Remember when planning a business trip was as simple as booking your flight tickets and saving the receipt? Well, that’s not how things work today!
Corporate travel involves complexities that require juggling multiple bookings and keeping your budget in check. With companies and agencies expanding into global landscapes and managing hybrid workforces, this simple task has turned into a complex process that requires strategic business travel planning with precision and control.
You need a corporate travel management software that helps streamline your logistics and automates expense reporting for your business. It can also enhance the employee’s travel booking experience.
Whether you’re a small business or a large enterprise, the right tool can help you optimize your operations successfully. In this article, we will look at the top five tools for travel and expense management that you can use for your business.
Top 5 Corporate Travel Management Platforms You Should Consider
Choose the right platform to remove the guesswork from your corporate travel. Let’s take a look at the table, which provides a quick comparison of different corporate travel and expense management tools.
Platform | Key Features | Best Suited For |
Itilite | AI-based expense tracking, booking, and policy control | SMBs, mid-sized businesses |
TravelPerk | Real-time booking, 24/7 support | Companies needing flexibility |
TravelBank | Travel booking and budgeting, expense tracking | Startups and small businesses |
SAP Concur | In-built compliance tools, enterprise-grade management | Large enterprises |
Navan | End-to-end travel management, expense tracking | Tech-savvy enterprises that need to scale |
Let’s have a look at each of the business travel and expense management platforms.
1. Itilite
Itilite is a business travel management software that simplifies corporate travel while maximizing compliance adherence. The platform uses AI technology to recommend travel options and manage expenses. The visibility it provides into travel expenses is exceptional, helping finance teams manage their budgets more effectively.
This T&E platform analyzes historical data and monitors airline fares, making it easier to get the best corporate travel deals based on your negotiated rates and traveler behavior. As it offers a smooth experience across all facets of business travel, including booking and expense reporting, it meets the needs of both travelers and the finance team.
Key Features
- AI-backed recommendations and expense management
- Get real-time spend analytics with detailed reports
- Available 24/7 travel support
- Built-in policy enforcement and customizable approval flows
- Integrates with your accounting and HR systems
Pricing
This unified T&E platform offers global travel inventory and AI automation with its pricing plans. The pricing is divided based on travel and expenses, which include $10 per trip (for flights and hotels booked in a single request) and $6 per active user who submits an expense report within a month.
Pros
- You get intelligent travel recommendations with AI integrations
- Integrate travel and expense software with your business
- Customize the software for your policies and workflows
Cons
- Users find it difficult to change or modify their plans
- Initial setup requires onboarding support
2. TravelPerk
TravelPerk is an all-in-one business travel platform that simplifies your travel booking, manages policy compliance, and streamlines expense management. Employees can book trips that are within the company’s policy, while still giving the admin complete visibility and control.
The platform provides vast travel inventory along with real-time updates and flexible bookings, making it great for enterprises with on-premise and remote workforces. You can use this platform as a small business or a large enterprise to make travel easier and efficient.
Key Features
- Extensive travel inventory available – flights, hotels, trains
- Built-in policy compliance and approval workflows are available
- 24/7 human-like customer support
- Centralized invoicing and reporting are available
- Integrates with HR, accounting, and expense tools
Pricing
It offers a free starter plan that provides access to core features, with a pay-per-trip fee. It offers paid plans, including Premium and Pro tiers, that unlock additional features such as concierge support and integrations.
Pros
- Get a large travel inventory for flights, hotels, and trains with a user-friendly interface
- Prioritizes traveler autonomy and sustainability
- Responsive customer support at any time
Cons
- You get advanced features with high-tier plans
- Can be expensive compared to the fixed cost models
- Limited features for expense management
3. TravelBank
TravelBank is one of the top travel and expense management platforms, designed with cost control requirements in mind. This tool has been created for startups and growing businesses that need to streamline their expense management and travel booking operations with a single interface.
It combines intuitive booking with automated expense tracking features, making travel and expense management smarter for finance teams. It helps them gain complete visibility into travel spend, thus making it a flexible and affordable travel and expense solution.
Key Features
- Provides unified travel booking with expense management
- Real-time budget tracking with detailed spend analytics
- Customized travel policies and approval flows
- Easy expense tracking via the mobile application
Pricing
TravelBank breaks down the pricing for both travel and expense. They do not disclose their pricing, but they claim to reduce travel costs by 14 to 25% and save 2 to 3 hours with centralized reporting.
Pros
- Delivers value for startups and SMB
- Creates user-friendly mobile and desktop interfaces
- Built-in budgeting tools to control travel spend
Cons
- Lacks the advanced analytics you get from enterprise platforms
- Not ideal for complex travel requirements and global operations
4. SAP Concur
SAP Concur is a top-notch enterprise-grade expense plus travel management solution. It is a trusted tool for large organizations and is built for scalable enterprises that require compliance. As the tool integrates all features, such as business travel, expense reporting, and invoice automation, into a single platform, you get complete flexibility, visibility, and scalability.
It provides deep customization backed by powerful analytics and global support, which is ideal for managing complex workflows and international operations. It can seamlessly integrate with existing enterprise systems and prioritize policy enforcement, making it an effective tool.
Key Features
- Offers comprehensive expense management and travel booking features
- Automates expense capture via receipt scanning or e-receipts
- Provides custom approval workflows with policy enforcement
- Integrates with your ERP systems like SAP, Oracle, and Salesforce
Pricing
They offer a custom enterprise pricing model tailored to your company’s size, features, and integration needs. To get a personalized quote, you need to connect with their sales team.
Pros
- Offers enterprise-level features with global capabilities
- Prioritizes compliance, regular audits, and policy control
- Integrates with in-house ERP and HR tools
Cons
- A complex setup requires a longer time to implement
- Expensive as compared to SMB focused tools
5. Navan (Formerly TripActions)
This next-generation T&E management platform features a powerful combination of automation and user-centric design. It is built for the fast-growing and modern companies that require end-to-end solutions for reimbursements and bookings.
Navan, previously known as TripActions, offers real-time insight into data, integrated virtual payments, and AI-backed personalization. This ensures better cost control and policy compliance, enhancing the user’s experience.
Key Features
- Unifies travel booking and expense management from a single dashboard
- Offers virtual and physical cards with complete spend control
- Real-time analytics with policy enforcement
- AI-driven personalized recommendations
Pricing
They offer a subscription-based pricing model, along with custom quotes that are tailored to your company’s size, usage, and feature needs.
Pros
- Seamless single platform for travel and payments
- Intuitive UI with powerful features for mobile devices
- Real-time visibility combined with smart policy controls
Cons
- Premium pricing available, making it expensive than basic tools
- Limited transparency on pricing, not available without sales consultation.
Choose the Right Travel Management Tool for Your Business
Managing your corporate travel and its expenses efficiently can become complex and tedious in this fast-paced world. That’s why you need a software solution that can help automate the entire process and make it manageable.
From AI-backed booking platform Itilite to the enterprise-grade SAP Concur, several tools bring the best value to your table. It’s essential to choose a tool that suits your company’s size, travel volume, and operational needs.
With the right tool, you can save on costs and reduce the time spent on managing compliance or enhancing the travel experience. Evaluate your travel booking and expense process, determine the challenges, and find the solution that fits your requirements. Let’s empower your team with the most innovative travel booking solution.