Best Expense Management Software for Multi-Entity European Businesses

For organisations with multiple entities, business expenses present a far more complex challenge than a for a small business. Different jurisdictions, currencies, and tax environments mean that expense management processes extends beyond basic bookkeeping, while expense tracking, spend control and accurate analysis are harder to achieve amidst disconnected subsidiaries with their own systems and expense policies.

Efficient expense management isn't just about tracking who spent what and capturing expenses - it's about creating a unified financial environment that spans entities while respecting their unique operational requirements. This includes managing complex approval hierarchies that may differ between subsidiaries, supporting entity-specific accounting codes and VAT rules, and facilitating consolidated reporting while maintaining entity-level visibility.

The current European software market is abundant in software solutions that promise to address the pressing business needs of the multi-subsidiaries by simplifying and managing expenses. Let's learn more about the top expense management software options.

When evaluating expense management solutions for multi-entity operations, looking beyond basic receipt capture and approval workflows becomes essential. The comprehensive spend management platforms offer end-to-end expense workflows and integrated approaches that address the specific challenges of cross-border, multi-entity businesses. Here is what you should look for:

Architecture that adapts to multi-entity businesses and their spend policies

The right software for your business when operating across multiple regions should reflect this in its architecture. It means allowing for entity-specific configurations while enabling consolidated management and reporting and aligning with expense policies of each jurisdiction.

Corporate Cards

Giving your staff access to company funds with the right controls and limits is a must to keep tabs on employee expenses, business costs and adherence to budgets. Additionally, card transaction details flowing into the spend management solution will significantly simplify expense reporting process.

Handling expense reports, expense claims and reimbursements

Providing your employees with business cards is only part of the solution. The right expense management software providers also helps with expense report creation by populating expense claims with transaction data and automating reimbursements.

Mobile app or on-the-go access

In the mobile era, a lot of business happens away from the office desk. Consider solutions that give you access to expenses on the go, whether it's for submitting expenses, uploading receipts, pulling reports or checking on budgets.

Currency and compliance capabilities

Look for platforms that support all the currencies your business operates in and can facilitate both local and cross-border transactions efficiently. This means also checking card interchange and maintenance fees.

Integration with ERPs and existing workflows

A robust expense management system should integrate seamlessly with your existing financial stack, including accounting software, ERP, and banking relationships to allow for seamless flow of expense data, automated reconciliation, 360-degree visibility and better decision-making.

Additionally, consider whether a standalone expense management solution or an integrated financial operations platform better suits your overall strategy. While dedicated expense tools may offer deeper specialisation in that specific function, integrated platforms can eliminate silos and provide more comprehensive financial visibility.

Payhawk is a European spend management platform that centres around Visa-issued corporate cards in 32+ currencies, with customisable spending limits and controls that allow for precise management of expenses across different entities.

One of Payhawk's strengths is its receipt capture technology- the OCR supports 60+ languages, a useful feature for multi-country operations. Their approval workflows can be customised to reflect different organisational structures, and the reporting capabilities allow for entity-specific views while supporting consolidated analysis.

However, while Payhawk offers virtual IBANs in multiple currencies, these accounts exist within their own EMI (Electronic Money Institution), which limits true banking diversification. This approach may constrain businesses looking to establish genuine financial presence in new markets or those concerned with treasury or institutional risk diversification. Multi-entity businesses with complex banking requirements may find this limitation significant, particularly when managing foreign exchange risk across subsidiaries.

Automated reconciliation is available however integration with ERP is only available as a paid add-on which significantly raises the cost of the software, especially for businesses looking for end-to-end expense automation. Advanced, multi-entity expense management features are also only available at higher tiers.

Revolut has revolutionised card payments and digital banking in the last decade. Available across Europe and the US, they offer various tiers ranging from free basic accounts to custom enterprise solutions. Their platform allows businesses to send, receive, hold and exchange funds in around 30 currencies across 100 countries.

For multi-entity businesses, Revolut's expense management includes:

Multi-currency virtual or physical cards

Spend controls and approval rules that can be customised by entity

Receipt capture and categorisation through mobile app

While Revolut card offering is compelling, their multi-entity expense management support has limitations. The main complaints about Revolut include poor experience of their desktop platform, inability to manage expense claims and reimbursement or automate your expense reconciliation with ERP. Revolut is therefore more of an expense tracker app rather than a software suited for businesses with complex needs.

Soldo approaches expense management with a clear focus on controlling company spending and eliminating inefficient reimbursement processes. Their pricing structure ranges from an affordable Standard Plan to custom Enterprise solutions.

For multi-entity operations, Soldo offers several useful features:

Pre-programmable and customisable cards assigned to different entities

Specialised card types for different expense categories (fuel, subscriptions, etc.)

Web application for managing spending rules and approvals aligned with entity-specific policies

Wallet structure that supports entity-based spend management

Soldo's approach to expense categorisation and management is strong, but the key features required by multi-subsidiary businesses are only available at higher tiers. Standard Plan limits card issuance to 30 cards and does not permit integrations with ERPs to automate expense reconciliation.

Tipalti is above anything, a financial automation platform with core products focused on accounts payable, mass payments and procurement. They primarily target medium-sized businesses operating cross-border with multiple entities, particularly in sectors like technology, e-commerce, and marketplace businesses. Soldo does also offer cloud-based expense management features:

Corporate card management

Expense reimbursement workflows

Mobile application for receipt capture

Integration with their broader financial automation suite

Tipalti's strength lies in the multi-entity architecture is designed to handle complex organisational structures while supporting entity-specific accounting. Unfortunately however, it works mostly with payables and their expense management solution is much developed particularly in the European market. Business expense cards are only available in the US, while European businesses need to connect their existing card providers. Businesses primarily concerned with overcoming multi-entity challenges in expense management might find their offering less comprehensive than specialised expense platforms.

Fyorin takes a fundamentally different approach by offering a unified financial operations and treasury management platform where expense management is a key component of a comprehensive, financial solution. This approach addresses a critical challenge for multi-entity businesses: the fragmentation of financial processes across multiple systems and providers.

For expense management specifically, Fyorin provides:

Mastercard and Discover card offerings with high out-of-the-box limits (up to €200,000)

Unlimited virtual and physical card issuance with dynamic issuance capabilities via API

Allowing multiple virtual cards to be linked to a single physical card

Real cash back on each transactions rather than points-based rewards to help businesses turn expenses into earnings

Automatic reconciliation of expenses and claims based on claim periods rather than expense dates, avoiding accrual inaccuracies with integrations to their ERPs and accounting tools

What sets Fyorin apart for multi-entity businesses is how this expense functionality integrates with broader financial operations. The platform provides a 360-degree view of cash positions across multiple banks and entities, with the ability to manage and rebalance these positions as needed. This treasury visibility combines with comprehensive accounts payable automation and accounts receivable solutions to create a unified financial environment.

Selecting the right expense management solution for a multi-entity European business requires balancing functional depth, especially when it comes to tracking employee expenses, with cross-entity capabilities. While Payhawk, Revolut, Soldo, and Tipalti each offer valuable capabilities for specific use cases, Fyorin's unified approach to financial operations provides a compelling alternative for organisations seeking to eliminate silos between expense management and other financial functions.

By combining comprehensive expense management with integrated treasury, payables, and receivables capabilities, Fyorin enables multi-entity businesses to achieve both operational efficiency locally and strategic financial insights across their entity structure.