intelligent conflict resolution and immediate feedback.
Automatic Receipt Matching
Best4
Airbase offers a market-leading matching engine that leverages AI to handle complex scenarios like multi-currency conversions and fuzzy merchant matching, while proactively nudging users via mobile and Slack to submit missing receipts.
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Automatic receipt matching utilizes OCR technology and transaction metadata to instantly pair uploaded receipts with corresponding credit card charges or expense reports. This automation eliminates manual data entry errors and significantly accelerates the reconciliation process for finance teams.

What Score 4 Means

The feature employs advanced AI to handle complex scenarios like split transactions, multi-currency conversions, and fuzzy merchant matching, while proactively notifying users of missing receipts via mobile channels.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to automatically link receipts to transactions; users must manually upload and attach files to specific expense lines one by one.
1Matching automation is not native but can be achieved by building custom middleware that utilizes document storage APIs and transaction webhooks to programmatically link files.
2The system offers basic matching functionality that relies on exact matches for date and amount, often failing when currency conversion or minor timing discrepancies occur.
3A robust matching engine is fully integrated, using OCR to read merchant names, dates, and amounts to automatically pair receipts with transactions with high accuracy and minimal user intervention.
4The feature employs advanced AI to handle complex scenarios like split transactions, multi-currency conversions, and fuzzy merchant matching, while proactively notifying users of missing receipts via mobile channels.
Bulk Receipt Upload
Best4
Airbase provides a centralized receipt inbox that supports bulk uploads and email forwarding, utilizing AI to automatically extract data, match receipts to transactions, detect duplicates, and handle complex file types without manual intervention.
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Bulk receipt upload enables users to import multiple receipt files simultaneously, significantly reducing manual data entry and streamlining the expense reconciliation process.

What Score 4 Means

The feature supports intelligent bulk processing of mixed file formats (PDFs, images), automatically matching receipts to credit card transactions, detecting duplicates, and splitting multi-receipt PDFs without user intervention.

Full Rubric
0The product has no capability for uploading multiple receipts simultaneously; users must upload and attach files one by one to individual expense entries.
1Bulk imports are achievable only through custom scripts interacting with the API or by using third-party connector tools to push files into the system's storage backend.
2The system allows users to select multiple files for upload, but they land in a general gallery or unassigned folder requiring manual association with specific expense line items.
3Users can drag and drop multiple receipts at once, with the system automatically creating individual expense entries and using OCR to populate basic fields like amount and date.
4The feature supports intelligent bulk processing of mixed file formats (PDFs, images), automatically matching receipts to credit card transactions, detecting duplicates, and splitting multi-receipt PDFs without user intervention.
Smart Scan Technology
Best4
Airbase utilizes advanced AI-driven OCR that goes beyond basic data extraction by automatically matching receipts to card transactions and intelligently predicting expense categories and GL tags with high accuracy.
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Smart Scan Technology leverages Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to automatically extract transaction details from receipt images, significantly reducing manual data entry and ensuring data accuracy in expense reports.

What Score 4 Means

The system employs best-in-class AI to instantly parse complex receipts with line-item granularity, auto-match transactions to credit card feeds, and intelligently predict expense categories with near-perfect accuracy.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native optical character recognition (OCR) or image scanning capabilities, forcing users to manually key in all transaction data from physical receipts.
1Users must rely on external OCR libraries or generic API connections to extract data from receipt images, as the platform lacks built-in processing logic for receipt digitization.
2Native scanning exists but functions primarily as an image attachment tool with rudimentary OCR that frequently misreads text or fails to map fields correctly, necessitating frequent manual verification.
3The solution offers robust, built-in OCR that accurately extracts merchant, date, and amount from receipts within seconds, integrating directly into the expense creation workflow.
4The system employs best-in-class AI to instantly parse complex receipts with line-item granularity, auto-match transactions to credit card feeds, and intelligently predict expense categories with near-perfect accuracy.

Expense Parsing & Itemization

Advanced capabilities for breaking down complex receipts into individual line items. This ensures accurate categorization for mixed expenses like hotel stays or flight itineraries.

Avg Score
3.2/ 4
Itemization Support
Best4
Airbase utilizes advanced OCR and AI to automatically detect and parse line items from complex receipts like hotel folios, allowing for automated splitting of taxes and categories with minimal manual intervention.
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Itemization support allows users to break down a single transaction into multiple distinct line items to account for different expense categories, projects, or tax rates. This ensures accurate financial reporting and compliance when a single receipt covers mixed business purposes.

What Score 4 Means

The system uses OCR and AI to automatically parse complex receipts (like hotel folios) and create itemized splits for taxes and categories without user intervention, offering best-in-class automation.

Full Rubric
0The product has no capability to split a single expense entry into multiple line items, forcing the entire transaction to be assigned to a single category.
1Itemization is only possible through manual workarounds, such as submitting duplicate entries for partial amounts or manipulating data via API calls after the fact.
2Native itemization is supported but requires manual data entry for every field; the user must calculate split amounts to ensure they sum to the total, often with a clunky interface.
3The feature provides a fluid interface for splitting expenses by amount or percentage, automatically handling remainders and allowing distinct GL coding, tax rates, and tracking tags for each line item.
4The system uses OCR and AI to automatically parse complex receipts (like hotel folios) and create itemized splits for taxes and categories without user intervention, offering best-in-class automation.
AI Expense Categorization
Best4
Airbase provides market-leading AI categorization that includes automated line-item extraction from receipts and invoices, real-time policy anomaly detection, and machine learning models that adapt to a company's specific GL coding history.
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AI Expense Categorization leverages machine learning to automatically analyze receipts and transaction data, assigning accurate general ledger codes to reduce manual entry and administrative burden.

What Score 4 Means

Best-in-class AI not only categorizes at the transaction level but automatically parses and splits line items on complex receipts, detects policy anomalies in real-time, and adapts instantly to user corrections.

Full Rubric
0The product has no automated categorization capabilities, requiring users to manually select categories for every single expense line item.
1Automated categorization is not native but can be approximated by building custom scripts against the API or manually maintaining complex, static 'if/then' logic tables outside the main workflow.
2Native support is limited to static, rule-based logic (e.g., mapping specific merchant names to categories) rather than true AI, requiring frequent manual updates for new vendors.
3The feature uses trained machine learning models to accurately predict categories for most transactions based on global merchant data and historical patterns, fully integrated into the submission flow.
4Best-in-class AI not only categorizes at the transaction level but automatically parses and splits line items on complex receipts, detects policy anomalies in real-time, and adapts instantly to user corrections.
Hotel Folio Parsing
Advanced3
Airbase provides native, automated hotel folio parsing that identifies and itemizes standard charges such as room rates and taxes, significantly reducing the manual effort required for expense reporting.
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Hotel folio parsing automatically extracts and itemizes complex line items from hotel receipts, such as room rates, taxes, and incidentals, to streamline expense reporting. This ensures accurate categorization and policy compliance without requiring employees to manually split charges.

What Score 3 Means

The solution provides robust, native parsing that automatically identifies and separates standard line items like room charges, taxes, and meals into the correct expense categories with high accuracy.

Full Rubric
0The product has no capability to parse hotel receipts, requiring users to manually enter the total amount and itemize every charge by hand.
1Automated parsing is not built-in; achieving this requires connecting to a third-party OCR API or building a custom script to process receipt images and map data to expense fields.
2The system offers basic OCR that captures the total amount, date, and merchant, but it cannot automatically split the bill into line items (e.g., separating room rate from room service), forcing users to manually itemize the breakdown.
3The solution provides robust, native parsing that automatically identifies and separates standard line items like room charges, taxes, and meals into the correct expense categories with high accuracy.
4The system employs advanced machine learning to parse complex, multi-page folios instantly, automatically identifying non-reimbursable items, splitting taxes by jurisdiction, and reconciling data against card transactions with near-perfect accuracy.
Flight Receipt Parsing
Basic2
Airbase provides native OCR that accurately captures header information like merchant, date, and total amount, but it lacks specialized extraction and dedicated data fields for granular flight details such as flight numbers, routes, or fare classes.
View details & rubric context

Flight receipt parsing automatically extracts granular details from airline tickets and itineraries, such as flight numbers, routes, and fare classes, to streamline expense reporting. This capability minimizes manual entry errors and ensures accurate categorization for travel policy compliance.

What Score 2 Means

Native parsing is limited to basic header information like the total amount, date, and merchant, often missing critical flight-specific details like ticket numbers, routes, or fare classes.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to parse flight receipts or itineraries, requiring users to manually enter all flight details and attach the receipt as a static image.
1Automated extraction is achievable only through custom integrations with third-party OCR APIs or by building complex rules to map generic receipt text to flight-specific fields.
2Native parsing is limited to basic header information like the total amount, date, and merchant, often missing critical flight-specific details like ticket numbers, routes, or fare classes.
3The system provides robust, out-of-the-box parsing for standard flight receipts, accurately extracting detailed fields including carrier, flight number, departure/arrival locations, and taxes.
4The solution employs advanced AI to parse complex multi-leg international itineraries and ancillary fees with near-perfect accuracy, automatically reconciling data against travel bookings and policy limits.
Car Rental Parsing
Advanced3
Airbase utilizes advanced AI-powered OCR to automatically extract and itemize line items from receipts, including taxes and fees for car rentals, though it may not consistently provide the specialized policy-violation flagging for specific ancillary charges found in top-tier travel-focused platforms.
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Car rental parsing automatically extracts detailed line items from rental receipts, including daily rates, taxes, insurance, and fuel charges, to ensure accurate accounting and policy compliance.

What Score 3 Means

The system features strong, out-of-the-box parsing that automatically extracts and itemizes key components such as daily rates, taxes, and fees, integrating them directly into the expense report with high accuracy.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to parse car rental receipts, requiring users to manually key in all transaction details and attach the receipt image separately.
1Parsing can be achieved through generic OCR integrations or custom API connections, but it requires significant manual configuration to map fields correctly and often fails to distinguish complex rental fees.
2Native support exists to capture the total amount, vendor, and date from the receipt. However, it lacks the ability to itemize specific charges like taxes or insurance, necessitating manual breakdown by the user.
3The system features strong, out-of-the-box parsing that automatically extracts and itemizes key components such as daily rates, taxes, and fees, integrating them directly into the expense report with high accuracy.
4Best-in-class AI parsing handles complex, multi-page rental folios with near-perfect accuracy, distinguishing between distinct tax types and ancillary add-ons while automatically flagging policy violations like unauthorized insurance or upgrades.

Global Expense Management

Functionality supporting international operations, including currency handling and regional tax rules. These features ensure accuracy and compliance for cross-border spending.

Avg Score
3.2/ 4
Multi-Currency Support
Best4
Airbase offers market-leading multi-currency support by automatically detecting foreign currencies through receipt OCR, applying precise historical exchange rates, and providing robust multi-entity support that handles complex currency triangulation for global organizations.
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Multi-Currency Support allows users to submit expenses in foreign currencies while automatically converting them to the company's base currency for accurate reimbursement and reporting. This capability simplifies international travel expense management and ensures financial precision across global operations.

What Score 4 Means

Best-in-class implementation automatically detects currency from receipt OCR, applies precise historical exchange rates based on the exact transaction time, and supports complex multi-entity currency triangulation.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to handle foreign currencies, requiring all expenses to be entered in a single base currency after manual conversion outside the system.
1Support is achieved through workarounds, such as manually calculating conversions before entry or utilizing custom scripts to fetch exchange rates and adjust expense amounts via API.
2Native support allows users to select different currencies, but exchange rates are static or must be manually input by the user, leading to potential inaccuracies and administrative friction.
3The system provides robust support with automatic, daily exchange rate updates from standard financial data sources, seamlessly converting expenses for reporting and reimbursement without manual intervention.
4Best-in-class implementation automatically detects currency from receipt OCR, applies precise historical exchange rates based on the exact transaction time, and supports complex multi-entity currency triangulation.
Automatic Currency Conversion
Best4
Airbase provides best-in-class currency conversion by automatically fetching date-specific rates for reimbursements and reconciling corporate card transactions against actual settlement amounts, while also automating FX variance reporting across multi-subsidiary ERP integrations.
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Automatic currency conversion simplifies international expense reporting by instantly converting foreign transaction amounts into the company's base currency using real-time exchange rates. This ensures accurate reimbursement and financial reporting without requiring employees to manually calculate rates for every receipt.

What Score 4 Means

The solution offers best-in-class accuracy by automatically reconciling the expense against the actual exchange rate charged on the corporate card statement, handling complex multi-subsidiary conversions and FX variance reporting.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to handle foreign currencies, forcing users to manually calculate and enter all expenses in the company's base currency.
1Users can record foreign expenses, but must manually look up and input the exchange rate for each transaction, or rely on custom scripts to fetch rates from external APIs.
2The system allows users to select a currency and applies a generic or static exchange rate, but lacks automatic date-specific historical rate matching for accuracy.
3The platform automatically detects foreign currencies and converts amounts using accurate, date-specific daily market rates (e.g., via OANDA or XE) without user intervention.
4The solution offers best-in-class accuracy by automatically reconciling the expense against the actual exchange rate charged on the corporate card statement, handling complex multi-subsidiary conversions and FX variance reporting.
Global Tax Rules
Advanced3
Airbase provides robust support for international VAT and GST tracking across multiple entities, allowing for pre-configured tax rates and seamless synchronization with major ERPs to ensure compliance. While it handles complex global requirements, it typically relies on integrations for specialized end-to-end VAT recovery services.
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Global tax rules functionality automates the application of VAT, GST, and other regional tax codes to international expenses, ensuring compliance and maximizing reclaim potential. This capability is essential for multinational organizations to accurately capture tax data without relying on manual user input.

What Score 3 Means

The platform offers built-in, pre-configured tax logic for major global jurisdictions that automatically applies correct rates based on location and expense category, requiring minimal maintenance.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native functionality for managing global tax rules, requiring users to manually calculate and enter tax amounts without system validation.
1Tax handling can be achieved by creating custom fields or using generic APIs to inject tax data from external systems, but the platform lacks native logic to determine rates or rules.
2The system provides basic tables where admins can manually define and maintain tax rates for different regions, but it does not automatically update rates or handle complex reclaim logic.
3The platform offers built-in, pre-configured tax logic for major global jurisdictions that automatically applies correct rates based on location and expense category, requiring minimal maintenance.
4The system features an intelligent, auto-updating global tax engine that handles complex scenarios like cross-border VAT recovery and integrates directly with reclaim partners for automated end-to-end compliance.
Multi-Language Interface
DIY1
Airbase's platform is primarily designed for English-speaking markets and lacks a native toggle to change the interface language, requiring international users to rely on browser-based translation tools for localization.
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A Multi-Language Interface allows global teams to navigate the platform and submit expenses in their native language, ensuring high adoption rates and reducing reporting errors across international offices.

What Score 1 Means

Localization is only achievable through browser-based translation extensions or by manually renaming field labels via generic configuration tools, requiring significant maintenance.

Full Rubric
0The product has no capability to change the interface language, forcing all users to operate within a single default language environment.
1Localization is only achievable through browser-based translation extensions or by manually renaming field labels via generic configuration tools, requiring significant maintenance.
2Native support covers a limited set of major languages, but translations are often partial, applying only to navigation menus while leaving system messages or help docs in the default language.
3The platform supports a comprehensive list of global languages with full localization across the web interface, mobile app, and email notifications, allowing users to switch preferences instantly.
4The solution offers market-leading localization by automatically detecting regional settings, supporting complex scripts (like RTL), and integrating language-specific OCR for accurate receipt data extraction.
Cross-Border Payments
Best4
Airbase offers market-leading cross-border capabilities, supporting payments to over 145 countries in 100+ currencies with local payment rails, multi-entity funding support, and automated reconciliation directly into major ERP systems.
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Cross-border payments enable organizations to reimburse employees and pay vendors in multiple currencies across different regions, ensuring timely settlement without excessive fees or manual processing. This capability is critical for maintaining accurate financial records and operational efficiency for global teams.

What Score 4 Means

The solution provides market-leading global coverage using local payment rails for near-instant settlement and low fees, complete with advanced features like multi-entity funding, automatic tax compliance, and intelligent FX rate optimization.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to process payments outside of the domestic region or in foreign currencies, requiring all international settlements to be handled entirely outside the platform.
1International payments can be facilitated only by exporting payment files for manual upload to a bank portal or by building custom integrations with third-party payment processors via generic APIs.
2Native support for cross-border payments exists but is limited to a small number of major currencies or regions, often involving higher transaction fees and slower settlement times without real-time exchange rate visibility.
3The platform offers robust global payment capabilities, supporting a wide range of currencies and countries directly within the workflow, with competitive exchange rates and automated reconciliation of foreign transactions.
4The solution provides market-leading global coverage using local payment rails for near-instant settlement and low fees, complete with advanced features like multi-entity funding, automatic tax compliance, and intelligent FX rate optimization.

Mileage & Commute Tracking

Tools for accurately recording and reimbursing employee travel distances and commuting costs. These features ensure tax compliance and prevent mileage fraud.

Avg Score
2.6/ 4
Mileage Tracking
Advanced3
Airbase integrates with Google Maps to allow users to calculate precise distances by entering start and end addresses, automatically applying company or government reimbursement rates, but it lacks automatic background GPS tracking for real-time trip recording.
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Mileage tracking enables employees to accurately record distance traveled for business purposes, ensuring compliance with tax regulations and precise reimbursement. This feature minimizes fraud and administrative burden by verifying routes and automating rate calculations.

What Score 3 Means

The platform integrates with mapping services (like Google Maps) to calculate precise distances based on start and end addresses, automatically applying current government reimbursement rates and supporting recurring routes.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to log, calculate, or manage vehicle mileage for expense reimbursement purposes.
1Mileage expenses can be managed by creating generic expense items where users manually input calculated costs, or by building custom integrations to import distance data from external GPS logs via API.
2Users can manually enter start and end odometer readings or total distance traveled, but the system relies on self-reported data without map integration or automatic verification of the route taken.
3The platform integrates with mapping services (like Google Maps) to calculate precise distances based on start and end addresses, automatically applying current government reimbursement rates and supporting recurring routes.
4The mobile application utilizes automatic background GPS tracking to record drives in real-time, intelligently suggesting business trips and auto-categorizing routes to eliminate manual entry entirely while ensuring audit-proof accuracy.
GPS Mileage Verification
Advanced3
Airbase provides a native GPS tracking feature within its mobile app that allows users to record exact travel routes, automatically calculate distances, and attach map visualizations directly to expense reports for streamlined approval.
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GPS Mileage Verification utilizes mobile location services to automatically track and validate travel routes for reimbursements, reducing fraud and eliminating the administrative burden of manual odometer logging.

What Score 3 Means

The solution provides robust GPS tracking that captures exact routes, calculates distances automatically based on travel, and integrates map visualizations directly into the expense report for easy approval.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native GPS tracking capabilities, requiring users to manually calculate distances using external maps or enter odometer readings without digital verification.
1Users can upload GPX files or connect third-party mileage apps via API to import data, but the platform lacks built-in tracking tools, forcing reliance on external software for verification.
2A native start/stop tracker exists within the mobile app, but it requires manual activation for every trip, lacks detailed route visualization, and often struggles with automatic address resolution.
3The solution provides robust GPS tracking that captures exact routes, calculates distances automatically based on travel, and integrates map visualizations directly into the expense report for easy approval.
4The platform offers "set and forget" background tracking that automatically detects driving motion, distinguishes business trips from personal travel using AI, and submits verified mileage expenses with zero manual input.
Rideshare Integration
Advanced3
Airbase offers robust, native integrations with Uber for Business and Lyft Business that automatically sync receipts and trip data to the platform, matching them directly with corporate card transactions for automated reconciliation.
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Rideshare integration connects expense platforms directly with services like Uber and Lyft to automatically import receipts and trip data, eliminating manual entry and ensuring accurate reporting.

What Score 3 Means

Strong, out-of-the-box integration connects directly to business profiles, automatically importing transaction details, route maps, and receipts while matching them to corporate card charges.

Full Rubric
0The product has no direct integration with rideshare providers, requiring users to manually enter transaction details and upload screenshots of receipts.
1Integration is possible only through generic email forwarding parsers or by building custom connections via open APIs, requiring significant technical effort from the customer.
2Native support exists for major providers like Uber or Lyft, but functionality is limited to simple receipt image imports without detailed trip metadata or automatic categorization.
3Strong, out-of-the-box integration connects directly to business profiles, automatically importing transaction details, route maps, and receipts while matching them to corporate card charges.
4Best-in-class implementation offers real-time synchronization that intelligently distinguishes between personal and business profiles, automatically enforces travel policies, and handles granular data like tip separation without user intervention.
Commuter Benefits
DIY1
Airbase does not offer a dedicated commuter benefits module with built-in tax compliance logic; instead, organizations must use custom expense categories and manual workflows to manage these reimbursements alongside general business expenses.
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Commuter benefits functionality enables organizations to administer pre-tax or subsidized transportation and parking programs. This simplifies compliance with tax regulations while streamlining the reimbursement or direct payment process for employee transit.

What Score 1 Means

Support is achieved through workarounds, such as creating custom expense categories and manually monitoring limits, or building custom API connections to external benefits administrators.

Full Rubric
0The product has no specific functionality for managing commuter benefits, treating transit costs indistinguishably from general business travel expenses.
1Support is achieved through workarounds, such as creating custom expense categories and manually monitoring limits, or building custom API connections to external benefits administrators.
2Native support includes a dedicated expense category for commuter costs with basic manual caps. It allows for simple reimbursement but lacks automated tax compliance logic or payroll integration.
3The system provides robust management with built-in tax logic (e.g., IRS monthly limits), automated recurring claims, and seamless integration with payroll for pre-tax deductions.
4The solution offers a best-in-class experience with issued cards restricted to transit merchant codes, real-time compliance enforcement, and direct integration with rideshare apps and transit authorities for automated expensing.
Google Maps Integration
Advanced3
Airbase features a robust Google Maps integration that supports multi-stop routes and round-trip toggles, automatically calculating reimbursement amounts based on company-defined rates, though it lacks real-time GPS drive tracking.
View details & rubric context

Google Maps integration enables users to accurately calculate mileage reimbursements by selecting start and destination points directly within the expense report, eliminating manual distance estimation.

What Score 3 Means

The feature provides a robust mapping tool supporting multi-stop routes, round trips, and saved locations, automatically applying the correct reimbursement rates based on the calculated distance.

Full Rubric
0The product has no built-in mapping functionality, forcing users to manually calculate distances using external tools and enter the mileage figure by hand.
1Distance verification requires custom API integration or manual workarounds, such as uploading map screenshots as receipts, rather than interacting with a live map interface.
2A native map interface allows users to input start and end points to generate mileage, but it lacks support for complex routes, multiple waypoints, or automatic round-trip toggles.
3The feature provides a robust mapping tool supporting multi-stop routes, round trips, and saved locations, automatically applying the correct reimbursement rates based on the calculated distance.
4The solution offers best-in-class automation with GPS-based drive tracking that records actual routes taken in real-time, automatically deducting commutes and suggesting frequent trips to minimize user effort.

Travel Management

Features that integrate travel booking and policy enforcement with expense reporting. This streamlines the entire trip lifecycle from booking to reimbursement.

Avg Score
2.0/ 4
Per Diem Rates
Advanced3
Airbase provides a production-ready per diem module that natively handles meal deductions and partial travel days, though it lacks the highly specialized multi-jurisdictional tax automation found in some travel-first platforms.
View details & rubric context

Per diem rates functionality automates daily travel allowances for meals and lodging based on location, ensuring compliance with government standards like GSA or HMRC. This capability streamlines reimbursement by replacing manual receipt tracking with fixed daily amounts adjusted for trip duration.

What Score 3 Means

The platform provides built-in, automatically updated global rate tables and natively handles standard deductions for provided meals and partial travel days.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to manage per diem allowances, requiring users to manually calculate limits or submit actual expenses with receipts.
1Per diem policies can be enforced only through complex custom validation rules or by connecting external rate databases via API, requiring significant ongoing maintenance.
2The system supports basic per diem management where admins manually upload static rate tables, but it lacks automatic updates for government rates or logic for partial days.
3The platform provides built-in, automatically updated global rate tables and natively handles standard deductions for provided meals and partial travel days.
4The solution offers intelligent automation that auto-calculates complex per diems based on travel itineraries, handles multi-jurisdiction tax rules, and dynamically adjusts for specific local regulations without user intervention.
Travel Booking Integration
Advanced3
Airbase offers robust, pre-built integrations with leading Travel Management Companies (TMCs) like TravelPerk and Navan, allowing for automated data synchronization and reconciliation, but it lacks a native, built-in booking engine.
View details & rubric context

Travel Booking Integration connects expense platforms with travel agencies and booking tools to automatically import itinerary and receipt data, ensuring real-time visibility into spend and eliminating manual entry.

What Score 3 Means

Strong, pre-built integrations connect seamlessly with a wide network of Travel Management Companies (TMCs), allowing booking data to flow automatically into expense reports with accurate categorization.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to integrate with travel booking tools or ingest travel data automatically, requiring manual entry for all trips.
1Integration is achievable only through heavy lifting, such as building custom connections via generic APIs, utilizing webhooks, or relying on manual file imports from travel providers.
2Native support exists but is limited to a few specific providers or basic receipt forwarding; synchronization may be delayed or lack deep data mapping for complex itineraries.
3Strong, pre-built integrations connect seamlessly with a wide network of Travel Management Companies (TMCs), allowing booking data to flow automatically into expense reports with accurate categorization.
4Best-in-class implementation offering a unified travel and expense experience, often featuring a built-in booking engine or deep bi-directional sync that enforces policy at the point of sale and automatically reconciles complex itineraries.
Itinerary Management
Advanced3
Airbase integrates directly with travel management companies like TravelPerk to automatically import booking data and link expenses to specific itineraries, though it lacks native real-time flight updates and duty-of-care features.
View details & rubric context

Itinerary management consolidates travel details like flights, hotels, and car rentals into a centralized schedule, automatically linking bookings to expense reports for streamlined tracking and reconciliation.

What Score 3 Means

The platform integrates directly with travel management companies (TMCs) to automatically import detailed itineraries and link specific expenses to trip segments without manual intervention.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to store, view, or manage travel itineraries within the expense platform.
1Travel data can only be associated with expenses by manually attaching external documents or building custom API connections to travel booking tools.
2The system allows for manual entry of trip details or basic email forwarding to create a static trip record, but lacks real-time synchronization or detailed segment tracking.
3The platform integrates directly with travel management companies (TMCs) to automatically import detailed itineraries and link specific expenses to trip segments without manual intervention.
4The solution provides real-time itinerary synchronization including flight status updates, proactive duty-of-care alerts, and intelligent auto-creation of expense reports based on the travel context.
Travel Policy Enforcement
Advanced3
Airbase provides a robust rules engine for granular, role-based travel policies and pre-approval workflows that flag violations before spend occurs, though it typically relies on travel partner integrations for dynamic market-aware pricing.
View details & rubric context

Travel Policy Enforcement ensures that employee bookings and expenses automatically adhere to company spending limits and guidelines. This capability reduces out-of-policy spend and streamlines approvals by flagging violations in real-time before or during the transaction.

What Score 3 Means

A robust rules engine allows for granular policies based on employee role, destination, or project, integrating directly into the workflow to flag violations before purchase or submission.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to define specific travel rules or spending limits, relying entirely on manual human review to catch policy violations.
1Enforcement can be achieved only through heavy customization, such as building custom validation scripts via APIs or exporting data to external systems for compliance checks.
2Native support exists for basic, static limits (e.g., a fixed maximum price for flights), but the feature lacks conditional logic, role-based granularity, or pre-booking enforcement.
3A robust rules engine allows for granular policies based on employee role, destination, or project, integrating directly into the workflow to flag violations before purchase or submission.
4Best-in-class enforcement uses dynamic, market-aware price caps and AI-driven auditing to automatically approve compliant travel while proactively guiding users to in-policy options without friction.
Carbon Footprint Tracking
Not Supported0
Airbase does not currently offer native features for tracking, estimating, or reporting carbon emissions associated with business spending, focusing instead on core financial workflows like accounts payable and expense management.
View details & rubric context

Carbon Footprint Tracking enables organizations to measure and report the environmental impact of business spending, particularly for travel and procurement. This functionality supports corporate sustainability goals (ESG) by converting financial transaction data into estimated carbon emissions.

What Score 0 Means

The product has no native capability to track, estimate, or report on carbon emissions associated with expenses.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to track, estimate, or report on carbon emissions associated with expenses.
1Emission tracking requires exporting expense data to external sustainability calculators or building custom API connections to third-party carbon databases, with no results visible within the expense interface.
2The system provides basic emission estimates based on high-level expense categories or manual user input, but lacks granular calculation methodologies or automated data enrichment.
3The platform automatically calculates emissions for travel and expenses using standard conversion factors (e.g., DEFRA, EPA) based on receipt data, offering integrated reporting dashboards for sustainability managers.
4The solution delivers granular, real-time carbon analytics with predictive suggestions for lower-emission choices during booking, automated offsetting options, and audit-ready reporting for complex ESG compliance standards.
Duty of Care Features
Not Supported0
Airbase is a spend management platform focused on financial workflows and does not offer native traveler safety tracking, risk alerts, or integrations with third-party risk management services.
View details & rubric context

Duty of Care features enable organizations to monitor employee safety and location during business travel to ensure well-being and legal compliance. These tools often include traveler tracking, risk alerts, and emergency communication capabilities directly linked to expense and travel data.

What Score 0 Means

The product has no native capabilities for tracking employee safety or location, nor does it offer integrations with third-party risk management services.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capabilities for tracking employee safety or location, nor does it offer integrations with third-party risk management services.
1Safety tracking is possible only by exporting travel and expense data via generic APIs to external risk management systems, requiring significant manual effort or custom development to correlate data.
2The system provides basic itinerary visibility or a simple link to a security partner, allowing admins to see where employees are booked to be, but lacks real-time tracking, alerts, or communication tools.
3The platform includes strong, native Duty of Care functionality such as interactive traveler tracking maps, automated risk notifications, and integrated messaging tools to contact employees directly during emergencies.
4The solution offers a market-leading safety command center with predictive risk intelligence, automated pre-trip approval logic based on destination safety, and deep, seamless integration with premier global security providers for immediate crisis response.

Specialized Expense Types

Tracking for specific spending categories beyond standard travel and meals. This includes recurring costs, remote work allowances, and non-employee expenses.

Avg Score
3.6/ 4
Recurring Expenses
Best4
Airbase offers a market-leading solution for recurring expenses by integrating virtual cards with a dedicated SaaS management module that automatically identifies subscription patterns, detects duplicate vendors, and enforces granular spending limits.
View details & rubric context

Recurring expenses functionality automates the recording and processing of regular costs such as software subscriptions, rent, and retainers. This capability minimizes manual data entry and ensures accurate forecasting for fixed financial obligations.

What Score 4 Means

The system intelligently identifies recurring patterns from bank feeds to suggest automation, detects duplicate subscriptions (SaaS management), and integrates with virtual cards to enforce strict limits on recurring vendors.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native mechanism to schedule or automate repeating costs, requiring users to manually create individual expense reports for every billing cycle.
1Recurring logic must be built outside the platform using custom scripts or third-party automation tools (e.g., Zapier) to trigger expense creation via API on a set schedule.
2Basic functionality allows users to manually duplicate past expenses or set a simple repetition schedule, but lacks flexible frequency options or automated submission workflows.
3A robust engine supports flexible schedules (e.g., bi-weekly, quarterly), automatic report generation, and pre-configured approval routing to streamline standard periodic costs.
4The system intelligently identifies recurring patterns from bank feeds to suggest automation, detects duplicate subscriptions (SaaS management), and integrates with virtual cards to enforce strict limits on recurring vendors.
Guest Expense Tracking
Advanced3
Airbase provides a dedicated candidate reimbursement module that allows non-employees to securely submit expenses and banking information via a specialized portal, integrating directly into the standard approval and payment workflow without requiring a full seat license.
View details & rubric context

Guest expense tracking enables organizations to reimburse non-employees, such as job candidates or contractors, without requiring them to have a full user license. This feature streamlines the submission and payment process for external stakeholders while ensuring accurate financial reporting.

What Score 3 Means

The system provides a secure, dedicated interface for guests to submit expenses and banking details directly, integrating seamlessly into standard approval workflows without requiring a user license.

Full Rubric
0The product has no capability to process expenses for non-employees unless they are added as full, licensed users within the system.
1Support requires workarounds, such as employees submitting expenses on behalf of guests or building custom intake forms via generic APIs to route external receipts into the system.
2Basic native functionality allows guests to submit receipts via email or a simple static link, but the process lacks self-service payment setup and often requires manual data entry by administrators.
3The system provides a secure, dedicated interface for guests to submit expenses and banking details directly, integrating seamlessly into standard approval workflows without requiring a user license.
4The feature offers a frictionless, branded guest experience with automated policy enforcement, global currency support, and instant reimbursement capabilities that rival the internal employee experience.
Attendee Tracking
Advanced3
Airbase provides native attendee tracking that allows users to select internal employees from synced HRIS directories, automatically calculates per-head costs, and enforces policy limits, though it lacks the deep CRM/calendar auto-suggestions and specialized regulatory compliance found in market-leading solutions.
View details & rubric context

Attendee tracking enables users to associate specific individuals—such as employees, clients, or government officials—with expense entries to ensure compliance with tax regulations and internal per-head spending limits.

What Score 3 Means

Users can select attendees from internal directories or mobile contacts, with the system automatically calculating per-person amounts and validating them against standard policy limits.

Full Rubric
0The product has no dedicated fields or logic to record specific attendees associated with an expense, forcing users to list names in generic description text fields.
1Attendee tracking is possible only through user-defined custom fields or by building custom API integrations to link external contact databases, lacking native logic for cost splitting.
2The system offers a basic native list for entering attendee names manually, but it lacks integration with address books or CRMs and does not automatically calculate per-head costs.
3Users can select attendees from internal directories or mobile contacts, with the system automatically calculating per-person amounts and validating them against standard policy limits.
4The solution integrates deeply with CRMs and calendars to auto-suggest attendees, supports complex regulatory compliance (e.g., Sunshine Act, HCP), and provides predictive alerts for cross-report duplicates.
Remote Work Stipends
Best4
Airbase offers a dedicated stipends module that utilizes virtual cards tied to specific recurring balances, automates policy enforcement with 'use-it-or-lose-it' logic, and includes built-in tracking for taxable vs. non-taxable benefits to ensure payroll compliance.
View details & rubric context

Remote work stipends allow organizations to allocate and manage recurring or one-time funds for distributed employees to cover home office expenses, internet, and wellness costs. This ensures equitable support for remote staff while maintaining compliance and budget control.

What Score 4 Means

A best-in-class implementation that includes virtual cards specifically tied to stipend balances, automated tax compliance detection for taxable vs. non-taxable benefits, and marketplace integrations for direct purchasing of pre-approved home office equipment.

Full Rubric
0The product has no dedicated functionality for managing stipends or allowances, requiring all expenses to be processed as standard individual reimbursement claims without specific tracking.
1Stipends can only be managed by creating generic expense categories and manually enforcing limits via external spreadsheets or custom scripts that validate expense reports against employee allowances through the API.
2Native support exists for creating stipend categories with simple monthly or yearly caps, but it lacks automated reset logic, distinct approval workflows, or the ability to handle use-it-or-lose-it policies effectively.
3The system offers robust stipend management with configurable recurring allowances, automated balance tracking, and specific policy controls that prevent overspending at the point of submission.
4A best-in-class implementation that includes virtual cards specifically tied to stipend balances, automated tax compliance detection for taxable vs. non-taxable benefits, and marketplace integrations for direct purchasing of pre-approved home office equipment.
Subscription Management
Best4
Airbase provides a market-leading SaaS management module that goes beyond simple tracking by integrating with SSO providers to analyze license utilization, detect duplicate subscriptions, and automate renewal workflows.
View details & rubric context

Subscription management enables organizations to automatically detect, track, and control recurring software and service expenses to prevent shadow IT and reduce wastage. This ensures visibility into renewal dates, duplicate licenses, and total spend across the company.

What Score 4 Means

A best-in-class implementation that goes beyond tracking to offer license utilization analysis, duplicate detection, and automated workflows for cancellation or price negotiation based on usage data.

Full Rubric
0The product has no dedicated capability to track, identify, or manage recurring subscriptions separate from general one-off expenses.
1Users can track subscriptions only through manual workarounds, such as exporting data to spreadsheets for analysis or building custom API integrations to tag recurring vendors.
2Native support allows for a manual registry of subscriptions where users input vendors and dates, but the system lacks automated detection from transaction feeds or invoices.
3The feature automatically detects recurring payments from card feeds and invoices, creating a centralized dashboard with automated renewal alerts and clear ownership assignment.
4A best-in-class implementation that goes beyond tracking to offer license utilization analysis, duplicate detection, and automated workflows for cancellation or price negotiation based on usage data.

Spend & Payment Processing

Tools for managing corporate cards, bank feeds, and the final settlement of expenses. This capability handles the movement of funds to employees and vendors.

Capability Score
3.30/ 4

Bank & Card Connectivity

Integrations that link the platform directly to financial institutions and payment methods. This allows for real-time transaction imports and seamless reconciliation.

Avg Score
3.6/ 4
Credit Card Integration
Best4
Airbase offers market-leading credit card integration by combining its own virtual and physical card issuance with direct feeds from major external issuers, enabling real-time transaction processing and automated reconciliation.
View details & rubric context

Credit card integration connects corporate card feeds directly to the platform, automating transaction entry and reconciliation to ensure accurate, real-time spend visibility.

What Score 4 Means

The platform offers real-time transaction processing, virtual card issuance, and deep integration with banking infrastructure for instant reconciliation and automated fraud detection.

Full Rubric
0The product has no capability to connect directly with banking institutions or import credit card feeds.
1Users must rely on manual CSV statement uploads or build custom middleware using generic APIs to ingest transaction data.
2Native connectivity exists via standard aggregators (e.g., Plaid/Yodlee), but syncs may be delayed, and support for complex corporate card programs is limited.
3Direct integrations with major corporate card issuers ensure reliable daily feeds, automatic receipt matching, and seamless handling of multi-currency transactions.
4The platform offers real-time transaction processing, virtual card issuance, and deep integration with banking infrastructure for instant reconciliation and automated fraud detection.
Bank Feed Sync
Best4
Airbase provides direct, real-time API integrations with major card issuers like American Express and supports complex corporate card hierarchies with automated receipt matching and multi-currency support.
View details & rubric context

Bank Feed Sync connects expense management software directly to corporate and personal bank accounts to automatically import transaction data. This automation eliminates manual data entry errors and ensures real-time visibility into company spending.

What Score 4 Means

Best-in-class implementation features direct, real-time feeds via API partnerships (e.g., Visa/Mastercard direct) with instant transaction capture, intelligent auto-matching of receipts, and support for complex corporate card hierarchies across multiple currencies.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to connect to bank accounts or credit cards for automatic transaction importing, requiring manual entry for every expense.
1Users must rely on manual CSV uploads or build custom connectors via generic APIs to import transaction data, as there is no pre-built integration with financial institutions.
2Native support is provided through a standard aggregator for major banks, but synchronization is often delayed (e.g., once every 24 hours) and connections frequently break or require manual re-authentication.
3The feature supports a wide range of global banks and credit cards with reliable, automated daily syncing and robust error handling, ensuring transaction data is consistently available without user intervention.
4Best-in-class implementation features direct, real-time feeds via API partnerships (e.g., Visa/Mastercard direct) with instant transaction capture, intelligent auto-matching of receipts, and support for complex corporate card hierarchies across multiple currencies.
Digital Wallet Support
Advanced3
Airbase provides a native 'Add to Wallet' button within its mobile app for both virtual and physical cards, enabling instant provisioning to Apple Pay and Google Pay with seamless transaction syncing.
View details & rubric context

Digital Wallet Support enables employees to add corporate cards to mobile wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay for secure, contactless payments. This facilitates seamless on-the-go spending while ensuring transactions are automatically tracked and reconciled within the expense platform.

What Score 3 Means

The mobile app includes a dedicated 'Add to Wallet' button that instantly provisions virtual or physical cards to the device's digital wallet with a single tap, ensuring immediate usability and automatic transaction syncing.

Full Rubric
0The product has no capability to provision corporate cards to digital wallets, requiring users to rely exclusively on physical cards for point-of-sale transactions.
1Users can theoretically add cards to digital wallets by manually entering card numbers and navigating third-party verification steps, but the software offers no native integration or 'push-to-wallet' functionality to facilitate this.
2Native support exists to add cards to major wallets (e.g., Apple Pay, Google Pay), but the process may be disjointed, requiring users to copy-paste card details or wait for physical card activation before digital use.
3The mobile app includes a dedicated 'Add to Wallet' button that instantly provisions virtual or physical cards to the device's digital wallet with a single tap, ensuring immediate usability and automatic transaction syncing.
4The solution offers instant, zero-touch provisioning where cards are available in digital wallets immediately upon approval (before physical delivery), complete with granular controls for wallet-specific spending limits and real-time biometric security enforcement.
Personal Card Support
Advanced3
Airbase provides a robust personal card linking feature via aggregators like Plaid, enabling automated transaction imports, receipt auto-matching, and categorization for out-of-pocket reimbursements. While highly reliable and production-ready, it lacks the real-time, instant policy enforcement seen with its native corporate cards.
View details & rubric context

Personal card support enables employees to securely link their private credit or debit cards to automatically import transactions for reimbursement. This automation eliminates manual data entry, ensures accuracy, and accelerates the reconciliation of out-of-pocket business expenses.

What Score 3 Means

The system provides stable, direct integrations with major banks and card issuers, offering reliable automatic feeds, auto-matching of receipts to transactions, and support for split transactions.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to link personal credit or debit cards, forcing users to manually type in transaction details for every reimbursement claim.
1Users can only import personal card data through manual CSV uploads of bank statements or by building custom integrations with third-party financial data aggregators.
2The platform supports linking personal cards via a standard aggregator, but users often face delayed transaction feeds, frequent connection breaks requiring re-authentication, or a lack of automatic categorization.
3The system provides stable, direct integrations with major banks and card issuers, offering reliable automatic feeds, auto-matching of receipts to transactions, and support for split transactions.
4The solution offers real-time transaction synchronization with AI-driven expense categorization and policy checks at the moment of purchase, virtually eliminating the need for manual review before submission.
Transaction Feeds
Best4
Airbase provides market-leading transaction feeds through real-time direct integrations with card networks and its own native card program, featuring AI-driven categorization and automated reconciliation for complex multi-currency transactions.
View details & rubric context

Transaction feeds automatically import spending data from corporate cards and bank accounts directly into the expense management platform, ensuring real-time visibility and reducing manual data entry.

What Score 4 Means

Best-in-class implementation features real-time direct feeds from card networks (Visa/Mastercard) for instant notifications, AI-driven categorization, and automated reconciliation of complex multi-currency transactions.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to import transaction data from banks or credit cards, requiring users to manually enter every expense detail.
1Importing transactions requires manual CSV uploads or building custom connections via generic APIs, lacking direct, automated synchronization with financial institutions.
2Native support exists via standard aggregators (e.g., Plaid or Yodlee) for major banks, but sync times may be delayed (daily or weekly) and connection stability can be inconsistent.
3The system provides reliable, direct integrations with a vast network of global banks and card issuers, delivering near real-time synchronization and automatic matching of receipts to transaction lines.
4Best-in-class implementation features real-time direct feeds from card networks (Visa/Mastercard) for instant notifications, AI-driven categorization, and automated reconciliation of complex multi-currency transactions.

Corporate Card Management

Features designed to issue, manage, and control corporate spending cards. These tools provide centralized oversight of card limits and statement reconciliation.

Avg Score
4.0/ 4
Virtual Cards
Best4
Airbase provides a market-leading virtual card solution that automates issuance through sophisticated approval workflows and offers advanced features like merchant-specific locking, granular spend controls, and zero-touch reconciliation with real-time ERP integration.
View details & rubric context

Virtual cards enable organizations to generate unique digital payment numbers for specific vendors or transactions, significantly enhancing security and spend visibility. This feature simplifies reconciliation by automatically matching expenses to pre-approved budgets and allows for precise control over spending limits and merchant categories.

What Score 4 Means

A market-leading implementation that automates card issuance based on approval workflows, offering unlimited cards with sophisticated fraud prevention, intelligent auto-categorization, and zero-touch reconciliation.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to issue or manage virtual cards, forcing users to rely entirely on physical corporate cards or external banking portals.
1Virtual card functionality is not native and requires building custom integrations with third-party card issuers via APIs to sync transaction data, with no interface for card management within the software.
2Native support allows for the manual creation of basic virtual cards, but controls are limited to simple credit limits without advanced restrictions like merchant category codes, expiration dates, or recurring logic.
3A strong, fully integrated feature that allows users to instantly issue single-use or recurring virtual cards with granular spend controls, real-time transaction syncing, and seamless mobile wallet provisioning.
4A market-leading implementation that automates card issuance based on approval workflows, offering unlimited cards with sophisticated fraud prevention, intelligent auto-categorization, and zero-touch reconciliation.
P-Card Management
Best4
Airbase provides a market-leading P-Card solution featuring instant virtual card issuance, granular real-time controls that block unauthorized spend at the point of sale, and AI-powered automated reconciliation that integrates deeply with major ERP systems.
View details & rubric context

P-Card Management centralizes the administration of corporate purchasing cards, allowing finance teams to issue cards, control limits, and streamline the reconciliation of high-volume transaction data. This functionality ensures real-time visibility into corporate spend while reducing the administrative burden of manual statement processing.

What Score 4 Means

The system provides a market-leading P-Card hub featuring instant virtual card issuance, AI-driven reconciliation that auto-categorizes spend with high accuracy, and proactive policy enforcement that blocks unauthorized transactions at the point of sale.

Full Rubric
0The product has no dedicated functionality for managing purchasing cards or separating P-Card transactions from standard employee reimbursements.
1P-Card data can only be ingested via manual CSV uploads or custom-built connections to banking APIs. Reconciliation requires significant manual effort to match external statements with internal expense entries.
2Native support includes basic bank feeds or statement imports for P-Cards. Users can view and tag transactions, but the system lacks advanced features like automated receipt matching, bulk reconciliation, or granular card-level controls.
3The platform offers direct, reliable integrations with major card issuers and supports automated matching of receipts to P-Card transactions. It includes robust administrative tools for managing card limits, assigning cards to users, and handling statement periods efficiently.
4The system provides a market-leading P-Card hub featuring instant virtual card issuance, AI-driven reconciliation that auto-categorizes spend with high accuracy, and proactive policy enforcement that blocks unauthorized transactions at the point of sale.
Card Spending Limits
Best4
Airbase offers market-leading card controls that include granular time-based and merchant restrictions, while also dynamically linking card limits to approved purchase orders and specific budget categories for automated enforcement.
View details & rubric context

Card spending limits enable administrators to define monetary caps and usage restrictions on corporate cards to proactively control costs. This functionality prevents overspending and ensures compliance with financial policies without requiring manual intervention.

What Score 4 Means

Limits are dynamic and context-aware, automatically adjusting based on approved purchase orders or travel dates, with support for specific budgets and real-time policy overrides for emergency scenarios.

Full Rubric
0The product has no mechanism to set or enforce spending limits on cards, requiring users to rely on the issuing bank's default settings or manual policy checks.
1Spending controls can be implemented only through custom API connections to the card processor or by building external scripts that monitor spend and trigger card suspensions manually.
2Users can set basic, static limits (e.g., a total credit limit or a monthly cap) on a card, but the feature lacks granularity for specific timeframes, merchant categories, or per-transaction caps.
3The platform supports comprehensive limit configurations, including daily, weekly, and monthly caps, per-transaction limits, and merchant category restrictions, all manageable via a user-friendly interface with instant syncing.
4Limits are dynamic and context-aware, automatically adjusting based on approved purchase orders or travel dates, with support for specific budgets and real-time policy overrides for emergency scenarios.
Statement Reconciliation
Best4
Airbase provides a market-leading continuous reconciliation process that integrates directly with bank feeds and card networks to match transactions in real-time, utilizing automated workflows and AI to flag discrepancies and missing documentation as they occur.
View details & rubric context

Statement reconciliation automatically compares submitted expense claims against corporate card or bank statements to ensure financial accuracy and identify discrepancies. This feature streamlines the closing process by flagging missing receipts or unauthorized charges before final ledger entry.

What Score 4 Means

Best-in-class continuous reconciliation uses AI to match complex transactions across currencies and dates in real-time, proactively alerting users to discrepancies immediately as they occur.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to import statements or reconcile them against expense entries, requiring manual comparison outside the platform.
1Reconciliation is possible only through custom API integrations to fetch transaction data or by exporting expenses to spreadsheets for manual matching against bank feeds.
2Native support allows for manual statement uploads (e.g., CSV) and basic visual matching, but lacks direct bank feeds or automated matching logic.
3The system integrates directly with corporate card providers to fetch statements and automatically matches transactions based on date and amount, leaving only exceptions for manual review.
4Best-in-class continuous reconciliation uses AI to match complex transactions across currencies and dates in real-time, proactively alerting users to discrepancies immediately as they occur.

Reimbursement Methods

Various payment rails for settling employee expenses quickly and securely. These options cater to domestic and international payment needs.

Avg Score
3.3/ 4
Direct Deposit Reimbursement
Best4
Airbase provides a fully automated reimbursement engine that supports rapid ACH transfers in the US and international payments across multiple currencies, allowing finance teams to settle employee expenses globally without manual file handling or external banking portals.
View details & rubric context

Direct deposit reimbursement enables organizations to electronically transfer funds to employee bank accounts for out-of-pocket expenses, significantly speeding up settlement times and reducing administrative overhead compared to manual checks.

What Score 4 Means

The solution offers global, rapid reimbursement (often same-day or next-day) across multiple currencies with automated compliance checks, providing a frictionless, real-time payment experience that rivals consumer banking apps.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native mechanism to transfer funds to employees; reimbursements must be processed manually via external payroll systems or physical checks.
1Users can generate payment data via API or generic CSV exports to feed into a separate banking tool, but the process requires manual data manipulation or custom middleware to execute transfers.
2The system generates standard ACH (NACHA) files for direct deposit, but administrators must manually download these files and upload them to their corporate bank portal to finalize payments.
3The platform features built-in ACH processing that connects directly to corporate bank accounts, allowing administrators to initiate and track reimbursements entirely within the interface without handling files.
4The solution offers global, rapid reimbursement (often same-day or next-day) across multiple currencies with automated compliance checks, providing a frictionless, real-time payment experience that rivals consumer banking apps.
Global Reimbursements
Best4
Airbase provides a market-leading global reimbursement solution that utilizes local payment rails in over 100 countries to minimize fees and latency, while offering automated currency conversion and deep ERP integration.
View details & rubric context

Global reimbursements enable organizations to repay employees across multiple countries and currencies directly through the expense platform. This capability ensures timely, compliant payouts for international teams while minimizing foreign exchange fees and administrative overhead.

What Score 4 Means

The solution provides instant or same-day global reimbursements using local payment rails (e.g., SEPA, FPS) to minimize fees and latency. It includes advanced features like automatic tax compliance checks, competitive FX rates, and multi-currency wallet management.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to process reimbursements to international employees or support multi-currency payouts.
1International reimbursements require manual export of payment files for upload into a separate banking portal or rely on custom integrations with third-party payment providers via API.
2Native support allows for reimbursing employees in a limited set of major currencies, but often relies on slower SWIFT transfers with higher transaction fees rather than local payment rails.
3The platform offers robust global reimbursement capabilities, supporting a wide range of currencies with direct deposits and transparent status tracking. It handles currency conversion automatically within the workflow.
4The solution provides instant or same-day global reimbursements using local payment rails (e.g., SEPA, FPS) to minimize fees and latency. It includes advanced features like automatic tax compliance checks, competitive FX rates, and multi-currency wallet management.
ACH Reimbursement
Best4
Airbase provides a market-leading reimbursement engine that features automated next-day ACH, global multi-currency support for international employees, and proactive error resolution for failed transfers, all fully integrated with real-time GL syncing.
View details & rubric context

ACH Reimbursement enables organizations to directly deposit approved expense repayments into employee bank accounts via the Automated Clearing House network, streamlining settlement and eliminating manual checks.

What Score 4 Means

The solution offers market-leading speed with same-day ACH or Real-Time Payments (RTP) capabilities, global multi-currency support, and proactive error resolution for failed transfers.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to execute ACH transfers for reimbursements, forcing finance teams to process payments manually via external payroll systems or physical checks.
1Reimbursement via ACH is possible but requires generating and exporting NACHA files for manual upload to a banking portal or building custom API connections to a third-party payment processor.
2Native ACH support exists, allowing for direct deposits, but the process involves standard settlement times (3-5 days) and requires manual intervention to batch and initiate payment runs.
3The platform provides a fully integrated ACH reimbursement workflow with expedited settlement (next-day) and automated batching triggered immediately upon report approval.
4The solution offers market-leading speed with same-day ACH or Real-Time Payments (RTP) capabilities, global multi-currency support, and proactive error resolution for failed transfers.
SEPA Payments
Advanced3
Airbase provides a robust, native SEPA Credit Transfer capability that automates the end-to-end workflow from payment initiation to real-time status tracking and automated GL reconciliation. While highly efficient for international spend management, it lacks the specialized intelligent routing and advanced multi-subsidiary liquidity management required for a top-tier score.
View details & rubric context

SEPA Payments enable organizations to execute standardized Euro-denominated transfers across the Single Euro Payments Area for employee reimbursements and vendor settlements. This capability ensures cost-effective, compliant, and rapid cross-border transactions within Europe.

What Score 3 Means

The system provides a robust, fully integrated SEPA workflow including automated batch processing, support for SEPA Instant payments, and real-time status synchronization with the bank to confirm settlement.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to execute SEPA transfers, forcing finance teams to process Eurozone payments manually through external banking portals.
1Support is limited to generating raw payment files (like PAIN.001 XML or CSV) that require manual modification and upload to a bank, or relies on custom API integrations to connect with payment processors.
2Native SEPA functionality allows for direct payment initiation, but workflows are largely manual (e.g., requiring manual batch creation) and lack support for SEPA Instant or detailed error handling.
3The system provides a robust, fully integrated SEPA workflow including automated batch processing, support for SEPA Instant payments, and real-time status synchronization with the bank to confirm settlement.
4The platform delivers market-leading SEPA capabilities with intelligent routing between Instant and Credit transfers based on urgency and cost, automated reconciliation of returns, and multi-subsidiary liquidity management.
Check Reimbursement
Best4
Airbase provides a fully automated check fulfillment service through its integrated bill-pay engine, which handles printing and mailing while offering real-time tracking and automatic reconciliation with the general ledger.
View details & rubric context

Check reimbursement enables organizations to issue physical paper checks for out-of-pocket expenses, accommodating employees without direct deposit or specific legacy accounting requirements.

What Score 4 Means

The solution offers end-to-end check fulfillment with address verification, real-time delivery and encashment tracking, and automatic reconciliation within the general ledger.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to issue, print, or track physical check reimbursements.
1Reimbursement via check is possible only by manually exporting data to a third-party payroll system, using generic webhooks, or writing checks by hand outside the software.
2The system allows administrators to mark expenses as paid by check and may generate a printable PDF or export file, but the actual printing and mailing process remains manual.
3The platform includes an integrated bill-pay service that automatically prints and mails checks to employees upon approval, with basic status tracking available in the UI.
4The solution offers end-to-end check fulfillment with address verification, real-time delivery and encashment tracking, and automatic reconciliation within the general ledger.
PayPal Reimbursement
DIY1
Airbase does not offer a native, direct integration with PayPal for employee reimbursements, requiring finance teams to rely on manual CSV exports or external payment workflows to facilitate these payouts.
View details & rubric context

PayPal reimbursement enables companies to transfer approved expense funds directly to an employee's PayPal account, offering a rapid alternative to traditional bank transfers. This feature is particularly valuable for paying international employees or contractors quickly without incurring high wire transfer fees.

What Score 1 Means

PayPal payouts can be achieved through manual CSV exports uploaded to PayPal or by engineering a custom connection via the platform's open API and webhooks.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native integration with PayPal for reimbursements, forcing finance teams to handle payouts manually via external banking portals or checks.
1PayPal payouts can be achieved through manual CSV exports uploaded to PayPal or by engineering a custom connection via the platform's open API and webhooks.
2A basic native integration exists to send funds to PayPal accounts, but the process is manual, lacks real-time payment status tracking, and handles only single-currency transactions.
3The system features a robust, fully integrated PayPal workflow that supports batch processing, automatic payment status synchronization back to the expense report, and reliable error handling.
4The solution offers market-leading global payout capabilities, including instant transfer execution upon approval, automated multi-currency conversion, and intelligent routing to minimize transaction fees.

Cash & Advance Management

Tools for managing cash disbursements and out-of-pocket spending. This covers funds issued before travel and the reconciliation of petty cash.

Avg Score
1.5/ 4
Cash Advances
DIY1
Airbase does not provide a native, dedicated workflow for cash advances, as its platform philosophy prioritizes the use of corporate cards to eliminate the need for pre-funded cash; consequently, any tracking of advances requires manual workarounds or external reconciliation.
View details & rubric context

Cash advances enable organizations to disburse funds to employees prior to business travel or purchases, ensuring staff do not have to use personal funds for significant company expenses while maintaining accurate financial tracking.

What Score 1 Means

Cash advances must be managed via manual workarounds, such as creating negative expense entries or using external payroll APIs to track disbursements, resulting in disjointed reporting and manual reconciliation.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to request, track, or reconcile cash advances within the expense workflow.
1Cash advances must be managed via manual workarounds, such as creating negative expense entries or using external payroll APIs to track disbursements, resulting in disjointed reporting and manual reconciliation.
2A basic request and approval form exists for cash advances, but the system lacks automated reconciliation features, requiring finance teams to manually offset advances against subsequent expense reports.
3The platform provides a fully integrated workflow for requesting, approving, and disbursing cash advances, with automatic deduction from reimbursement totals and clear tracking of outstanding balances per employee.
4The system offers best-in-class management with multi-currency support, instant digital disbursement, and automated reconciliation logic that handles complex scenarios like partial returns, carry-overs, and policy enforcement without manual intervention.
Petty Cash Management
DIY1
Airbase manages cash spending primarily through its out-of-pocket reimbursement module, but it lacks a dedicated feature set for tracking physical cash-on-hand, managing fund custodians, or automating the replenishment of physical petty cash drawers.
View details & rubric context

Petty cash management enables organizations to track, reconcile, and replenish small cash funds used for incidental office expenses. This ensures financial accountability and accurate ledger recording for transactions occurring outside of corporate cards or digital payments.

What Score 1 Means

Users can track cash by manually creating custom expense types or dummy accounts via generic APIs, but there are no built-in workflows for replenishment or balancing cash drawers.

Full Rubric
0The product has no specific capability for tracking cash-on-hand or reconciling petty cash funds, forcing reliance on external spreadsheets.
1Users can track cash by manually creating custom expense types or dummy accounts via generic APIs, but there are no built-in workflows for replenishment or balancing cash drawers.
2Native support allows users to log cash expenses and associate them with a cash account, but it lacks depth in handling replenishment requests, multiple currencies, or custodian-specific controls.
3The feature provides a fully integrated workflow for managing multiple petty cash funds, including custodian assignment, automated ledger entries for replenishment, and strict reconciliation processes.
4A market-leading implementation that combines digital petty cash wallets with physical tracking, offering automated low-balance alerts, predictive replenishment, and AI-driven audit flags for cash anomalies.
Advance Requests
Not Supported0
Airbase does not offer a native cash advance feature, as its platform is designed to replace the need for advances through pre-approved virtual cards and a robust reimbursement workflow.
View details & rubric context

Advance Requests allow employees to apply for funds prior to incurring business expenses, ensuring cash flow needs are met while maintaining control through pre-approval workflows and subsequent reconciliation against actual receipts.

What Score 0 Means

The product has no native capability for employees to request funds prior to spending, forcing reliance on out-of-pocket spending or corporate cards.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability for employees to request funds prior to spending, forcing reliance on out-of-pocket spending or corporate cards.
1Advance requests can be handled through generic custom fields or external forms, requiring manual data entry to trigger payments and significant manual effort to reconcile the advance against later expense reports.
2A native cash advance form exists, but functionality is limited to simple requests and approvals; reconciliation requires the user to manually associate the advance with specific expense line items later.
3The system offers a robust workflow for requesting, approving, and issuing advances, with built-in logic that automatically deducts the advanced amount from the employee's subsequent expense reimbursement.
4The feature offers end-to-end automation, including instant multi-currency disbursement, policy-driven auto-approvals based on travel bookings, and intelligent reconciliation that automatically matches advances to receipts and recovers unused funds.
Out-of-Pocket Expenses
Best4
Airbase provides a market-leading experience for out-of-pocket expenses, featuring a mobile app with OCR for automated data entry, global multi-currency reimbursement capabilities, and AI-driven policy enforcement that automates the entire workflow from receipt capture to GL reconciliation.
View details & rubric context

Out-of-pocket expenses functionality allows organizations to track, approve, and reimburse business costs paid with personal funds. This ensures accurate financial recording and timely repayment to employees while maintaining policy compliance.

What Score 4 Means

Best-in-class implementation features global, multi-currency reimbursement with near real-time settlement options (e.g., instant push to card) and utilizes AI to audit receipts against policy instantly, automating the flow from capture to reconciliation.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to track or reimburse expenses paid with personal funds, requiring all spend to occur on corporate cards or be managed entirely outside the system.
1Reimbursement is possible only through manual workarounds, such as treating employees as generic vendors and manually uploading invoices, or building custom integrations via API to ingest personal spend data.
2Native support exists but is manual and rigid; employees must manually enter transaction details and upload receipts one by one, often with a disconnected approval flow that delays reimbursement.
3The feature offers a streamlined mobile experience with OCR receipt scanning that auto-populates transaction details, supports integrated approval workflows, and facilitates direct deposit reimbursements to employees.
4Best-in-class implementation features global, multi-currency reimbursement with near real-time settlement options (e.g., instant push to card) and utilizes AI to audit receipts against policy instantly, automating the flow from capture to reconciliation.

Accounts Payable Features

Functionality that extends expense management into vendor invoice processing. These tools streamline the payment of external suppliers and purchase orders.

Avg Score
4.0/ 4
Vendor Analysis
Best4
Airbase provides a dedicated vendor management module that includes automated merchant normalization, proactive subscription renewal tracking, and AI-driven insights to identify redundant SaaS spend and consolidation opportunities.
View details & rubric context

Vendor analysis aggregates spending data across suppliers to identify cost-saving opportunities and detect redundant subscriptions. This insight empowers finance teams to consolidate vendors and leverage volume for better contract negotiations.

What Score 4 Means

The solution uses AI to benchmark vendor pricing against market rates and proactively identifies duplicate SaaS subscriptions or consolidation opportunities. It includes advanced features like contract renewal tracking and risk assessment to drive strategic procurement decisions.

Full Rubric
0The product has no dedicated capability to track, aggregate, or analyze spending data by specific vendors or suppliers.
1Vendor insights can only be derived by exporting raw transaction logs to spreadsheets or connecting to third-party BI tools via API. There is no native interface for grouping or analyzing expenses by supplier.
2The system provides a simple report showing total spend per merchant, but relies on exact text matching which often creates duplicates. It lacks deep drill-down capabilities or the ability to group parent/child vendor relationships.
3The platform features robust vendor dashboards that automatically normalize merchant names and track spending trends over time. Users can access detailed transaction histories and category breakdowns for specific suppliers without leaving the interface.
4The solution uses AI to benchmark vendor pricing against market rates and proactively identifies duplicate SaaS subscriptions or consolidation opportunities. It includes advanced features like contract renewal tracking and risk assessment to drive strategic procurement decisions.
Invoice Processing
Best4
Airbase offers a market-leading AP automation module that features AI-driven OCR for touchless data extraction, automated 3-way matching against purchase orders, and sophisticated multi-entity routing with deep ERP integrations.
View details & rubric context

Invoice processing automates the capture, data extraction, and approval of vendor bills to streamline accounts payable and reduce manual entry errors. This feature ensures accurate financial recording and accelerates the payment cycle while maintaining audit trails.

What Score 4 Means

AI-driven processing delivers touchless automation by learning vendor patterns, performing automatic 3-way matching against POs, and proactively flagging duplicates or potential fraud. It handles complex global tax compliance and multi-entity routing without user intervention.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to ingest, store, or process vendor invoices, requiring all accounts payable activities to be managed manually or in a separate system.
1Users must rely on generic file attachment fields or external APIs to associate invoices with transactions. There is no native OCR or specific AP workflow, necessitating manual data entry or custom scripting to track bill status.
2The system allows for manual invoice uploads and basic data entry, potentially with rudimentary OCR that captures only total amounts and dates. Approval chains are static, and line-item details often require manual keying.
3The platform features robust OCR that accurately extracts header and line-item data, auto-populates GL codes, and supports configurable multi-stage approval workflows. It syncs seamlessly with accounting software for payment reconciliation.
4AI-driven processing delivers touchless automation by learning vendor patterns, performing automatic 3-way matching against POs, and proactively flagging duplicates or potential fraud. It handles complex global tax compliance and multi-entity routing without user intervention.
Purchase Order Matching
Best4
Airbase provides a market-leading 2-way and 3-way matching system that utilizes AI-driven OCR for line-item extraction, supports sophisticated tolerance thresholds, and automates discrepancy handling within its integrated procurement and AP workflows.
View details & rubric context

Purchase Order Matching automatically reconciles incoming invoices and expenses against approved purchase orders to ensure spending compliance and prevent overpayment. This capability streamlines accounts payable by verifying that billed amounts align with pre-authorized commitments before payment is released.

What Score 4 Means

A market-leading implementation utilizes AI-driven line-item extraction to match complex invoices against POs automatically, handling partial receipts and sophisticated tolerance thresholds with zero manual touch.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to link expenses or invoices to purchase orders, forcing users to reconcile data manually outside the platform.
1Matching is possible only through custom workarounds, such as using generic APIs to pull data into external tools or relying on manual spreadsheet exports to cross-reference POs.
2Native support allows users to manually associate an invoice with a PO number, but the system lacks automated validation, line-item matching, or variance controls.
3The feature provides strong, out-of-the-box 2-way or 3-way matching that automatically validates totals against open POs and integrates discrepancy handling directly into the approval workflow.
4A market-leading implementation utilizes AI-driven line-item extraction to match complex invoices against POs automatically, handling partial receipts and sophisticated tolerance thresholds with zero manual touch.
Vendor Management
Best4
Airbase provides a market-leading vendor management module that includes automated onboarding with tax form collection, integrated OFAC/sanctions risk screening, and AI-powered data normalization that syncs bi-directionally with major ERP systems.
View details & rubric context

Vendor management centralizes supplier details and tracks spend per merchant to ensure accurate reporting and prevent fraud. This capability streamlines payment workflows and provides visibility into total expenditure for better contract negotiations.

What Score 4 Means

The solution offers intelligent vendor management with AI-powered normalization to merge duplicates, automated risk/sanctions screening, and predictive analytics that surface volume discount opportunities based on aggregated spend.

Full Rubric
0The product has no dedicated capability to store or manage vendor profiles, forcing users to manually input merchant details for every transaction without any centralization or validation.
1Users can maintain a vendor list only through manual CSV uploads or by building custom connections to an external ERP via API, with no user interface for managing vendor details directly within the software.
2A basic vendor list is supported, allowing for simple name and ID storage to facilitate dropdown selection during expense entry, but it lacks duplicate detection, detailed profile management, or spend aggregation.
3The platform provides a comprehensive vendor master record that tracks payment terms, tax forms, and contact info, automatically matching expenses to existing vendors and syncing updates bi-directionally with the core accounting system.
4The solution offers intelligent vendor management with AI-powered normalization to merge duplicates, automated risk/sanctions screening, and predictive analytics that surface volume discount opportunities based on aggregated spend.

Policy, Audit & Security

Governance features that enforce spending rules, ensure tax compliance, and secure sensitive data. This capability provides the framework for approvals and audit readiness.

Capability Score
3.38/ 4

Approval Workflows

Flexible routing systems that manage how expenses are reviewed and authorized. These features prevent bottlenecks while ensuring proper oversight.

Avg Score
3.6/ 4
Custom Approval Workflows
Best4
Airbase provides a highly sophisticated, no-code workflow engine that supports complex conditional logic, parallel approval chains, and dynamic routing based on any transaction metadata, placing it at the top of the market for spend control flexibility.
View details & rubric context

Custom approval workflows allow finance teams to define specific routing rules for expense reports based on criteria like amount, department, or project, ensuring compliance without creating administrative bottlenecks.

What Score 4 Means

A best-in-class implementation featuring dynamic routing, parallel approval chains, and AI-driven auto-approvals for low-risk expenses, offering granular control that significantly reduces reimbursement cycle times.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to define approval chains or routing logic, requiring all approvals to happen manually outside the platform or via a single hardcoded path.
1Complex approval logic is possible only through heavy customization, requiring the customer to build their own routing engine using generic APIs, webhooks, or external automation tools like Zapier.
2Native support exists but is limited to rigid, linear hierarchies (e.g., direct manager only) and lacks conditional logic based on specific expense attributes like amount thresholds or categories.
3The system provides a robust, built-in workflow editor that supports multi-stage approvals and conditional routing based on amounts, cost centers, and policy violations without needing code.
4A best-in-class implementation featuring dynamic routing, parallel approval chains, and AI-driven auto-approvals for low-risk expenses, offering granular control that significantly reduces reimbursement cycle times.
Multi-Level Approvals
Best4
Airbase provides a sophisticated, visual workflow engine that supports complex, multi-level approval chains with advanced conditional logic based on amount, department, and custom tags, ensuring dynamic routing and high levels of financial control.
View details & rubric context

Multi-level approvals enable organizations to enforce strict financial controls by requiring sequential sign-offs from different stakeholders based on expense amount, department, or category. This ensures compliance and accountability by preventing unauthorized spending before reimbursement occurs.

What Score 4 Means

The solution offers a visual, drag-and-drop workflow designer with intelligent routing that automatically adjusts based on risk factors, supports complex "if/then" logic, and handles delegation or skip-logic dynamically to eliminate bottlenecks.

Full Rubric
0The product has no capability to support hierarchical or sequential reviews, limiting users to a single approver or requiring manual routing outside the system.
1Complex approval chains can only be achieved by exporting data to external workflow tools via APIs or by manually manipulating user roles to simulate a hierarchy, requiring significant administrative overhead.
2Native functionality supports basic linear chains (e.g., Manager then Finance), but lacks conditional logic for specific amounts, categories, or parallel reviews.
3The platform provides a flexible workflow engine allowing administrators to configure rule-based routing, sequential and parallel steps, and specific thresholds for different departments or projects out of the box.
4The solution offers a visual, drag-and-drop workflow designer with intelligent routing that automatically adjusts based on risk factors, supports complex "if/then" logic, and handles delegation or skip-logic dynamically to eliminate bottlenecks.
Auto-Approval Rules
Advanced3
Airbase offers a robust rules engine that allows finance teams to configure complex, multi-condition logic for auto-approvals based on amount, category, and policy compliance, though it primarily relies on these structured rules rather than fully autonomous AI-driven risk scoring.
View details & rubric context

Auto-approval rules allow finance teams to define specific criteria under which expense reports are automatically approved without manual intervention, significantly reducing administrative bottlenecks for low-risk transactions.

What Score 3 Means

A robust rules engine allows administrators to configure complex, multi-condition logic based on categories, project codes, receipt matching, and policy compliance to automatically approve specific expenses.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to automatically approve expenses based on criteria; every report requires manual review regardless of amount or compliance status.
1Automation logic must be built externally using generic APIs or webhooks to trigger status updates via third-party workflow tools or custom scripts.
2Native auto-approval exists but is limited to simple, single-variable thresholds (e.g., approving all expenses under $25) and lacks granularity for categories or policy exceptions.
3A robust rules engine allows administrators to configure complex, multi-condition logic based on categories, project codes, receipt matching, and policy compliance to automatically approve specific expenses.
4The system utilizes AI and dynamic risk scoring to intelligently auto-approve transactions based on historical behavior and anomaly detection, creating a trust-based workflow that adapts over time.
Delegate Approvals
Advanced3
Airbase provides a robust self-service interface allowing users to schedule temporary approvers for specific date ranges, complete with an audit trail that identifies both the delegate and the original approver.
View details & rubric context

Delegate approvals enable authorized users to assign their expense approval responsibilities to a designated peer or subordinate during absences. This ensures workflow continuity and timely reimbursements without requiring administrative intervention or shared credentials.

What Score 3 Means

The system provides a robust self-service interface where users can schedule delegations for specific date ranges, with clear audit trails showing exactly who approved a report and on whose behalf.

Full Rubric
0The product has no capability for users to reassign approval duties, forcing workflows to stall until the primary approver returns.
1Delegation is possible only through manual administrative changes to the user hierarchy or by building custom routing logic via APIs to bypass the standard approver.
2Users can manually select a delegate, but the feature is a simple on/off toggle without start/end scheduling, often requiring manual deactivation to stop the delegation.
3The system provides a robust self-service interface where users can schedule delegations for specific date ranges, with clear audit trails showing exactly who approved a report and on whose behalf.
4The feature includes intelligent automation, such as syncing with email out-of-office calendars to prompt delegation, and supports complex rules like partial delegation based on budget limits or project codes.
Workflow Automation
Best4
Airbase features a highly sophisticated, native rules engine that supports complex, multi-stage conditional approvals based on any metadata field, combined with automated policy enforcement and a visual interface that streamlines the entire spend lifecycle.
View details & rubric context

Workflow automation streamlines the expense approval process by routing reports based on predefined rules such as amount, department, or policy compliance. This capability reduces manual administrative effort, accelerates reimbursement cycles, and enforces spending controls automatically.

What Score 4 Means

Best-in-class implementation featuring visual workflow builders and AI-driven logic that auto-approves low-risk expenses while intelligently routing complex anomalies, offering a strategic efficiency advantage.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to define approval workflows or automate routing, requiring all approvals to be handled manually or via static, single-assignee setups.
1Complex routing is possible only through heavy lifting using generic APIs, webhooks, or external automation tools like Zapier to manage approval logic outside the core platform.
2Native support exists but is limited to simple, linear chains (e.g., direct manager approval only) without conditional logic for specific amounts, categories, or policy violations.
3A strong, fully integrated rules engine allows for multi-stage, conditional approvals based on dynamic criteria like cost centers, project codes, or dollar thresholds, working seamlessly out of the box.
4Best-in-class implementation featuring visual workflow builders and AI-driven logic that auto-approves low-risk expenses while intelligently routing complex anomalies, offering a strategic efficiency advantage.
Mobile Approvals
Best4
Airbase provides a highly mature mobile experience featuring actionable push notifications, full visibility into line-item details and receipts, and automated policy violation flags that allow managers to make informed approval decisions quickly.
View details & rubric context

Mobile approvals allow managers to review, authorize, or reject expense reports directly from a smartphone or tablet, ensuring reimbursement workflows continue regardless of location. This feature is critical for reducing bottlenecks and speeding up cycle times for traveling teams.

What Score 4 Means

The feature sets the standard with actionable push notifications, AI-assisted risk scoring visible on mobile, and smart batch approval capabilities that dramatically reduce administrative time for managers.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native mobile application or mobile-optimized web interface for approving expenses, forcing managers to access the desktop version.
1Mobile approvals are possible only through custom development against the API or by setting up complex email-based triggers that act as a workaround for a native interface.
2A native mobile app exists, but approval functionality is limited to high-level 'approve' or 'reject' actions without the ability to drill down into line-item details or view receipts clearly.
3The mobile app offers a complete approval workflow, allowing managers to view full receipt images, analyze policy violations, and approve or reject individual line items with a user-friendly interface.
4The feature sets the standard with actionable push notifications, AI-assisted risk scoring visible on mobile, and smart batch approval capabilities that dramatically reduce administrative time for managers.
Email Approvals
Advanced3
Airbase allows managers to approve or deny spend requests and expense reports directly from email notifications using action buttons, eliminating the need to log in for standard approvals. While highly efficient, it does not currently offer the advanced dynamic line-item editing or full app-like interactivity within the email client required for a score of 4.
View details & rubric context

Email approvals allow managers to review and authorize expense reports directly from their inbox without logging into the platform, significantly reducing friction and speeding up reimbursement cycles.

What Score 3 Means

Approvers can approve or reject reports directly from the email body via clickable buttons or reply codes, with the system automatically updating the report status without requiring a login.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native functionality for email-based approvals, requiring users to log in to the application to take any action.
1Users can set up generic email alerts via webhooks, but enabling actual approval actions from an email requires custom scripting or API integration to parse replies.
2The system sends email notifications with a 'View Report' link, but the approver cannot approve directly within the email and is redirected to a browser login page.
3Approvers can approve or reject reports directly from the email body via clickable buttons or reply codes, with the system automatically updating the report status without requiring a login.
4The feature utilizes dynamic content (like AMP for Email) to allow granular line-item editing, receipt viewing, and policy override justifications directly within the email client, offering a seamless, app-like experience.

Policy Control & Fraud

Automated safeguards that enforce spending rules and detect anomalies. These tools protect the organization from non-compliant spending and fraudulent claims.

Avg Score
3.4/ 4
Policy Violation Alerts
Best4
Airbase provides real-time policy enforcement that prevents non-compliant submissions and utilizes AI for anomaly detection, such as identifying duplicate receipts or suspicious spend patterns, while automating approval routing based on violation severity.
View details & rubric context

Policy violation alerts automatically notify employees and approvers when an expense claim breaches company guidelines, ensuring compliance and preventing unauthorized spend before reimbursement occurs.

What Score 4 Means

The system utilizes AI-driven anomaly detection to identify subtle fraud or patterns, offers in-context policy coaching to educate users, and automates approval routing based on violation severity.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to detect or alert users of expense policy violations within the platform.
1Violation detection requires manual data exports to spreadsheets or custom API integrations to analyze expense reports and trigger external notifications.
2Basic alerts are supported but are often reactive, triggering only after submission, or are limited to simple rules like hard spending caps without detailed context.
3Real-time alerts appear directly during expense entry, supporting complex rules and preventing submission of non-compliant items while providing clear instructions for correction.
4The system utilizes AI-driven anomaly detection to identify subtle fraud or patterns, offers in-context policy coaching to educate users, and automates approval routing based on violation severity.
Duplicate Detection
Advanced3
Airbase provides real-time, automated duplicate detection that flags potential matches across corporate card transactions and out-of-pocket reimbursements using fuzzy matching logic during the submission and approval workflows.
View details & rubric context

Duplicate detection automatically identifies and flags identical expense claims to prevent reimbursement fraud and accidental double-payment. This feature ensures financial accuracy while significantly reducing the time finance teams spend on manual audits.

What Score 3 Means

The system automatically scans for duplicates in real-time during submission and approval, handling fuzzy matching and cross-referencing corporate card feeds against out-of-pocket claims.

Full Rubric
0The product has no built-in mechanism to detect or flag duplicate expense entries or receipts, leaving the burden entirely on manual review.
1Detection is only possible by exporting data to external tools for analysis or by building custom scripts to query the API for matching transaction details.
2Native detection exists but relies on exact matches of date, amount, and merchant, often failing to catch duplicates with slight variations or requiring manual execution.
3The system automatically scans for duplicates in real-time during submission and approval, handling fuzzy matching and cross-referencing corporate card feeds against out-of-pocket claims.
4Best-in-class AI analyzes historical patterns to detect complex fraud rings and cross-user duplicates, offering preventative blocking and deep audit trails that virtually eliminate double payments.
Fraud Detection Algorithms
Advanced3
Airbase provides robust, automated fraud detection that flags duplicate receipts, policy violations, and category mismatches directly within the approval workflow, though its system is primarily driven by sophisticated rule-based engines and OCR verification rather than deep predictive behavioral risk scoring.
View details & rubric context

Fraud detection algorithms automatically analyze expense data to identify duplicates, policy violations, and suspicious patterns, protecting organizations from financial leakage. By automating the audit process, these tools ensure compliance and reduce the administrative burden on finance teams.

What Score 3 Means

Advanced fraud detection algorithms are fully integrated, automatically flagging a wide range of anomalies like weekend spend, category mismatches, and duplicate receipts within the approval workflow.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native fraud detection algorithms or automated capabilities to flag suspicious expense claims.
1Users must rely on manual exports to third-party auditing tools or build custom API integrations to run external fraud detection algorithms against expense data.
2Basic fraud detection algorithms are present but limited to static rules, such as flagging exact duplicate amounts or missing receipts, without deeper pattern analysis.
3Advanced fraud detection algorithms are fully integrated, automatically flagging a wide range of anomalies like weekend spend, category mismatches, and duplicate receipts within the approval workflow.
4Market-leading fraud detection algorithms leverage AI and machine learning to identify complex behavioral patterns and high-risk anomalies in real-time, offering predictive risk scoring and automated audit workflows.
Policy Configuration
Best4
Airbase provides a market-leading policy engine that supports complex multi-tiered approval workflows, granular rules by department or project, and AI-driven receipt verification to ensure compliance before and after spending.
View details & rubric context

Policy configuration enables finance teams to define and enforce spending rules, limits, and receipt requirements to ensure compliance and control costs automatically.

What Score 4 Means

A market-leading engine supports complex, multi-tiered logic, dynamic per-diems based on real-time location data, and AI-driven auditing that proactively coaches users on compliance.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to define, assign, or enforce expense policies within the system.
1Policy enforcement relies on manual review processes or requires building custom validation scripts via API to flag violations externally.
2Native support exists for basic, global limits (e.g., a hard cap on meals), but the system lacks granularity for different roles, departments, or complex conditional logic.
3The system supports comprehensive, granular rulesets configurable by department, project, or role, with real-time flags that alert users to violations during expense entry.
4A market-leading engine supports complex, multi-tiered logic, dynamic per-diems based on real-time location data, and AI-driven auditing that proactively coaches users on compliance.
Hard and Soft Limits
Advanced3
Airbase provides comprehensive hard limits on virtual and physical cards with integrated approval workflows for limit increases and budget tracking, though it lacks the fully autonomous context-driven dynamic adjustments found in the most differentiated solutions.
View details & rubric context

Hard and soft limits enable finance teams to enforce budget controls by either blocking transactions immediately or flagging them for review, balancing strict compliance with operational flexibility.

What Score 3 Means

Administrators can configure comprehensive hard and soft limits by user, department, or category, triggering integrated notifications and approval workflows when soft thresholds are breached.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to enforce specific spending caps or warning thresholds beyond the aggregate credit limit of the account.
1Enforcement requires manual monitoring or custom API scripts to track spend against budgets and manually suspend cards or users when thresholds are exceeded.
2The platform supports basic hard limits that decline transactions at a fixed cap, but lacks soft limits or flexible warning systems for approaching budgets.
3Administrators can configure comprehensive hard and soft limits by user, department, or category, triggering integrated notifications and approval workflows when soft thresholds are breached.
4The system offers intelligent, dynamic limits that adjust based on context (like active travel) and provides real-time coaching to users, along with automated workflows for temporary limit increases.

Tax Compliance

Features dedicated to managing tax regulations and maximizing reclamation opportunities. This ensures adherence to local tax laws and accurate reporting.

Avg Score
2.6/ 4
VAT Reclaim Support
Advanced3
Airbase provides built-in capabilities to capture VAT details and tax rates during expense submission and integrates with specialized partners like Taxback International to automate the transfer of data and receipts for recovery.
View details & rubric context

VAT reclaim support enables organizations to identify, calculate, and recover Value Added Tax on eligible international business expenses, significantly reducing overall travel and expense costs.

What Score 3 Means

The platform includes built-in logic for global VAT rates and integrates seamlessly with established VAT reclaim partners to automate the transfer of data and receipts for processing.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to identify VAT-eligible expenses or facilitate the reclaim process.
1Users must manually export expense data or build custom API connectors to send transaction details to third-party tax recovery firms, often requiring manual data formatting.
2The system provides basic reporting that identifies potential VAT amounts based on expense types, but users must manually validate receipts and handle the filing process external to the platform.
3The platform includes built-in logic for global VAT rates and integrates seamlessly with established VAT reclaim partners to automate the transfer of data and receipts for processing.
4The solution offers an end-to-end, AI-driven recovery engine that automatically audits receipts for strict compliance, calculates complex cross-border taxes, and manages the entire filing workflow to maximize recovery yield.
GST Compliance
Advanced3
Airbase provides advanced OCR capabilities to extract tax details and supports automated tax component splitting for various GST jurisdictions, though it lacks direct real-time reconciliation with government tax portals for identifying Input Tax Credit mismatches.
View details & rubric context

GST Compliance functionality ensures expenses are recorded with accurate tax breakdowns and vendor details to maximize Input Tax Credit claims while automating the validation of tax identification numbers for regulatory filings.

What Score 3 Means

The system features built-in OCR that extracts GST details, automatically validates vendor GSTINs, calculates tax splits, and generates standard reports ready for tax filing.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native support for GST-specific fields, tax breakdowns, or vendor tax identification number tracking.
1Compliance can be managed by creating custom fields for GSTIN and tax amounts, or by exporting raw data via API to third-party tax tools for calculation and validation.
2Basic native support allows users to manually enter GSTINs and select tax rates on expense forms, but lacks automated validation or detailed tax component splitting.
3The system features built-in OCR that extracts GST details, automatically validates vendor GSTINs, calculates tax splits, and generates standard reports ready for tax filing.
4Best-in-class implementation offers real-time reconciliation with government tax portals to identify Input Tax Credit mismatches and provides intelligent alerts for non-compliant vendors or potential tax savings.
Tax Code Mapping
Advanced3
Airbase provides robust tax code mapping that automatically applies codes based on expense categories and subsidiaries, ensuring seamless bidirectional synchronization with major ERPs like NetSuite and Sage Intacct for accurate VAT/GST reporting.
View details & rubric context

Tax code mapping allows finance teams to associate expense categories with specific general ledger tax codes, ensuring accurate VAT/GST reclamation and seamless synchronization with accounting systems.

What Score 3 Means

The system offers robust tax code mapping that automatically applies codes based on expense categories and employee location, syncing bidirectionally with major ERPs to ensure accurate financial reporting without manual intervention.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to map expenses to specific tax codes or handle tax logic within the platform.
1Tax data must be handled manually outside the system or injected via generic API fields; users must build custom scripts to translate expense data into the correct tax format for the ERP.
2Basic tax code mapping is supported, allowing users to manually select a tax code per expense, but it lacks automation or bulk mapping rules based on expense types or locations.
3The system offers robust tax code mapping that automatically applies codes based on expense categories and employee location, syncing bidirectionally with major ERPs to ensure accurate financial reporting without manual intervention.
4Intelligent tax code mapping utilizes OCR and machine learning to detect tax amounts on receipts and automatically assign the correct granular tax codes (including complex multi-jurisdiction rules), providing real-time compliance checks and maximizing tax reclamation.
IRS Compliance
Advanced3
Airbase provides comprehensive IRS compliance features including automated mileage rate updates, built-in per diem logic, and a permanent digital audit trail for receipt archiving that meets tax authority standards.
View details & rubric context

IRS compliance features ensure that expense records, receipts, and reimbursement rates meet strict tax authority standards to prevent audit risks and ensure accurate deductibility.

What Score 3 Means

The platform provides comprehensive IRS compliance tools, including automatic updates for standard mileage rates, built-in per diem logic, and audit-ready digital receipt archiving that meets tax authority requirements.

Full Rubric
0The product has no specific features designed to meet IRS record-keeping standards or tax deduction rules.
1Compliance is achieved through manual workarounds, such as exporting raw data to spreadsheets for manual formatting or using generic APIs to store receipt images externally without built-in tax logic.
2The system offers basic digital receipt storage and standard expense categorization, but lacks automatic updates for standard mileage rates or per diem tables, requiring manual maintenance.
3The platform provides comprehensive IRS compliance tools, including automatic updates for standard mileage rates, built-in per diem logic, and audit-ready digital receipt archiving that meets tax authority requirements.
4The solution offers market-leading compliance automation, utilizing AI to proactively flag potential audit risks, automatically categorize expenses for tax deductibility, and generate audit-proof documentation packages with a single click.
Fringe Benefit Tax
DIY1
Airbase does not offer a native, automated Fringe Benefit Tax engine; instead, it requires users to configure custom fields to tag FBT-related expenses and export the data for manual calculation in external spreadsheets.
View details & rubric context

Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) functionality automates the identification, calculation, and reporting of taxable benefits provided to employees within expense claims. This ensures compliance with complex regional tax laws while minimizing the administrative burden of manual tracking and audit preparation.

What Score 1 Means

FBT compliance requires heavy lifting, relying on generic custom fields for tagging or exporting raw data to spreadsheets for manual calculation outside the system.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to identify, calculate, or report on Fringe Benefit Tax liabilities.
1FBT compliance requires heavy lifting, relying on generic custom fields for tagging or exporting raw data to spreadsheets for manual calculation outside the system.
2Native support allows users to manually flag expenses as FBT-applicable, but the system lacks automated calculations, attendee-level splitting, or jurisdiction-specific logic.
3The system offers strong, out-of-the-box FBT management that automatically calculates liabilities based on expense types and attendee counts, supporting standard reporting requirements.
4Best-in-class implementation features a multi-jurisdictional compliance engine that uses AI to automatically detect taxable benefits, optimize deductions, and handle complex scenarios like annual apportionment or specific exemptions.

Security & Access

Critical security measures that protect sensitive financial data and control user access. These features ensure the platform meets enterprise security standards.

Avg Score
3.5/ 4
Single Sign-On (SSO)
Best4
Airbase provides a market-leading implementation that supports standard protocols like SAML 2.0 and OIDC alongside SCIM for automated user provisioning, de-provisioning, and granular role mapping with major identity providers.
View details & rubric context

Single Sign-On (SSO) enables employees to access the expense management platform using their existing corporate credentials, significantly improving security posture and user adoption while reducing administrative overhead.

What Score 4 Means

Best-in-class implementation combines SSO with SCIM for automated user provisioning and de-provisioning, Just-in-Time (JIT) account creation, and deep role mapping to handle complex organizational hierarchies automatically.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native Single Sign-On capabilities, requiring users to create, manage, and secure a unique set of credentials specifically for the expense platform.
1Authentication integration is possible only through custom development against generic APIs or by building bespoke connectors, requiring significant IT resources to implement and maintain.
2Native support exists but is limited to 'social login' (e.g., Google or Microsoft buttons) or a single protocol without support for advanced enterprise identity providers or strict enforcement policies.
3The solution provides robust, out-of-the-box support for standard enterprise protocols like SAML 2.0 and OIDC, integrating seamlessly with major identity providers like Okta, Azure AD, and OneLogin.
4Best-in-class implementation combines SSO with SCIM for automated user provisioning and de-provisioning, Just-in-Time (JIT) account creation, and deep role mapping to handle complex organizational hierarchies automatically.
Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
Advanced3
Airbase provides native support for TOTP-based authenticator apps and allows administrators to enforce 2FA requirements across the organization, ensuring a high level of security and policy compliance.
View details & rubric context

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) secures access to sensitive financial data by requiring a second form of verification, such as a mobile code or app, beyond just a password. This essential security measure mitigates the risk of fraud and unauthorized account takeovers in expense management systems.

What Score 3 Means

The feature is fully functional, supporting standard authenticator apps (TOTP) and allowing administrators to enforce usage policies across the organization. It integrates smoothly into the login experience with options to trust specific devices.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability for multi-factor authentication, relying solely on standard passwords for access to the system.
1Security enhancements are possible only through custom integrations with external Identity Providers (IdP) via generic APIs, requiring significant technical overhead to establish a secure login flow.
2Native support is available but limited to basic methods like email or SMS delivery. It lacks administrative enforcement capabilities, leaving adoption up to individual users rather than company policy.
3The feature is fully functional, supporting standard authenticator apps (TOTP) and allowing administrators to enforce usage policies across the organization. It integrates smoothly into the login experience with options to trust specific devices.
4Implementation is market-leading, supporting hardware keys (e.g., YubiKey), biometrics, and adaptive risk-based authentication. It offers seamless Single Sign-On (SSO) interoperability and comprehensive audit trails for maximum security compliance.
Role-Based Access Control
Best4
Airbase provides highly granular, customizable roles and integrates directly with HRIS platforms to automate permission updates based on employee attributes, supporting complex organizational structures and real-time access management.
View details & rubric context

Role-Based Access Control enables organizations to define granular user permissions based on job functions, ensuring secure separation of duties between expense submitters, approvers, and administrators. This capability is essential for maintaining financial compliance and protecting sensitive budget data from unauthorized access.

What Score 4 Means

Best-in-class implementation features dynamic, attribute-based access controls that automatically sync with HRIS data to adjust permissions in real-time, supporting complex matrix organizations and temporary privilege elevation.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to define user roles or restrict access permissions, effectively granting all users the same level of visibility and control.
1Access restrictions can only be achieved through complex workarounds, such as building custom front-ends via APIs to filter data or relying heavily on external identity provider logic without native support.
2Native support is limited to a few rigid, pre-set roles (e.g., Admin and User) with fixed permissions that cannot be customized to fit specific organizational hierarchies or workflows.
3The system offers a robust set of customizable roles with granular permission settings, allowing administrators to configure precise access rights for viewing, editing, and approving expenses at the department or project level.
4Best-in-class implementation features dynamic, attribute-based access controls that automatically sync with HRIS data to adjust permissions in real-time, supporting complex matrix organizations and temporary privilege elevation.
Data Encryption
Advanced3
Airbase provides comprehensive encryption using industry-standard AES-256 for data at rest and TLS for data in transit, supported by SOC 2 Type II compliance and multi-tenant isolation. While it offers robust, production-ready security for financial data and PII, it does not widely offer Customer Managed Keys (CMK) as a standard market-leading differentiator.
View details & rubric context

Data encryption secures sensitive financial information, such as credit card details and employee PII, by encoding it during storage and transmission to prevent unauthorized access. This feature is essential for maintaining regulatory compliance and protecting organizations from data breaches within their expense management workflows.

What Score 3 Means

The platform delivers comprehensive encryption standards, securing data across web and mobile interfaces with individual tenant isolation. It includes formal certifications (like SOC 2 Type II) and ensures seamless protection for all financial transactions and PII without user configuration.

Full Rubric
0The product has no stated encryption standards for data at rest or in transit, leaving sensitive financial information vulnerable to interception or unauthorized access.
1Encryption is not handled natively by the application logic; users must manually encrypt sensitive files or fields before uploading them via API to ensure security, requiring significant development effort and external key management.
2The system provides standard encryption for data in transit (TLS) and at rest (AES-256) using shared, vendor-managed keys. It meets minimum security baselines but lacks granular controls or specific protections for distinct data fields.
3The platform delivers comprehensive encryption standards, securing data across web and mobile interfaces with individual tenant isolation. It includes formal certifications (like SOC 2 Type II) and ensures seamless protection for all financial transactions and PII without user configuration.
4The solution offers best-in-class security with Customer Managed Keys (CMK) or Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) capabilities, giving clients absolute control over data access. It integrates advanced cryptographic hardware and real-time threat monitoring for encryption keys to exceed standard compliance requirements.

Audit & Compliance

Features designed to maintain a secure, auditable record of all financial activities. This helps organizations meet regulatory requirements and pass audits.

Avg Score
3.8/ 4
Audit Trail
Best4
Airbase provides a comprehensive, immutable audit trail for every transaction and system change, featuring visual timelines, field-level 'before and after' details, and dedicated read-only roles specifically designed for external auditors.
View details & rubric context

An audit trail provides a chronological, immutable record of all changes made to expense reports, approvals, and system configurations to ensure financial compliance and accountability. This feature tracks exactly who took what action and when, serving as a critical tool for fraud prevention and regulatory audits.

What Score 4 Means

The audit trail offers forensic-level detail with visual timelines, automated flagging of suspicious edit patterns, and specific read-only access roles for external auditors, turning compliance into a strategic advantage.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to record or display a history of changes made to expense reports, user permissions, or system settings.
1Audit data is not available in the user interface; organizations must rely on custom API webhooks, raw server logs, or manual snapshots to reconstruct a history of changes.
2A basic activity log is provided, showing high-level events (e.g., 'Report Submitted') and timestamps, but it lacks field-level granularity (showing specific before/after values) and has limited search or export capabilities.
3The system maintains a detailed, searchable history of all actions, capturing the user, timestamp, IP address, and specific 'before and after' values for every field modification directly within the expense workflow.
4The audit trail offers forensic-level detail with visual timelines, automated flagging of suspicious edit patterns, and specific read-only access roles for external auditors, turning compliance into a strategic advantage.
SOC 2 Compliance
Best4
Airbase maintains SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certifications, providing a dedicated Trust Center that offers automated NDA workflows and real-time visibility into their security posture and compliance status.
View details & rubric context

SOC 2 Compliance indicates that the vendor has successfully undergone an independent audit of their internal controls regarding security, availability, and confidentiality. This certification provides assurance that sensitive financial data is managed according to rigorous industry standards for risk management and data protection.

What Score 4 Means

The vendor demonstrates continuous compliance through a real-time, public-facing trust center showing live security monitoring status, alongside a SOC 2 Type II report and additional certifications like ISO 27001.

Full Rubric
0The product has no SOC 2 Type I or Type II report available, indicating a lack of independent third-party validation for its security and operational controls.
1The vendor relies solely on the compliance of their underlying infrastructure provider (e.g., AWS, Azure) or offers self-attested security questionnaires, requiring the buyer to manually verify controls without a formal application-level audit.
2The vendor maintains a SOC 2 Type I report (point-in-time audit) or a basic Type II report, but the scope may be limited or access requires a manual request and NDA process via email.
3The vendor maintains a comprehensive SOC 2 Type II report covering a sustained period, which is readily accessible via a self-service trust center or automated NDA workflow within the platform.
4The vendor demonstrates continuous compliance through a real-time, public-facing trust center showing live security monitoring status, alongside a SOC 2 Type II report and additional certifications like ISO 27001.
GDPR Compliance
Advanced3
Airbase provides robust, production-ready GDPR compliance through self-service administrative tools for data access and deletion requests, alongside clear data processing agreements and automated audit trails. While it meets all standard regulatory requirements for global teams, it lacks the highly specialized automated anonymization or advanced data residency flexibility found in market-leading privacy-first platforms.
View details & rubric context

GDPR Compliance ensures the platform adheres to strict data privacy regulations regarding the collection, processing, and deletion of sensitive financial and personal employee information. This capability is essential for avoiding legal penalties and maintaining trust when managing expenses for global teams.

What Score 3 Means

The system provides robust, self-service tools for Data Subject Access Requests (DSAR), automated retention schedules, and granular consent management fully integrated into the admin console.

Full Rubric
0The product has no dedicated features or documentation for GDPR compliance, offering no tools to manage data privacy or respond to regulatory requests.
1Compliance is achievable only through manual workarounds, such as emailing support for data deletion requests or building custom scripts to extract user data via API.
2Native support includes basic features like simple data export or a generic privacy policy, but lacks granular controls for data retention or specific 'right to be forgotten' workflows.
3The system provides robust, self-service tools for Data Subject Access Requests (DSAR), automated retention schedules, and granular consent management fully integrated into the admin console.
4A market-leading implementation offers automated data anonymization for exited employees, flexible data residency options, and proactive compliance auditing that minimizes legal risk without manual oversight.
Lost Receipt Affidavit
Best4
Airbase provides a native, policy-driven missing receipt workflow that automatically prompts users for a signed affidavit based on specific expense thresholds and categories, while leveraging corporate card data to validate transaction details.
View details & rubric context

The Lost Receipt Affidavit feature allows employees to digitally sign a declaration when an original receipt is missing, ensuring compliance with tax regulations and company policy. This prevents reimbursement delays while maintaining a proper audit trail for expenses lacking documentation.

What Score 4 Means

The feature offers intelligent compliance by automatically prompting for affidavits based on specific expense thresholds and categories, supporting mobile touchscreen signatures, and cross-referencing corporate card data to validate the expense despite the missing documentation.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability for handling missing receipts, requiring users to manage affidavits manually via email or paper forms outside the platform.
1Users must rely on workarounds, such as uploading a photo of a handwritten note or a generic PDF form as an attachment to bypass mandatory receipt validation rules.
2A basic option allows users to flag a receipt as missing, creating a simple text note or placeholder, but it lacks formal legal language, digital signatures, or specific policy triggers.
3The system includes a fully integrated, legally compliant affidavit form that users can digitally sign within the workflow, automatically replacing the receipt requirement and flagging the entry for audit.
4The feature offers intelligent compliance by automatically prompting for affidavits based on specific expense thresholds and categories, supporting mobile touchscreen signatures, and cross-referencing corporate card data to validate the expense despite the missing documentation.
Unlimited Receipt Storage
Best4
Airbase provides a fully integrated, audit-ready digital vault that uses OCR to index receipts and automatically matches them to transactions, ensuring granular searchability and long-term compliance without storage limits.
View details & rubric context

Unlimited Receipt Storage ensures that organizations can securely archive digital copies of all expense documentation indefinitely to meet tax and audit requirements. This feature eliminates data caps, allowing for seamless historical retrieval without the need for external backup systems.

What Score 4 Means

The system offers an audit-proof, unlimited digital vault with OCR-based indexing and automated compliance checks, allowing instant, granular retrieval of any receipt for tax authorities or internal audits.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to store digital receipt images, forcing users to rely on physical filing or third-party document management systems.
1Storage limits are restrictive, requiring customers to build custom integrations via API to offload and archive older receipts to external cloud storage services to achieve unlimited retention.
2Native unlimited storage is provided, but the feature lacks indexing or advanced search capabilities, making the retrieval of specific historical receipts manual and time-consuming.
3The platform provides fully integrated, unlimited receipt storage with built-in search filters, ensuring that all historical data remains accessible and linked to specific expense reports without additional fees.
4The system offers an audit-proof, unlimited digital vault with OCR-based indexing and automated compliance checks, allowing instant, granular retrieval of any receipt for tax authorities or internal audits.

Integrations & Connectivity

Connectors that sync expense data with ERPs, accounting software, and HR systems. This capability ensures seamless interoperability within the organization's tech stack.

Capability Score
3.44/ 4

Enterprise ERP Integrations

Deep integrations with major enterprise resource planning systems. These connections ensure seamless data flow for large-scale financial operations.

Avg Score
3.8/ 4
NetSuite Integration
Best4
Airbase provides a 'Built for NetSuite' certified integration that offers real-time synchronization, supports complex multi-subsidiary mapping, and automates advanced accounting workflows such as amortization and vendor bill creation.
View details & rubric context

A direct NetSuite integration allows expense management platforms to automatically sync transaction data, general ledger codes, and reimbursement details with the ERP system. This connectivity ensures financial accuracy, eliminates manual data entry, and accelerates the month-end close process.

What Score 4 Means

The solution offers a best-in-class, real-time integration (often SuiteApp certified) that automates vendor bill creation, handles amortization, and provides intelligent error resolution for seamless reconciliation.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native connectivity to NetSuite, forcing finance teams to rely on manual CSV exports and imports to reconcile expenses.
1Connectivity is achieved through generic APIs or webhooks, requiring significant IT resources or middleware to build and maintain a custom data pipeline.
2A native connector is provided but offers limited functionality, often restricting sync to basic journal entries without support for custom segments, tax codes, or multi-subsidiary mapping.
3The integration is robust and configurable, supporting bi-directional sync of custom fields, complex GL mapping, and multi-entity structures directly from the settings menu.
4The solution offers a best-in-class, real-time integration (often SuiteApp certified) that automates vendor bill creation, handles amortization, and provides intelligent error resolution for seamless reconciliation.
SAP Integration
Best4
Airbase provides a deep, native integration with SAP ECC and S/4HANA that supports real-time, bi-directional synchronization, multi-entity posting, and custom dimensions, effectively automating complex financial workflows with automated error handling.
View details & rubric context

SAP Integration connects expense management platforms directly with SAP ERP systems to automate general ledger syncing and streamline reimbursement workflows. This ensures financial data accuracy and eliminates manual data entry for accounting teams using SAP.

What Score 4 Means

The integration features real-time, bi-directional synchronization with deep support for complex SAP configurations, including multi-entity posting, custom dimensions, and automated error handling that resolves sync failures without IT intervention.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native connectivity to SAP ERP systems, requiring manual data export and import for all financial reconciliation.
1Integration with SAP is possible only through generic APIs or flat-file exchanges that require significant internal IT resources or third-party middleware to configure and maintain.
2A native connector exists for specific SAP versions, but data sync is often uni-directional or limited to basic journal entries without support for custom fields or complex cost centers.
3The platform offers a certified, bi-directional integration with major SAP editions (ECC, S/4HANA), supporting automatic syncing of GL codes, tax details, and vendor data with minimal setup.
4The integration features real-time, bi-directional synchronization with deep support for complex SAP configurations, including multi-entity posting, custom dimensions, and automated error handling that resolves sync failures without IT intervention.
Microsoft Dynamics Integration
Advanced3
Airbase provides a robust, native integration for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and GP that supports bi-directional syncing of GL codes, dimensions, and multi-entity structures, though it lacks the same level of native depth for all legacy variants like NAV or AX.
View details & rubric context

Microsoft Dynamics Integration ensures seamless synchronization of expense data with Microsoft Dynamics ERP systems, automating general ledger postings and reducing manual reconciliation errors.

What Score 3 Means

The solution offers a robust, pre-built integration that supports bi-directional syncing of GL codes, tax rates, and tracking categories, ensuring accurate financial data flows with minimal configuration.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native integration with Microsoft Dynamics, forcing finance teams to rely on manual file exports and imports to transfer data.
1Connectivity is achievable only through generic APIs, flat-file transfers, or third-party middleware, requiring significant custom development or IT resources to build and maintain the data pipeline.
2A native connector is provided but offers limited functionality, typically supporting only simple one-way data pushes and lacking support for custom dimensions, tax codes, or specific Dynamics versions.
3The solution offers a robust, pre-built integration that supports bi-directional syncing of GL codes, tax rates, and tracking categories, ensuring accurate financial data flows with minimal configuration.
4The integration provides a seamless, real-time experience with support for all Dynamics variants (Business Central, F&O, AX, NAV, GP), handling complex multi-entity structures, custom fields, and automated error resolution intelligently.
Workday Integration
Best4
Airbase provides a deep, native integration with Workday that supports real-time synchronization of employee data from Workday HCM and automated, granular mapping of financial data to Workday Financials, including support for complex multi-entity configurations.
View details & rubric context

Workday integration enables the seamless synchronization of employee data, organizational hierarchies, and financial records between the expense platform and Workday. This connectivity automates the export of approved expense reports to the general ledger and ensures user profiles remain accurate without manual intervention.

What Score 4 Means

The integration provides best-in-class, real-time synchronization with advanced error handling and granular field mapping for Workday Financials and HCM. It supports complex multi-entity configurations and automated reconciliation, minimizing accounting friction entirely.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native connector or pre-built integration capability for Workday, requiring finance teams to rely entirely on manual data entry to transfer expense information.
1Integration is possible only through manual CSV flat-file exports/imports or by building a custom connection using generic APIs and webhooks, placing the implementation and maintenance burden on the customer.
2A native Workday connector exists but offers limited functionality, typically supporting only basic one-way expense export or simple employee roster syncing without support for complex custom fields, split allocations, or bi-directional updates.
3The solution offers a robust, certified Workday integration that supports bi-directional syncing of employee data, cost centers, and organizational hierarchies, along with automated export of expense reports immediately upon approval.
4The integration provides best-in-class, real-time synchronization with advanced error handling and granular field mapping for Workday Financials and HCM. It supports complex multi-entity configurations and automated reconciliation, minimizing accounting friction entirely.
Oracle Integration
Best4
Airbase offers a market-leading, native integration with Oracle NetSuite and Fusion Cloud that features real-time continuous syncing, automated error handling, and deep support for complex multi-subsidiary accounting and custom segments.
View details & rubric context

Oracle Integration enables the seamless synchronization of expense data, general ledger codes, and reimbursement status with Oracle ERP systems like NetSuite or Fusion Cloud. This connectivity automates reconciliation, ensures financial data accuracy, and significantly reduces the time required for month-end closing.

What Score 4 Means

The integration is best-in-class, featuring real-time continuous syncing, automated error handling, and deep support for complex Oracle environments including multi-subsidiary tax logic and project accounting.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to connect with Oracle ERP systems, requiring users to manually transcribe data or rely entirely on external middleware.
1Integration is achievable only through generic CSV exports that require manual reformatting or by building a custom connector using the platform's open APIs and Oracle's endpoints.
2A native connector exists but is limited to basic, unidirectional data transfer (e.g., flat-file drops) and often lacks support for custom fields, multi-entity setups, or automatic syncing.
3The system offers a robust, pre-built integration that supports bidirectional syncing of expenses, receipts, and GL codes with minimal configuration required.
4The integration is best-in-class, featuring real-time continuous syncing, automated error handling, and deep support for complex Oracle environments including multi-subsidiary tax logic and project accounting.

Accounting Software Integrations

Connectors for popular accounting platforms used by SMBs and mid-market companies. These integrations automate the syncing of expenses to the general ledger.

Avg Score
2.7/ 4
QuickBooks Integration
Best4
Airbase provides a market-leading integration with QuickBooks that features real-time, two-way synchronization, multi-entity support, and automated GL coding that maps directly to custom fields and classes.
View details & rubric context

A robust QuickBooks integration allows expense management platforms to automatically sync transaction data, receipts, and general ledger codes with QuickBooks Online or Desktop. This connection eliminates manual data entry, ensures accurate financial reporting, and accelerates the month-end reconciliation process.

What Score 4 Means

The system provides real-time, continuous synchronization with intelligent GL coding suggestions based on QuickBooks historical data, including advanced features like multi-entity support, automatic reconciliation matching, and deep support for custom fields.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native connection to QuickBooks, requiring users to manually export CSVs and import them into their accounting software or re-key data by hand.
1Integration is possible only through generic webhooks, third-party connectors like Zapier, or by building a custom connection via the open API, requiring significant technical effort to map fields correctly.
2A native integration exists but is limited to a one-way sync of basic transaction details without support for classes, locations, or billable expenses, often requiring manual initiation for every sync batch.
3The integration offers a seamless, two-way sync that handles complex data mapping including categories, classes, and tax codes automatically, supporting both QuickBooks Online and Desktop with reliable receipt attachment syncing.
4The system provides real-time, continuous synchronization with intelligent GL coding suggestions based on QuickBooks historical data, including advanced features like multi-entity support, automatic reconciliation matching, and deep support for custom fields.
Xero Integration
Best4
Airbase provides a market-leading, real-time integration with Xero that supports automated GL mapping, tracking categories, and multi-currency transactions, enabling a continuous month-end close process with minimal manual intervention.
View details & rubric context

A direct Xero integration allows expense management platforms to automatically sync transaction data, receipts, and general ledger codes with Xero accounting software. This connectivity reduces manual data entry errors and accelerates the month-end reconciliation process for finance teams.

What Score 4 Means

The integration features real-time, continuous synchronization with intelligent auto-categorization based on Xero history, handling complex multi-currency and multi-entity scenarios without user intervention.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native integration with Xero, forcing finance teams to rely on manual CSV exports and imports to reconcile expenses.
1Connecting to Xero is possible only through generic APIs or webhooks, requiring significant development effort or third-party middleware to establish a functional data flow.
2A native integration exists but is limited to one-way syncing of basic transaction data, often lacking support for receipts, tracking categories, or complex tax codes.
3The integration offers reliable, bi-directional syncing of expenses and receipts, mapping accurately to Xero's chart of accounts, tax rates, and tracking categories out of the box.
4The integration features real-time, continuous synchronization with intelligent auto-categorization based on Xero history, handling complex multi-currency and multi-entity scenarios without user intervention.
Sage Integration
Best4
Airbase offers a market-leading integration with Sage Intacct that features real-time synchronization, deep support for multi-entity structures, and automated mapping of dimensions and project codes, effectively eliminating manual reconciliation.
View details & rubric context

Sage Integration connects the expense management platform directly with Sage accounting software to automatically sync transaction data, general ledger codes, and tax information, ensuring financial accuracy and eliminating manual data entry.

What Score 4 Means

The integration provides real-time, continuous synchronization with Sage, handling complex multi-entity structures, automated error resolution, and deep support for dimensions and project codes without user intervention.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native connectivity to Sage accounting software, requiring manual data export and import for reconciliation.
1Integration with Sage is possible only through generic APIs or CSV exports that require significant manual mapping or custom middleware development to function.
2A native connector exists for Sage, but it supports only one-way syncing of basic expense data and lacks support for multi-entity configurations or custom fields.
3The system offers a robust, bi-directional integration with Sage (including Sage Intacct or X3), supporting automatic syncing of GL codes, tax rates, and multi-currency transactions with minimal setup.
4The integration provides real-time, continuous synchronization with Sage, handling complex multi-entity structures, automated error resolution, and deep support for dimensions and project codes without user intervention.
Intacct Integration
Best4
Airbase offers a market-leading, native integration with Sage Intacct that supports complex multi-entity environments, real-time synchronization of all spend types, and granular mapping of custom dimensions and attachments to facilitate a continuous close.
View details & rubric context

This feature enables the seamless synchronization of expense data, general ledger codes, and reimbursement details directly with Sage Intacct. It ensures financial accuracy and accelerates month-end close by automating the flow of transaction data into the accounting system.

What Score 4 Means

The system offers a best-in-class, real-time integration that handles complex multi-entity environments, custom fields, and billable expenses with granular control, ensuring a continuous close process.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native integration with Sage Intacct, forcing finance teams to rely on manual CSV exports and imports to transfer data.
1Data transfer is possible only through generic APIs or third-party middleware, requiring significant IT resources to build, map, and maintain a custom connection.
2A native connector is available but offers limited functionality, typically supporting only simple, one-way syncing of finalized expense reports without support for custom dimensions or attachments.
3The integration is robust and bi-directional, automatically syncing expenses, receipts, and payment status while supporting standard Intacct dimensions and categories out of the box.
4The system offers a best-in-class, real-time integration that handles complex multi-entity environments, custom fields, and billable expenses with granular control, ensuring a continuous close process.
FreshBooks Integration
Not Supported0
Airbase does not offer a native integration with FreshBooks, as its platform is primarily designed to sync with mid-market ERPs like NetSuite, Sage Intacct, and QuickBooks, requiring FreshBooks users to rely on manual CSV exports.
View details & rubric context

The FreshBooks integration connects expense management platforms directly with FreshBooks accounting software to automatically sync transactions and receipts. This streamlines the reconciliation process, ensures accurate categorization, and eliminates the need for manual data entry.

What Score 0 Means

The product has no native integration with FreshBooks, forcing users to manually export data to CSV and import it separately.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native integration with FreshBooks, forcing users to manually export data to CSV and import it separately.
1Connectivity can be achieved through generic webhooks, third-party connectors like Zapier, or custom API development, requiring significant technical setup and maintenance.
2A native integration is available but limited to basic one-way syncing of transaction totals or simple expense lines, often lacking receipt images or detailed tax mapping.
3The integration provides a reliable, out-of-the-box sync of expenses, categories, and receipts directly into FreshBooks, supporting standard workflows with minimal configuration.
4The solution offers a best-in-class, real-time bi-directional sync that handles complex scenarios like billable hours, project mapping, and multi-currency tax adjustments automatically.
Zoho Books Integration
Not Supported0
Airbase does not currently offer a native integration for Zoho Books, requiring finance teams to rely on manual CSV exports and imports to sync expense data and receipts with the accounting ledger.
View details & rubric context

The Zoho Books integration enables the seamless synchronization of expense data and receipts directly into the accounting ledger, ensuring financial accuracy and reducing manual reconciliation efforts.

What Score 0 Means

The product has no native capability to integrate with Zoho Books, forcing finance teams to rely on manual CSV exports and imports.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to integrate with Zoho Books, forcing finance teams to rely on manual CSV exports and imports.
1Integration is possible only through custom development using generic APIs or middleware tools like Zapier, requiring significant technical effort to maintain data flow.
2A native connector is available but limited to one-way syncing of basic expense totals, often lacking support for attachments, tax mapping, or custom fields.
3The system offers a reliable, bi-directional sync that automatically maps categories, vendors, and tax codes to Zoho Books, handling both reimbursable and corporate card transactions effectively.
4The integration delivers real-time, continuous synchronization with advanced features like multi-currency support, billable expense tracking, and direct links to receipt images within Zoho Books for audit readiness.

Data Sync & Connectivity

Technical features that facilitate data exchange and system interoperability. These tools allow for custom reporting and synchronization with external systems.

Avg Score
3.5/ 4
General Ledger Sync
Best4
Airbase offers deep, real-time integrations with major ERPs like NetSuite and Sage Intacct, supporting complex multi-entity structures and automated reconciliation to enable a continuous close process.
View details & rubric context

General Ledger Sync automates the transfer of approved expense data directly into accounting systems or ERPs, ensuring financial accuracy and significantly accelerating the month-end close process.

What Score 4 Means

A best-in-class implementation features real-time, continuous sync with intelligent error resolution and automated reconciliation, effectively enabling a "continuous close" with zero manual intervention.

Full Rubric
0The product has no capability to connect directly with accounting software, forcing finance teams to rely on manual data entry or basic CSV exports to move data.
1Synchronization is possible only through heavy lifting, requiring customers to build their own connectors using generic open APIs or webhooks to bridge the gap to the ERP.
2Native support exists for standard small-business accounting tools, but the integration is often one-way, limited to basic fields, and lacks support for custom dimensions or multi-entity structures.
3The feature offers deep, pre-built integrations with mid-market and enterprise ERPs, supporting bi-directional data flow for chart of accounts, tax codes, and complex dimension mapping out of the box.
4A best-in-class implementation features real-time, continuous sync with intelligent error resolution and automated reconciliation, effectively enabling a "continuous close" with zero manual intervention.
CSV Data Export
Best4
Airbase offers highly advanced CSV export capabilities, including customizable field mapping templates that allow users to align data with specific ERP requirements and the ability to schedule automated exports via SFTP.
View details & rubric context

CSV Data Export allows finance teams to extract expense records and transaction details into a universal format for custom analysis or import into external accounting systems. This feature ensures data portability and simplifies the reconciliation process across disparate financial tools.

What Score 4 Means

The system offers best-in-class export capabilities, including saved export templates, automated scheduling via email or SFTP, and pre-configured mappings for specific ERPs to eliminate manual data manipulation.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to export expense data or reports in CSV format, effectively locking data within the platform's interface.
1Data extraction requires technical workarounds, such as querying generic APIs and writing scripts to parse JSON into CSV, or manually copy-pasting data from UI tables.
2A native export button exists, but it generates a static file with fixed columns and no filtering options, often requiring significant manual reformatting in spreadsheet software.
3Users can easily generate CSV exports with customizable date ranges, filters, and column selections, ensuring the output is formatted correctly for immediate use in downstream workflows.
4The system offers best-in-class export capabilities, including saved export templates, automated scheduling via email or SFTP, and pre-configured mappings for specific ERPs to eliminate manual data manipulation.
API Access
Advanced3
Airbase provides a robust, well-documented REST API with full read/write capabilities and a sandbox environment for testing, though it lacks the extensive SDKs and advanced developer analytics characteristic of a market-leading score.
View details & rubric context

API Access allows external systems to programmatically interact with the expense management platform, enabling custom integrations, automated data synchronization, and flexible reporting. This connectivity ensures that financial data flows seamlessly between the expense tool and the broader enterprise technology stack.

What Score 3 Means

The system provides a robust, well-documented REST or GraphQL API with full read/write capabilities. It supports standard authentication protocols like OAuth and includes a sandbox environment for testing integrations.

Full Rubric
0The product has no public API available, preventing any programmatic interaction with the system or automated data extraction.
1Programmatic access is limited to basic webhooks or requires parsing manual file exports. Developers must build significant custom infrastructure to achieve even simple data synchronization.
2A basic API exists with limited endpoints, often restricted to read-only data or lacking comprehensive documentation. It satisfies the minimum requirement for connectivity but struggles with complex workflows or high-volume requests.
3The system provides a robust, well-documented REST or GraphQL API with full read/write capabilities. It supports standard authentication protocols like OAuth and includes a sandbox environment for testing integrations.
4The API is best-in-class, offering comprehensive SDKs, real-time webhooks, and high rate limits for enterprise scale. It supports deep, bi-directional synchronization and includes advanced developer tools like interactive documentation and detailed usage analytics.
Webhooks
Advanced3
Airbase provides native, production-ready webhooks for granular events across its modules with standard HMAC security signatures and a dedicated management UI, though it lacks the advanced debugging and payload customization features found in market-leading implementations.
View details & rubric context

Webhooks enable real-time communication between the expense management platform and external systems by automatically triggering data payloads when specific financial events occur, such as report approvals or reimbursements.

What Score 3 Means

Strong, production-ready functionality allowing subscription to granular events via a UI; includes standard security signatures, automatic retries with exponential backoff, and visible delivery logs.

Full Rubric
0The product has no capability to send outgoing webhooks or real-time event notifications to external systems.
1Real-time updates are not natively supported; developers must build custom scripts to poll the API at frequent intervals to detect changes in expense status.
2Native support exists for a limited set of high-level events (e.g., Report Approved), but configuration is rigid, lacks security verification (like HMAC), and offers no retry logic for failed deliveries.
3Strong, production-ready functionality allowing subscription to granular events via a UI; includes standard security signatures, automatic retries with exponential backoff, and visible delivery logs.
4Best-in-class implementation featuring a comprehensive event catalog, advanced debugging tools with manual request replay, payload customization, and built-in health monitoring for critical integrations.

HR & User Management

Features that streamline user lifecycle management and organizational hierarchy syncing. This ensures employee data is always up-to-date across platforms.

Avg Score
3.8/ 4
Payroll Integration
Advanced3
Airbase offers deep, native integrations with major HRIS and payroll providers such as ADP, Gusto, and Rippling, enabling automated bi-directional syncing of employee data and streamlined reimbursement processing.
View details & rubric context

Payroll integration connects expense management platforms directly with payroll providers to automate employee reimbursements and sync user data. This ensures timely payments, eliminates manual data entry errors, and streamlines the reconciliation process for finance teams.

What Score 3 Means

The system offers deep, out-of-the-box integrations with major payroll providers, supporting automatic bi-directional syncing of employee rosters and seamless posting of reimbursement data.

Full Rubric
0The product has no capability to connect with payroll systems, forcing administrators to manually export expense reports and re-key data into payroll software.
1Integration is possible only through generic open APIs or complex CSV manipulation, requiring significant technical effort or custom scripting to bridge the gap between expenses and payroll.
2Native integration is available for a limited set of providers but functions primarily as a basic data push, often lacking bi-directional sync for employee directory updates or requiring manual triggers.
3The system offers deep, out-of-the-box integrations with major payroll providers, supporting automatic bi-directional syncing of employee rosters and seamless posting of reimbursement data.
4Best-in-class integration supports global payroll providers with real-time syncing, automated tax compliance adjustments, and the ability to handle complex multi-entity reimbursement flows effortlessly.
User Provisioning (SCIM)
Best4
Airbase offers market-leading provisioning through SCIM 2.0 support for all major IdPs and deep integration with HRIS platforms, enabling automated, zero-touch user lifecycle management and granular attribute mapping to spend policies.
View details & rubric context

User Provisioning (SCIM) automates the creation, maintenance, and removal of user accounts by syncing directly with an organization's identity provider. This ensures employees have immediate access to expense tools upon hiring and are instantly revoked upon termination, enhancing security and reducing administrative overhead.

What Score 4 Means

Market-leading provisioning offers real-time bi-directional sync, granular attribute mapping to complex expense policies, and deep integration with both IdPs and HRIS platforms for zero-touch lifecycle management.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native SCIM capabilities, requiring administrators to manually add, update, or remove user accounts individually within the platform.
1Automated provisioning is possible only through custom development using generic APIs or by relying on manual bulk CSV uploads, with no pre-built connectors for Identity Providers.
2Native SCIM support is available but limited to a single Identity Provider or restricts synchronization to basic user creation, lacking support for group mapping or attribute updates.
3Strong SCIM 2.0 compliance supports all major Identity Providers (Okta, Azure AD, OneLogin) with reliable automation for provisioning, de-provisioning, and updating user details and roles.
4Market-leading provisioning offers real-time bi-directional sync, granular attribute mapping to complex expense policies, and deep integration with both IdPs and HRIS platforms for zero-touch lifecycle management.
Multi-Entity Support
Best4
Airbase provides a sophisticated multi-entity architecture that supports a global command center for consolidated reporting, automated inter-company syncs with ERPs like NetSuite, and the ability to manage complex hierarchical policies and localized tax compliance across international subsidiaries.
View details & rubric context

Multi-Entity Support enables organizations to manage expenses across distinct subsidiaries, legal entities, or international branches within a unified platform. This capability ensures accurate financial segregation and consolidated reporting while streamlining administration for complex corporate structures.

What Score 4 Means

The solution offers market-leading capabilities with automated inter-company settlements, complex hierarchical policy inheritance, and real-time global tax compliance adjustments for every specific entity.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to support multiple legal entities within a single instance, requiring completely separate accounts and logins for each subsidiary.
1Multi-entity tracking requires manual workarounds, such as using custom tags or fields to designate entities, or relying on external API aggregation to consolidate data from separate accounts.
2Native support exists, allowing multiple entities to be defined, but configuration is manual for each entity and cross-entity reporting or policy inheritance is limited or non-existent.
3The platform provides a unified view for managing multiple entities, supporting shared policies, centralized user management, and consolidated reporting out of the box.
4The solution offers market-leading capabilities with automated inter-company settlements, complex hierarchical policy inheritance, and real-time global tax compliance adjustments for every specific entity.
Employee Onboarding
Best4
Airbase offers market-leading automation through deep HRIS integrations that enable zero-touch provisioning, automatically assigning spend policies and issuing virtual cards based on employee attributes while also handling automated de-provisioning upon termination.
View details & rubric context

Employee onboarding streamlines the process of adding new users to the expense platform, automating account creation, card issuance, and policy assignment based on HR data. This reduces administrative burden and ensures immediate compliance for new hires.

What Score 4 Means

Best-in-class implementation offers zero-touch onboarding that instantly issues virtual cards and applies granular spending controls based on HR attributes, fully automating the lifecycle from hiring to termination.

Full Rubric
0The product has no automated employee onboarding capabilities, requiring administrators to manually create and configure every user account individually within the system.
1Onboarding automation is achievable only through custom API development or manual CSV bulk uploads, placing the burden of synchronization and maintenance on the customer.
2Native support provides basic user creation or simple invite links, but lacks deep HRIS integration or automatic policy mapping, requiring manual configuration of limits and workflows for each new user.
3Strong, out-of-the-box integrations with major HRIS platforms allow for automatic user provisioning and de-provisioning, ensuring new hires are immediately assigned to the correct departments and approval chains.
4Best-in-class implementation offers zero-touch onboarding that instantly issues virtual cards and applies granular spending controls based on HR attributes, fully automating the lifecycle from hiring to termination.
HRIS Integration
Best4
Airbase offers deep, real-time synchronization with a vast library of HRIS platforms, automating the entire employee lifecycle including provisioning, hierarchical approval routing, and the dynamic application of spend policies based on role or department changes.
View details & rubric context

HRIS Integration connects the expense platform with Human Resources Information Systems to automatically sync employee data, manage user provisioning, and streamline approval workflows based on organizational hierarchy. This ensures accurate employee records and reduces administrative burden during onboarding and offboarding.

What Score 4 Means

Best-in-class integration offers real-time, deep synchronization that dynamically adjusts spend limits and policy rules based on changes in employee role, department, or location, ensuring total automation of the employee lifecycle.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to connect with HRIS platforms, requiring manual data entry for every employee and manual updates for organizational changes.
1Integration is achievable only through generic open APIs or manual CSV uploads, requiring the customer's IT team to build and maintain custom scripts to keep employee data synchronized.
2Native connectors exist for a limited set of popular providers, but functionality is restricted to basic user roster syncing without capturing reporting lines or complex department structures.
3The platform provides robust, turnkey integrations with a comprehensive library of HRIS vendors, automatically handling user provisioning, deprovisioning, and the mapping of manager hierarchies for approval routing.
4Best-in-class integration offers real-time, deep synchronization that dynamically adjusts spend limits and policy rules based on changes in employee role, department, or location, ensuring total automation of the employee lifecycle.

Communication & Alerts

Tools that integrate expense tasks into daily communication channels. These features keep users informed and speed up response times.

Avg Score
3.6/ 4
Slack Integration
Best4
Airbase offers a market-leading Slack integration that functions as a comprehensive command center, allowing users to approve or deny requests via interactive buttons, upload receipts directly to the platform, and manage the entire spend lifecycle without leaving the chat interface.
View details & rubric context

A Slack integration allows users to receive expense notifications, upload receipts, and approve requests directly within their daily communication platform. This reduces context switching and speeds up the reimbursement cycle by embedding workflows where teams already collaborate.

What Score 4 Means

The integration serves as a comprehensive command center, allowing users to snap and upload receipts directly into a chat, interact with an AI bot to query budget status, and automate complex approval workflows instantly.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native integration with Slack and offers no mechanism to send notifications or manage expenses through the platform.
1Integration is possible only through generic webhooks or open APIs, requiring the customer to build their own middleware or use a third-party connector like Zapier to trigger basic alerts in Slack channels.
2A native Slack app exists but is limited to unidirectional notifications (e.g., 'New expense submitted'). Users cannot take action (like approving or rejecting) within Slack and must click a link to log in to the main application.
3The integration offers bidirectional functionality, allowing managers to approve or reject expenses directly via interactive buttons in Slack. It supports real-time notifications for status changes and policy violations without requiring users to leave the chat interface.
4The integration serves as a comprehensive command center, allowing users to snap and upload receipts directly into a chat, interact with an AI bot to query budget status, and automate complex approval workflows instantly.
Microsoft Teams Integration
Advanced3
Airbase provides a native Microsoft Teams integration that supports bi-directional workflows, enabling users to receive notifications, approve or deny spend requests, and upload receipts directly within the Teams interface.
View details & rubric context

Microsoft Teams integration enables employees and approvers to submit receipts, receive notifications, and manage expense workflows directly within their daily communication platform to reduce context switching.

What Score 3 Means

The integration provides robust bi-directional capabilities, allowing users to upload receipts, submit reports, and approve or reject expenses directly within the Teams chat interface.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native integration with Microsoft Teams, forcing users to manage all expense activities via the standalone web portal or mobile app.
1Integration is achievable only through custom development using open APIs or third-party connectors like Zapier to push basic alerts into Teams channels.
2A native Teams app is available but limited to one-way notifications, alerting users to pending approvals or status changes without allowing them to take action inside the interface.
3The integration provides robust bi-directional capabilities, allowing users to upload receipts, submit reports, and approve or reject expenses directly within the Teams chat interface.
4The integration offers a market-leading conversational AI experience that proactively chases missing receipts, answers policy questions, and handles complex multi-stage approvals seamlessly within Teams.
In-App Chat Support
Advanced3
Airbase provides a fully integrated in-app chat experience that allows users to connect with support agents who have access to user context and transaction history, supporting file attachments and persistent messaging.
View details & rubric context

In-app chat support enables users to resolve expense reporting issues and policy questions directly within the software interface, minimizing context switching. This real-time assistance accelerates reimbursement cycles by connecting employees with support agents or automated bots instantly.

What Score 3 Means

The system features a fully integrated live chat where agents can see user context and active expense reports, supporting file attachments and persistent conversation history.

Full Rubric
0The product has no built-in capability for real-time chat or messaging within the application interface.
1Support access requires navigating to an external portal or embedding a generic third-party chat script that lacks integration with the expense platform's user data.
2A native chat widget is present but functions mainly as a submission form or basic messenger without context awareness of the specific expense report or transaction being viewed.
3The system features a fully integrated live chat where agents can see user context and active expense reports, supporting file attachments and persistent conversation history.
4The implementation leverages AI to proactively detect stuck users and resolve policy queries automatically, offering co-browsing capabilities and intelligent routing to specific finance administrators for complex approvals.
Approval Reminders
Best4
Airbase provides automated reminder cadences with escalation logic to secondary approvers and features deep integrations with Slack and Microsoft Teams for actionable, one-click approvals directly within the chat interface.
View details & rubric context

Approval reminders automatically notify managers and finance teams of pending expense reports that require review, ensuring timely reimbursements and preventing bottlenecks in the financial close process.

What Score 4 Means

The system features intelligent escalation logic to notify skip-level managers if delays persist and integrates directly with tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams for actionable, one-click approvals within the chat interface.

Full Rubric
0The product has no built-in mechanism to notify approvers of pending requests after the initial submission notification.
1Reminders can only be achieved by building custom scripts that query the API for pending reports and trigger emails via a third-party service, or by manually exporting lists and sending emails outside the system.
2Native support exists but is limited to a single, static reminder email sent after a fixed duration or requires an administrator to manually click a 'send reminder' button for each pending report.
3Users can configure automated reminder cadences based on report age, delivered via email and mobile push notifications with deep links that allow approvers to review expenses immediately.
4The system features intelligent escalation logic to notify skip-level managers if delays persist and integrates directly with tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams for actionable, one-click approvals within the chat interface.
Unsubmitted Report Alerts
Best4
Airbase offers sophisticated, multi-channel automated reminders via Slack, mobile push, and email that are highly configurable by admins and allow employees to take action on unsubmitted expenses directly within the notification interface.
View details & rubric context

Unsubmitted report alerts automatically notify employees and managers about expense reports that have been created or contain transactions but remain in draft status. This functionality ensures timely reimbursement and accurate financial accruals by preventing expenses from stagnating in the system.

What Score 4 Means

The system employs intelligent, multi-channel nudges (e.g., Slack, mobile push, email) based on accounting cycles and user behavior, allowing users to review and submit reports directly from the notification interface.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to track or notify users about reports that are in draft mode or unsubmitted.
1Administrators must manually export report data to identify drafts and send emails outside the system, or build custom scripts via API to query report status and trigger external notifications.
2The system includes a basic, static reminder feature (e.g., a generic email sent 30 days after creation) but lacks configuration options for timing, frequency, or message content.
3Administrators can configure flexible rules for alerts based on time elapsed or report value, customize email templates, and automatically notify both the employee and their manager.
4The system employs intelligent, multi-channel nudges (e.g., Slack, mobile push, email) based on accounting cycles and user behavior, allowing users to review and submit reports directly from the notification interface.

Reporting & Financial Insights

Analytical tools for tracking budgets, allocating costs, and visualizing spending trends. This capability helps finance teams optimize spend and leverage vendor support.

Capability Score
3.33/ 4

Expense Allocation

Capabilities for assigning costs to specific projects, clients, or internal codes. This ensures expenses are billed correctly and allocated to the right budgets.

Avg Score
3.6/ 4
Split Expenses
Best4
Airbase provides a market-leading split expense capability that leverages OCR for automatic line-item extraction and AI-driven suggestions to allocate costs across multiple dimensions, including GL accounts, departments, and projects.
View details & rubric context

Split expenses functionality allows users to divide a single transaction across multiple categories, projects, or cost centers to ensure accurate budget allocation. This capability is essential for granular financial reporting when a receipt covers items for different departments or clients.

What Score 4 Means

The solution offers best-in-class automation, using OCR to automatically itemize receipts into splits and applying AI-driven suggestions for allocations based on past behavior or policy rules.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to divide a single expense line item into multiple allocations; users must submit the total amount under a single category.
1Splitting expenses requires manual workarounds, such as creating duplicate entries for the same receipt with partial amounts or adjusting the general ledger manually after data export.
2Native support allows users to split expenses by amount or percentage, but the interface is rigid and often limited to a single dimension (e.g., only category, not project and department).
3The system provides a robust itemization interface where users can easily split expenses across multiple cost centers, projects, and custom fields with automatic tax recalculations and total validation.
4The solution offers best-in-class automation, using OCR to automatically itemize receipts into splits and applying AI-driven suggestions for allocations based on past behavior or policy rules.
Project Codes
Advanced3
Airbase offers robust bi-directional synchronization with major ERPs like NetSuite and Sage Intacct, allowing project codes to be imported automatically and mapped to expenses with support for billable/non-billable flags and hierarchical structures.
View details & rubric context

Project codes allow organizations to assign expenses to specific client engagements or internal initiatives, facilitating accurate billing and profitability analysis. This capability ensures that costs are allocated correctly for financial reporting and client invoicing.

What Score 3 Means

Strong functionality allows for bi-directional syncing of project codes with ERP or PSA systems, including support for billable/non-billable status and client hierarchies. The workflow is seamless for users selecting active codes.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to tag expenses with project codes or job numbers.
1Project tracking can be achieved by repurposing generic text fields or using custom tags, but requires manual data entry without validation or heavy API work to sync external lists.
2Native support exists as a static list of project codes managed manually by administrators. Users can select codes from a dropdown, but the feature lacks hierarchy, automation, or direct syncing with external systems.
3Strong functionality allows for bi-directional syncing of project codes with ERP or PSA systems, including support for billable/non-billable status and client hierarchies. The workflow is seamless for users selecting active codes.
4A best-in-class implementation that restricts project code visibility to assigned team members and uses logic or AI to suggest codes based on calendar events or past behavior. It provides real-time budget impact visibility during entry.
Cost Center Allocation
Best4
Airbase provides market-leading cost center allocation through automated smart coding rules and AI-driven suggestions, supporting complex multi-line splits and real-time bi-directional synchronization with ERP dimensions.
View details & rubric context

Cost Center Allocation enables finance teams to assign expenses to specific business units, departments, or projects, ensuring accurate budgeting and financial accountability. This feature streamlines reconciliation by mapping spending directly to the organization's financial structure.

What Score 4 Means

Allocation is automated via rules or AI that predict cost centers based on user profile and expense history, supporting complex dynamic splits and real-time bi-directional sync with ERP dimensions.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native functionality to assign expenses to cost centers, forcing finance teams to handle allocation manually in external accounting software.
1Cost center tracking is achieved through generic custom text fields or by exporting data to spreadsheets for manual segmentation, lacking validation or direct ERP mapping.
2Users can select a cost center from a simple drop-down list during expense submission, but the feature lacks support for split allocations or hierarchical structures.
3The platform supports robust cost center hierarchies and allows users to split single expenses across multiple centers by percentage or amount within a seamless UI.
4Allocation is automated via rules or AI that predict cost centers based on user profile and expense history, supporting complex dynamic splits and real-time bi-directional sync with ERP dimensions.
Billable Client Expenses
Advanced3
Airbase allows users to tag expenses to specific customers or projects and seamlessly syncs these billable line items to integrated accounting systems like NetSuite or QuickBooks for automated invoicing, though it lacks native complex markup management within its own platform.
View details & rubric context

Billable client expenses functionality allows organizations to track costs incurred on behalf of a client and seamlessly rebill them on invoices, ensuring accurate reimbursement and preventing revenue leakage.

What Score 3 Means

The system offers a streamlined workflow to tag expenses to projects or clients, apply standard markups, and automatically push these line items to connected accounting or invoicing software without manual intervention.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to tag expenses as billable or associate them with specific clients for reimbursement purposes.
1Users must manually export expense data and manipulate it in spreadsheets or build custom API connectors to link expenses to client invoices in external billing systems.
2Users can manually flag expenses as billable and assign them to a customer, but the feature lacks markup capabilities or direct integration with invoicing workflows, requiring manual re-entry to generate the final bill.
3The system offers a streamlined workflow to tag expenses to projects or clients, apply standard markups, and automatically push these line items to connected accounting or invoicing software without manual intervention.
4The platform automates billable expense identification using policy rules, supports complex multi-tiered markup structures and currency conversions, and provides real-time profitability analysis per client while syncing bidirectionally with ERP systems.
Custom Fields
Best4
Airbase offers market-leading custom field capabilities by syncing dimensions directly from ERPs in real-time and utilizing conditional logic to display specific fields based on expense categories or subsidiaries.
View details & rubric context

Custom fields enable organizations to capture specific business data on expense reports, such as project codes, client names, or internal cost centers, ensuring alignment with unique financial reporting structures.

What Score 4 Means

The implementation features dynamic conditional logic where fields appear based on expense categories or policies, supports real-time lookups against external ERP data, and allows for cascading field dependencies.

Full Rubric
0The product has no capability to add user-defined fields to expense entries, restricting data collection strictly to hard-coded system defaults.
1Capturing unique data is possible only by repurposing generic text areas like 'Notes' or utilizing API workarounds to append data externally, resulting in unstructured and error-prone reporting.
2Native support allows for the creation of simple text-based custom fields, but lacks advanced data types (dropdowns, dates), validation rules, or the ability to enforce mandatory entry.
3The system supports a wide range of field types (lists, checkboxes, dates) with input validation and mandatory settings, ensuring data maps correctly to the general ledger and integrates smoothly into the user interface.
4The implementation features dynamic conditional logic where fields appear based on expense categories or policies, supports real-time lookups against external ERP data, and allows for cascading field dependencies.

Reporting & Analytics

Analytical tools that provide insights into historical spending patterns. These features help finance teams visualize data and track performance over time.

Avg Score
3.2/ 4
Custom Report Builder
Advanced3
Airbase provides a robust custom report builder that allows users to select from a wide range of data points, apply multi-level grouping, and schedule automated delivery to stakeholders. While it offers deep drill-down capabilities into individual receipts, the core experience is a structured builder rather than a fully AI-driven natural language interface.
View details & rubric context

A custom report builder allows finance teams to design specific analytics views by selecting data fields, filters, and visualizations tailored to their unique spending policies. This flexibility ensures stakeholders can track critical metrics without relying on static, pre-canned templates.

What Score 3 Means

The platform offers a robust report builder where users can select from a wide range of data points, apply multi-level grouping, choose visualization types, and schedule automated delivery of custom reports.

Full Rubric
0The product has no capability to create custom reports, limiting users strictly to a fixed set of pre-defined templates with no ability to modify columns or filters.
1Custom reporting is possible only by exporting raw data to CSV/Excel for manual manipulation or by connecting a third-party BI tool via generic APIs to build views outside the platform.
2Native support exists, allowing users to modify basic filters or toggle a limited set of columns on standard reports, but it lacks true drag-and-drop customization or the ability to save complex templates.
3The platform offers a robust report builder where users can select from a wide range of data points, apply multi-level grouping, choose visualization types, and schedule automated delivery of custom reports.
4The feature provides a best-in-class experience with AI-assisted insights, natural language querying, and deep drill-down capabilities that allow users to pivot instantly from high-level trends to individual transaction receipts.
Real-Time Dashboards
Best4
Airbase provides a market-leading analytics suite with real-time visibility into all spend categories, featuring interactive drill-downs and AI-driven insights that proactively identify budget risks and anomalies.
View details & rubric context

Real-time dashboards provide immediate visibility into company spending and budget utilization as transactions occur, enabling finance teams to monitor cash flow and detect anomalies without waiting for month-end reconciliation.

What Score 4 Means

The solution offers best-in-class, highly customizable analytics with AI-driven insights that proactively highlight budget risks, anomalies, and forecast future spending trends in real-time.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native dashboarding capabilities or visual reporting interface, forcing users to rely entirely on raw data exports for any form of visualization.
1Visual insights are possible only by connecting third-party BI tools via generic APIs or by manually exporting data to spreadsheets to build custom charts, requiring significant setup.
2Native support includes a few static, pre-configured charts showing basic metrics like total spend, but the feature lacks customization, drill-down capabilities, or instant data synchronization.
3The platform provides a robust set of interactive, real-time dashboards that allow users to filter spend by category, department, or project with deep drill-down capabilities available out of the box.
4The solution offers best-in-class, highly customizable analytics with AI-driven insights that proactively highlight budget risks, anomalies, and forecast future spending trends in real-time.
Spend Analytics
Advanced3
Airbase provides robust, real-time dashboards with deep drill-down capabilities into transactions and budget-to-actual tracking, meeting the requirements for a production-ready analytics suite.
View details & rubric context

Spend analytics aggregates and visualizes transaction data to help finance teams identify spending trends, enforce policy compliance, and uncover cost-saving opportunities across the organization.

What Score 3 Means

The platform offers robust, interactive dashboards with real-time data, allowing users to drill down into specific transactions, create custom reports, and track budget utilization against actual spend effectively.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native reporting capabilities or dashboards to analyze spending patterns or historical data.
1Analytics requires exporting raw transaction data to spreadsheets for manual manipulation or connecting generic APIs to third-party BI tools to build custom visualizations.
2Native reporting is limited to static, pre-built dashboards showing basic metrics like total spend by category or user, with little ability to filter, drill down, or customize views.
3The platform offers robust, interactive dashboards with real-time data, allowing users to drill down into specific transactions, create custom reports, and track budget utilization against actual spend effectively.
4Best-in-class analytics leverage AI to provide proactive insights, such as anomaly detection for fraud, predictive forecasting, and vendor benchmarking, automatically surfacing savings opportunities without manual analysis.
Spending Trends
Advanced3
Airbase provides robust, interactive reporting through its Insights module, which allows for multi-dimensional filtering by department, vendor, and category, including period-over-period comparisons and the ability to drill down into specific transaction details.
View details & rubric context

Spending Trends provide visual analytics and reporting on historical expense data to identify patterns, anomalies, and category-level insights. This visibility enables finance teams to optimize budgets, negotiate better vendor rates, and forecast future cash flow requirements.

What Score 3 Means

Strong, interactive reporting allows users to visualize spend across multiple dimensions like department, merchant, and project with drill-down capabilities. Includes built-in period comparisons (e.g., MoM, YoY) and exportable visualizations.

Full Rubric
0The product has no built-in analytics or reporting capabilities to track spending patterns over time.
1Analysis requires exporting raw transaction data to spreadsheets or connecting to third-party BI tools via generic APIs to manually construct trend reports and visualizations.
2Native support includes static dashboards showing total spend by month or category. Filtering is limited, and users cannot drill down into specific line items or compare periods easily.
3Strong, interactive reporting allows users to visualize spend across multiple dimensions like department, merchant, and project with drill-down capabilities. Includes built-in period comparisons (e.g., MoM, YoY) and exportable visualizations.
4Best-in-class analytics offer predictive forecasting and AI-driven anomaly detection to flag irregular spending automatically. It provides benchmark comparisons against industry standards and proactive recommendations for cost-saving opportunities.
Expense Aging Reports
Advanced3
Airbase provides robust reporting capabilities that allow users to track the duration of expense claims within the approval workflow and identify bottlenecks by department or approver. While it features a dedicated aging report for accounts payable, expense reimbursement aging is handled through advanced filters and status reports that offer the necessary drill-down capabilities for production-level management.
View details & rubric context

Expense aging reports provide visibility into how long expense claims have remained in various stages of the approval or reimbursement workflow, helping finance teams identify bottlenecks and accurately manage accruals.

What Score 3 Means

The system provides strong, out-of-the-box aging reports with standard time buckets (0-30, 31-60, 90+), allowing users to easily drill down into specific delays by department, user, or approver directly within the UI.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to generate reports on the age of expense claims or track how long items have been pending in the system.
1Aging analysis requires heavy lifting, such as exporting raw transaction data to spreadsheets or connecting external BI tools via API to manually calculate days pending and group them into time buckets.
2Native support is minimal, offering a basic list view that shows the submission date or a 'days pending' count for individual reports, but it lacks aggregate aging buckets (e.g., 30-60-90 days) or summary visualizations.
3The system provides strong, out-of-the-box aging reports with standard time buckets (0-30, 31-60, 90+), allowing users to easily drill down into specific delays by department, user, or approver directly within the UI.
4A best-in-class implementation that offers dynamic, interactive aging dashboards with customizable buckets, automated notifications/nudges for stalled items, and predictive insights for accrual management.

Budgeting & Cost Control

Tools for setting financial targets and monitoring performance against them. These features empower managers to control costs at the department level.

Avg Score
3.7/ 4
Budget Tracking
Best4
Airbase provides market-leading budget tracking by enforcing hard limits at the point of sale through its integrated corporate cards and offering real-time visibility and predictive forecasting that syncs directly with ERP budget data.
View details & rubric context

Budget tracking allows finance teams to define spending limits across departments, projects, or categories and monitor real-time consumption against those targets to ensure fiscal discipline.

What Score 4 Means

A market-leading implementation that enforces hard limits at the point of sale via connected corporate cards and utilizes predictive analytics to forecast overspend trends and suggest dynamic budget re-allocations.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to define budgets, set spending limits, or track expenses against allocated funds within the platform.
1Budget analysis is only possible by exporting transaction data to external spreadsheets or BI tools, or by building custom API integrations to cross-reference expenses against a separate budgeting system.
2Native support allows for setting static budget caps per category or department, but tracking is largely retrospective and lacks real-time enforcement or proactive alerts during the expense submission process.
3The system provides robust real-time tracking with granular limits by team or project, integrated directly into approval workflows to automatically flag or route requests that exceed defined thresholds.
4A market-leading implementation that enforces hard limits at the point of sale via connected corporate cards and utilizes predictive analytics to forecast overspend trends and suggest dynamic budget re-allocations.
Departmental Reporting
Best4
Airbase provides market-leading departmental reporting through its deep, real-time bi-directional sync with ERP cost centers, offering advanced Budget vs. Actuals (BVA) tracking and AI-driven insights to identify spending anomalies.
View details & rubric context

Departmental reporting enables finance teams to track, analyze, and control spending across specific business units or cost centers. This granular visibility is essential for enforcing budgets, identifying spending trends, and ensuring financial accountability within each team.

What Score 4 Means

Best-in-class reporting offers predictive analytics and AI-driven insights to proactively flag budget anomalies per department, featuring fully customizable visualizations and deep, real-time bi-directional sync with ERP cost structures.

Full Rubric
0The product has no native capability to segment expenses by department or cost center, limiting analysis to aggregate company-wide data.
1Department-level insights require exporting raw data to spreadsheets for manual sorting or connecting to an external BI tool via API to aggregate expenses based on custom tags.
2Basic filtering by department is available, but reports are static lists that lack visualization, drill-down capabilities, or real-time budget comparisons.
3The system includes robust, pre-built dashboards for departmental spending with interactive drill-down functionality, automated report scheduling, and clear budget vs. actuals tracking.
4Best-in-class reporting offers predictive analytics and AI-driven insights to proactively flag budget anomalies per department, featuring fully customizable visualizations and deep, real-time bi-directional sync with ERP cost structures.
Manager Dashboards
Advanced3
Airbase provides managers with robust, real-time visibility into team spending and budget tracking, allowing for direct drill-downs into specific transactions and streamlined approval workflows within the platform.
View details & rubric context

Manager dashboards provide team leaders with centralized visibility into employee spending, budget utilization, and approval statuses. This feature enables proactive cost control and streamlines workflows by aggregating critical financial data into actionable, real-time insights.

What Score 3 Means

The feature provides a robust, interactive dashboard allowing managers to monitor real-time spend against budgets, drill down into specific transactions, and manage approval queues efficiently without leaving the main interface.

Full Rubric
0The product has no dedicated dashboard or interface for managers to oversee team spending, requiring them to review individual expense reports one by one or rely on admin-generated exports.
1Managers can only visualize team spend trends by exporting raw data to spreadsheets or connecting external BI tools via APIs to build their own custom views.
2A native dashboard exists but offers only static, high-level metrics like total pending approvals or monthly spend. It lacks drill-down capabilities, real-time budget tracking, or customization options.
3The feature provides a robust, interactive dashboard allowing managers to monitor real-time spend against budgets, drill down into specific transactions, and manage approval queues efficiently without leaving the main interface.
4The dashboard delivers best-in-class insights with AI-driven anomaly detection, predictive budget forecasting, and highly customizable widgets that allow managers to approve requests or flag violations directly from the visualization layer.

Support & Success

Services and resources provided by the vendor to ensure customer success. These features offer assistance with implementation, training, and ongoing usage.

Avg Score
3.0/ 4
Sandbox Environment
Advanced3
Airbase provides a dedicated sandbox environment that allows administrators to test ERP integrations, approval workflows, and spend policies in a safe setting that mirrors production configurations.
View details & rubric context

A sandbox environment allows administrators to test configurations, integrations, and expense policies in an isolated setting without impacting live financial data. This ensures that workflow changes and new features can be validated safely before deployment to the production environment.

What Score 3 Means

The solution provides a robust sandbox that clones production configurations, policies, and workflows, enabling realistic testing of integrations and user experiences out of the box.

Full Rubric
0The product has no dedicated testing environment, forcing administrators to test configuration changes or integrations directly within the live production instance.
1Testing requires a workaround, such as purchasing a separate standard production license to act as a test bed or manually mocking API calls, with no native tools to replicate the production state.
2A native sandbox exists, but it is a blank slate that does not automatically inherit production configurations, requiring significant manual effort to set up rules and data for testing.
3The solution provides a robust sandbox that clones production configurations, policies, and workflows, enabling realistic testing of integrations and user experiences out of the box.
4The sandbox offers market-leading capabilities such as one-click production cloning with data anonymization, automated regression testing tools, and the ability to promote validated configurations directly to production.
Dedicated Account Manager
Best4
Airbase provides dedicated Customer Success Managers who offer proactive, white-glove onboarding and strategic guidance on spend policy optimization, often acting as a bridge to product teams for beta access and executive feedback.
View details & rubric context

A dedicated account manager provides a single point of contact for strategic guidance, issue resolution, and optimization of expense policies, ensuring personalized support and faster implementation of complex workflows.

What Score 4 Means

The dedicated account manager serves as a proactive strategic advisor, leveraging usage data to suggest policy improvements, offering white-glove onboarding, and providing exclusive access to beta features and executive leadership.

Full Rubric
0The product has no dedicated account management capability, forcing users to rely solely on general support tickets, chatbots, or self-help knowledge bases.
1Personalized attention requires significant effort, such as repeatedly requesting specific agents or hiring external consultants to bridge the gap, as there is no formal internal structure for dedicated account ownership.
2A named account manager is assigned, but availability is limited or shared across a large pool of clients, resulting in reactive support focused mainly on contract renewals rather than ongoing success.
3Users receive a specific, accessible account manager who provides consistent guidance, facilitates regular business reviews, and effectively coordinates internal resources to resolve complex expense management issues.
4The dedicated account manager serves as a proactive strategic advisor, leveraging usage data to suggest policy improvements, offering white-glove onboarding, and providing exclusive access to beta features and executive leadership.
24/7 Customer Support
Basic2
Airbase provides high-quality support primarily during business hours (24/5), but lacks universal 24/7 access to live human agents for all users, relying instead on automated help centers and email queues during weekends.
View details & rubric context

24/7 Customer Support ensures that administrators and employees can resolve expense reporting issues, card declines, or reimbursement questions at any time, regardless of their time zone. This continuous availability is critical for global teams and travelers who may encounter financial blockers outside of standard business hours.

What Score 2 Means

Native 24/7 support exists but is limited to basic chatbots or email queues with slower response times, lacking immediate real-time access to human agents for urgent travel or expense issues.

Full Rubric
0The product has no 24/7 support capability, limiting assistance to standard business hours in a specific time zone or relying entirely on static documentation.
1Extended coverage is technically possible but requires relying on community forums, generic contact forms with undefined SLAs, or hiring third-party partners to bridge the gap outside standard hours.
2Native 24/7 support exists but is limited to basic chatbots or email queues with slower response times, lacking immediate real-time access to human agents for urgent travel or expense issues.
3The vendor offers robust 24/7 access to human support agents via live chat and email directly within the expense platform, ensuring global employees receive timely help with minimal friction.
4Support is best-in-class with near-instant response times across multiple channels (phone, in-app chat, Slack/Teams), offering dedicated VIP routing and proactive resolution of transaction issues before users even report them.
Knowledge Base Access
Advanced3
Airbase provides a fully integrated, searchable help widget within the platform that allows users to access documentation and support articles in a side panel without leaving their workflow.
View details & rubric context

Knowledge Base Access provides users with on-demand self-service documentation and support resources directly within the expense management platform. This ensures employees can quickly resolve policy questions or technical issues without needing to contact a support agent.

What Score 3 Means

The platform offers a fully integrated, searchable help widget that opens within the application, allowing users to read articles and guides without navigating away from their expense report.

Full Rubric
0The product has no built-in help center, documentation repository, or direct links to support resources within the interface.
1Support resources are disjointed from the platform, requiring administrators to manually embed links to external PDFs or third-party wikis using custom fields or generic dashboard widgets.
2A native help center exists, but it acts as a static link that redirects users to a separate browser tab, lacking search functionality or context within the expense workflow.
3The platform offers a fully integrated, searchable help widget that opens within the application, allowing users to read articles and guides without navigating away from their expense report.
4The system utilizes context-aware AI to proactively surface relevant policy details and troubleshooting guides based on specific user actions or error messages, integrating interactive walkthroughs and video content.
Implementation Services
Advanced3
Airbase provides a dedicated implementation manager for every customer to oversee the setup of complex spend policies and deep ERP integrations, ensuring the platform is fully functional and tailored to the organization's needs upon launch.
View details & rubric context

Implementation Services encompass the vendor-provided support for configuring expense policies, integrating with financial systems, and training users to ensure a successful deployment. Effective implementation accelerates time-to-value and ensures the platform is correctly tailored to organizational compliance needs.

What Score 3 Means

A dedicated implementation manager guides the deployment process, handling complex policy configurations, ERP integrations, and user training to ensure a fully functional system upon launch.

Full Rubric
0The product has no dedicated implementation team or services; the customer is entirely responsible for setup, configuration, and deployment without assistance.
1Implementation is primarily self-service, relying on generic documentation or community forums, requiring significant effort from the customer's IT team to configure settings and build necessary integrations manually.
2The vendor provides a standardized, basic onboarding package or setup wizard with reactive support. While it covers fundamental configuration, it lacks a dedicated project manager or customization for complex workflows.
3A dedicated implementation manager guides the deployment process, handling complex policy configurations, ERP integrations, and user training to ensure a fully functional system upon launch.
4The vendor offers white-glove implementation services with deep industry expertise, including custom engineering for unique integrations, proactive policy consulting, and ongoing optimization to maximize strategic value immediately.

Pricing & Compliance

Free Options / Trial

Whether the product offers free access, trials, or open-source versions

Freemium
Yes
Airbase offers an 'Essentials' plan that is free for early-stage companies (typically under 100 employees), providing access to corporate cards, bill payments, and expense reimbursements.
View description

A free tier with limited features or usage is available indefinitely.

Free Trial
Yes
Sources indicate the availability of a free trial to test the platform's capabilities, and the free 'Essentials' plan also serves as an indefinite trial for smaller teams.
View description

A time-limited free trial of the full or partial product is available.

Open Source
No
Airbase is a proprietary SaaS spend management platform and does not offer an open-source version of its core software.
View description

The core product or a significant version is available as open-source software.

Paid Only
No
Airbase is not paid-only; it offers a free 'Essentials' plan for eligible startups and small businesses.
View description

No free tier or trial is available; payment is required for any access.

Pricing Transparency

Whether the product's pricing information is publicly available and visible on the website

Public Pricing
No
Airbase does not list specific dollar amounts for its software plans on its public website.
View description

Base pricing is clearly listed on the website for most or all tiers.

Hybrid
No
All listed tiers (Standard, Premium, and Enterprise) require contacting sales for a custom quote; there are no lower tiers with visible pricing.
View description

Some tiers have public pricing, while higher tiers require contacting sales.

Contact Sales / Quote Only
Yes
Airbase's pricing page directs potential customers to contact sales or request a quote for all available plans (Standard, Premium, and Enterprise).
View description

No pricing is listed publicly; you must contact sales to get a custom quote.

Pricing Model

The primary billing structure and metrics used by the product

Per User / Per Seat
No
Airbase uses a tiered pricing structure based on company size (e.g., Standard for up to 200 employees, Premium for up to 500) rather than charging a direct per-seat license fee for every user.
View description

Price scales based on the number of individual users or seat licenses.

Flat Rate
Yes
The company charges a fixed annual subscription fee for its platform tiers (e.g., Standard, Premium, Enterprise), with contracts typically starting around $8,500 or ranging from $42,000 to $230,000 depending on the tier.
View description

A single fixed price for the entire product or specific tiers, regardless of usage.

Usage-Based
No
Airbase explicitly differentiates itself by not charging transaction fees or variable usage costs for its software, offering a predictable subscription model instead.
View description

Price scales based on consumption metrics (e.g., API calls, data volume, storage).

Feature-Based
Yes
Different pricing tiers (Standard, Premium, Enterprise) unlock specific modules and capabilities, such as advanced approvals, multi-subsidiary support, and deep ERP integrations.
View description

Different tiers unlock specific sets of features or capabilities.

Outcome-Based
No
While Airbase offers cash back on corporate card spend (a financial outcome), the pricing of the software itself is a fixed subscription and does not scale based on the value or impact delivered to the customer.
View description

Price changes based on the value or impact of the product to the customer.

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