No more shoeboxes of receipts or month-end spreadsheets.
Expense reports are a small task that costs a lot of time: employees keep paper receipts, fill in spreadsheets at month end, managers approve in a hurry and finance retypes everything into the books. Zoho Expense automates most of that. Receipts are captured on a phone, mileage is tracked by GPS, policies are checked automatically, approvals follow rules you set and approved expenses flow into accounting. This guide shows how to set it up and what to automate first. It is part of our Finance & Operations guide.
Employees snap receipts with the Zoho Expense app, where autoscan reads the details, and track mileage by GPS. Expenses are checked against your policies, grouped into reports, routed for approval and reimbursed, then synced to Zoho Books. A free plan covers up to 3 users, and paid plans start at $3 per user per month billed annually.
| Task | Before | With Zoho Expense |
|---|---|---|
| Receipt capture | Paper receipts and manual typing | Snap a photo; autoscan reads merchant, date and amount |
| Mileage | Odometer notes and guesswork | GPS tracking with your mileage rates |
| Policy checks | Finance reviews every line | Rules flag over-limit or non-compliant expenses automatically |
| Reports | Month-end spreadsheets | Expenses grouped into reports, with auto-submission on higher plans |
| Approvals | Email chains | Approval workflows by manager, amount, project or department |
| Accounting | Retyping into the books | Approved expenses sync to Zoho Books |
Employees photograph receipts with the mobile app, forward them to a dedicated email address or upload them on the web. Autoscan reads the merchant, date, amount and, on paid plans, individual line items, then creates the expense ready to categorize. Receipts are stored with the expense, so there is nothing to lose in a wallet or glovebox.
Mileage claims are often the least accurate part of an expense report. Zoho Expense records trips by GPS and applies the mileage rates you set by vehicle or policy, and the Premium plan adds automatic mileage capture with live tracking. Claims become consistent and easy to check.
Set spending limits by category, such as meals or hotels, require receipts above a certain amount and define which expenses need extra justification. Zoho Expense checks every expense against these rules as it is created, so policy breaches are flagged before they reach a manager. Larger organizations can create several policies, for example for different roles or countries.
Decide the default approver for each employee, usually their manager.
Add multi-level approval for higher amounts, such as finance review above a threshold.
Route project expenses to the project owner, if you track spending by project.
Set up approval delegation for holidays so reports do not stall.
Turn on reminders so pending approvals do not sit for weeks.
Once approved, reports are marked for reimbursement, and the expenses sync to Zoho Books against the right accounts and, where used, customers or projects for rebilling. Finance no longer retypes anything, and the books reflect spending as it happens. Our Zoho Books setup guide covers getting the chart of accounts right for expense categories.
Service businesses often pass expenses on to clients. In Zoho Expense, tag expenses to a customer or project as they are created, and once they sync to Zoho Books they can be added to the client's next invoice. Nothing is forgotten, and clients see exactly what they are paying for, with receipts attached if needed.
Because every expense is categorized and tagged as it happens, Zoho Expense reports show where money goes by category, department, project and employee. Review them monthly to spot rising costs early, renegotiate with frequently used suppliers and check that budgets match reality.
Corporate card transactions can be brought into Zoho Expense and matched with receipts, so cardholders only add the receipt and a note. On the Premium plan, per diem automation and travel booking features help companies with regular business travel.
| Plan | Annual billing (per user, per month) | Monthly billing | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 (up to 3 users) | $0 | Receipt capture, mileage by GPS, 1 policy, 20 autoscans per user per month |
| Standard | $3 | $4 | Multiple policies, multi-level approvals, 200 autoscans per user per month with line items |
| Premium | $5 | $6 | Advanced approvals, per diem automation, auto mileage capture, 1,000 autoscans |
Paid plans may require a minimum number of users, and an Enterprise option is available by quote. Zoho Expense is also included in Zoho One. Check the current Zoho Expense pricing page for your region.
Define expense categories that match your chart of accounts.
Write your expense policy: limits, receipt rules and what is not reimbursable.
Set mileage rates and any per diem rates you use.
Build approval workflows, starting with a single level and adding finance review for large amounts.
Connect Zoho Books and map categories to accounts.
Invite employees and ask them to install the mobile app on day one.
Run one month, then review rejected expenses and adjust policies that cause confusion.
Employees snap receipts as they spend and track trips with GPS mileage.
Expenses are checked against policy automatically, with problems flagged straight away.
Reports are submitted, or auto-submitted on higher plans, at the agreed time.
Managers approve on their phones, and finance reviews only the flagged items.
Approved expenses sync to Zoho Books and reimbursements are processed.
| Category | Example limit | Receipt required |
|---|---|---|
| Meals with clients | Set a per-person limit | Always |
| Travel and accommodation | Set nightly hotel limits by city tier | Always |
| Mileage | Your agreed rate per mile or kilometre | Trip record from GPS |
| Office supplies | Set a monthly limit per employee | Above a small amount |
| Software and subscriptions | Pre-approval required | Always |
Replace the example limits with your own and keep the first version short. You can add detail once you see which expenses cause questions.
Zoho Expense connects with other Zoho apps such as Zoho People, so employee details and approval hierarchies stay in step with HR records, and with Zoho Projects for project-based spending. Where Zoho Payroll is available, reimbursements can be handled alongside payroll. See our Zoho Payroll review for what Payroll covers.
Zoho Expense automates receipt capture with autoscan, mileage tracking by GPS, policy checks, expense report creation, approval routing and syncing approved expenses to Zoho Books.
Zoho Expense has a free plan for up to 3 users. Paid plans start at $3 per user per month billed annually, or $4 billed monthly.
Yes. Approved expenses sync to Zoho Books, mapped to the right accounts, so finance does not retype them.
Yes. Zoho Expense records mileage by GPS and applies your mileage rates. The Premium plan adds automatic mileage capture with live tracking.
Yes. Zoho Expense is one of the apps included in a Zoho One subscription.
Yes. Zoho Expense has mobile apps for capturing receipts, tracking mileage, submitting reports and approving expenses on the go.
Yes. Approval workflows can route reports by manager, amount, department or project, with multi-level approval for larger amounts and delegation when approvers are away.
Yes. Autoscan reads the merchant, date and amount from receipt photos, and paid plans capture individual line items. The number of autoscans per user each month depends on your plan.
A well-designed expense policy, approval workflow and Books connection remove most of the monthly expense admin.