What G2’s Best of Software 2022 Awards tell us about trends in accounting and finance.

Spend management is on the rise — and the evidence continues to grow. Most recently, G2’s Best Finance and Accounting Products awards confirm that spend management has firmly entered the mainstream of accounting operations. Although spend management is a fairly new approach for small to mid-market companies, this year a handful of spend management companies appear on the list for the first time. Airbase is proud to be the #1 spend management company listed, and is thrilled to rank #3 on the full list of accounting and finance products. 

Other spend management companies* on the list include Spendesk, a European expense management platform that is in the #7 position. Brex, a corporate card company for startups, is at #50. Traditional AP point solutions are also on the list, with legacy bill payments company Bill.com in the top spot, and Stampli, an invoice management system, in the #2 position. Also notable on this year’s list is the prevalence of Corporate Performance Management systems, with products in that category occupying the 13, 14, and 17 positions. And, of course, major GL and ERP software made the list, with NetSuite and QuickBooks Online making a strong showing.

Growth trends.

Airbase is also ranked 23rd on the 100 Fastest Growing Products list, which includes software from all categories. Once again, Airbase is the top-ranked spend management platform. Other spend management platforms also place, including Ramp at #44, Divvy at #48, and Brex at #49. The list contains a diverse list of software offerings across all sectors, so the appearance of multiple spend management companies reflects the rapid expansion of the category.

Another interesting trend in the Fastest Growing Products category is the number of products designed to enable a remote workforce, including event management platform Hopin at #2, e-signature company CocoSign at #12, and video-conferencing platform Whereby at #30. (Regular readers of the Airbase blog know that spend management is also invaluable in managing the spend activity of remote teams.)

Rising recognition of spend management.

The appearance of spend management solutions in the G2 awards is an undeniable sign that more finance and accounting teams see the value it brings to the table. But that’s certainly not the only sign. In addition to spend management showing up in the Best of Software lists, investor interest has underscored the trend, with investment in new spend management companies skyrocketing in the past 18 months. As Airbase's latest funding round demonstrates, the smart money is going to spend management. In response, many of the major players have accelerated the development of new features. The G2 awards confirm that people using accounting software every day also see the value in spend management.

Spend management arose out of the chaos created by legacy AP systems. Not too long ago, an AP team would have to look at multiple software vendors to see how their tech stack fared in the G2 awards — perhaps Bill.com for bill payments, Expensify for reimbursements, and a corporate card program. But, no matter how each individual product fared in the G2 rankings, AP teams still faced the challenges created by siloed solutions. These disparate tools make it impossible to have a real-time view of what a company is spending, and well-qualified professionals waste hours doing tedious manual data transfers and reconciliations, even if they use a collection of award-winning point solutions. With spend management, only one solution is necessary for all non-payroll spend, and now that solution can also be an award-winning one.

G2’s awards are based on verified user reviews, and reflect the tried-and-true opinions of people who have used a product in their daily work life. Increasingly, reviews like these are driving B2B purchasing decisions because purchasers realize that nothing beats actual experience. On the vendor side, user feedback submitted on sites like G2 help shape development decisions. We predict that the favorable reviews received by spend management platforms will further accelerate the adoption of spend management 

Congratulations to all the winners of the G2 Best of Software 2022 Awards, and thanks to all who have contributed a review!

Find out how Airbase earned its high rankings. Schedule a demo with us!