Expensify Intacct Integration Guide [2026 Updated]

Connecting your expense management software to your accounting system is one of the most effective ways to reduce manual data entry and close your books faster. If you use Expensify for expense reports and Sage Intacct as your accounting hub, a direct integration can transform your workflow. This guide provides a detailed, step-by-step walkthrough for setting up the connection, managing the data flow, and troubleshooting common issues in 2026.

Why Integrate Expensify with Sage Intacct?

Manually exporting expense reports and re-keying them into your general ledger is time-consuming and prone to errors. Integrating Expensify directly with Sage Intacct eliminates this step, offering a closed-loop system for managing employee expenses from submission to final reconciliation. For accounting and finance teams, the benefits are immediate and substantial.

• Automate Data Entry: Once an expense report is approved in Expensify, it automatically flows into Sage Intacct as a journal entry, bill, or vendor payment. This eliminates hours of manual work each month.
• Increase Accuracy: Automation removes the risk of typos, incorrect account coding, or transposition errors that occur during manual data entry. Your financial data becomes more reliable.
• Achieve Real-Time Visibility: Don't wait until month-end to see your expense data. With a real-time sync, you get an up-to-the-minute view of spending, which improves budget management and financial forecasting.
• Streamline Approvals and Reconciliation: By connecting the two systems, you can sync employees, departments, and expense categories. This ensures reports are coded correctly from the start and simplifies the bank and credit card reconciliation process in Sage Intacct.
• Enhance Audit Readiness: The integration ensures that digital copies of receipts captured in Expensify are attached to the corresponding transactions in Sage Intacct. This creates a clear, easily accessible audit trail for every expense.

Available Integration Methods in 2026

You have a few options for connecting Expensify and Sage Intacct, each suited for different business needs and technical capabilities. Most businesses will find the native integration to be the most direct and effective solution.

1. The Native Integration (Recommended)

Sage Intacct offers a dedicated Expensify connector through its official App Marketplace. This is a pre-built integration designed and maintained to work directly with both platforms. It’s the simplest and most reliable method for most organizations.

• Functionality: Provides a two-way sync for key data points like expense categories, employees, departments, and dimensions. It pushes approved expense reports from Expensify directly into Sage Intacct.
• Setup: The setup process is guided and happens within the Sage Intacct and Expensify interfaces, requiring no custom coding. You'll need administrator access on both platforms to authorize the connection and configure the data mapping.
• Maintenance: Because it's an official connector, updates are managed by Sage and Expensify. This reduces the burden on your internal team to maintain the connection when either platform updates its software.

2. Third-Party Connector Platforms

If you have unique workflow requirements that the native integration doesn't cover, you can use an iPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service) tool. These platforms act as a bridge between hundreds of different applications.

• Platforms: Popular options include Zapier, Workato, and Tray.io. These tools allow you to build custom "recipes" or "workflows," such as "when a new report is exported from Expensify, create a specific type of entry in Sage Intacct and send a notification to a Slack channel."
• Use Cases: This method is best for businesses that need to trigger multi-step automations involving other apps in their tech stack. For instance, linking expenses to project management tools in addition to the accounting system.
• Considerations: While powerful, this method introduces another paid subscription and an additional point of potential failure. It can be more complex to set up and requires ongoing management.

3. Custom API Integration

For large enterprises with very specific or high-volume needs, building a custom integration using the public APIs from both Expensify and Sage Intacct is an option. Both platforms offer robust APIs for developers.

• Control: This approach gives you complete control over every aspect of the data sync, allowing you to build a solution tailored perfectly to your business processes.
• Resources: It requires significant investment in developer resources, both for the initial build and for ongoing maintenance, testing, and updates. This method is generally reserved for companies with a dedicated in-house or external development team.

How to Set Up the Native Expensify & Sage Intacct Integration

For the vast majority of users, the native integration in the Sage Intacct Marketplace is the best choice. Follow these steps to get it up and running.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have the following:

• Administrator Access: You must have full admin privileges in both your Expensify and Sage Intacct accounts.
• Web Services Enabled: In Sage Intacct, you'll need a Web Services user account. This is a special type of user account that allows external applications like Expensify to securely access your Intacct data.
• Subscription Tiers: Confirm that your subscription plan for both platforms supports third-party integrations.

Step-by-Step Configuration Guide

1. Authorize Sage Intacct within Expensify:
   • Log into your Expensify account as an administrator.
   • Navigate to Settings > Policies > [Your Policy Name] > Connections.
   • In the list of accounting integrations, find and select Sage Intacct. A pop-up window will appear prompting you for your Sage Intacct credentials.
   • Enter your Sage Intacct Web Services user ID, password, and Company ID. Authenticate the connection.
2. Configure the Connection:
   • Once authorized, you'll land on the configuration page. Here, you will map how data from Expensify should appear in Sage Intacct.
   • Export Choice: Choose how you want expense reports exported to Intacct. The most common options are as vendor bills or journal entries. Selecting "Vendor Bills" is often ideal for reimbursable expenses, while "Journal Entries" works well for non-reimbursable company card expenses.
   • Employee Mapping: Decide how Expensify employees will be mapped to employees or vendors in Sage Intacct. You can typically sync your employee list directly from Intacct to Expensify.
3. Map Your General Ledger Accounts and Dimensions:
   • Go to the "Coding" or "Categories" section within the Expensify policy settings.
   • For each expense category in Expensify (e.g., "Airfare," "Meals & Entertainment," "Software"), you'll need to select the corresponding GL account from Sage Intacct. The integration will pull in your Intacct Chart of Accounts automatically.
   • Next, do the same for your Dimensions (Departments, Locations, Projects, etc.). Enable the dimensions you want to use within Expensify and then map them to the corresponding Sage Intacct dimensions. This ensures every expense is coded correctly before it's even synced.
4. Set Up Corporate Card Sync:
   • If you use corporate cards, navigate to Settings > Domains > [Your Domain] > Company Cards in Expensify.
   • Import your corporate card feed and map it to the corresponding credit card liability account in Sage Intacct. This will allow Expensify to export those expenses as non-reimbursable, crediting the correct liability account.
5. Test the Integration with a Sample Report:
   • Before going live, it’s best to run a test. Create a simple expense report in Expensify with a few different categories.
   • Approve the report fully, then export it to Sage Intacct using the integration.
   • Log in to Sage Intacct and verify that the transaction (bill or journal entry) was created correctly, with the right amounts, GL accounts, dimensions, and attached receipts.
6. Go Live and Monitor:
   • If the test is successful, you are ready to enable the integration for all your users. Communicate the new process to your team.
   • In the first few weeks, periodically check the sync logs in Expensify for any errors and review the transactions in Sage Intacct to ensure everything is flowing as expected.

Understanding the Data Flow Between Systems

A successful integration relies on knowing what data moves between the platforms. The native connection is designed to sync the most important accounting data fields to maintain consistency.

Data Type

Sync Direction

Description

Expense Reports

Expensify → Sage Intacct

Completed and approved expense reports are pushed into Sage Intacct as either journal entries or vendor bills, complete with receipt images.

Employees/Vendors

Sage Intacct → Expensify

Your employee and vendor lists from Sage Intacct can be synced to Expensify to ensure consistent mapping for expense reimbursement.

GL Accounts

Sage Intacct → Expensify

Your Chart of Accounts is pulled from Sage Intacct and made available in Expensify, so employees can code expenses to the correct GL accounts via categories.

Dimensions (Departments, Projects, etc.)

Sage Intacct → Expensify

Intacct dimensions are imported as "Tags" in Expensify, allowing for detailed expense allocation that matches your financial reporting structure.

Corporate Card Transactions

Expensify → Sage Intacct

Company card expenses are exported to a designated credit card liability account in Sage Intacct, simplifying reconciliation.

Troubleshooting & Best Practices

Even with a solid setup, you may encounter occasional issues. Here are a few common problems and some best practices to keep your integration running smoothly.

Common Integration Issues and Their Solutions

• Sync Errors: Errors are often caused by misconfigurations. Check the sync error logs in Expensify's connection settings for a detailed message. Common causes include an inactive GL account, a closed accounting period in Sage Intacct, or an invalid department/dimension combination.
• Mismatched Categories: If an employee uses a category that hasn't been mapped to a GL account in the integration settings, the report will fail to sync. Solution: Regularly review your categories in Expensify and ensure every single one is mapped to an active GL account in Intacct.
• Authentication Failures: The connection can sometimes fail if the Sage Intacct Web Services user password is changed or the account is deactivated. Solution: Re-authenticate the connection within Expensify using updated credentials.

Best Practices for a Smooth Integration

• Establish a Chart of Accounts "Gatekeeper": Designate one person on the finance team to manage the Chart of Accounts in Sage Intacct. When a new account is added, that person should also be responsible for mapping it correctly in Expensify. This prevents uncategorized expenses.
• Periodically Review Your Mappings: At least once a quarter, review your category, tag, and dimension mappings to ensure they are still aligned with your reporting needs. Clean up or deactivate any old or unused categories.
• Train Your Team: Show employees how to correctly select categories and tags (dimensions) in Expensify. The cleaner the data is on their end, the less cleanup work the accounting team has to do later.
• Document Your Setup: Keep a simple internal document outlining how the integration is configured. Note which GL account each Expensify category maps to. This is invaluable for consistency and for onboarding new team members who may need to manage the system.

Final Thoughts

Integrating Expensify and Sage Intacct is a powerful step toward automating your expense management process. By using the native integration and carefully mapping your accounts and dimensions, you can eliminate manual data entry, reduce errors, and gain real-time insight into company spending.

Just as a smooth integration saves time on everyday accounting tasks, using the right resource for complex tax research can make a huge impact during strategic planning or audit preparation. When questions arise about the taxability of certain expenses or multi-state compliance issues, our AI-powered tool, Feather AI, provides reliable, citation-backed answers in seconds. It allows you to get instant responses based on authoritative sources like the IRC and state tax codes, freeing you up to focus on higher-value work.