Expensify vs. QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Expensify
Score 7.6 out of 10
N/A
Expensify automates the entire spend management process. Scan receipts, track mileage, submit and approve expenses, manage corporate cards, reimburse employees, pay bills, send invoices, and book travel. Built for individuals and companies of all sizes, anywhere in the world.
$5
per month per user
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
A now discontinued accounting solution, QuickBooks Self-Employed featured tools to help the self-employed drive growth and financial stability. It is replaced by the more advanced QuickBooks Solopreneur.N/A
Pricing
ExpensifyQuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Editions & Modules
Collect
$5
per month per user
Control
$9
per month per user
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
ExpensifyQuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
ExpensifyQuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Considered Both Products
Expensify
Chose Expensify
It is better since Expensify covers a multitude of different expensible options. Motus is nice as it tracks your location for the most accurate milage usage reading but also that features heavily drains my phone battery so it is very nice to just map it myself and put in later …
Chose Expensify
Expensify by far passes Excel on keeping track of expenses and reconciling. The report function is also relatively easy to use. The ability to graph is an excellent asset as well.
Chose Expensify
Concur was more expensive but offered a few other things that worked better on a corporate platform. For me personally I chose Expensify based on the lower cost and better access to what makes a difference to me on a local sales rep level. I don't use Expensify to do invoicing, …
Chose Expensify
Expensify is the only product ever used for covering travel expenses and I see no reason to try anything else.
Chose Expensify
12/10 prefer Expensify over Oracle.

From user friendliness, to support, and selfishly, the overall look and design of Expensify blows other finance software out of the water.
Chose Expensify
Expensify is simpler and more user-friendly, especially for individual use. The scan receipt function and the straightforward reporting process are key advantages. I chose Expensify because it’s quick to set up and handles most tasks without overcomplicating things.
Chose Expensify
I did not selected Expensify but I found it very easy to use
Chose Expensify
Uncomplicated
Great UX
Brilliant comms
Chose Expensify
Expensify simplifies the process without a lot of unnecessary bells and whistles
Chose Expensify
I have not evaluated or used anything similar for expense tracking. I did it manually before.
Chose Expensify
Way easier to use, way better mobile experience, the Receipt Scanning capability works and Concur doesn't even offer it. Way more flexible form requirements. Overall significantly better.
Chose Expensify
Expensify is so much better!!! TravelPerk had us spending hours on the phone with their concierge to get the best travel options, to rebook cancelled or delayed travel, and to make any changes to the itinerary before a trip. It was clunky and ineffective. We often lost money …
Chose Expensify
Expensify is much easier to use from what I hear. I was not at the company when they were using Certify but there were fewer automations and people did not like it.
Chose Expensify
Expensify was much more user friendly and most cost effective than the others.
Chose Expensify
I've used "old school" clunky web based interfaces that do not work on mobile in the past. It used to be a painful struggle when back in the office when returning from a business trip and get everything in.
Chose Expensify
For us the deal was with the cost per user. We are a small company with a tight budget and basic expense management needs, so although there are plenty of tools in the market for expense management, it was way over our budget. I needed also to be able to implement it and manage …
Chose Expensify
Before it was always just taking pics and sending to office.
Chose Expensify
Concur has an integration to the CRM system, perhaps more robust with travel options, but it's also more complicated to use in my opinion. An overkill for a small business
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Chose QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Freshbooks limited my ability to categorize transactions, specifically removing duplicates or excluding them. I selected QuickBooks Self-Employed because it allowed me to be in control of items. Sometimes accounting is just making sure things are organized the way YOU think, …
Chose QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Wave is extremely easy to use. Quick Books has several features that WAVE does not include, i.e. 1099 reporting.
Chose QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
I selected Quickbooks because it was free for a year when I had TurboTax.
Chose QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Honestly, this was the only option for me when I launched my business. I didn't even look at different companies for account services, since QuickBooks Self-Employed had the features and benefits that I needed to run daily operations of my business. Eventually, I will need to …
Chose QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Alternatively, I use Quicken to manage bank entries and create reports for tax purposes.
Chose QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
To be honest, I haven't shopped around for a bookkeeping package. I've been using TurboTax for well over a decade, and adding on QuickBooks Self-Employed (once I made the switch to freelancing) was a no-brainer. I probably could have used the program to help me keep track of …
Chose QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
We just trust QuickBooks more than CloudBooks because it's been on the market longer and it's not a net-based service.
Chose QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
I selected QBSE because no other system fit my needs as a freelancer and as of now, I've not become aware of a program like this that I would opt out for.
Features
ExpensifyQuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Expense Management
Comparison of Expense Management features of Product A and Product B
Expensify
8.4
Ratings
2% below category average
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
-
Ratings
Employee Expense Reporting8.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Corporate Card Reconciliation7.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Payment Management
Comparison of Payment Management features of Product A and Product B
Expensify
7.5
Ratings
9% below category average
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
-
Ratings
Customizable Approval Policies6.60 Ratings00 Ratings
Financial Document Management8.20 Ratings00 Ratings
Payment Status Tracking8.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Payment Audit Trail8.70 Ratings00 Ratings
Duplicate Bill Detection6.70 Ratings00 Ratings
Advanced OCR6.60 Ratings00 Ratings
Electronic Funds Transfer7.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Expensify
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
7.8
Ratings
1% above category average
Pay calculation00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Benefit plan administration00 Ratings5.00 Ratings
Direct deposit files00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Reimbursement management00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
Expensify
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
10.0
Ratings
27% above category average
API for custom integration00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Plug-ins00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
Expensify
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
10.0
Ratings
18% above category average
Single sign-on capability00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Role-based user permissions00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Expensify
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
10.0
Ratings
24% above category average
Dashboards00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Standard reports00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Custom reports00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
Expensify
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
10.0
Ratings
25% above category average
Accounts payable00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Accounts receivable00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Cash management00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Bank reconciliation00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Expense management00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Time tracking00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Fixed asset management00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Multi-currency support00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Multi-division support00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Regulations compliance00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Electronic tax filing00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Self-service portal00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Global Financial Support00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Localizations00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Configurable Accounting00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Standardized Processes00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
Expensify
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
10.0
Ratings
31% above category average
Inventory tracking00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Automatic reordering00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Location management00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Manufacturing module00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
Expensify
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
10.0
Ratings
26% above category average
Pricing00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Order entry00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Credit card processing00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Cost of goods sold00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Order Orchestration00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Order exception Resolution00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
ExpensifyQuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Small Businesses
Dext
Dext
Score 9.8 out of 10
Zoho Books
Zoho Books
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Precoro
Precoro
Score 2.8 out of 10
Zoho Books
Zoho Books
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Emburse Chrome River
Emburse Chrome River
Score 9.1 out of 10
Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Performance Management
Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Performance Management
Score 10.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
ExpensifyQuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
9.1
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
7.0
(0 ratings)
9.4
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.5
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
ExpensifyQuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
I think it's really good for small businesses. At least in the way we use it. It's very good for keeping an eye on employee spending in nearly real time. I'm not sure how it works for larger companies when there is a larger number of people to keep track of.
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QuickBooks is a great tool for new SoleTraders that need basic accounting software and require digital invoicing for their clients to send via email and access key features via a mobile app on the go. QuickBooks is a straightforward tool to use with a simple design and learning curve for business owners that are not very tech-savvy. For businesses that operate on a larger scale and need to provide access to other users on their team, QuickBooks is limited. This type of business may also require more insights into the business outside of accounting, and QuickBooks won't be able to supply insights outside of that.
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Pros
  • I am able to submit my mileage and the great feature to put the starting destination and end destination. It auto populates the mileage for you!
  • The coniserge is helpful and reminds me when I did not do certain things like submit my report. That’s a nice feature!
  • I am able to submit my expenses quickly and it scans the receipts or you can upload a picture of them very quickly.
Read full review
  • Tracking expenses is as simple as swiping left and right, it couldn't be easier.
  • Running invoices through QuickBooks is simple and effective.
  • Allowing clients to pay by card or check allows you to get paid faster and give the clients multiple ways of paying invoices, which helps everyone.
  • Automatically tracking estimated quarterly taxes is very helpful and it keeps it top-of mind for each month.
Read full review
Cons
  • Cant choose for specific lines of non -reimbursable expenses to several credit cards. only one preconfigured.
  • there are limited cards to choose for with Expensify Travel as a corporate cards.
  • The policy rules are pretty basic. i would like to have more granular options
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  • There are a number of unnecessary and ongoing prompts to do small tasks, like creating a rule for certain transactions. I could do without those.
  • There are also occasional glitches with bank setup that produce duplicate transactions which can be a pain to deal with. I also haven't been able to find a way to effectively edit transactions.
  • I also wish that QBSE integrated with software like Freshbooks, Tripit and Expensify.
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Likelihood to Renew
Our company will use Expensify for as long as it will fit our purposes. However, it is obvious that once the fast-growing company will reach a certain size, we will need to transition to a more complex system. For our current purposes however, Expensify is great and I would recommend it to everyone
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No answers on this topic
Usability
So simple to set up and use. It was easy to roll out to all our staff! The demos, instructions, and FAQ's were well written and enabled us to train our staff quickly. We have frontline employees who have mastered the system in a day. The scalability is also perfect. We are able to start with just a few cards and grew that number as our organization needed without any problems.
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I have been using this software for several years now and it has always put out my data in beautiful generated reports that I can use for verification purposes with my financial institute and the IRS. It has all the tools I need to run my business without loosing track of anything
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Support Rating
Our rep has been amazing. He has built custom reports for us that have been very time consuming and difficult. Our reps are also currently looking into new submission solutions for us that we are excited about. They came up with this and recommended it on their own without me complaining about an issue. They are about our success and are very excited about the product they offer.
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I have never faced any difficulties that required me to contact QuickBooks customer service. QuickBooks has plenty of online tutorials, blog posts, and helpful tips and advice for almost any issues you may face using the desktop or app version of the software. Even if you can not find the right answer on the QuickBooks webpages, there are loads of YouTube videos from experts.
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Implementation Rating
The implementation process went rather smoothly, linking it to the bank and cards was handled easily. without too many unnecessary steps. Getting the accounts setup did take some time, but that would be true with any organization. All in all things went smoothly and I was very pleased with the setup and implementation process
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Concur is the only formal software I've used, though I think this was only used in my PhD program (2010-2014), so in fairness, it's been a while. I remember Concur being just OK. It was certainly easier to use than the 'upload documents to email' process my former employer had instituted, but it was not Expensify-level smart and easy. At least back then, there was no simple drag-and-drop document parsing for example.
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To be honest, I haven't shopped around for a bookkeeping package. I've been using TurboTax for well over a decade, and adding on QuickBooks Self-Employed (once I made the switch to freelancing) was a no-brainer. I probably could have used the program to help me keep track of employee expenses as I was working for others in the past.
Read full review
Return on Investment
  • Positives include - timely expense reports to reconcile our fiscal year financials
  • Negatives include - the monthly service fee per employee (even if no expenses were generated that month) - it is not cost effective for ALL of our employees to utilize the application.
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  • A positive impact on my business is, of course, keeping track of income and expenses, and approximate quarterly taxes. QuickBooks is a little better at this than Quicken, I think.
  • By using QuickBooks (and Quicken) it saves me having to spend money on an accountant. (At least up to this point.)
  • However, the time I spend on daily or weekly entries takes billable time away from other things.
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ScreenShots

Expensify Screenshots

Screenshot of the dashboard used to manage expenses, book travel, reimburse employees, and create expense reports.Screenshot of corporate cards. The Expensify Card offers cash back on every US purchase.