Author: Dana Krook

With business travel hitting record highs and many employees still working remotely, scheduling client meetings at venues worldwide and managing travel expenses can be tricky.

No matter your company size, managing travel expenses can be a headache. Chasing down travel receipts, untangling expense reports and manually reconciling scattered spending can quickly become a logistical nightmare. This old-school accounting makes you want to pack your bags and hit the road.

However, with a solid travel expense management process, you can streamline manual work and empower your teams. In this article, we’ll explain exactly how to get a handle on your travel expenses with insight from Sophie Dillon at Orbit Accountants, whose clients did exactly that recently using Float. 

Your next destination? A thriving business.

What do you need in place to manage travel expenses with a travelling or remote team?

For a modern-day workforce that’s often hybrid or remote, companies need two key things in place for proper travel expense management:

• A clear travel expense policy so employees know which expenses are covered, which aren’t, and how to get reimbursed.
• An easy-to-use system where they can submit their expenses without friction or delays.

Without a clear policy and user-friendly system, things can get complicated. Dillon explains that her clients dealt with endless receipt-chasing and manual tracking before she recommended implementing Float. Their employees were also reluctant to spend out of pocket.

“It’s really important to put processes in place to save time and administrative effort. Integrating our clients’ existing accounting tools with Float enabled them to make the reimbursement process seamless. With increased employee travel, all of this becomes essential,” she says.

Build a strong foundation with clear policies 

A well-written business travel expense policy addresses everyday expenses like accommodations, meals, commute fares and entertainment. It outlines exactly which expenses are covered and up to what dollar amount. It also clarifies how employees can get reimbursed. This gives your team the confidence to spend wisely and makes managing travel expenses easier.

Reimbursable expenses typically include:

• Hotels
• Transportation, including flights, taxis and Ubers,  car rentals or mileage on a personal car
• Daily food per diem
• Office supplies or development-related costs

Non-reimbursable expenses tend to include upgrades and leisure activities. Your policy should spell this out clearly.

Be sure to define your approval chain, Dillon adds. “Having department-level approvals eases pressure on the Finance department. Clearly state spending limits on daily meals, alcohol and who qualifies as a business guest at a meal to avoid any confusion,” she says. 

Corporate credit card guidelines are also key. Corporate cards are handy but need rules to keep spending in check! So, determine who gets a card, what it can be used for, and what happens if the rules aren’t followed. Make sure your guidelines include:

• Spending limits
• Acceptable use cases
• Required documentation
• A signed agreement from the cardholder

With guardrails in place, you boost accountability, curb overspending and make life easier for your finance team.

“When you’re transitioning from out-of-pocket expenses to corporate cards, start with low limits to make sure the team is playing by the rules,” Dillon says. “Once people get used to the process, you can increase the budgets.”

Empower teams with the right tools

Spreadsheets might be the default system in some workplaces, but relying on them often results in errors and missed cost-savings opportunities. A modern, automated expense management system can be a game-changer, making travel spending a breeze for employees and giving finance teams the visibility they crave.

With modern tools to manage business travel expenses, your team can:

• Snap receipts on the go
• Submit expenses with a few taps
• Set corporate card controls and spending limits
• Enforce policy compliance automatically

A versatile expense management system also integrates with your accounting tools, allowing you to match bank records with expense reports quickly.

“Float offers real-time visibility, prepaid cards and an easy approval system that even works from a phone,” Dillon says. “There are no more paper trails required to maintain travel expenses, and there’s no more financial guesswork.”

Pro tip: Customize card limits based on role, responsibility and travel needs. For example, your road warrior in sales may need a higher limit than your team lead who travels once a quarter.

Provide regular staff training

Set your team up for success with a proper onboarding session. Explain your policy, show them how to use the tools and create a feedback loop for questions or concerns. Trained employees are better equipped to make cost-conscious decisions that keep budgets on track.

Don’t stop there! Review your policies regularly to ensure they stay relevant. As your business grows, your travel needs will evolve. Keeping your employees in the know on changing policies will enable them to make informed choices. 

Monitor for compliance and efficiency

Once your system is in place, don’t just set it and forget it. Monitor expenses in real time, run audits, and identify trends and areas for improvement. Most importantly, watch for red flags like overspending or policy violations. 

Automated checks and electronic approvals keep everything in line and make it easier to spot trends or fix problems before they snowball.

“Approval documentation is now a built-in part of our clients’ processes,” Dillon says. “It gives visibility to top management and department heads as to where funds are being spent. This has improved budget management.”

Ready to spend smarter? 

Building a strong expense policy, equipping your team with the right tools and keeping a sharp eye on compliance aren’t just best practices. They’re must-haves if you want to confidently scale your business (with fewer financial surprises).

When your policies are clear, your team is empowered and your tracking is tight, travel expenses become a well-oiled part of your operations.

If you’re still chasing receipts or juggling expense reports, it’s time to give your processes a first-class upgrade. Float is your ticket to smarter, faster and more transparent business spending. Ready to take charge of your business travel expenses? Book a demo today.

Tight cash flow is a constant concern for business owners, especially without proactive working capital management. When expenses pop up before revenue flows in, even the financially healthiest companies feel squeezed tighter than a too-small pair of pants. 

If this sounds familiar, you’re in good company. Cash flow constraints are a key investment barrier for 50% of small businesses in 2025, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).

The good news?

Credit can help; it isn’t just a fallback plan for when things get rough. When used wisely, it can be a strategic tool to strengthen your working capital position and keep your operations humming.

In this guide, we’ll explain how credit can help you manage your working capital needs more effectively and share smart strategies to help you build a stronger financial foundation.

What is working capital management?

At its simplest, working capital is the money you have available to run your day-to-day operations. It’s calculated by subtracting your current liabilities (what you owe in the short term) from your current assets (what you own and can quickly convert to cash).

Okay, so what is working capital management?

Working capital management is about balancing the cash flow in and out of your business. Think of it as ensuring your business always has enough gas in the tank to keep moving, without running on fumes or overfilling the tank and wasting resources.

​Why working capital management matters

Small businesses often face working capital trouble because of delayed customer payments, seasonal swings, rising inventory costs or unexpected expenses. (Surprise! That HVAC system you forgot about needs replacing.) 

Managing cash flow isn’t always enough. Traditional cash management practices like speeding up receivables and stretching payables can help, but they don’t solve every problem. And without careful expense management, it’s easy to fumble the timing.

This is where smart credit use can change the game. When used strategically, credit helps you bridge cash flow gaps, seize growth opportunities and manage uncertainty without putting your business at risk or your blood pressure through the roof.

How can you use credit to manage your working capital more effectively?

Credit can do more than just plug holes. It can help fuel smarter decisions. From bridging timing gaps to unlocking new opportunities, here are six strategies to make it work for your business.

1. Bridge cash flow gaps

Revenue and expenses rarely move in perfect sync. Maybe you need to pay suppliers now, but won’t get paid by customers for another 30 or 60 days. A line of credit or a corporate card can give you breathing room. It covers short-term obligations while you wait for incoming cash, helping you stay current on bills and payroll without draining reserves or resorting to “please pay us” emails.

2. Fund upfront investments

Growth often demands investment before payoff. You might need to buy inventory, ramp up marketing or add staff ahead of a busy season. Using credit to fund these moves can help you navigate them smoothly, without sacrificing cash reserves that keep your business stable. (Or worse, tapping into your rainy day fund before it even rains.)

3. Take advantage of supplier discounts

Suppliers sometimes offer discounts for early payments. With credit, you can pay sooner, score a discount and then pay off your balance when your regular cash flow catches up. Saving money while spending it? Not quite magic, but close.

4. Smooth out seasonal fluctuations

Businesses with seasonal peaks like retail, tourism, or construction often face working capital pressure in the off-season. Access to credit lets you cover costs during slower periods and ramp up quickly when demand returns, without resorting to sad desk lunches and crossed fingers.

5. Seize opportunistic deals

Sometimes opportunities come knocking when cash flow isn’t at its strongest. A supplier offers a bulk discount, a new market opens up or a key hire becomes available. Credit gives you the flexibility to move fast and capitalize on opportunities that can pay off big (and leave your competitors wondering what hit them).

6. Avoid draining cash reserves

It’s tempting to rely solely on available cash, but keeping a healthy cash reserve is critical for resilience. Smart use of credit means you can cover operational costs without depleting your safety net, making you better prepared for unexpected bumps in the road. (And spoiler alert: there are always bumps.)

Best principles for using credit strategically

Using credit effectively requires going beyond securing access to include clear intentions about use. These principles will help you ensure credit remains a growth tool, not a financial trap.

Tie credit use to business objectives

Only use borrowed funds for initiatives that drive revenue, improve efficiency or support growth.

Forecast cash flow carefully

Know when and how you’ll repay borrowed amounts before you draw on credit.

Monitor your financial performance regularly

A strong month-end process is especially important when using credit. Track your working capital needs, spot risks early and adjust strategy.

Understand the true cost of borrowing

Weigh interest rates, repayment terms and potential fees before tapping into credit.

Stay disciplined

Credit should extend your runway, not send your business into a nosedive.

Bringing your credit strategy back to business fundamentals is key. Does this investment or expense fit with the goals you’ve set for your company? Will it improve your financial position over time? If the answer isn’t a clear yes, it’s time to hit pause.

Keeping tabs on working capital needs

Strong working capital management isn’t a one-time task. It’s an ongoing process that demands attention and adaptability. Building a robust month-end review process that looks at revenue, expenses, cash flow timing and working capital exposure can help you spot issues before they become crises.

Tools like Float’s corporate card platform make this even easier. Real-time spend tracking, automated expense categorization and easy-to-read reports give you clear visibility into cash flow patterns, upcoming obligations, and available credit. 

With these, you can make informed decisions faster (and enjoy an entire weekend without financial fire drills).

Strengthen your financial foundation with Float

Working capital management is part art, part science. Used wisely, it can help you manage expenses, smooth cash flow and position your business for sustainable growth.

Float helps Canadian businesses tap into the power of smart expense management and strategic credit use. 

Learn how Float’s modern platform can help you strengthen your financial foundation and easily manage working capital. 

Corporate cards can be a powerful tool—if you set the right guardrails from the start. Ideally, they empower your team, protect your bottom line and help you avoid headaches from corporate card misuse and month-end mystery charges.

Brian Didsbury, CPA and Senior Manager/Controller at LiveCA, knows the reality behind small business owners’ common concerns around corporate card use. In his experience with the Canadian online accounting firm, Brian has seen both sides: advising clients and managing his own team’s finance operations. 

“We rarely see employees misusing cards egregiously,” says Brian. “It’s more about small slip-ups or processes that need tightening.”

But with the right tips, you can feel confident issuing company credit cards and minimize the risks that come with it. In this guide, Brian shares practical strategies to help small and medium-sized businesses confidently issue corporate cards, whether you’re issuing your first card or tightening up an existing program. 

The importance of safeguarding company resources

The financial risks tied to corporate card misuse can be real, but they’re often preventable. Even honest mistakes can rack up a hefty tab. Left unchecked, unclear spending practices, forgotten software subscriptions and small recurring charges can quietly eat into your profits. 

And this proves true throughout Brian’s experience. Brian notes that most issues aren’t deliberate fraud, but are often errors like forgetting to cancel a subscription after a free trial, which can add up fast. Proactive policies and smart tech controls can save businesses from these silent drains.

However, outright corporate card misuse does happen, and it’s wise to incorporate employee credit card fraud prevention strategies into your planning. The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) attributes 32% to a lack of internal controls, while 19% results from overriding existing controls.

6 steps to sidestep corporate card misuse

Handing out company cards shouldn’t feel like tossing cash into the wind. You can hand over spending power with just a few smart moves without losing control.

Here are six best practices that will help you prevent employee misuse, tighten your processes and keep your finances running like a well-oiled machine. (Bonus: You and your finance team will sleep better at night, too.)

Step 1: Develop a comprehensive corporate card policy

Good intentions aren’t enough. A strong and well-documented expense policy is critical. Brian recommends that the policy clearly state who is eligible for a corporate card, its acceptable uses, and the expected handling of card transactions. 

“At LiveCA, the employee handbook provides clear documentation outlining when you can request a card, what you can spend it on and what happens if you don’t meet expectations,” says Brian. 

Defining acceptable and prohibited expenses upfront leaves little room for creative interpretations later, like deciding that sushi lunches are a necessary operational cost.

Step 2: Implement spending limits and controls

The smart playbook for corporate card management involves clearly communicated expectations in advance. For example, no one needs a $700 emergency desk chair ordered at midnight, but we bet it’s happened.

LiveCA uses Float to create spending limits for each situation: loading specific amounts, restricting spending categories (like only allowing hotel and meals during travel) and setting expiry dates so cards automatically reset to zero after an event. 

“You can’t just hand someone a card with a $5,000 limit and hope for the best,” he says. “We preload it, limit the categories, and limit the time. It gives autonomy without giving a blank cheque.” 

Automation also plays a key role in corporate card misuse prevention, helping flag risky transactions and prevent runaway charges before they snowball.

Step 3: Enforce an expense approval workflow

Approval processes can feel like red tape if they’re overbuilt. Brian recommends keeping corporate card management practical. 

“Set a dollar threshold where a second approver steps in, but keep it simple,” he says.

At LiveCA, expenses under $10,000 need just one approver; anything above that triggers a second level of review. This smart approach balances control with efficiency, so employees don’t wait weeks for basic approvals or grow old trying to expense a single conference ticket.

Step 4: Monitor transactions and conduct regular audits

You can’t fix what you don’t see. Brian’s team conducts monthly variance analyses, reviewing all software and discretionary spending line by line. 

“It gives us a clear audit trail. If you gave someone $100 to trial software but they spent it on something else, we can spot it,” he says. 

Regular transaction monitoring and smart tools that surface anomalies help businesses catch problems early, before they become costly habits.

Step 5: Educate employees on policy and procedures

Skipping training is an expensive gamble. Brian points out that even the best policy is useless if employees don’t know how to follow it. Luckily, Float makes onboarding easy. “We relied on Float’s help centre materials. They’ve got great tutorials and templates,” says Brian. 

Companies should incorporate card usage policies into employee onboarding, revisit them at key milestones, and encourage a culture of asking questions if employees are unsure.

Step 6: Respond appropriately to unauthorized use

Mistakes happen, and occasionally, so does misuse. Employee credit card fraud prevention is easier when internal controls help you respond promptly. If something looks suspicious, Brian recommends investigating carefully. “First, make sure you’ve got your facts. Look at the transaction, the support documents, the policy,” he says.

If you confirm unauthorized use, the next step is to lean on your documented policies to take action. That could mean revoking card access, restricting future travel privileges or, in more serious cases, formal disciplinary action. 

“Having a clear policy allows you to say, ‘Here are the expectations, and here are the consequences.’ It shouldn’t come as a surprise,” Brian says.

Building trust and control with Float

Small businesses can manage corporate card misuse prevention; the potential risks don’t need to be a deal-breaker. With a clear policy, smart spending controls and the right tools, business owners can confidently manage company spending.

Float is a modern expense management software platform built for Canadian businesses. It streamlines finance operations by combining real-time spend tracking, unlimited virtual and physical corporate cards, and seamless accounting integrations. 

Platforms like Float help businesses implement these best practices, making it easier to empower teams without opening the door to risk. With built-in approval workflows, automated receipt capture and fast reimbursements, Float makes it easy to control company spending.

“Start with trust and build good controls, and you’ll rarely have a problem you can’t handle,” says Brian.

We live in a technological age, but not every part of business has caught up—especially reimbursement solutions. This area can quietly drain your team’s time, money and resources because it’s often handled manually.

You’ll end up with error-prone spreadsheets that waste your team’s time to review, delay your month-end close and ultimately lead to inaccurate financial forecasting. Sounds like a good time, right? Nope!

But reimbursement doesn’t have to be like that. A modern reimbursement solution isn’t just for collecting and organizing receipts anymore. It’s a critical part of operational efficiency, financial control and expense management. However, not all financial management software offers the same capabilities for expense tracking.

This article will highlight key considerations for Canadian businesses looking to automate expenses and share the top six reimbursement solutions.

Understanding expense reimbursement solutions

What are reimbursement solutions?

Reimbursement solutions are a key component of expense management software. These tools help businesses track, manage and reimburse employees’ out-of-pocket expenses while reducing the time spent on manual data entry and paperwork. They improve accuracy, speed up reimbursements and help finance teams run more efficiently.

How expense tracking software simplifies accounting

Modern expense tracking software streamlines the entire expense cycle, providing complete visibility into each stage:

• Tracking: Monitor when an expense was submitted, approved and paid
• Submission: Capture and organize receipts and expense details 
• Approval: Identify who approved an expense and where delays occur
• Payment: Track when reimbursements are issued

This visibility improves communication, reduces errors, and strengthens business expense controls across your organization. It also frees up your finance team to spend less time chasing receipts and more time on higher-value tasks (because no one went into finance to become a professional receipt detective).

Features and key considerations when choosing expense management solutions

When evaluating expense tracking software in Canada, prioritize more than just basic tracking. Look for solutions that offer:

1. Mobile receipt capture 

Receipts are fragile and easily lost. Mobile capture allows employees to submit, track and manage expenses directly from their smartphones, while automated workflows ensure approvals move smoothly without bottlenecks. A good mobile-first experience can drive higher adoption and eliminate friction for your team, helping you stay compliant with your expense reporting policy.

2. Accounting integrations

Great financial management software integrates with popular accounting tools like QuickBooks and Xero, automatically syncing expense data to reduce manual entry and errors. This keeps your financial records accurate and streamlines your month-end close. Fewer manual touchpoints also mean less risk of human error, which is crucial for auditability and compliance.

3. Scalability and ease of use

Your financial management software should evolve as your business grows. If it can’t scale with you, you may face costly and disruptive migrations later.

Ease of use is just as important—who wants to use a platform that feels impossible to navigate? If the platform is confusing, adoption rates will suffer and you risk wasting your investment. Look for an intuitive interface that supports quick employee onboarding and enables self-service for basic tasks.

4. Security, data privacy and customer support

Expense management software handles sensitive financial data. Prioritize solutions that offer strong encryption, comply with Canadian privacy standards and provide responsive customer support. It’s essential to be able to get help quickly if you run into any issues. 

Top 6 expense management solutions

Choosing a modern reimbursement solution is a smart move. As an SMB, finding the best expense tracker for your business can also streamline your processes and boost team morale. But with so many options on the market, each with different features, pricing, and market focus, it’s crucial to find the right fit, especially for Canadian businesses.

Here’s a comparison to help you navigate the top choices:

Moving forward with the right tools

Manual expense reports are inefficient and costly. Adopting the right expense management solution can save your business valuable time, reduce human error and strengthen your overall financial controls.

While reimbursements are an important part of employee expense management, they should ideally be the exception—not the norm. For ultimate visibility and better control, the majority of spending should flow through corporate cards that are centrally managed by the finance team. Then, reimbursements are best reserved for occasional, unavoidable out-of-pocket expenses. Your expense management solution should seamlessly support both corporate card transactions and reimbursements within a unified workflow.

Canadian companies looking to modernize should choose software that supports scalability, easy integration, intuitive use, and strong security—now and for future growth. Float is a smart choice for those ready to move beyond manual processes. Designed for Canadian businesses, it unifies employee reimbursements, corporate cards, and real-time accounting in one powerful platform. Book a demo today!

Credit card reconciliation feels deceptively simple—until it isn’t. Most business owners and finance leaders know expenses should match what’s in the books, but that’s not always true.

Corporate credit card reconciliation can be particularly tough for small-to-medium-sized businesses and startups, where processes aren’t always clearly defined. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Wondering how to do credit card reconciliation without giving you or your finance team a headache? In this article, we’ll answer all your most pressing questions around this topic, with industry expertise from Erika Dowell, CEO of Signal Operations, a Canadian bookkeeping and accounting company.

What is credit card reconciliation?

Simply put, credit card reconciliation is “a matter of taking the bank statement and matching it to your accounting files or bookkeeping files,” says Dowell. “The point of reconciling is to make sure that what the credit card company says you’ve spent is the same as what you’ve recorded in your books.”

Why does credit card reconciliation matter?

Reconciling your corporate cards is essential if you want to maintain:

Control over your cash flow

Credit card reconciliation lets you monitor your corporate spending and identify alarming trends before they escalate. 

Oversight of corporate expenses

It’s easier to prevent employees from exceeding travel limits or submitting personal restaurant receipts when you’re on top of what’s being spent. This oversight also means you’ll catch credit issues before you sink hundreds into something—think charges for outdated software and subscriptions that should have been cancelled after a trial.

Audit readiness

Staying on top of reconciliation also keeps you ready for any surprise audits. “The biggest mistake I see in credit card reconciliation is that people think the source document is the bank statement,” says Dowell. “But the CRA could look at a meal expense and deem it a personal expense if you don’t have the itemized receipt to support it.”

How to prevent operational blind spots with credit card reconciliation

According to Dowell, problems tend to surface when businesses begin handing out corporate cards in a more widespread way, “especially in larger organizations where multiple people are using credit cards, but maybe don’t understand the importance of keeping source documents.”

To prevent operational blind spots, ensure that:

• Employees know (and remember) to keep receipts and invoices
• You have a strong expense policy guide that clarifies everyone’s role in the process
• There’s a high level of oversight in your credit card reconciliation process 

What’s at stake?

Most business owners are so busy running the company that it’s hard to find time to  manually match transactions and receipts. Finding an employee who knows how to reconcile credit cards can take time, too. But when corporate card reconciliation slips, you risk:

Tax errors and misstatements

Without receipts, tax auditors may void entire categories of expenses, creating significant tax burdens, especially for small businesses. Dowell has seen it happen: “They went from $30,000 of net income to $100,000 of net income—taxable income—which is a significant increase in taxes owing.”

Overspending and fraud

If you aren’t actively reconciling credit card spend, you’ll likely see spending increase over time, and not on things that are necessarily business critical—especially if multiple employees have access to credit cards.

 “You’re going to start to see a direct impact on cash flow,” says Dowell. “That will impact every other part of your business.”

Cash flow surprises

Dowell once worked with a business client who was a few years behind on their taxes. As they went through the client’s expenses, the client discovered that they’d  spent $45,000 on software in a single year, including trials they’d intended to cancel. 

“That particular entrepreneur just didn’t know where their money was going,” she says. “Now they can make different business decisions.” 

How to reconcile your corporate card spend

If you’ve been wondering how to do credit card reconciliation, here’s what Dowell recommends.

1. Collect your credit card statements 
2. Gather all your receipts and other source documents
3. Match your source document to the corresponding line item on your credit card statements
4. Identify any leftover line items without source documents 
5. Contact the employee who made the purchase and ask them for the source document

Note: For online purchases, Dowell highlights the importance of tracking who’s receiving email receipts. “It’s sometimes hard to know who to email, but ultimately it’s the cardholder’s responsibility to keep the source document,” she says. “And depending on the company’s policies, if the cardholder isn’t able to produce it, then they’re potentially liable for that expense.” 

When to automate with credit card reconciliation software 

If you’re considering automating your credit card reconciliation, there are four main signs:

1. The number of employees with credit cards has increased to a level where the reconciliation process has become too difficult or time-consuming
2. It’s taking longer to manage your month-end 
3. Employees are regularly missing or losing their receipts and other source documents
4. Administrators are spending too much time chasing employees for receipts and other source documents

Credit card reconciliation software can ease administrative work, enforce spending limits, send receipt reminders, flag unusual spending patterns and more. 

“Software could very quickly highlight a parking transaction without a receipt attached to it, and you’d need to review that,” says Dowell. “It can detect a transaction with a matching receipt and ensure that it’s not just a garbage receipt for a thousand dollars. Credit card reconciliation software can even highlight a thousand-dollar transaction that’s higher than it typically is.”

The bottom line

If you’re a business owner, credit card reconciliation might feel like a trivial task. Early-stage entrepreneurs might wonder, “what is credit card reconciliation, anyway?,” but be too embarrassed to ask. Either way, neglecting it can have big operational consequences like blown budgets, tax risks and lost productivity. 

But when it’s done well?

It can help control spending, strengthen forecasting and build healthier finance habits across your entire organization.

How Float can help

At Float, we love helping businesses save time, money and frustration with automation and real-time spend controls. Whether your business uses one corporate card or twenty, our automated expense management platform offers headache-free reconciliation and expense policy enforcement.

Want to learn more? Get in touch to find out where Float fits into your operational workflow.

Employee reimbursements may not be the flashiest part of running a business, but they are pretty telling. When handled well, they reinforce trust, improve financial visibility, and keep operations humming. When handled poorly, expect confusion, wasted time, delayed payments, and frustrated employees.

Whether you’re running a lean startup or managing a finance team in a larger business, your approach to reimbursements sets the tone for how your company values time, clarity and accountability.

And compliance around employee reimbursements isn’t just about keeping your books in order—employer responsibilities for timely reimbursements are covered under Canada’s Labour Code. 

We spoke with Mandeep Saini, Co-Founder and Head of Finance Services at BrightIron, a fractional finance, HR, and Go-to-market services provider for Canadian startups and scale-ups and Float customer, to get his take on where businesses go wrong and how they can fix it. 

Mandeep’s top-level advice? Tailor your systems and tools to your company’s stage and complexity. Let’s look at what he suggests for both small business owners and growing companies with in-house finance teams.

Efficient employee reimbursement strategies for small businesses

Small teams move fast. They’re often short on headcount and time, and processes like employee reimbursements tend to happen on the fly. That ad hoc approach might work at first, but it doesn’t last.

“Manual processes are fine, but they don’t scale—and then they break quickly,” says Mandeep.

Here are Mandeep’s top tips on how small business owners can avoid employee expense reimbursement clutter and chaos.

1. Create a simple employee reimbursement policy

Even if your team is only five people strong, put a one-pager outlining what can be reimbursed, when to get pre-approval and how to submit expenses. Without this, expectations can vary wildly. One employee might think lunch with a client means a $100 sushi bill, while another sticks to a sandwich. Policies bring clarity and consistency that prevent awkward conversations later.

2. Automate, don’t email

Reimbursements via email might seem efficient, but are a black hole in reality. Once someone hits send on their employee reimbursement form and backup docs, the process becomes opaque. This leaves them to wonder when (or if) they’ll be reimbursed. This can also create work for the person managing reimbursements, if they’re spending time sharing status updates with people submitting requests with no transparency into the process. Luckily, today’s tools can streamline this completely, from receipt capture to approval and payment.

3. Make it easy for employees

Missing or incomplete receipts can create headaches during reconciliation and tax time. But most small businesses don’t have the bandwidth to chase them down. A simple fix? Make it easy for employees to upload expenses in real time through a software platform or integrated tool rather than waiting to email or submit physical receipts.

4. Make it mobile-friendly

Reducing obstacles for expense submission is half the battle, so choose a tool that lets employees snap and upload photos from their phones. It simplifies compliance and ensures you’re capturing the right data for accurate reporting. Itemized receipts and tax information can go a long way toward keeping you compliant.

5. Don’t DIY forever

Founders often try to save money by handling reimbursements themselves. However, time spent approving expenses or chasing receipts could be better invested in growth. Even if you’re not ready to hire in-house finance support, outsourcing or automation can buy back critical hours.

Efficient strategies for medium or larger businesses (with in-house finance teams)

Larger organizations face different challenges. With more employees and a wider range of expenses, the complexity increases, as do the risks of non-compliance, delays and inconsistency.

“The biggest concern at scale is efficiency and transparency,” says Mandeep. “Employees need to know what’s allowed, what’s not and where things stand at any point in the process.” 

And so do you. Here’s how Mandeep suggests you keep employee expense reimbursements running smoothly at scale without losing your grip on your finances — or your sanity.

1. Use robust systems that help enforce your policies

Finance teams in larger organizations need software that supports more complex rules. Whether limiting spend by role, enforcing preferred vendors or flagging claims outside your employee reimbursement policy, a modern platform can help you stay compliant without slowing things down.

2. Set approvals before the spend happens

It’s too late to flag issues after the fact. A pre-approval process helps set expectations and avoid awkward back-and-forth exchanges that cause anxiety on both sides. With upfront guardrails in place, employees can confidently make purchases they know will be reimbursed.

3. Increase transparency

Employees shouldn’t be left guessing. Anyone who has ever submitted an employee reimbursement form only to hear crickets for weeks knows how frustrating it can be. A good expense management system allows real-time tracking so they know when something is pending, approved or paid. That visibility also helps managers spot bottlenecks or delays in the process.

4. Align finance with employee experience

Delays in reimbursement can quietly erode employee trust, especially for team members who may not have the financial flexibility to float business costs. A consistent, predictable system supports both employee satisfaction and operational integrity.

5. Match tools to team structure

Choose solutions that integrate smoothly with your workflows and approval hierarchy. Save the heavy lifting for the gym. If your finance team is juggling multiple tools, consolidating can reduce friction and improve data accuracy.

Float: Streamlined workflows for employee reimbursements

Whether you’re a startup owner drowning in emailed receipts or a finance lead wrangling approvals across departments, the right system for employee expense reimbursements can change the game.

Float offers a complete solution built for small and scaling businesses. With it, your employees can spend how and when they need to, without headaches. In Mandeep’s experience, this kind of streamlining allows owners and finance teams to focus on the work that matters. 

“We love Float. It’s cost efficient, meets the needs of SMBs and the company is constantly innovating,” says Mandeep of BrightIron’s experience as a Float customer. “It’s built from the perspective of a finance person. We were using three or four different tools, and now we can replace them with Float.”

From virtual corporate cards and spend limits to automated receipt tracking and pre-approvals, Float helps companies replace informal, scattered processes with smart, scalable ones. Bonus: it saves time for everyone involved, from employees to finance to founders.

Ready to make reimbursements less painful? Explore how Float can boost transparency and simplify your team spending.

BrightIron is a fractional resource provider to leading startups and SMBs across North America. They offer both functional and leadership talent as-a-service, scaling with your business and delivering the right expertise at the right time.  Their broad range of services include bookkeeping, accounting, fractional CFO, HR support as well as Go-To-Market expertise.

You’re not alone if you’re a finance leader fed up with Expensify. Maybe you’ve already started scanning online threads, Slack groups or finance forums looking for better options—anything that doesn’t leave you chasing down support tickets, battling sync issues or dodging aggressive purchasing card pitches. 

We hear you. 

Too often, expense management tools promise automation and simplicity, but deliver friction, confusion and bloated workflows. You want something that just works—intuitive, reliable and built with Canadian finance teams in mind. Instead, you’re spending hours untangling what should be a five-minute task.

This guide is for you.

We’ve pulled together insights from real finance leaders, sourced from community conversations and hands-on experience. It’s a practical overview of what’s out there, what to watch out for and which Expensify alternatives are truly delivering value—especially for Canadian businesses. If you want, you can jump right to the comparison here. 

(Spoiler alert: Float is leading the pack.)

Why finance leaders are replacing Expensify with alternatives

Expensify made a name for itself as an early leader in expense management, promising automation, simplicity and a sleek mobile experience. And it worked. For a while.

But more and more finance teams—especially in Canada—are searching for the best Expensify alternatives. A tool that once felt like the future now feels stuck in the past, leaving users frustrated. And there are some major common frustrations among users. 

1. Opaque (and increasingly frustrating) pricing 

“[The] subscription is hard to cancel and then they add on extra fees at [the] end.”

– Reddit user

Surprise charges, shifting contract terms and aggressive upselling have left many finance leaders looking for a more transparent Expensify competitor. Billing changes mid-contract, limited visibility into costs and forced bundling of products like corporate cards are common complaints.

2. Outdated user experience 

“[Expensify has] an automated ‘concierge’ system that tries to auto-submit everything and makes it harder to manage expense report[s] than it should be.”

– Reddit user

Finance teams often describe Expensify’s platform as clunky, confusing and overloaded with unnecessary automation. Instead of speeding things up, workflows become tangled. App navigation feels dated, and features don’t evolve to meet modern team needs.

3. Inconsistent customer support 

“…we have started having endless sync issues and their support team has basically given up on us after hours and hours of back and forth.”

– Reddit user

Long response times, support loops and limited resolution pathways leave Canadian teams feeling like second-class users. With support teams based in other time zones and a heavy reliance on bots, the ability to get timely help is often lacking.

4. Challenging onboarding for new users 

“The setup process was virtually non-existent for someone inexperienced with previous expense reporting software.”

– G2 Reviewer

For small teams, especially those without prior experience in expense management tools, the onboarding experience can feel overwhelming. The lack of intuitive guidance can lead to confusion, rework and unnecessary back-and-forth, all of which represent wasted time and effort that teams can’t afford to lose. 

4 things to look for in an Expensify altnerative

If you’re shopping for an Expensify replacement or even just starting your research on expense management software, great news: better options exist. But not all platforms are created equal. Here are four must-have features every modern finance team should demand in the best Expensify alternative.

1. Ease of use (for everyone)

Your team won’t use what they can’t understand. And this isn’t just frustrating—it can lead to real loss for the company and for employees who face long cash flow issues. A great software and a clear, modern expense policy can resolve these issues. 

The right tool is intuitive, user-friendly and eliminates manual headaches. A clean user interface, easy onboarding and low learning curve help increase adoption. This is especially important for teams with distributed or hybrid work models.

2. Corporate card integration

You should be able to easily issue and manage company cards—in CAD and USD—and sync seamlessly with accounting tools like QuickBooks, Xero and NetSuite. 

Look for tools that let you control spending in real time, assign cards to users instantly, and offer built-in safeguards for compliance and accountability.

3. Automation and visibility

Modern tools automate expense categorization, flag policy violations and simplify approval flows.

Finance leaders need real-time dashboards that break down spend by team, department and project. This gives you the power to identify trends and make data-backed decisions.

4. Support that actually supports

You deserve fast, responsive help from real humans who understand your business. This is especially critical when you’re dealing with tax rules, banks, and tools unique to Canada. 

Prioritize platforms that offer dedicated customer success and live chat with real experts during Canadian business hours. The best tools won’t just help you track expenses—they’ll help you grow confidently.

So, which Expensify alternatives are actually doing it better?

There’s no shortage of Expensify competitors on the market. Each one brings something different to the table—whether it’s automation, card integration, or accounting software compatibility. Ultimately, it’s up to you as the finance leader to choose the right fit for your team.

Canadian SMBs face unique challenges that many US-centric platforms overlook. For example, you need to issue and manage corporate cards in CAD, handle FX conversions smoothly, and track GST/HST accurately—taxes that vary by province and require CRA-compliant reporting. Float is built to handle all of that, right out of the box. With most other tools, these become an endless loop of support calls and emails that never go anywhere.

Curious how Float stacks up against the competition? Our side-by-side breakdown highlights the key differences in Float vs. Expensify, along with other leading tools.

Canadian-based? Start with Float

If you’re a Canadian business searching for the best Expensify alternative, start with Float. Purpose-built for Canadian companies, it’s designed to simplify your expense management—without the complexity, hidden fees or inflexible workflows.

Not sure yet? Take the tools for a spin. Book demos, take advantage of free trials and get hands-on with the platforms that catch your eye. We’re confident that once you try Float, you’ll see the difference—especially when it comes to Float vs. Expensify.. Say hello to faster onboarding, local support and features that actually scale with your team.

And don’t forget to tap into the wisdom of other businesses in the same spot as you. Reddit threads, finance forums and Slack groups are gold mines for honest, unfiltered insights. Ask around. Learn what others love (and hate) about the tools they’ve tried. It’s one of the fastest ways to get a real-world sense of what will work best for your business.

Bottom line: expense management should work for you, not the other way around. Let’s make it easier, smarter and Canadian.