For most finance teams, employee expenses remain one of the last manual processes in accounts payable. Receipts arrive by email, via WhatsApp, or stuffed into an envelope at the end of the month. Approval happens over email. Mileage is calculated on a spreadsheet. And someone on the AP team keys it all into Sage, Xero or SAP by hand. PaperLess Expenses, our expense management software, changes this entirely, automating every step from receipt capture to posting, inside the accounting system your team already uses.
Watch PaperLess Expenses in action
Why CFOs Are Prioritising Expense Management Automation in 2026
Employee expenses have long been treated as a secondary concern compared to supplier invoice processing. The reality is that for most UK businesses, expenses represent a significant category of spend, and one where visibility, control and accuracy are frequently poor.
The typical manual expense process creates three problems that CFOs encounter directly. First, lack of real-time visibility, finance leaders don’t know what’s been spent until claims arrive at month-end, often after the accounting period has closed. Second, policy non-compliance, when approvals happen over email without systematic checks, it’s easy for out-of-policy expenses to slip through. Third, administrative overhead, someone on the finance team is still manually keying data from receipts into the accounting system, which is time-consuming and error-prone.
For CFOs managing finance teams on Sage, Xero, SAP Business One or Orderwise, the question in 2026 is no longer whether to automate expenses, but how to do it in a way that integrates properly with your existing accounting environment rather than adding another disconnected tool to manage.
What PaperLess Expenses Covers: End-to-End in One Platform
PaperLess Expenses is not a standalone expense tool bolted onto a third-party integration. It is part of the PaperLess AP automation platform, which means expense data lives alongside invoice data, PO data and budget data, all within the same system, all integrated directly with the same accounting software.
This matters because it eliminates the reconciliation problem that plagues finance teams using separate expense tools. There is no need to export from one system and import into another. Account codes, tax codes and cost centre structures come directly from Sage, Xero, Orderwise or SAP in real time. Approved expenses post back automatically with correct coding.
The platform covers:
- Mobile Receipt Capture – employees photograph receipts using the PaperLess mobile app; AI-OCR extracts dates, amounts, suppliers and VAT automatically
- Web-Based Submission – receipts can be uploaded and submitted via browser with the same automatic data extraction
- Configurable Approval Workflows – rules set by amount, department, cost centre, employee or expense category with full multi-level support
- Automatic Expense Claim Creation – claim forms built automatically from submitted receipts; no spreadsheets required
- Mileage Claim Management – employees submit claims with supporting documents; costs calculated automatically from configured HMRC mileage rates
- Real-Time Expense Dashboard – Finance Managers see every expense from creation through to approval in a single view
- Automatic Posting to Accounting System – approved expenses post directly into Sage, Xero, SAP Business One or Orderwise with correct account and tax codes
- Receipt Live Look-Up – finance teams can search and view receipts directly from within their accounting software
PaperLess is a Sage Certified Partner listed on the official Sage Marketplace. It integrates with Sage 50, Sage 200, Sage Intacct, Xero, SAP Business One and Orderwise.
Mobile Receipt Capture: Ending the Paper Receipt Problem
The most common failure point in manual expense management is the receipt itself. Receipts get lost, faded, or arrive at the AP team weeks after the transaction occurred. Employees submit photos over WhatsApp or attach images to emails with no consistent format, meaning someone has to manually process each one.
PaperLess Expenses resolves this at the source. The mobile app allows employees to photograph receipts the moment a purchase is made. AI-OCR processes the image automatically, extracting the date, amount, supplier name, VAT amount and any other relevant data, the same technology used in PaperLess’s invoice processing, applied to receipts and VAT receipt capture.
Receipt data arrives in the system immediately rather than weeks later. Data accuracy improves because extraction is automated rather than hand-keyed. And the AP team stops acting as a receipt processing department, freeing capacity for higher-value work.
Expense Approval Workflows: Enforcing Policy Systematically
Email-based expense approval is one of the most common sources of financial control failures in mid-sized businesses. Approvers miss emails. Out-of-policy expenses are approved without challenge. Employee reimbursement is delayed. And there is no audit trail that survives HMRC scrutiny.
PaperLess Expenses replaces this with a structured approval workflow that finance teams configure themselves. Rules can be set based on:
- Expense amount – different approval thresholds for different spend levels
- Employee – different approvers for different staff members or teams
- Department or cost centre – routing based on organisational structure
- Expense category – different rules for travel, subsistence, entertainment and other T&E categories
Approvers receive notifications and can review the complete receipt image, expense details and claim history – via web or mobile. Every approval, rejection or comment is logged automatically, creating the audit trail that year-end audits and HMRC inspections require.
For Finance Directors, the approval dashboard provides real-time visibility over all pending claims, how many are awaiting approval, which have been flagged, and what the total value of outstanding claims is at any point. Month-end is no longer a scramble to locate outstanding expense submissions.
Mileage Claim Management: Accuracy Without the Spreadsheets
Mileage claims are one of the most time-consuming and error-prone categories of employee expense. Employees calculate distances manually, apply the wrong HMRC mileage rates, or submit claims with missing documentation. Finance teams then have to verify each claim individually before posting.
PaperLess Expenses handles the full mileage claim process. Employees submit claims through the app and attach any supporting documents. Finance teams configure the company’s HMRC-compliant mileage rates, both standard and any discounted rates applicable, and PaperLess calculates the cost of each trip automatically.
Approved mileage claims post directly into the accounting system alongside other expense items, with no separate processing required. Mileage spend is visible in real time within the same dashboard as all other employee out-of-pocket expenses.
Integration With Sage, Xero, SAP Business One and Orderwise
The integration between PaperLess Expenses and the accounting system is direct, not via middleware, file export, or third-party connector. With a direct integration, PaperLess reads account codes, tax codes, cost centres and employee data from the accounting system in real time.
When an employee submits an expense, they select coding from live accounting data rather than a static list that may be out of date. When an expense is approved, it posts back to the accounting system immediately, with correct coding applied automatically. Credit card reconciliation is handled within the same process, eliminating the need for separate matching.
Finance teams can also search for and view expense claims and receipts from within Sage itself, without switching to the PaperLess interface. This is particularly useful for audits and for finance teams who spend most of their working day inside the accounting system.
For Sage Intacct users, dimensional coding is preserved through the expense process, something that most standalone expense tools fail to handle correctly.
PaperLess Expenses as Part of a Complete AP Automation Platform
For CFOs evaluating expense management software, the critical question is whether to add another point solution or to address expenses as part of a broader AP automation strategy. When expenses, invoices, purchase orders and requisitions are all managed within the same system, the finance team has a single view of all company spend, rather than separate dashboards for each category.
PaperLess Expenses is included within the PaperLess platform alongside:
- AI-OCR Invoice Capture – automated data extraction from supplier invoices
- Invoice Approval Workflows – configurable multi-level approval with dispute management
- 3-Way PO Matching – automated matching at the line level with touchless processing for clean matches
- PO Requisitions — upstream spend control before purchase orders are issued
- Budget Management — configurable budget controls with real-time visibility
- PEPPOL E-Invoicing – PEPPOL Service Provider for the UK’s April 2029 e-invoicing mandate
All of this operates through a single direct integration with the accounting system. For finance teams already using PaperLess for invoice processing, adding expenses requires no additional integration work.
Book a free demo and see PaperLess Expenses working live with your accounting system: https://paperlesseurope.com/book-demo/
Frequently Asked Questions: Expense Management Software
What is expense management software?
Expense management software automates the process of capturing, submitting, approving and posting employee expenses into an accounting system. Instead of employees submitting paper receipts or spreadsheets, they photograph receipts on their phone, submit claims digitally, and managers approve them through a configurable workflow, with approved expenses posting automatically into Sage, Xero, SAP Business One or Orderwise.
How does PaperLess Expenses integrate with Sage?
PaperLess Expenses integrates natively with Sage 50, Sage 200 and Sage Intacct. Account codes, tax codes and supplier data are read directly from Sage in real time. Approved expense claims and receipts post back to Sage automatically with correct coding, no manual entry, no file imports, no reconciliation required. Finance teams can also look up and verify receipts from within Sage itself.
Can employees submit expenses from their phone?
Yes. The PaperLess mobile app allows employees to photograph receipts, submit expense claims and log mileage directly from their phone, anytime, anywhere. Receipts are processed automatically using AI-OCR to extract dates, amounts and supplier information. Web-based submission is also available for those who prefer to work from a desktop.
Does PaperLess Expenses handle mileage claims?
Yes. PaperLess Expenses includes full mileage claim management. Employees submit mileage claims and attach supporting documents through the app. Finance teams configure standard and discounted HMRC mileage rates, and the system automatically calculates the cost of each trip, eliminating manual calculations and ensuring compliance.
What accounting systems does PaperLess Expenses support?
PaperLess Expenses integrates with Sage 50, Sage 200, Sage Intacct, Xero, SAP Business One and Orderwise. PaperLess is a Sage Certified Partner and is listed on the official Sage Marketplace.
How are expense approval workflows configured in PaperLess?
Approval workflows in PaperLess Expenses are fully configurable by finance teams. Rules can be set by expense amount, employee, department, cost centre or expense category. Multi-level approvals, escalation rules and mobile approval are all supported. Every approval action is logged automatically, creating a complete audit trail for HMRC compliance.
What is the difference between PaperLess Expenses and tools like Dext or Expensify?
Unlike standalone expense tools such as Dext Prepare or Expensify, PaperLess Expenses is part of a complete AP automation platform that also handles invoice processing, PO matching, PO requisitions and budget management, all within the same system and integrated directly with Sage, Xero or SAP. There is no middleware, no per-receipt pricing, and no separate platform to manage.
How long does it take to implement PaperLess Expenses?
PaperLess Expenses is typically up and running as part of the full PaperLess implementation, which takes around 2 hours. Because PaperLess integrates directly with your accounting system rather than using middleware, there is no complex technical setup, no IT project and no disruption to your existing processes.
Is PaperLess Expenses suitable for remote or hybrid teams?
Yes. Because submission and approval both work via mobile app and web browser, PaperLess Expenses is well-suited to hybrid and remote finance teams. Employees can submit receipts from anywhere; managers can approve from their phone. There is no requirement to be in the office or connected to a company network.
Does PaperLess Expenses provide an audit trail for HMRC?
Yes. Every action within PaperLess Expenses, submission, approval, rejection, and comment, is logged automatically with a timestamp and user record. Receipt images are retained in the system and accessible from within the accounting software. This creates the complete, auditable record that HMRC requires and that supports year-end audit processes.
