Best SaaS Finance Software: Expense, Accounting, Payroll

For finance teams, daily tasks can quickly turn into a maze of repetitive processes and manual data entries. From tracking and managing expenses to processing payroll manually, these tasks can consume countless hours each week. 

In fact, Business Wire reveals that over 72% of finance teams spend up to 10 hours per week—or around 520 hours annually—just on AP-related tasks like invoice processing, payment reconciliation, and supplier management. This heavy reliance on manual work not only takes a toll on productivity but also increases the risk of costly errors. 

Fortunately, SaaS finance software offers a streamlined solution, automating routine processes and freeing up valuable time. By adopting tools for expense management, accounting, and payroll, finance teams can reclaim their time, increase accuracy, and focus on what matters most—strategic financial decision-making.

1. Expense management tools

Expense management tools are one of the SaaS finance software designed to simplify how businesses track, process, and control employee spending. 

By eliminating manual data entry and allowing real-time expense tracking, expense management tools enhance efficiency and give finance departments better control over budgets.

If you’re looking to optimize expense management, here are three top tools to consider for seamless and efficient handling of business expenses.

Mekari Expense 

Mekari Expense is an all-in-one solution for your business expenses. This software not only simplifies business expense reporting but also significantly reduces manual data entry, saving you time.

• Digitize business travel processes: Streamline how employees manage business trips, giving your company easy access to comprehensive travel data that supports better financial decisions.
• Enhanced control over online expenses with virtual credit cards: Pay for subscriptions, digital ads, and other online transactions using Mekari Expense’s Virtual Credit Card feature, powered by Mastercard for global use.
• Allocate budgets for more effective expense management: Simplify budget allocation across branches, departments, and categories with a transparent and organized approach.
• Automate expense recording into accounting software: All transactions are recorded in real-time in Mekari Jurnal after reimbursement or cash advances are processed.
• Digital solution for domestic and international invoice management: Create, approve, and send payments globally with automated recording and reconciliation.
• Automated invoice recording: Using AI-powered OCR, upload invoices or auto-detect invoices from email to accurately capture data directly into the system.

Expensify 

Expensify is a popular expense management tool designed to streamline expense tracking and reimbursement processes for businesses. It offers a range of features to simplify expense handling:

Key benefits of Expensify:

• Easy tracking and submission of receipts and expenses.
• Next-day direct deposit reimbursement.
• Mileage and GPS tracking for on-the-go employees.
• Automatic credit card import to streamline data entry.
• Handles receipts in any currency, ideal for global businesses.
• Corporate card reconciliation to keep accounts accurate.
• Candidate reimbursement for interview-related expenses.
• Integrates seamlessly with major accounting platforms.

Concur

Concur is a comprehensive expense management tool designed for companies needing seamless integration of travel and expense data. 

Key features of Concur:

• Data capture: Merges expense, invoice, and credit card data for unified reporting.
• Gamification: Rewards employees for keeping travel expenses low.
• Concur mmessaging: Allows communication through itinerary sharing, location mapping, and risk detection.
• Travel planning: Sends real-time flight alerts and suggests alternatives in case of delays or cancellations.
• TripIt integration: Provides a single itinerary for flights, hotels, and activities, making business trips easier to manage.

2. Accounting software 

Accounting software is one of the SaaS finance software designed to help businesses manage their finances. These programs can automate many tasks, such as tracking income and expenses, generating invoices, and creating financial reports. Accounting software can also help businesses to stay organized and compliant with tax laws.

Mekari Jurnal

Mekari Jurnal is an online accounting software designed to meet a wide range of business needs, enabling precise, data-driven decisions. This SaaS finance software delivers timely, credible financial reports to support effective decision-making, and offers a suite of tools tailored for seamless financial management.

Key features of Mekari Jurnal:

1. Accounting

• Accounting automation: Simplifies accounting tasks with automated transaction recording, reducing manual work and enhancing accuracy. 
• Financial & business reporting: Access dynamic, real-time business performance insights with detailed reports.
• Bookkeeping: Streamlined and integrated bookkeeping ensures every transaction is recorded accurately and in compliance with accounting standards.
• Bank reconciliation: Syncs all transaction records for easy reconciliation, so your financial records remain consistent and error-free.
• Multi-currency support: Automatically convert currencies within the system, making it easy to manage transactions and accounting in multiple currencies.
• Report consolidation: Compile multiple financial reports into a unified view, offering a comprehensive snapshot for better decision-making.

2. Supply chain management  

• Product information centralization: Consolidate product data and monitor real-time inventory and sales, improving control over stock and order management.
• Inventory & warehouse management: Manage stock and oversee warehouse activities in real-time, keeping operations smooth and inventory levels accurate.
• Production & order fulfillment: Track production processes and manage goods in and out for efficient order fulfillment and inventory accuracy.

3. Financial planning & analysis  

• AI-driven insights: Obtain instant insights and recommendations through AI-driven analysis, enabling better strategic planning.
• Profitability reports & custom analytics: Measure product profitability and visualize data through customizable reports, helping to optimize business decisions.
• Budget & performance analysis: Track three-month profit and loss trends and monitor budget allocation to keep spending on target.

4. Platform integrations  

• System integrations: Mekari Jurnal integrates with over 70 platforms, including POS systems, banks, and eCommerce, to streamline data flow and accounting processes.
• Role-based access: Control team access to the system, ensuring data security and organized management.

There are many different accounting software programs available, so it is important to choose one that is right for your business. Here are some recommendations for accounting software:

Freshbooks

Managing multiple clients, invoices, and deadlines can be a balancing act for small business owners and freelancers. 

FreshBooks is an accounting solution tailored to simplify this process, built for solo entrepreneurs and freelancers who need reliable, easy-to-use tools. The software keeps expenses, payments, and invoicing organized in one place, making it a great fit for single-owner businesses.

FreshBooks’ Key Features:

• Ensures that entering expenses, tracking payments, and invoicing is straightforward, whether in-office or on the go.
• Organizes expenses and compiles revenue snapshots to support smooth tax filing. Higher-tier plans even allow your accountant direct access, reducing prep time and minimizing errors.
• Includes built-in time tracking, linking hours worked to invoices automatically and keeping client billing accurate and timely.
• With key financial reports like profit and loss and expense summaries, FreshBooks makes it easy to check in on your business’s financial status.
• FreshBooks’ cloud-based platform lets you manage expenses, send invoices, and access reports from any internet-connected device, so you’re always in sync.

Visdum

Visdum is a no-code sales compensation system designed to help companies optimize sales incentives and boost team motivation. 

With Visdum, companies can easily design and automate custom compensation plans, integrating bonuses, SPIFFs, and other incentives without needing technical expertise. Visdum simplifies sales compensation management.

In essence, Visdum enables Rev Ops, Sales Ops, and Finance teams to:

• Automate incentive processes.
• Gamify sales with real-time performance dashboards.
• Launch contests, SPIFFs, and bonuses.
• Manage reward and recognition programs effortlessly.

3. Subscription management

Subscription management is the process of handling a company’s recurring revenue from subscription-based services, including tasks like tracking sign-ups, managing renewals and cancellations, handling billing cycles, and upgrading or downgrading subscription plans. 

This is essential for businesses with a subscription model to ensure a smooth experience for customers, keep accurate records, and maximize revenue by reducing churn and streamlining billing.

Chargebee

Chargebee is a comprehensive cloud-based accounting platform tailored for businesses of all sizes across diverse industries, including telecommunications, media, e-commerce, and IoT.

As a PCI Level 1 certified solution, Chargebee prioritizes security in financial transactions. It offers a range of features that streamline subscription management, invoice processing, payment handling, and the creation of customized reports, making it an essential tool for effective revenue management.

• Subscription management: Facilitates the management of recurring billing cycles and customer subscriptions with ease.
• Invoice management: Automates the generation and dispatch of invoices, significantly reducing the need for manual input.
• Payment management: Supports multiple payment methods, allowing users to process credit card transactions through integration with Stripe.
• Dunning management: Users can configure automated reminder emails for failed payments, enhancing collection efforts.
• Abandoned cart reports: Offers insights into incomplete checkouts, enabling businesses to identify and address potential sales losses.
• Automated revenue recognition: Efficiently manages revenue tracking by handling cancellations, refunds, and write-offs in a streamlined manner.

Ordway

Ordway is an intelligent billing and revenue automation platform designed for growing businesses. It streamlines the entire process of pricing products, invoicing, collecting payments, and recognizing revenue. 

By utilizing this SaaS finance software, companies can eliminate tedious manual processes in accounts receivable and revenue recognition. Ordway acts as a bridge between customer relationship management (CRM) systems and accounting software, enhancing overall efficiency.

• Sales-to-revenue automation: Streamlines the process from securing a new client to invoicing and managing renewals, enhancing visibility and accuracy of future revenue.
• Custom revenue recognition: Enables finance teams to define personalized revenue recognition templates for accurate financial reporting.
• Automated monthly billing: Sends invoices to all current and newly activated customers automatically, eliminating the need for manual reconciliation.
• Dunning communications: Sets up automated workflows for collections, helping to reduce churn and improve cash flow.
• Unified transaction view: Provides customer success teams with a comprehensive overview of transaction data, allowing for quick resolution of billing issues.
• Seamless integration: Utilizes a REST API-first approach to ensure easy integration with existing systems while minimizing the impact on engineering resources.

4. Payroll processing

Payroll processing tools are one of the SaaS finance software designed to automate and streamline the management of employee compensation and benefits. These tools simplify the payroll process by handling various tasks, including calculating wages, deducting taxes, managing benefits, and ensuring compliance with labor laws. 

By using payroll processing tools, businesses can reduce the time and effort required for manual payroll management, minimize errors, and improve the accuracy of employee payments. 

Mekari Talenta

Mekari Talenta is a payroll software designed to streamline the payroll process, reducing time spent on payroll tasks by up to 93%. 

This solution automates data collection and calculations, minimizing errors associated with manual processes. By integrating payroll management into one comprehensive system, Talenta enhances efficiency and accuracy for businesses.

Key features of Mekari Talenta:

• Automated data recap: Quickly and accurately consolidate data such as attendance, leave, and overtime directly into the payroll system, reducing the risk of errors.
• Reimbursement management: Automatically tracks reimbursements, employee loans, and cash advances, eliminating manual record-keeping.
• Tax calculation: Ensures precise calculations of income tax, social security, and pension contributions using the latest regulations from employee databases.
• Flexible data updates: Allows for easy updates to payroll components with customizable multi-level approval processes, tailored to organizational needs.
• Regulatory compliance: Adapts automatically to the latest regulations, ensuring all calculations comply with current laws without requiring manual adjustments.
• Efficient salary transfers: Facilitates timely salary payments through integration with bank systems, allowing for payroll distribution to multiple accounts with a single virtual account.
• CSV formatting: Automatically generates CSV files to meet bank requirements, streamlining the payment process without additional adjustments.

Mekari Payroll Service 

Mekari Payroll Service takes the hassle out of payroll management. They connect you with experienced payroll experts who handle your employee data with the utmost care and confidentiality. Their comprehensive service ensures your payroll is processed accurately and on time, every time.

With Mekari Payroll Service, you can focus on running your business while they take care of your payroll needs.

Key features of Mekari Payroll Services: 

• Seamless disbursement and reporting: Guaranteed timely payments and provide detailed final reports to verify the accuracy of all payroll data.
• Customizable salary calculations: Easily add bonuses, allowances, or deductions to each employee’s salary for precise calculations.
• Effortless data submission: Simply send your employee data, such as attendance, leave requests, and overtime, via email. The team will handle the rest.

Paylocity

Paylocity is a robust payroll solution that supports both domestic and international employees, offering features like on-demand wage access while ensuring compliance and streamlining payroll tasks.

• Global payroll: Collaborates with Blue Marble to provide payroll services in over 100 countries.
• Tax filing and payment: Conducts location-based audits to ensure accurate tax payments and manages tax filings for all U.S. states and global needs.
• Customization: Allows tailored configurations for pay structures, though changes may require assistance from Paylocity’s support team.
• Compliance: Includes automatic payroll audits for accuracy and compliance.
• Data synchronization: Integrates seamlessly with the Time and Attendance tool to reduce manual data entry.
• On-demand wage access: Enables employees to access a portion of their wages before payday without extra paperwork.
• Payroll calendar: Provides a clear view of pay schedules and off-cycle payment dates for better management.

Paycom

Paycom prioritizes payroll management, recognizing its vital role in ensuring employees receive accurate and timely payments. Central to their payroll system is Beti, an innovative feature that empowers employees to oversee their payroll information. 

Through the Paycom app, employees can pinpoint and rectify any discrepancies in their paychecks prior to submission. This proactive approach enhances data accuracy and fosters a workplace culture rooted in trust, independence, and efficiency.

• Employee-driven experience: Beti allows staff to take charge of their payroll data, ensuring they can easily spot and fix errors.
• Increased data accuracy: By involving employees in the payroll process, the system reduces the likelihood of mistakes.
• Trust and autonomy: Encourages a workplace environment where employees feel more in control of their compensation.
• Enhanced productivity: Streamlined payroll processes lead to quicker resolutions and less downtime for employees.
• Innovation focus: By empowering users, Paycom cultivates a culture that values creativity and proactive problem-solving.

Conclusion

In conclusion, choosing the right SaaS finance software can transform how your business manages expenses, accounting, and payroll, leading to greater efficiency and accuracy. With the myriad of options available, it’s essential to find a solution that seamlessly integrates with your existing systems and scales with your business needs. 

Mekari stands out as a comprehensive SaaS solution that offers a unified platform for all your financial management requirements. By leveraging Mekari, you can streamline processes, reduce errors, and enhance overall productivity. 

Ready to take your financial management to the next level? Discover the right SaaS solution for your business with Mekari today!

References

Spendflo. ‘’15+ Top SaaS finance tools you need to check out’’
Visdum. ‘’Top 15 SaaS CFO Software Tools to Stay Ahead of the Game’’