Best spend management software: A guide for CFOs in New Zealand

Key takeaways

• Spend management software centralises how your business controls, tracks, approves, and reconciles all company spending – covering corporate cards, expenses, bills, and purchase orders in one place, rather than across disconnected tools.

• The right platform for New Zealand finance teams depends on whether it supports multi-currency transactions, multi-entity management, and local accounting integrations like Xero and MYOB.

• Modern fintech platforms like Airwallex go beyond expense tracking, combining Corporate Cards, Expense Management, Bill Pay, and global payment rails in one platform so your finance team can spend less time on admin and more time on decisions.

Managing company spend gets complicated fast. When your team pays international vendors, operates across multiple entities, or holds balances in different currencies, a spreadsheet-and-email system starts to break down. This guide covers what spend management software is, how the leading platforms compare for New Zealand businesses, and what to look for before you commit.

What is spend management software?

Spend management software centralises how a business controls, tracks, approves, and reconciles all company spending. Think of it like a single dashboard for every dollar your business spends – instead of chasing receipts over email or manually matching invoices to bank statements, everything flows through one place with rules you set in advance.

It's worth knowing the difference between spend management and expense management, since people use them interchangeably. Expense management is narrower – it covers employee reimbursements and expense reports. Spend management is broader. Here's what it typically covers:

• Corporate cards: Issue physical and virtual cards with spending limits per employee or team, so out-of-policy spend is blocked before it happens

• Expense management: Capture and approve employee expenses from a mobile app, with receipts matched to transactions automatically

• Bill pay: Upload, approve, and pay domestic and international vendor invoices from one place

• Purchase orders: Manage the full intake-to-approval-to-payment workflow for larger purchases

• Spend analysis tools: See where money is going in real time, broken down by team, category, or entity

You may also come across "procure-to-pay" (P2P). This is the end-to-end process from raising a purchase request through to making the final payment. Some platforms cover the full P2P cycle; others focus on a subset. Knowing which you need helps narrow the field quickly.

How do the best spend management software options compare?

There are plenty of options out there, and the right one really depends on how your business operates. The table below gives a high-level view of how the leading options stack up across the features that matter most to your team.

Which spend management software is best for CFOs in New Zealand?

The right choice depends on your business size, how you're set up, and whether your team has cross-border needs. Here's a closer look at each platform.

Airwallex

Airwallex is a global financial platform that brings Corporate Cards, Expense Management, Bill Pay, and multi-currency wallets together under one login. Unlike standalone expense tools, everything runs on Airwallex's own global payment rails – which can mean faster international payouts and lower foreign exchange (FX) costs.

• Corporate cards: Physical and virtual cards issued across markets, with per-card spending limits and category controls.

• Expense management: AI-powered optical character recognition (OCR) pulls the merchant name, amount, date, and currency from a receipt photo automatically – your team doesn't need to type a thing.

• Bill pay: AI data extraction reads uploaded invoices and routes them through multi-layer approval workflows before payment.

• Multi-currency wallets: Hold and spend in multiple currencies without converting on every transaction.

• Accounting sync: Two-way sync with Xero and QuickBooks keeps your ledger up to date without manual uploads. NetSuite integration is available on the Accelerate plan.

• Global payouts: Pay suppliers in 150+ countries via local payment rails, with multi-entity management from one dashboard.

Pros:

• All-in-one platform covering cards, expenses, bills, and FX

• Strong global coverage with card issuance in 60+ markets

• Built on proprietary payment rails, not third-party networks

Cons:

• Some features, such as physical POS, are still being launched.

Weel

Weel is an Australian and New Zealand-focused spend management platform that combines corporate cards, accounts payable automation, bill payments, and expense controls. It's an option for domestic-first teams that want something up and running quickly with straightforward Xero and MYOB integrations.

• Corporate cards: Physical and virtual cards for ANZ businesses with spend limits and category controls

• Expense capture: Mobile receipt capture and approval workflows

• Accounting integrations: Direct sync with Xero, MYOB, and NetSuite

Pros:

• Built for the ANZ market with local support

• Quick to set up for smaller teams

Cons:

• Global coverage and international payout options are more limited compared with platforms built for cross-border operations

ProSpend

ProSpend is an accounts payable (AP) and expense management platform that automates invoice processing and approvals. It's available in the MYOB app marketplace and focuses on AP automation, approvals, and spend visibility.

• Invoice capture: Automated AP workflows with purchase order matching

• Approval workflows: Multi-layer approvals with audit trails

• Accounting integrations: Xero, MYOB, NetSuite, Business Central, and Acumatica (30+ ERP integrations total)

Pros:

• AP automation for teams with high invoice volumes

• An option for MYOB-heavy environments

Cons:

• Primarily focused on the ANZ market – confirm global coverage and international payment capabilities if cross-border operations are a priority

SAP Concur

SAP Concur is an enterprise-grade platform covering travel and expense management (T&E), with deep SAP enterprise resource planning (ERP) integrations. ERP software manages core business processes – finance, HR, and operations – in one system.

• T&E management: Travel booking and expense management in one platform

• ERP integrations: Deep SAP ERP and NetSuite connections

• Compliance tooling: Enterprise-grade audit controls and policy enforcement

Pros:

• Suited to large organisations with complex T&E policies

• Strong compliance tooling for regulated industries

Cons:

• Implementation typically takes several months and pricing is custom – not a great fit if you're running a small or mid-sized business without a dedicated IT team and the budget to match

Expensify

Expensify is a widely used expense management tool focused on receipt capture, reimbursements, and approval flows. It works if your team submits a lot of expenses and your approval process is fairly straightforward.

• Receipt capture: SmartScan pulls expense details from photos

• Reimbursements: Automated approval and reimbursement workflows

• Accounting integrations: Xero, QuickBooks, NetSuite, Sage Intacct, and 45+ other integrations

Pros:

• Easy for your team to use when submitting expenses

• Affordable per-user pricing for small teams

Cons:

• Its corporate card is available in the US, UK, and EEA only – if you're based in New Zealand, you can access expense management, bill pay, and invoicing features, but you won't be able to get an Expensify corporate card

Zoho Expense

Zoho Expense is an affordable option for small teams, particularly those already using the Zoho ecosystem such as Zoho Books. It covers receipt scanning, approval workflows, and multi-currency expense reporting.

• Receipt scanning: Mobile capture with mileage tracking

• Multi-currency reporting: Expense reports across multiple currencies

• Accounting integrations: Zoho Books, Xero, QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, and Sage Accounting

Pros:

• Affordable for small teams already in the Zoho ecosystem

• Multi-currency expense reporting included

Cons:

• Doesn't issue its own corporate cards – your team still pays out of pocket and claims reimbursements, so it doesn't cut out that reimbursement workflow the way card-first platforms do

Features CFOs should look for in spend management software

Not all spend management platforms are built the same, and the wrong pick can make things more expensive and complicated as your business grows. Here's what to check before you commit.

Multi-entity and multi-currency support

If your business has subsidiaries, overseas offices, or suppliers in multiple currencies, multi-entity management is non-negotiable. Without it, your team ends up juggling separate logins, disconnected data, and manual reconciliation across entities.

Look for a platform that offers a true multi-entity setup – not just a multi-user account. And check for multi-currency card support. A multi-currency card lets employees spend in local currencies without triggering a conversion fee on every transaction. Not all platforms offer this, and if you're operating across borders, that difference adds up fast.

Corporate cards and virtual card controls

Issuing a corporate card and asking your team to use their personal cards are not the same thing. Corporate cards with pre-set limits prevent out-of-policy spend at the point of purchase, rather than catching it after the fact.

Virtual corporate cards are worth looking for specifically – they can be issued instantly for online purchases, set with merchant or category restrictions, and cancelled without affecting the main account. This is useful when onboarding contractors or managing one-off vendor payments. Check whether the provider issues cards locally in New Zealand, as availability varies by market.

Bill Pay and accounts payable automation

Accounts payable (AP) automation software handles the receiving, approving, and paying of vendor invoices without anyone having to enter data manually. Think of it like a digital inbox that reads your invoices, routes them to the right approver, and pays them on schedule – without anyone typing in amounts or account numbers.

When you're comparing bill pay features, here's what's worth checking:

• AI data extraction: Invoice details pulled automatically from uploaded documents, so no one re-keys amounts or supplier details

• Multi-layer approval workflows: Different approvers triggered by invoice type, amount, or entity

• International payment support: Pay overseas suppliers from the same platform as domestic ones, without switching tools

Some platforms treat bill pay as an add-on rather than a core feature – worth confirming before you commit.

Approval workflows and expense policy enforcement

Approval workflows route spend to the right person automatically, based on rules you set – such as amount, department, entity, or expense category. This means you're not manually reviewing every transaction.

Policy enforcement built into the platform flags out-of-policy spend before it's approved, not after. Look for multi-conditional workflows that can handle different rules for different teams or entities, especially if your business operates across more than one country.

Accounting and ERP integrations

For New Zealand finance teams, the integrations that matter most are Xero and MYOB – both widely used locally – and NetSuite for larger organisations with more complex reporting needs.

The key distinction is between a true two-way sync and a CSV export. A two-way sync means transactions flow automatically in both directions, keeping your ledger up to date in real time. A CSV export still requires a manual upload, which reintroduces the admin you were trying to eliminate.

Security, implementation time, and total cost

Before you sign up, there are three more things that tend to get overlooked until it's too late – and they can make or break the decision:

• Security: Look for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) Level 1 certification and System and Organisation Controls (SOC) 1 and SOC 2 compliance as baseline standards – these confirm the platform takes data security seriously

• Implementation time: Simpler platforms are up and running in days or weeks; enterprise tools like SAP Concur can take months, so factor this into your timeline

• Total cost: The base subscription price is only part of the picture – check for per-user fees, FX mark-ups on international transactions, and whether features like bill pay or purchase orders sit behind higher-tier plans

Why New Zealand businesses choose Airwallex

Airwallex is built differently from traditional spend tools because spend management sits inside a broader financial platform, not bolted on as an afterthought. That means Corporate Cards, FX & Transfers, global payouts, and accounting sync are all connected from day one.

One platform for cards, expenses, bills, and FX

When everything runs through one platform, your finance team doesn't need to log into a separate card provider, expense tool, reimbursement system, and FX platform. One login can mean one source of truth, one approval workflow, and one set of accounting integrations.

So a vendor invoice uploaded to Bill Pay, an employee expense submitted through the mobile app, and a card transaction made overseas all reconcile to the same ledger – automatically, without manual matching.

Faster global payments with local rails and multi-currency wallets

Most international payments travel through SWIFT – a global messaging network that routes funds through multiple correspondent banks before they arrive. It works, but each intermediary can add time and cost.

Airwallex uses local payment rails instead. Think of it like the difference between sending a parcel through three different couriers versus one direct delivery – the funds reach their destination faster and with fewer handling fees. For New Zealand businesses paying suppliers in Australia, Asia, or Europe, payments via local rails typically arrive faster than SWIFT – often within the same business day or the next. And, because our multi-currency wallets let you hold balances in multiple currencies, your team can pay out in the currency you already hold rather than converting on every transaction.

AI automation that cuts admin

Here's what the AI features in Airwallex Spend can actually do – not just vague "speed improvements", but specific manual steps removed:

• OCR receipt capture: Employees photograph a receipt and the platform extracts the merchant name, amount, date, and currency automatically

• Auto-categorisation: Expenses are mapped to the right account code without manual input, reducing errors at month-end

• AI expense policy agent: Detects out-of-policy spend before it reaches an approver

• Batch payments with error handling: Pay multiple vendors in one action, with the platform flagging any errors before funds move

New Zealand agtech company Halter replaced several disconnected finance tools with Airwallex and cut the time its finance team spends reviewing expenses by 50%. New Zealand online florist Wild Poppies uses Airwallex for payment processing and corporate cards, achieving faster settlement times and greater control over supplier payments.

If you want to see what that looks like in practice for your business, you can get started with Airwallex here.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between spend management software and expense management software?

Expense management software covers employee reimbursements and expense reports – it's a subset of spend management. Spend management is broader – it covers corporate cards, bill pay, purchase orders, and company-wide financial controls. Some platforms, including Airwallex, handle both within the same system.

Can spend management software support businesses operating across multiple countries and currencies?

Not all platforms do this equally well – multi-currency and multi-entity support varies significantly between providers. Platforms built for global operations, like Airwallex, let finance teams manage cards, policies, and reporting across subsidiaries in different countries from one dashboard.

Do New Zealand businesses need both corporate cards and an expense reimbursement tool?

Corporate cards let employees spend without going out of pocket, while reimbursement tools cover expenses employees pay personally – and most teams need both. Some platforms, including Airwallex, handle both within the same system so you're not managing two separate tools.

Which accounting integrations matter most for New Zealand finance teams?

Xero and MYOB are the most widely used accounting platforms in New Zealand, so check for direct two-way sync rather than a CSV export. Larger businesses with complex reporting needs should also confirm NetSuite compatibility before committing.

How long does spend management software typically take to implement?

Set-up time depends on the platform's complexity – simpler tools can be running in days or weeks, while enterprise platforms like SAP Concur can take several months and may require dedicated IT support. Platforms like Airwallex are typically up and running in weeks, with implementation support included.

What security certifications should spend management software have?

Airwallex is PCI DSS Level 1 certified and SOC 1 and SOC 2 compliant, with funds safeguarded in line with local regulatory requirements in each market it operates in.

Sources

1. https://www.airwallex.com/nz/case-studies/halter 

2. https://www.airwallex.com/nz/case-studies/wild-poppies 

3. https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/ 

4. https://www.zoho.com/expense/pricing.html 

5. https://help.expensify.com/articles/new-expensify/billing-and-subscriptions/Billing-Overview

6. https://prospend.com/pricing-calculator 

7. https://letsweel.com/pricing 

8. https://www.concur.com.au/products/concur-expense

The information in this article is based on our own online research. Airwallex was not able to manually test each tool or provider. The information is provided for educational purposes only and a reader should consider the specific requirements of their business when evaluating providers. This research is reviewed annually. If you would like to request an update, feel free to contact us at [[email protected]]. Airwallex (New Zealand) Limited is registered with the New Zealand Financial Service Provider Register (FSP No. 1001602) to provide a range of financial services in New Zealand.