travel and expense management rfp guide

Step 1: Define Your Core Objectives

Before diving into features, outline what your organization truly needs to solve. For example:

• Reduce manual entry and errors in expense reporting.
• Support a global, multi-card ecosystem.
• Improve spend visibility and policy compliance.
• Automate expense capture and policy enforcement.
• Deliver powerful analytics without IT overhead.

This clarity will help you ask the right questions and avoid solutions that only solve part of the problem.

Step 2: Require Card-Agnostic Flexibility

Many solutions are tied to specific cards, limiting your finance team's control. Your RFP should request:

• Support for any commercial card provider (Visa, Mastercard, AmEx, etc.)
• Real-time feeds and file-based integrations for multiple financial institutions
• No dependency on proprietary card issuance or rebates

Why it matters: Card-agnostic platforms give you freedom to negotiate the best rates, avoid vendor lock-in, and unify spend visibility across disparate card programs.

Step 3: Ask for True AI-Based Receipt Capture

OCR isn’t new—but not all OCR is created equal. Make sure your RFP asks for:

• Built-in AI-powered OCR with auto-population of expense fields (merchant, amount, category, etc.)
• Automatic matching of receipts to transactions
• Support for receipt submission via photo, email, or SMS
• A native experience (no reliance on third-party scanning tools)

Why it matters: Solutions with embedded AI reduce friction for employees and increase data accuracy without third-party overhead.

Step 4: Prioritize Integration Agility

Enterprise software rarely exists in a vacuum. T&E systems must connect with ERP, HRIS, and travel platforms. In your RFP, include:

• Pre-built connectors for major systems (SAP, Oracle, Workday, Coupa, etc.)
• An open, well-documented API
• Ability to support multiple simultaneous integrations
• Low-code/no-code tools for internal workflows

Pro Tip: If you operate across regions or subsidiaries, ask whether the system supports parallel integrations (e.g., more than one ERP or HRIS at a time).

Step 5: Demand Embedded Analytics

Reporting is often the weak link. Most vendors require separate BI tools or lack depth. Your RFP should request:

• Native dashboards and visualizations, customizable by finance admins
• Drill-down capability to transaction and receipt level
• AI-powered insights (e.g., outlier detection, policy violations, duplicate flags)
• Real-time views of budget vs. spend, compliance trends, and reimbursement cycles

Why it matters: Native analytics save time, reduce IT burden, and let you act on insights immediately.

Step 6: Include Modern Usability & Control Features

Don’t overlook the user experience—your employees will thank you. Look for:

• Mobile-first design with consistent UX across devices
• Auto-flagging of policy violations during submission
• Delegation, proxy submissions, and multi-level approvals
• Customizable policy rules by region, department, or spend type

Why it matters: A solution that's easy for employees is one they'll actually use—and finance will love the control behind the scenes.

Bonus Tip: Add Filtering Language

To ensure the best-fit vendors rise to the top, use language like:

“Vendors that rely on proprietary card bundling or require third-party OCR/analytics tools will not be considered.”

This helps eliminate legacy or bundled platforms that don’t support true flexibility or modern architecture.

Ready to Start?

A great RFP doesn't just ask questions—it sets the tone for the type of partner you want. By following these steps, you're signaling that you're ready for a modern, intelligent, and configurable T&E solution that evolves with your business.