Expense Management Trends for 2026: The Rise of Automation and AI in Expenses

Automation and AI

When you talk to anyone in product today, one thing becomes obvious fast: expense management is changing quicker than most companies can keep up with.

What used to take minutes (or even hours) is now expected to take seconds.

Employees want the same experience they get from Apple or other intuitive mobile apps. Finance wants accuracy, compliance and workflows that don’t break at month-end. And heading into 2026, those expectations aren’t slowing down: they’re accelerating. 

This blog is built directly from an interview with Product Manager Jihane Karym, whose insights reveal exactly where expense management is heading next. 

Trend #1: Automation becomes the default, not a feature 

Jihane puts it simply: 

This is the biggest 2026 trend: 

Automation will replace almost all manual data entry.

In 2024–2025, Declaree’s AI OCR already jumped from covering 60–70% of required expense fields to around 90%. The following details are extracted automatically:

• Date of the receipt
• Currency
• Total amount
• VAT percentage
• VAT amount

The direction of the entire industry is shifting from “fill out your expenses” to: 

Snap → Review → Submit 

And finance teams will gain hours back each month as a result. 

Trend #2: Mobile-first expense management becomes the norm 

One of the strongest real-world insights from the transcript: 

They snap receipts immediately, and tools need to support that behaviour. 

Heading into 2026, the expectation is: 

• Real-time reimbursement 
• One-tap submission 
• Zero typing 
• Submissions under 5 seconds 
• Approvals on the go 

This is why Declaree rebuilt the entire app, not to add more features, but to remove friction: 

• No clutter 
• No visual noise 
• No unnecessary screens 
• Just submit and move on

Or in our language: Scan, fold & throw — we do the rest. 

Trend #3: UX priorities shift toward clarity and speed 

This is something Jihane highlighted repeatedly: 

• Clear, minimal interfaces
• Fewer screens and fewer decisions
• Native interactions (iOS feels like iOS, Android feels like Android)
• Zero learning curve

Declaree’s rebuilt mobile app is already delivering results, with NPS rising by 15.8 points since launch.

Employees don’t want a “feature-rich app.” 
They want an intuitive one that helps them complete a task and close the app. 

Trend #4: European compliance becomes a competitive divider 

While US-style expense tools shout about automation and speed, the transcript makes it clear: 

By 2026, companies will prioritise tools that can: 

• Handle complex VAT rules 
• Support local tax laws 
• Store audit-proof documentation 
• Embed policy checks directly in workflows 
• Meet GDPR and data security standards

This is where Declaree (and the broader Mobilexpense Group) already stands apart. 

Automation gets you speed. 
Compliance gives you confidence. 

Trend #5: Zero-touch expenses are on the horizon 

The next logical step after automation: 

Zero-touch expenses 

A world where: 

• Employees don’t key in anything 
  
• AI reads and validates receipts instantly 
  
• Approvers only see flagged exceptions 
  
• Fraud detection becomes automated 
  
• Spend is visible in real time

Declaree is already moving toward this with: 

• AI OCR 
  
• Smart categorisation 
  
• Automated rules 
  
• Mobilexpense Cards 
  
• Future features like smart audit detection

By 2026, “doing expenses” will be an outdated concept. 

Trend #6: The increase in sustainable reporting 

Companies above certain size/thresholds are now required to disclose environmental and social data, including emissions and other environmental impact information.

Finance teams are already feeling the pressure to collect CO₂ data with more accuracy and far less manual work. The challenge is that most companies are adding yet another tool to do it, along with yet another survey that employees must be chased to complete.

There is a simpler path. Declaree uses the existing OCR workflow to extract the CO₂ data you need directly from receipts. No extra systems to manage. No new behaviour to push. No lofty surveys that sit unfinished in someone’s inbox.

Automate the mundane and look for the data in the place you already prioritise. If expenses are flowing, your CO₂ data will flow too.

How Declaree stands out as these trends accelerate 

Competitors may market themselves well, but the fundamentals matter more: 

Declaree combines: 

• Automation + speed 
• Mobile-first experience 
• European-grade compliance
• Native UX design
• Deep integration capabilities

As Jihane said: 

Book a short walkthrough of the new Declaree mobile app.

See how your employees can submit (and your finance team can review) expenses faster than ever.