Airbase - Detailed Review
Travel Tools
Airbase - Product Overview
Airbase Overview
Airbase is a comprehensive procure-to-pay platform that leverages advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), to streamline financial operations for mid-market and early-enterprise companies.Primary Function
Airbase’s primary function is to automate and manage the entire spend management process, from initial procurement requests to payment and reconciliation. This includes handling expense reports, purchase orders, bill payments, and vendor management, all within a single integrated platform.Target Audience
Airbase primarily serves finance and accounting teams in the mid-market sector, particularly companies with 200 to 2,000 employees. These businesses often use ERPs like Intacct and NetSuite and are looking for efficient spend management solutions that can be implemented quickly and with lower costs compared to enterprise-level solutions.Key Features
Expense Management
Airbase introduces touchless expense reports, enabled by generative AI and ML. This feature automatically extracts details from receipts and populates the required fields in expense reports, saving time and ensuring accuracy. It also supports reimbursements across 46 countries and payments in 34 different currencies, enhancing global expense compliance.Accounting Automation
The platform automates various accounting tasks such as categorization, amortization, and payment dates, allowing teams to focus on higher-value activities. It also integrates with popular general ledgers to provide a faster close and comprehensive visibility into spend.Advanced Approvals
Airbase allows organizations to create complex approval rules that reflect their specific policies, ensuring that all purchases and expenses are properly authorized before proceeding.Mobile App
The platform includes a mobile app that enables employees to manage purchases and expenses on the go, making it convenient for remote workers and global operations.Multi-Subsidiary & Multi-Currency
Airbase supports the management of international and domestic subsidiaries, facilitating payments in foreign currencies and handling the associated financial complexities.Security & Fraud Detection
The platform includes features to detect and prevent unauthorized charges, ensuring financial security and compliance.Spend Analytics
Airbase provides real-time data on all spend activities, giving stakeholders up-to-date insights and visibility into the spending process. This helps in controlling budgets and fostering a healthy spend culture.Vendor Management
The platform supports strong vendor partnerships through smooth onboarding, effective risk management, and data-driven insights.Conclusion
In summary, Airbase is a powerful tool for mid-market companies looking to automate and streamline their financial operations, leveraging advanced AI and ML technologies to make expense management, accounting, and vendor interactions more efficient and accurate. Airbase - User Interface and Experience
User Interface of Airbase
The user interface of Airbase, particularly in the context of its integration with travel tools and AI-driven features, is characterized by several key aspects that enhance ease of use and overall user experience.
User-Friendly Interface
Airbase is often praised for its user-friendly and intuitive interface. Users have noted that the system is “very user friendly” and easy to learn, even for those who are not tech-savvy. The interface is described as “straightforward” and “clean,” making it simple for employees to manage all spend-related tasks, including expense reports and corporate card transactions, within a single system.
Simplified Expense Reporting
Airbase streamlines the expense reporting process significantly. With the integration of AI technology, such as machine learning and generative AI, the platform can automatically extract details from receipts and populate the required fields in expense reports. This automation saves time and ensures accuracy, making the process much less tedious for both employees and accounting teams.
Automated Workflows
The platform features automated approval workflows, receipt matching, and travel-aware expense reports, which simplify the entire process from booking to reimbursement. For instance, the integration with TravelPerk allows employees to easily expense travel using TravelPerk’s booking capabilities, while Airbase handles the expense management and approval processes seamlessly.
Mobile Accessibility
Airbase offers a mobile app that allows users to manage purchases and expenses on the go. This convenience is particularly beneficial for employees who need to make purchases or submit expense reports while they are not at their desks.
Real-Time Reporting and Automation
The platform provides real-time reporting and automated audit trails, which ensure that all financial activities are captured and documented accurately. This feature helps in maintaining a transparent and auditable record of every dollar spent, which is crucial for financial compliance and audits.
Employee Reimbursement
Airbase facilitates quick reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses, which is a significant advantage for employees. The system ensures that employees get reimbursed fast, reducing the financial burden on them and improving their overall satisfaction with the expense management process.
International Capabilities
For businesses operating globally, Airbase offers multi-subsidiary and multi-currency support, enabling payments in 34 different currencies and reimbursements across 46 countries. This international capability, combined with the integration with TravelPerk, makes it an excellent tool for managing global travel and expense needs.
Conclusion
In summary, Airbase’s user interface is intuitive, easy to use, and highly automated, making it a valuable tool for both employees and finance teams. The platform’s focus on user satisfaction and productivity ensures that managing expenses is no longer a frustrating task, but rather a streamlined and efficient process.
Airbase - Key Features and Functionality
Airbase Overview
Airbase, a comprehensive spend management platform, incorporates several key features and AI-driven functionalities that are particularly beneficial in the travel management category. Here are the main features and how they work:
Travel Management
Ease of Booking
Airbase allows users to book flights, hotels, and rental cars directly from the software. This feature simplifies the travel booking process, making it more efficient and convenient.
Itinerary Management
The platform creates travel itineraries based on bookings, helping users keep track of their travel plans. This feature is highly rated by users, with 80% satisfaction based on 150 reviews.
Trip Notifications
Airbase integrates with calendaring systems and provides notifications for upcoming flights, hotels, and rental car bookings. This ensures users stay informed about their travel schedules, with an 80% satisfaction rate from 150 reviewers.
Advanced Integrations
The platform supports advanced integrations with various travel systems, including Uber, airline ticketing systems, and hotels. This integration enhances the travel experience by providing a seamless and connected service, with an 88% satisfaction rate from 345 reviews.
Expense Reports and Reimbursement
Touchless Expense Reports
Airbase has introduced AI-powered touchless expense reports, which use generative AI, machine learning, and optical character recognition (OCR) to automate the expense reporting process. This feature extracts details from receipts and populates the required fields in expense reports, saving time and ensuring accuracy.
Digital Receipt Management
Users can easily capture receipts using their mobile devices, and the system can parse and convert these receipts into expense reports. This feature is highly rated, with 92% satisfaction from 641 reviews.
Employee Reimbursement
Airbase streamlines the reimbursement process, ensuring employees are reimbursed promptly and efficiently. The platform integrates with credit cards and bank accounts to facilitate this process.
Mobile Functionality
Receipt Capture and Mileage Tracking
The mobile application allows users to capture receipts and track mileage using maps or GPS. These features are highly rated, with 92% satisfaction for receipt capture and 88% for mileage tracking.
Travel Itinerary and Flight Status Updates
The mobile app stores travel itineraries, electronic documents, and updates users on travel delays or changes. This feature helps travelers stay informed and manage their travel plans effectively, with an 80% satisfaction rate from 155 reviewers.
Administration and Compliance
Policy Compliance Management
Airbase enables administrators to create rules that enforce compliance with corporate time and expense policies. This feature is highly rated, with 90% satisfaction from 414 reviews, ensuring that all expenses and travel bookings adhere to company policies.
Automated Reminders
The platform sends automatic reminders to employees who have not completed their expense reports or timesheets, helping to keep the process on track. This feature has a 90% satisfaction rate from 513 reviews.
Integration and Automation
Business Tool Integration
Airbase provides standard connectors for popular finance, payroll, HRMS, and CRM systems, allowing for seamless integration and automation of various business processes. This feature is highly rated, with 89% satisfaction from 400 reviews.
Workflow Automation
The platform routes timesheets, invoices, and expense reports through an approval process, making it easy to maintain and administer. This feature has a 90% satisfaction rate from 496 reviews.
AI-Powered Automation
Airbase’s AI-powered touchless AP system handles every step of the accounts payable process with minimal human intervention, leveraging AI to automate tasks such as expense reporting and payment processing.
These features collectively enhance the travel management experience by automating many tasks, providing real-time updates, and ensuring compliance with company policies. The integration of AI technologies, such as generative AI and machine learning, further streamlines processes, reduces errors, and improves overall efficiency.
Airbase - Performance and Accuracy
Performance
Airbase’s travel management features are generally well-regarded for their efficiency and user experience. Here are some highlights:Ease of Booking
Airbase allows users to book flights, hotels, and rental cars directly from the software, with an 84% satisfaction rate from reviewers.Itinerary Management
The platform creates travel itineraries based on bookings, with 80% of reviewers finding this feature satisfactory.Trip Notifications
It integrates with calendaring systems and provides notifications for upcoming flights, hotels, and rental cars, also with an 80% satisfaction rate.Advanced Integrations
Airbase supports advanced integrations with travel systems like Uber, airline ticketing systems, and hotels, which 88% of reviewers found beneficial.Accuracy
The accuracy of Airbase’s travel tools is largely dependent on its AI-driven features and integrations:Receipt Capture and Expense Reporting
Airbase uses generative AI and machine learning to automatically extract details from receipts and populate expense reports, which has been praised for its accuracy and time-saving capabilities.Travel Itinerary and Flight Status Updates
The mobile application can store travel itineraries and update users on travel delays or changes, with 80% of reviewers finding this feature useful.Limitations and Areas for Improvement
Despite the positive aspects, there are some areas where Airbase could improve:Technical Issues
Some users have reported difficulties with integrating Airbase with their business systems, such as Xero and NetSuite. These integrations can be challenging, and the support team may not always be able to provide adequate assistance.Mobile App Performance
Users have noted that the mobile app can be slow, especially when uploading receipts over mobile data, and may not load pages smoothly. Single Sign-On (SSO) login issues have also been reported.Reporting Functionality
Several users have expressed dissatisfaction with the reporting capabilities of Airbase, finding them limited and insufficient for in-depth analysis of overall spend by category. This can make reconciling accounts, particularly in systems like NetSuite, more difficult. In summary, while Airbase performs well in streamlining travel bookings and expense management through its AI-driven features, it faces some challenges with technical integrations, mobile app performance, and reporting functionality. Addressing these limitations could further enhance the user experience and accuracy of the platform. Airbase - Pricing and Plans
Airbase Pricing Structure
Airbase offers a varied pricing structure to cater to different business needs, including several tiers and a free option. Here’s a breakdown of the plans and their features:Airbase Essentials (Free)
This plan is ideal for early-stage companies, typically those with up to 100 employees.- Free Corporate Cards: Pre-funded cards offer 2.25% cash back, while charge cards offer 1.75% cash back.
- Bill Payments: Manage bill payments efficiently.
- Reimbursements: Handle employee reimbursements.
- Integration: Supports integration with popular accounting software like NetSuite, Sage Intacct, QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, and Xero, as well as Microsoft Office 365, Google, and Okta Single Sign-on.
Standard Plan
Suitable for companies with up to around 200 employees.- Guided Procurement: Streamline procurement processes.
- AP Automation: Automate accounts payable tasks.
- Expense Management: AI-powered expense reports, receipt capture, and auto-categorization.
- Corporate Cards: Physical and virtual cards with cash back, receipt compliance, and auto-categorization.
- Accounting Automation: Automate accounting processes.
Premium Plan
Designed for companies with up to 500 employees.- All Primary Modules: Includes guided procurement, AP automation, expense management, and corporate cards.
- Advanced Integrations: Enhanced integration capabilities.
- Advanced Features/Workflows: Additional features to manage efficiency and compliance at scale.
Enterprise Plan
For large organizations with up to 10,000 employees.- Full Platform Experience: Complete depth of features.
- Complex Processes: Handles complex business processes.
- Advanced Accounting Automation: Advanced automation for accounting tasks.
- Ultimate Visibility and Control: Provides the highest value for large organizations.
Custom Packages
Airbase also offers the flexibility to implement the platform in whole or in part. You can select specific modules that are most critical for your business and scale up as needed.Conclusion
In summary, Airbase provides a range of plans to suit different business sizes and needs, including a free option for early-stage companies, making it a versatile solution for spend management. Airbase - Integration and Compatibility
Integrations with Other Tools
Airbase integrates with a wide range of systems, including Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS), and other business platforms. For instance, it integrates with tools like Ironclad and Jira, enhancing collaboration and interoperability across the financial tech stack. One notable integration is with TravelPerk, a travel booking platform. The one-click integration between Airbase and TravelPerk streamlines business travel by allowing employees to book travel using TravelPerk’s extensive inventory and then easily expense it through Airbase. This integration includes automated approval workflows, receipt matching, and travel-aware expense reports, ensuring control over travel spend and quick reimbursement for employees.Compatibility Across Platforms and Devices
Airbase is cloud-based, making it accessible from anywhere and at any time, which is particularly beneficial for remote work and global teams. This cloud architecture ensures that accounts payable data and other financial operations can be managed effortlessly across different locations. The platform supports multi-currency payments, allowing businesses to pay vendors in over 200 countries and 145 currencies through various payment methods such as ACH, checks, virtual cards, international wires, or vendor credits. This global compatibility makes Airbase a versatile solution for international businesses.Device Compatibility
Airbase can be accessed via web browsers, and for a more focused experience, users can also use the Airbase desktop app available on WebCatalog Desktop for Mac and Windows. This desktop app allows users to manage and switch between multiple accounts and apps easily without the need to switch browsers.AI-Driven Automation and Security
Airbase’s AI-powered features, such as touchless accounts payable and real-time fraud detection, enhance the security and efficiency of financial operations. These features automate processes like invoice processing, approvals, and payment scheduling, reducing errors and ensuring compliance. Additionally, Airbase includes comprehensive fraud monitoring tools and real-time alerts to protect against fraudulent activities. In summary, Airbase offers extensive integration capabilities with various business tools, ensures broad compatibility across different platforms and devices, and leverages AI-driven automation to streamline and secure financial operations. Airbase - Customer Support and Resources
Customer Support Options
In-App Support Widget
This is a convenient feature accessible from any page within the Airbase platform, marked by a question mark “?” icon. Here, you can choose from several support options:
Live Chat
For immediate assistance, live chat allows you to receive help without leaving the page you’re working on. This method has been shown to reduce resolution times and increase customer satisfaction.
Support Ticket
For issues that require more in-depth investigation, you can submit a support ticket that will be routed to a Support agent.
Help Center
A link to the Airbase Help Center, where you can search for information on all aspects of the platform.
AI-Enhanced Support
Airbase integrates AI to enhance the support experience:
Triage and Routing
AI streamlines the triage and routing of customer requests, ensuring they are directed to the appropriate support agents quickly and efficiently.
In-App Conversations
Generative AI helps provide immediate answers to user questions by summarizing relevant information from the Help Center. This allows users to get quick responses and step-by-step directions without needing to wait for a human agent.
Human Support Team
The Airbase customer support team is composed of highly experienced professionals, many of whom are former accountants or have extensive experience supporting accounting platforms. This expertise enables them to empathize with user frustrations and provide consultative responses. The team undergoes regular training on empathy and problem-solving skills, ensuring they can address customer needs effectively.
Additional Resources
Help Center
A comprehensive resource with over 1,100 articles that cover all aspects of the Airbase platform. Users can search for information and find detailed guides and step-by-step instructions.
Product Updates
The “What’s New” section keeps users informed about the latest product updates and features, helping them stay up-to-date with the platform’s developments.
Guided Procurement Tour
An automated tour that guides users through Airbase’s procurement workflows, helping them understand and utilize the platform’s features more effectively.
Continuous Improvement and Collaboration
Airbase’s support and product teams work closely together to review customer feedback and enhance the platform. This collaboration ensures that customer enhancement requests are quickly incorporated into the product roadmap, leading to continuous improvements in the customer experience.
By combining these resources, Airbase ensures that users have a seamless and supportive experience, whether they prefer self-service options or direct interaction with the support team.
Airbase - Pros and Cons
Advantages of Airbase in Travel and Expense Management
Airbase offers several significant advantages, particularly in the areas of travel and expense management:Comprehensive Travel Management
Airbase integrates travel booking systems, allowing for better control over travel expenses and ensuring that travel bookings align with company policies. This integration helps in managing business travel efficiently and compliantly.Automated Expense Reporting
The platform simplifies receipt management by enabling users to capture and submit receipt images via mobile or save them for later. OCR technology automatically extracts expense details, making submissions easier and reducing the time spent on expense reporting.Global Reimbursements
Airbase supports global reimbursements across 44 countries and 14 currencies, which is particularly beneficial for businesses with international operations. This feature ensures that employees can be reimbursed in their local currencies, streamlining the reimbursement process.Advanced Approval Workflows
Airbase allows managers and administrators to create customized approval workflows, apply rule-based criteria, and collaborate through communication channels like Slack and email. This ensures that all expenses are approved and documented properly, maintaining compliance with company policies.Real-Time Reporting and Analytics
The platform provides real-time spending monitoring and detailed analytics on spending patterns. This helps department heads and finance teams to monitor and manage expenses without needing additional support, enhancing financial transparency and control.Disadvantages of Airbase in Travel and Expense Management
While Airbase is a powerful tool, there are some limitations to consider:Not Suitable for Small Businesses
Airbase’s advanced features are more suited for mid-market and enterprise companies. Small businesses and startups might find the platform too complex and may not be able to fully utilize its capabilities.Learning Curve
Implementing Airbase can pose a learning curve for users, especially in less adaptable organizations. This may require significant time and effort to get accustomed to the platform’s features.Limited Immediate Accessibility to All Features
Some users have noted that not all features of Airbase are immediately accessible, requiring time to analyze and set up the system according to the organization’s needs.Lack of Advanced Sourcing Capabilities
Airbase currently lacks advanced sourcing capabilities, including Request for Proposal (RFP) management, which could be a limitation for some businesses. In summary, Airbase is a powerful tool for managing travel and expenses, especially for larger organizations, but it may not be the best fit for smaller businesses due to its complexity and the time required for implementation. Airbase - Comparison with Competitors
When Comparing Airbase to Competitors
When comparing Airbase to its competitors in the travel and expense management category, several unique features and alternatives stand out.
Unique Features of Airbase
- Touchless Expense Reports: Airbase has integrated generative artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to automate the expense reporting process. This technology extracts details from receipts and populates the required fields, saving time and ensuring accuracy.
- Global Payment Capabilities: Airbase supports reimbursements in 46 countries and payments in 34 different currencies, making it a strong option for global businesses. It also integrates with TravelPerk for seamless travel bookings and expense management.
- Advanced Integrations: Airbase offers deep integrations with popular general ledgers, such as NetSuite, and other accounting software. This provides a faster close and comprehensive visibility into spend.
- Guided Procurement: Airbase’s platform includes a guided procurement function that automates the intake process for purchasing, directing employees to capture necessary information and routing the purchase details to appropriate stakeholders for approval.
Competitors and Alternatives
Brex
- Brex is another financial technology company that specializes in AI-powered spend management. It offers corporate cards with customizable spend controls and integrates with various accounting systems. Brex is known for its ease of use and real-time spend reporting, but it may not offer the same level of global payment capabilities as Airbase.
Mesh Payments
- Mesh Payments is a travel and expense management platform that offers corporate cards, extensive integrations, and features like expense reporting and reimbursements. It is popular among small businesses and is noted for being easier to manage on the admin side. Mesh Payments integrates with any ERP or procurement system, enabling intake-to-pay automation, and offers real-time spend reporting and insights.
PayEm
- PayEm is an end-to-end spend management platform that includes corporate cards, accounts payable automation, and budget control. It matches Airbase in terms of user ratings but has a smaller sample size. PayEm is praised for its ease of administration and real-time visibility into spend against projections. However, its pricing structure is not publicly available.
Happay
- Happay is another competitor that offers multiple expense capture methods, automated mileage tracking, and a feature called SmartAudit, which detects and flags duplicate invoices and out-of-policy expenses. Happay also supports fleet and digital petty cash management, which is not a standard feature in Airbase.
Zoho Expense
- Zoho Expense provides similar travel and expense management features, including approvals and corporate cards. It stands out with its Chrome and Gmail add-on that allows users to capture receipts from emails and web apps. Zoho Expense also includes an in-app chat feature to streamline collaboration on trips.
Key Considerations
- Global Reach: If your business operates globally, Airbase’s extensive international payment capabilities and integration with TravelPerk might be a significant advantage.
- Automation: Airbase’s use of generative AI for touchless expense reports is a unique feature that can significantly reduce the time and effort spent on expense management.
- Integration: The depth of integration with accounting software and other business tools is a crucial factor. Airbase’s integrations with NetSuite and other systems can provide comprehensive visibility into spend.
- Ease of Use: For smaller businesses or those looking for easier administration, alternatives like Mesh Payments or PayEm might be more suitable.
Each of these alternatives offers unique features that may better align with the specific needs of your business, so it’s important to evaluate them based on your particular requirements.
Airbase - Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions about Airbase
Q: How does Airbase facilitate travel bookings?
Airbase allows users to book flights, hotels, and rental cars directly from the software. This feature is highly rated, with 84% of reviewers praising its ease of booking.Q: What travel management features does Airbase offer?
Airbase provides several travel management features, including itinerary management, which creates travel itineraries based on bookings, and trip notifications that integrate with calendaring systems to alert users of upcoming travel arrangements. These features have been praised by 80% of reviewers.Q: How does Airbase use AI in expense reporting?
Airbase uses a combination of machine learning, optical character recognition (OCR), and generative AI to automate the expense reporting process. Users can upload or take a photo of a receipt, and the AI will extract the details and populate the expense report, including the expense GL coding and memo field. This feature significantly reduces the time and effort required for submitting expense reports.Q: Can Airbase handle international payments and reimbursements?
Yes, Airbase has expanded its global reach and now offers reimbursements across 46 countries and payments in 34 different currencies. This is further enhanced by its integration with TravelPerk, which facilitates seamless travel bookings and expense management for global operations.Q: How does Airbase ensure compliance with corporate policies?
Airbase enables administrators to create rules that enforce compliance with corporate time and expense policies. This feature, known as Policy Compliance Management, has been praised by 90% of reviewers for its effectiveness in ensuring adherence to company policies.Q: What mobile features does Airbase offer for travel and expense management?
Airbase’s mobile application allows users to capture receipts, track mileage, and store travel itineraries. It also provides updates on travel delays or changes. Additionally, the app can automatically populate expense reports using AI, making the process more efficient.Q: How does Airbase integrate with other business systems?
Airbase offers advanced integrations with various business systems, including finance, payroll, HRMS, and CRM systems. These integrations are highly rated by users, with 89% praising the ease of integration.Q: What kind of customer support does Airbase provide?
Airbase is known for its high-quality customer support, which includes live chat, an extensive Help Center, and AI-driven support tools. Users can quickly get help through the in-app support widget, and the support team is committed to continuous improvement and providing fast, accurate, and empathetic assistance.Q: How does Airbase ensure data security and compliance?
Airbase complies with PCI security standards, ensuring that all transactions and data handling meet the required security regulations. This feature has been verified by the G2 Product R&D team and praised by 88% of reviewers.Q: Can Airbase automate the approval process for expenses and timesheets?
Yes, Airbase routes timesheets, invoices, and expense reports through an approval process, making it easy to maintain and administer. This feature is highly rated, with 90% of reviewers appreciating its efficiency. Airbase - Conclusion and Recommendation
Final Assessment of Airbase in the Travel Tools AI-driven Product Category
Airbase, while primarily known as a procure-to-pay solution, offers several features that make it a valuable tool for managing travel and expenses, particularly for mid-market and larger organizations.Key Features for Travel Management
- Ease of Booking: Airbase allows users to book flights, hotels, and rental cars directly from the software, which is highly rated by users (84% satisfaction based on 166 reviews).
- Itinerary Management: The platform creates travel itineraries based on bookings and provides updates, a feature praised by 80% of reviewers.
- Trip Notifications: It integrates with calendaring systems and sends notifications for upcoming travel arrangements, also with an 80% satisfaction rate.
- Travel Itinerary and Flight Status Updates: The mobile application keeps users informed about travel delays and changes, with 80% of users finding this feature useful.
Expense and Payment Management
- Touchless Expense Reports: Airbase has introduced AI-powered touchless expense reports, which automate the process of extracting details from receipts and populating expense reports. This feature is particularly beneficial for reducing the time and effort required for expense reporting.
- International Payment Capabilities: The platform supports reimbursements in 46 countries and payments in 34 different currencies, making it a comprehensive solution for global businesses.
Integration and Automation
- Advanced Integrations: Airbase integrates with various travel systems, such as Uber and airline ticketing systems, enhancing its utility for travel management (88% satisfaction based on 345 reviews).
- AI-Powered Automation: The platform’s AI-driven automation extends to accounts payable, handling tasks like invoice processing, approvals, and payment scheduling with minimal human intervention. This automation also includes real-time fraud detection and enhanced vendor management.