Travel and employee expenses still count for around 10% of the budget in most companies. And this is only the expenses they have when they are out of the office. How and what a company is spending their money on is in constant change, and that’s why we think that it’s interesting to take a deeper dive into what’s trending right now.
TL;DRTravel and employee expenses account for roughly 10% of budget in most companies, but what gets expensed is shifting fast. Acubiz examines the top five trending business expense categories globally: rideshares dominated by Uber and Lyft with 93% of the category, online advertising led by Google and Facebook, SaaS workflow tools, printing, and food and beverage, which remains the single largest expense category by volume.
In an international perspective, rideshares is the single most popular company expense. An expense, that didn’t even exist in Denmark just a few years ago, and still hasn’t got its foothold as politics has restricted the number one player on the field in operating in Denmark (Uber). On that occasion Uber stated, that they are still planning to enter the Danish market eventually. But Uber is still, together with Lyft, dominating this category with 93% of all expensed rideshares globally.
Google is – no surprise – still number one in advertising. As runner up, Facebook is in a solid spot on second place, way ahead of the rest. Even though Twitter is still way behind Facebook in third place, they have had an impressive growth and have tripled their market share over the past year. Meanwhile, and in an international perspective, Craigslist have shrunk the most, with fewer than half as many ad postings in 2018 compared to the year before.
Workflow technologies. If not already, this might be a word that everyone knows within a few years. Businesses across all industries are adopting more and more of these technologies, including Twilio, Slack, Calendly, Zendesk, Zoom, Canva, and SendGrid, which all more than doubled in terms of money spent on the services in the past year. The main characteristic of all these technologies is that they are often gathered under the umbrella term: Software as a Service (SaaS). SaaS solutions are software that you have on a subscription, they are cloud based and gives your company an enormous freedom in terms of scalability.
Print, really? Oh yes. Business cards, brochures and printing services are still alive and kicking with a steady growth in popularity over the past years. It might be the company’s way of differentiating from competitors in the future, if online advertising keeps its position as the number one choice for marketeers.
We are experiencing an economic upturn these years. With that comes success for more businesses. And once these businesses reach a certain point, they need a company lunch programmes or meal delivery to their employees. That’s why companies have spent 150% more on these services in 2018 compared to 2017.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most popular business expense category globally right now?
Rideshares are the single most popular business expense in international data, dominated by Uber and Lyft which together account for 93% of all expensed rideshares globally. The category effectively did not exist a few years ago, which illustrates how rapidly the composition of business expenses can change as new services enter the market.
What share of a typical company budget goes to travel and employee expenses?
Travel and employee expenses account for approximately 10% of budget in most companies. This figure covers only the expenses employees incur when outside the office. When you add online advertising, SaaS subscriptions, and other regular business costs run through expense systems, the total spend under management is considerably higher.
Which advertising platforms are most commonly expensed by businesses?
Google remains the dominant platform for expensed online advertising. Facebook holds a solid second place. Twitter showed significant growth in the period covered by the data, tripling its market share year over year, while Craigslist declined sharply, with fewer than half as many ad postings compared to the prior year.
Why has SaaS software become one of the top business expense categories?
Workflow tools like Slack, Zoom, Calendly, Canva, Twilio, and SendGrid more than doubled in spend in a single year as companies adopted cloud-based subscription software across all functions. SaaS is now a standard line item in expense management because subscriptions are ongoing, card-based, and spread across departments rather than centrally procured.