Tried and Tested: Navan Expense Management Review

Traditional expense management often leads to messy processes with lost receipts, delayed reimbursements, and clunky approvals. Finance and accounting teams spend time chasing missing details, while employees deal with manual tasks and out-of-pocket spending.

Navan’s expense management platform is built to address these challenges with a modern, intuitive approach. This review of Navan’s expense management solution — based on real usage and customer feedback — explores how it works, what it’s like to use, and what users are saying about it.

What Is Navan’s Expense Management Platform?

Navan's expense management platform is a modern tool built for fast-moving businesses. It streamlines how companies track spend, approve expenses, and close the books. Companies can use it as a standalone product or pair it with Navan’s travel management platform for full visibility into travel and expense (T&E).

With Navan, expenses are automatically categorized, receipts are smart-matched to transactions, and reimbursements are quickly processed. Finance and accounting leaders gain real-time visibility, while employees get a fast, intuitive way to submit and track their expenses.

Key Features and Capabilities

Navan is designed to make expense management fast, accurate, and less stressful for everyone involved. Here’s a closer look at the core features finance teams and employees rely on most.

Smart Receipt Capture

When using a personal card for company-related purchases, employees can easily capture the receipt by uploading a photo to the Navan app. The platform will scan the details of the receipt to automatically categorize the expenses.

Policy Enforcement and Approval Flows

Customizable expense policies, built into the platform, guide employees in real time. Out-of-policy transactions are flagged immediately, and relevant approvers are notified. Finance and accounting teams can then easily audit all activity with a full digital trail.

Automated Reimbursements

Once an expense is approved, reimbursements are processed quickly through integrations with HR systems and banking platforms. Employees can track the status of their reimbursement at every step.

Real-Time Visibility and Analytics

Dashboards show spend by employee, department, vendor, and more. Finance teams can flag anomalies and drill into trends to optimize spend management.

ERP and Card Integrations

Navan connects with leading ERP systems such as NetSuite, QuickBooks Online, Xero, or Sage Intaact, as well as connecting to Visa, Mastercard, or American Express corporate cards to simplify reconciliation and reporting.

Together, these features reduce manual work and bring control to expense programs at any scale.

User Experience: What It’s Like to Use

Using expense management software should feel simple for every role. Navan focuses on removing hassle and keeping tasks quick for employees, managers, and finance teams alike.

Submitting an Expense as an Employee

There are four ways in which employees can submit transactions:

1. Autofill from receipt

2. Import from personal card

3. Type in details

4. Email receipts to the Navan receipts email

When an employee’s Navan expense account is connected to a corporate card, transactions are recorded and submitted automatically.

Above: submitted expense on the Navan mobile app.

Reviewing and Approving as a Manager

Navan Expense streamlines the transaction review and approval process. Thanks to built-in expense policies, transactions that fall within company guidelines are automatically approved.

However, any transaction that falls outside policy is instantly flagged, and the relevant approvers are notified.

Managers and admins can review, approve, or reject transactions through the Approver Dashboard, which is accessible via both the web version and mobile app.

Approvers can view flagged transactions as well as all submissions assigned to them based on the company’s approval workflows. 

Navan Expense Manager Dashboard

With the Navan Expense manager dashboard, managers can easily oversee company spending and review transactions submitted by their teams.

From the dashboard, managers can:

• Filter and review all transactions
• Analyze spending patterns
• View recent, past, and upcoming trips
• Manage purchase card activity
• Access and update user data

It’s designed to make expense oversight and decision-making simple and efficient.

Mobile vs. Desktop Usability

Navan is designed for flexibility, so you can manage expenses on the go. Most actions available on the web version are also accessible via mobile, whether you’re submitting transactions, reviewing approvals, or tracking spend patterns. (For finance and accounting teams needing full visibility and control, however, some advanced features are available exclusively on the web version.)

Navan Expense Management Review: What Customers Are Saying

“I love how it is integrated with our corporate virtual expense credit card so that I am not paying out of pocket for things, only to wait to be reimbursed later.” — G2 reviewer, 5/14/2025

“Of all of the expense report forms and online programs, Navan has been by far the easiest to use. It’s fast and intuitive.” — Trustpilot review, 1/27/25  

“Navan is the future of expenses. My overall experience with Navan has been great! It’s easy to use, intuitive, and makes managing expenses a breeze.” — Capterra user, 2/6/25

For more customer stories, visit Navan Reviews.

How Navan Compares

Navan is built for modern teams — fast, intuitive, and easy to use. It removes the friction of traditional systems, with no clunky forms or long processing times.

By combining travel and expense in one platform, Navan gives teams complete visibility into company spend without switching between tools.

The built-in connection between travel booking and expense policies helps finance teams control spend before it happens. With seamless integration into ERP and HR systems, Navan helps accounting teams close the books faster.

Learn how Navan compares to other travel and expense platforms.

Final Verdict

Navan Expense is a strong fit for companies that want a smarter, faster way to manage employee spend. It’s especially valuable for finance and accounting teams looking to reduce manual work, improve compliance, gain real-time insights, and streamline closing the books.

For companies ready to move beyond outdated systems, Navan offers a modern, all-in-one solution built for today’s needs.

Ready to transform the way your company manages expenses? Schedule a demo today.