Must-have expense management software RFP template for midsize businesses in 2025

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By the time your company reaches midsize scale, spreadsheets and lightweight tools for expense management no longer cut it. With hundreds of employees, multiple departments, and often more than one entity, manual processes create too much risk: overspend, inconsistent policy enforcement, delayed reimbursements, and finance teams working nights to reconcile data before close.
The right expense management software should unify cards, reimbursements, and policies into one system, automate compliance, and give finance and department leaders real-time visibility into where money is going. It should integrate seamlessly with your ERP or accounting system, support multi-level approvals, and scale as you add more locations or entities.
This guide shows the critical areas midsize businesses should evaluate in an expense management RFP, what best-in-class looks like, and the RFP questions to ask vendors. Plus, we’ll give you a downloadable template so you can start evaluating expense management software ASAP.
1. Expense capture and automation
With hundreds of employees submitting expenses, lost receipts or manual entry errors multiply quickly. The system should capture expenses automatically through mobile apps, email, or direct card matching, and categorize them without human intervention.
Rippling simplifies capture by auto-matching receipts to Rippling Corporate Card transactions, using OCR to scan out-of-pocket receipts, and applying policy-based categorization at scale.
RFP questions to ask
How do you support bulk expense submissions from larger teams?
Can receipts be automatically matched to both corporate card and personal reimbursements?
Does the system support department- or project-specific auto-categorization?
Do you provide configurable fields for multi-entity or cost-center tagging?
2. Policy enforcement and controls
At midsize scale, enforcing policies manually is impossible. You need controls that are automated, configurable, and layered — rules that account for budgets, categories, roles, and locations. Policies should be enforced instantly at submission to prevent overspend.
Rippling enforces expense rules directly from your HRIS data, adapting automatically as employees move between roles, locations, or entities, and supports layered controls and multi-step approval workflows.
RFP questions to ask
Can you configure policies that differ across entities, departments, or regions?
Do you support automated spend limits tied to project budgets?
Can policies require multi-approvals above a certain threshold (e.g., >$5,000)?
How are exceptions routed for review when policies conflict (e.g., urgent travel)?
Can policies update automatically when employees change departments or cost centers?
3. Reimbursements and card integration
Disconnected systems create reconciliation headaches, especially when managing multiple departments and entities. Expenses should flow directly into your ERP or accounting system, and reimbursements should be processed automatically to reduce admin time.
Rippling integrates corporate cards, expense submissions, and payroll in one platform, so card spend codes to the general ledger in real time and reimbursements flow seamlessly via payroll or ACH.
RFP questions to ask
Do you support split allocations across multiple cost centers, projects, or entities?
How quickly are reimbursements processed after approval, and how are exceptions handled?
Can reimbursements be tracked separately for contractors vs. employees?
Which ERP systems do you integrate with natively (NetSuite, Intacct, QuickBooks, Xero)?
Can you auto-code transactions to custom GL dimensions (e.g., department, entity, location)?
4. Real-time visibility and reporting
Midsize finance leaders need to track spend across multiple entities and departments — not weeks after the fact, but as it happens. Dashboards should give consolidated and segmented views, with anomaly detection for duplicate or unusual transactions.
Rippling provides real-time dashboards across cards, reimbursements, and bills, with segmentation by entity, project, or department, and exportable data for ERP and BI tools.
RFP questions to ask
Do dashboards provide consolidated spend across multiple entities?
Can reports segment expenses by department, project, cost center, or location?
Do you provide anomaly detection for both duplicate and outlier spend by team?
Can variance reports compare spend period-over-period (e.g., quarter vs. quarter)?
Can reports be scheduled and exported automatically into ERP and BI tools?
5. Employee experience
With hundreds of employees, adoption matters. If expense systems are clunky, employees delay submissions, creating reconciliation problems and unhappy staff waiting for reimbursements. The system should be intuitive, mobile-friendly, and integrated into existing workflows like Slack or Gmail. Rippling gives employees an easy way to snap a photo, forward an email, or upload via Slack — while tracking reimbursement status in real time in the same app they already use for payroll and HR.
RFP questions to ask
How quickly can employees submit expenses, and what training is required?
Can employees view their reimbursement history across multiple entities or projects?
Is there a mobile-first experience for frequent travelers or field teams?
Do you support approvals and submissions directly via Slack or email?
How does the platform notify employees about missing receipts or rejected expenses?
6. Security and fraud prevention
Expense systems handle sensitive data — payroll, card numbers, and vendor spend — making security a top priority. Midsize companies need enterprise-grade safeguards: encryption, SOC 2/ISO certifications, and fraud detection that flags duplicate or suspicious spend across entities.
Rippling secures data at rest and in transit, enforces MFA for admins, and uses anomaly detection to flag unusual spend, helping midsize companies meet compliance frameworks with confidence.
RFP questions to ask
Do you support entity- and department-level access controls for expense data?
What certifications do you hold (SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR)?
What fraud detection capabilities do you provide beyond duplicate detection?
Can admins freeze corporate cards across multiple entities instantly?
Do you provide exportable, immutable audit logs for audits across geographies?
How Rippling helps midsize businesses
Rippling Expense Management is designed to help midsize companies control spend, automate compliance, and eliminate manual reconciliation. Employees capture receipts via mobile, Slack, or email, with expenses auto-matched to card transactions. Policies are enforced instantly at submission, reimbursements process through payroll or ACH, and every transaction codes automatically into your ERP or accounting system.
Finance leaders get real-time dashboards across entities and departments, with anomaly detection for unusual spend and exportable data for BI or ERP systems. Employees enjoy a frictionless submission and reimbursement experience, while finance and IT teams benefit from enterprise-grade security and fraud detection.
With Rippling, midsize companies can:
Capture receipts automatically and match them to card spend
Enforce layered, entity-aware policies tied to HR data
Reimburse employees quickly through payroll or ACH
Auto-code transactions into NetSuite, Intacct, QuickBooks, or Xero
Provide consolidated dashboards segmented by entity, department, or project
Secure expense data with SOC 2/ISO certifications and anomaly detection
Rippling RFP for expense management software for midsize businesses example
Section | Question to ask | Rippling Answer |
---|---|---|
Expense capture and automation | How do you support bulk expense submissions from larger teams? | Rippling supports bulk submission via mobile, email, Slack, and CSV uploads, auto-matching receipts to transactions at scale. |
Can receipts be automatically matched to both corporate card and personal reimbursements? | Yes — Rippling automatically matches receipts to both corporate card and out-of-pocket transactions in real time. | |
Does the system support department- or project-specific auto-categorization? | Yes — Rippling auto-categorizes expenses by merchant and ties them to department or project using HRIS-linked data. | |
Do you provide configurable fields for multi-entity or cost-center tagging? | Yes — Rippling allows admins to configure custom fields for cost centers, entities, or projects for accurate reporting. | |
Policy enforcement and controls | Can you configure policies that differ across entities, departments, or regions? | Yes — Rippling policies can be scoped to entities, departments, roles, and geographies, adapting automatically as employee data changes. |
Do you support automated spend limits tied to project budgets? | Yes — Rippling supports automated spend limits by project, department, or category to prevent overspend. | |
Can policies require multi-approvals above a certain threshold (e.g., >$5,000)? | Yes — Rippling supports multi-level approvals triggered by configurable spend thresholds. | |
How are exceptions routed for review when policies conflict (e.g., urgent travel)? | Rippling routes exceptions to designated approvers, with configurable escalation paths for urgent or conflicting spend. | |
Can policies update automatically when employees change departments or cost centers? | Yes — policies recalculate automatically when HRIS attributes such as role, department, or cost center change. | |
Reimbursements and card integration | Do you support split allocations across multiple cost centers, projects, or entities? | Yes — Rippling allows split allocations across cost centers, projects, and entities, auto-coding each portion to the GL. |
How quickly are reimbursements processed after approval, and how are exceptions handled? | Reimbursements are processed automatically via payroll or ACH, with exceptions flagged for manual review. | |
Can reimbursements be tracked separately for contractors vs. employees? | Yes — Rippling supports separate reimbursement flows for contractors and employees, including multi-currency support where applicable. | |
Which ERP systems do you integrate with natively (NetSuite, Intacct, QuickBooks, Xero)? | Rippling integrates directly with NetSuite, Intacct, QuickBooks, and Xero, syncing expense data in real time. | |
Can you auto-code transactions to custom GL dimensions (e.g., department, entity, location)? | Yes — Rippling supports auto-coding to multiple GL dimensions, including entity, department, project, and location. | |
Real-time visibility and reporting | Do dashboards provide consolidated spend across multiple entities? | Yes — Rippling provides consolidated dashboards with drill-downs by entity, department, and project. |
Can reports segment expenses by department, project, cost center, or location? | Yes — Rippling reports can be segmented by department, project, cost center, location, or manager. | |
Do you provide anomaly detection for both duplicate and outlier spend by team? | Yes — Rippling provides built-in anomaly detection for duplicates, outliers, and unusual spend trends by team. | |
Can variance reports compare spend period-over-period (e.g., quarter vs. quarter)? | Yes — Rippling supports variance analysis comparing spend by quarter, department, or entity. | |
Can reports be scheduled and exported automatically into ERP and BI tools? | Yes — Rippling allows reports to be scheduled and exported into ERP and BI platforms such as NetSuite and Tableau. | |
Employee experience | How quickly can employees submit expenses, and what training is required? | Employees can submit expenses in seconds with no training — via mobile app, Slack, email, or web. |
Can employees view their reimbursement history across multiple entities or projects? | Yes — Rippling provides employees with a unified portal to track reimbursement history by project, entity, or department. | |
Is there a mobile-first experience for frequent travelers or field teams? | Yes — Rippling’s mobile app supports on-the-go submission and tracking for employees traveling or working in the field. | |
Do you support approvals and submissions directly via Slack or email? | Yes — employees can submit via Slack/email, and managers can approve directly from notifications. | |
How does the platform notify employees about missing receipts or rejected expenses? | Rippling sends automated notifications via email, mobile, and Slack for missing receipts or rejected expenses. | |
Security and fraud prevention | Do you support entity- and department-level access controls for expense data? | Yes — Rippling enforces role-based and entity-level access controls to protect sensitive financial data. |
What certifications do you hold (SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR)? | Rippling is SOC 2 Type II certified, ISO 27001 certified, and GDPR compliant. | |
What fraud detection capabilities do you provide beyond duplicate detection? | Rippling uses anomaly detection to identify suspicious patterns such as duplicate spend, out-of-policy patterns, or repeated vendor abuse. | |
Can admins freeze corporate cards across multiple entities instantly? | Yes — admins can freeze or block Rippling Corporate Cards instantly across entities or departments. | |
Do you provide exportable, immutable audit logs for audits across geographies? | Yes — Rippling maintains immutable audit logs exportable for internal and external audits, filterable by entity or geography. |
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Disclaimer
Rippling and its affiliates do not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide or be relied on for tax, accounting, or legal advice. You should consult your own tax, accounting, and legal advisors before engaging in any related activities or transactions.
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