Every expense tracker app can log a purchase. They differ in how the receipt gets in, what the free plan leaves out and whether the app is built for one person or a team. This page goes through the apps small businesses and freelancers in Canada and the US look at most, and says plainly what each one is for.
One disclosure first: we make Smartbills, which is on this list. That's why this isn't a scored ranking. The facts about other apps were read on each vendor's own site on October 21, 2026, and the pages are listed under Sources. Plans change: confirm anything you'd decide on with the vendor.
What to look for in an expense tracker app
- How receipts get in. A photo is the minimum. Better apps also take receipts by email, read them from your inbox or get them from the store.
- Bank and card import. Transactions that arrive on their own leave you matching receipts instead of typing amounts.
- Taxes kept apart. In Canada, GST, HST, QST and PST need their own lines to claim input tax credits.
- Accounting sync to the software your accountant uses, with the receipt attached.
- What the free plan really covers: users, receipt scans and features.
QuickBooks Online
If you already keep your books in QuickBooks, its own expense tracking is the first thing to try. Intuit says you can connect bank accounts, credit cards, PayPal or Square so expenses import and sort into categories, set your own categorization rules, and snap receipt photos in the QuickBooks mobile app, which matches them to existing transactions. Suits: businesses that already use QuickBooks and have a modest number of receipts. Smartbills vs QuickBooks.
Wave
Wave's Starter plan is free accounting and invoicing. Receipt capture is a paid add-on on Starter, and the Pro plan includes unlimited receipt capture and automatic import of bank transactions through Plaid. Pro is priced in both US and Canadian dollars. Suits: very small businesses that want low-cost books with receipts in the same place. Smartbills vs Wave.
FreshBooks
FreshBooks is invoicing software first, with expenses alongside: connect a bank account to import expenses, mark an expense as billable and add it to a client invoice. Receipt scanning in the FreshBooks app is available in Canada, the US and the UK on the Plus, Premium and Select plans. Suits: freelancers and agencies who bill clients for time and expenses. Smartbills vs FreshBooks.
Zoho Expense
Zoho Expense has a free plan for up to three users with 20 receipt scans per user a month, plus GPS mileage and accounting integrations. Real-time Visa and Mastercard card feeds start on the paid Standard plan. Suits: small teams that want expense reports at a low price, especially if they already use Zoho. Smartbills vs Zoho Expense.
Expensify
Expensify's free features include unlimited SmartScan receipt scanning on personal accounts, distance tracking and forwarding receipts to receipts@expensify.com. Categories, tags, automatic reimbursement and accounting integrations need a paid workspace. Suits: individuals who want a free scanner, and teams that want a well-known report-and-approve workflow. Smartbills vs Expensify.
Shoeboxed
Shoeboxed is built for paper. You can mail receipts in its postage-paid Magic Envelope to be scanned, upload them from the app, forward emailed receipts, or use its Gmail plugin to import e-receipts. Integrations with QuickBooks Online and Xero come with the Pro and Plus plans. Suits: people with a box of paper receipts to digitize. Smartbills vs Shoeboxed.
Smartbills
Smartbills is built around getting the receipt without anyone typing it. The receipt scanner app reads the merchant, each item and every tax line from a photo, and GST and QST never merge into one number. Email receipt capture connects Gmail, Outlook, Zoho Mail or any IMAP account and pulls receipts out of the folders you choose. At stores on Square, Toast, Clover, Lightspeed and Shopify POS that are connected to Smartbills, the itemized receipt arrives on its own. The free plan covers a set number of receipts a month, and paid plans add expense management with approvals and sync to QuickBooks and Xero. Suits: businesses in Canada and the US whose real problem is missing receipts.
When a spreadsheet is enough
If you have ten expenses a month and one card, an app may be more than you need. A spreadsheet with the date, merchant, category, amount, tax and a link to the receipt file does the job. Our free expense tracker template is set up that way. Move to an app when receipts start going missing or someone else starts spending.
Which one fits
- Already on QuickBooks, few receipts: start with QuickBooks itself.
- Very small business on a tight budget: Wave.
- Freelancer billing clients for expenses: FreshBooks.
- A small team wanting free or cheap expense reports: Zoho Expense or Expensify.
- A backlog of paper: Shoeboxed.
- Receipts scattered across inboxes, shopping bags and a phone, with Canadian sales tax to claim: Smartbills.
For how to set up the habit behind any of these, see how to keep track of business expenses.