Capture Expense
UK expense claims, HMRC mileage, and card matching that you export to Xero after approval.
Best for
UK or Ireland finance teams that will snap receipts, log HMRC mileage, match existing cards or issue Pliant Visas, then export approved lines to Xero.
Not ideal if
A US-only shop that wants a published seat price, ACH reimbursements, and a documented QuickBooks Online connector this week. Capture Expense is quote-led, pays people back by payroll or BACS, and names QuickBooks only in marketing.
Standout
HMRC fuel-rate mileage plus WhatsApp, Slack, or Teams receipt text, with a listed Xero connector and optional Pliant Visa cards.
About Capture Expense
Capture Expense is expense software, not a ledger. Employees snap a receipt in the iOS or Android app, or text it through WhatsApp, Slack, or Teams. A manager approves against your policy. Finance matches the line to a corporate-card feed or a Pliant Visa swipe, then pushes reimbursements to payroll or a UK BACS file, or syncs approved spend to Xero. You still close and lock the period in those books.
It does not replace QuickBooks Online or Xero. Ramp is the free US card program with SMS receipt chase. Expensify is the phone camera plus ACH payback at a published $5 seat. Zoho Expense has a free tier and cheaper policy seats. Soldo is the other UK prepaid card with a published three-user start. Capture Expense's extra is HMRC fuel-rate mileage (or a WhatsApp start and end text), Open Banking or statement feeds for the cards you already have, and a Xero App Store connector listed since May 2024.
People who stick are UK or Ireland finance teams that want claims, mileage, and card matching in one app so they are not chasing paper. They accept a custom quote after a two-week trial. They know issued Visa cards run through Pliant (UK and EEA issuers) and that Open Banking sits on Enterprise. Bookkeepers care that Xero is the documented accounting destination; QuickBooks is named in marketing, not on the Intuit App Store.
What people who used it say
What they tend to like
The phone scan replaced the spreadsheet
Leighton's CFO said processing dropped about a day and a half a month and reimbursements ran twice a month after they left email and spreadsheets.
Mileage holds up for a growing fleet
WBPS's commercial finance manager (homepage and mileage page) said the mileage tracker worked as the fleet grew and implementation support was straightforward.
They will build the extra workflow
AlertSystems said they trialled another tool first, then Capture Expense scoped extras and connected Sage 50 through Zynk plus a bank feed.
What they hesitate about
Almost no independent write-ups
GB App Store showed 4.1 from 8 ratings and no review text on the fetch. US App Store had no rating overview. Reddit and Trustpilot searches this pass did not return first-person Capture Expense threads.
The store apps last shipped in 2024
iOS 1.3.1 is dated 3 Oct 2024 (seller ANYMEET LTD, 3.3 MB). Play Store (com.expenseonce.app.twa) last updated 9 Nov 2024. Treat that as a stale-client risk, not a current crash report.
Sage 50 needed a middleware hop
The published AlertSystems story says Sage 50 landed through Zynk, not a native Sage button. Budget a systems piece if Sage 50 is the file.
How it hits your books
- Replaces your ledger
- No
- Xero
- Yes
- Multi-entity
- Partial
- Inventory
- No
- 1099s
- No
- Payroll
- No
Close is review and match in Capture Expense, then a Xero sync, a Sage 50 hop through Zynk (one published case), or a BACS/payroll file. Lock the period in those books. Open Banking card feeds are Enterprise; Business can import statements or FTP.
Hand over the Xero file after sync, or the Sage/payroll export. Receipts stay on the claim. This is UK VAT and HMRC mileage, not a US year-end tax package or 1099 e-file.
Images
Features
Snap a receipt, or text it in
Photograph a receipt in the iOS or Android app. OCR fills the claim so the employee can submit. Homepage also lets people send the receipt through WhatsApp, Slack, or Teams without opening the expense app. Receipt scanning sits on the two-week trial and on Business.
Approve against the policy
Custom multi-stage approval on Business. Line managers can sign off in the app. Spend controls can sit on a person or a category and flag or stop an out-of-policy claim at submit. Diverting a claim to another manager is a homepage claim.
Mileage with HMRC rates, or a WhatsApp trip
Enter start and end points (Google Maps distance). Built-in HMRC approved fuel rates, or your own. Deduct the home-to-office commute. Enforce the shortest route. WhatsApp can raise mileage from a start and end text. Carbon reports and Ireland Revenue cumulative bands are documented. Mileage calculator is on every plan we saw.
Match the cards you already have
Card reconciliation is on Business: assign cards to users, attach receipts, auto-match. FAQ names UK Visa and Mastercard issuers (HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest, Barclaycard) plus ClearSpend and MiVision. Business can import statements or an FTP feed. Open Banking is marked Enterprise-only on the pricing table.
Issue Pliant Visa cards
Physical, virtual, and single-use Visa cards through Pliant. UK cards are issued by Transact Payments Limited; EEA cards by Pliant Oy. Set limits, merchant rules, and Apple Pay or Google Pay on virtual cards. Credit limit is a Pliant assessment. No US issuer is named on the cards page. You can run Pliant cards and existing bank cards in the same workspace.
Export to Xero, payroll, or a BACS file
Xero is on the official App Store (listed May 2024): reimbursements and card lines into accounts, or staff payback via payroll. Reimbursements page: sync to finance and payroll, or generate a BACS bank file. AlertSystems case study used Sage 50 through Zynk. Features copy also names QuickBooks; no Intuit App Store listing found this pass. ERP connectors sit on Enterprise.
Pricing
A 5-person US shop cannot read a bill from the website. Business and Enterprise are Custom on GBP, USD, and EUR tabs (fetched 12 Sep 2026). There is a two-week free trial with no credit card, a sample workspace, and the Business feature set. Pliant card credit limits are a separate Pliant assessment. Open Banking is Enterprise. Ramp Free is $0 for a US card program. Expensify Collect is $5 per member. Soldo publishes a UK three-user start.
Free Trial
Try the Business feature set in a sample workspace. No credit card. Keep the data if you subscribe.
- Everything in Business on the pricing cards we fetched
- No credit card required
- Pre-configured sample workspace
- Invite admins and approvers
- Keep your data if you subscribe
Business
UK or Ireland teams that want receipt capture, mileage, approvals, card matching, and multi-currency. Price unpublished.
- Mileage calculator, receipt inbox, receipt scanning
- Advanced approval and multi-currency
- Smart scanning, card reconciliation, project tracking
- GBP, USD, and EUR tabs on the pricing page; no numbers printed
- Book a demo
Enterprise
Groups that need SSO, ERP, Open Banking, advanced reporting, and linked organisations. Price unpublished.
- Everything in Business
- Single sign-on
- ERP integration
- Open Banking
- Advanced reporting and linked organisations
- Dedicated account manager
Integrations
Platforms
Audience
Pick something else instead of Capture Expense
Ramp
Pick Ramp instead if you are a US shop that wants a $0 card program, SMS receipt chase, and QuickBooks Online or Xero on the same login, without a UK quote.
Expensify
Pick Expensify instead if people still pay out of pocket and you want a published $5 Collect seat plus ACH reimbursement, not a BACS file and a demo.
Zoho Expense
Pick Zoho Expense instead if you want a free tier, cheaper policy seats, and a documented QuickBooks Online path without buying a custom UK suite.
Soldo
Pick Soldo instead if you are an incorporated UK or EU company that wants prepaid Mastercard cards and a published three-user start, not a Capture Expense quote plus Pliant credit approval.