Payhawk
Modular travel, cards, and expenses that code the swipe and sync reviewed lines to QuickBooks Online or Xero.
Best for
Teams that spend in several currencies and want travel, cards, and expenses as modules, with a live QuickBooks Online or Xero export.
Not ideal if
A US shop that wants a published per-seat price and a free card program. Cards & Expenses starts at $449 a month, the actual bill is quoted, and the £149 Growth plan is UK/EEA only.
Standout
A travel module and multi-currency cards that create the expense at swipe, so a euro hotel and a dollar dinner can close in the same workflow.
About Payhawk
Payhawk is a spend platform, not a ledger. You link the Visa, Mastercard, or American Express cards you already have, or you issue Payhawk Visa debit or credit cards with merchant, amount, and country locks. A swipe creates the expense. The phone app prompts for a receipt. An admin reviews the coded line. Reviewed expenses and settled payments export to QuickBooks Online or Xero. You still close and lock the period there.
It does not replace QuickBooks Online or Xero. Ramp is the free US card program with SMS receipt chase on the same login. Brex covers cards, reimbursements, and travel under one set of team budgets. Expensify is the phone camera if people still pay out of pocket. Navan is the booking-first desk if trips are the whole job. Payhawk's extra is modules (Travel, Cards & Expenses, AP, Procurement) plus multi-currency accounts (USD, EUR, GBP) when you also run entities in Europe.
People who stick usually have cards in more than one country, or they want to keep the bank cards they already have and still get a live export. Month-end is review in Payhawk, then a bill and a payment in the books, not a statement hunt.
What people who used it say
What they tend to like
Keep several bank card programs on one expense app
Link existing Visa, Mastercard, or Amex cards instead of forcing a full plastic cutover.
Receipt prompt after the swipe
The phone asks for a photo when the charge posts, which is the job most teams actually need.
One vendor for the US and Europe
Public comparison threads note Payhawk as a tool that covers both sides of the Atlantic.
What they hesitate about
Receipt photo does not always fill merchant and amount
Capture works; autofill of vendor and total is inconsistent on the phone.
Feels dated next to US card tools
A short r/Accounting thread called the OCR and overall tech behind newer expense apps.
US bill is a platform quote, not a free card
Cards & Expenses starts at $449/mo. Growth at £149 is UK/EEA only.
How it hits your books
- Replaces your ledger
- No
- QuickBooks Online
- Yes
- Xero
- Yes
- Multi-entity
- Partial
- Inventory
- No
- 1099s
- No
- Payroll
- No
You review coded lines in Payhawk. A reviewed expense exports as a bill. A settled payment exports as a bill payment in QuickBooks Online or a bank statement line in Xero. You match and lock the period in those books. Export waits on review and on bank settlement.
Invite the accountant to QuickBooks Online or Xero, or send the file export. Receipts attach on exported lines. Payhawk does not produce a year-end tax package and does not issue 1099-NEC, 1099-MISC, or 1099-K.
Images
Features
Link existing cards or issue Payhawk Visa cards
Connect Visa, Mastercard, or American Express cards from the banks you already use. Or issue Payhawk Visa debit or credit cards with merchant, amount, country, and time locks. Cards & Expenses lists Payhawk cards as optional. You cannot buy the cards without the software.
Expense at swipe and receipt chase on the phone
Each card payment creates an expense in real time. The iOS or Android app prompts for a photo. Push and email reminders chase missing receipts. Every module includes AI extraction in 65+ languages. Payhawk-issued cards can auto-block when a receipt is late.
Book in-policy flights and hotels
Travel (from $299/mo) turns a written policy into booking rules. Employees request a trip. Approvals run before the ticket. Flights and hotels book inside Payhawk. Trip spend groups into one report. They also list TravelPerk and Egencia connectors.
Review, then export to QuickBooks Online or Xero
Every module includes live QuickBooks Online, Xero, or Exact Online. Payhawk pulls the chart of accounts, tax rates, and classes or tracking categories. A reviewed expense exports as a bill. A settled payment exports as a bill payment (QBO) or a bank statement line (Xero). NetSuite, Dynamics 365, and Sage Intacct are add-ons.
Multi-currency accounts and cards
Dedicated accounts in USD, EUR, and GBP. Card issuing currencies listed include USD, GBP, EUR, BGN, RON, and DKK. A euro hotel and a dollar dinner can close in the same review queue.
Bills, reimbursements, and supplier pay
Out-of-pocket claims, mileage, and per diem sit on Cards & Expenses. Reimbursements pay to an employee bank account. Accounts Payable (from $349/mo) adds invoice capture, approvals, and supplier payments, including ACH. Payhawk does not issue 1099s.
Pricing
A 5-person US shop cannot use Growth (UK/EEA, fewer than 10 employees). Cards & Expenses starts at $449/mo and Travel at $299/mo. The FAQ says the real subscription is quoted from admin seats, cards, and transaction volume. Extra entities and NetSuite / Dynamics / Sage Intacct are add-ons. There is no Ramp-style $0 US card plan. Implementation is listed as $0.
Travel
Teams that want in-policy flight and hotel booking without buying the full suite. Actual bill is quoted from seats, cards, and volume.
- Global hotel and flight booking
- Custom travel policy, trip requests, and approvals
- Automated expense reports
- Live Xero, QuickBooks Online, or Exact Online
Cards & Expenses
Teams that want card spend coded at swipe, with or without switching plastic.
- Connect Visa, Mastercard, or American Express cards
- Real-time expense on card spend and receipt chase
- Reimbursements
- Optional Payhawk Visa credit cards
Accounts Payable
Finance teams whose job is vendor bills, not employee cards.
- Invoice capture and approvals
- Vendor management and verification
- Scheduled and bulk payments, including ACH
- OCR and line-item split
Growth
New UK or EEA companies with fewer than 10 employees. Not a US plan. 7-day exploration period.
- 10 debit cards; 8 employee seats and 2 admin seats
- 15 reimbursements and 15 invoices per month
- Unlimited card transactions
- Accounting integrations; no POs, multi-entity, or credit cards
Payhawk Complete
Companies that want travel, cards, bill pay, and procure-to-pay on one quote.
- Travel, Cards & Expenses, bill pay, and procure-to-pay
- Financial Controller, Travel, Procurement, and Payments agents
- Live Xero, QuickBooks Online, or Exact Online
- ERP connectors (NetSuite, Dynamics, Sage Intacct) as add-ons
Integrations
Platforms
Audience
Pick something else instead of Payhawk
Ramp
Pick Ramp instead if you want free US corporate cards, SMS receipt chase, and QuickBooks Online or Xero sync without a $449 starting platform fee.
Brex
Pick Brex instead if you want cards, reimbursements, and travel under one set of team budgets and you are fine adopting their card and cash.
Expensify
Pick Expensify instead if people pay out of pocket and the job is snap-a-receipt reimbursements, not a modular spend suite.
Navan
Pick Navan instead if travel booking is the whole job and you want a US-ready desk with free travel for companies under 300 employees.