Airbase
Spend management unified with Paylocity payroll for finance teams
What is Airbase?
Airbase is a spend management platform, now part of Paylocity, that unifies non-payroll spend (bill pay, corporate cards, expense reimbursements) with payroll on a single system marketed as 'Paylocity for Finance.' It provides real-time spend visibility, approval workflows, and accounting automation aimed at finance teams seeking one source of truth across HR, finance, and IT spend. Acquisition closed in late 2024 and the product is being integrated into the Paylocity suite.
Accounting, FP&A, billing, spend management, bookkeeping, and finance automation tools.
See the full Finance & Accounting guide to compare more tools, buyer criteria, and related workflows.
Use cases to evaluate
Consolidate vendor bill pay, corporate cards, and expense reimbursements into one approval workflow
Sync coded transactions to NetSuite, Sage Intacct, or QuickBooks in real time
Run a unified close that includes payroll spend alongside non-payroll spend
Enforce procurement intake and pre-approvals before any spend hits the books
Fit to evaluate
Paylocity payroll customers adding spend management
Mid-market finance teams (200-2,000 employees) wanting payroll + AP unified
Controllers running monthly close across NetSuite or Intacct
Companies replacing point tools like Expensify, Bill.com, and Ramp
Business fit
Right for you if you're already a Paylocity payroll customer (or evaluating one) and want spend management bolted onto the same HRIS contract. The Off the Ledger community of 6,000+ finance professionals is a real perk. Skip if you don't use Paylocity payroll, since standalone Airbase is being phased into the parent platform and you'll lose strategic optionality. Skip if you need published per-user pricing today, because Airbase pricing is now bundled inside Paylocity quotes.
How to evaluate Airbase
Use this category when finance work depends on spreadsheets, manual reconciliation, or slow reporting.
Confirm the exact workflow
Map Airbase to one concrete workflow first, such as consolidate vendor bill pay, corporate cards, and expense reimbursements into one approval workflow. Avoid buying before the owner, trigger, output, and success metric are clear.
Check category fit
Compare accounting workflows, approvals, reconciliation, reporting, and audit trails.
Compare practical alternatives
Shortlist Airbase against CostAllocation Pro, FreshBooks, Wave so the decision is based on fit, effort, and workflow ownership rather than brand recognition alone.
Validate cost and rollout effort
No public pricing. Sold as part of Paylocity quotes; previously Airbase tiers were Standard, Premium, and Enterprise with custom pricing based on company size and modules (AP, cards, reimbursements). Also confirm implementation time, support needs, and whether the medium setup matches your team.
Compare Airbase with alternatives
Use this quick comparison before booking demos or moving data into a new system.
| Primary workflow | Consolidate vendor bill pay, corporate cards, and expense reimbursements into one approval workflow, Sync coded transactions to NetSuite, Sage Intacct, or QuickBooks in real time |
|---|---|
| Best-fit team | Paylocity payroll customers adding spend management, Mid-market finance teams (200-2,000 employees) wanting payroll + AP unified |
| Implementation effort | Medium setup and maintenance profile |
| Pricing check | Contact sales |
| Closest alternatives | CostAllocation ProFreshBooksWaveSage |
Airbase pricing
| Model | Contact sales |
|---|---|
| Snapshot | No public pricing. Sold as part of Paylocity quotes; previously Airbase tiers were Standard, Premium, and Enterprise with custom pricing based on company size and modules (AP, cards, reimbursements). |
| Checked |
Common questions about Airbase
What is Airbase?
Airbase is a spend management platform, now part of Paylocity, that unifies non-payroll spend (bill pay, corporate cards, expense reimbursements) with payroll on a single system marketed as 'Paylocity for Finance.' It provides real-time spend visibility, approval workflows, and accounting automation aimed at finance teams seeking one source of truth across HR, finance, and IT spend. Acquisition closed in late 2024 and the product is being integrated into the Paylocity suite.
What is Airbase used for?
Common use cases: Consolidate vendor bill pay, corporate cards, and expense reimbursements into one approval workflow; Sync coded transactions to NetSuite, Sage Intacct, or QuickBooks in real time; Run a unified close that includes payroll spend alongside non-payroll spend; Enforce procurement intake and pre-approvals before any spend hits the books.
How much does Airbase cost?
No public pricing. Sold as part of Paylocity quotes; previously Airbase tiers were Standard, Premium, and Enterprise with custom pricing based on company size and modules (AP, cards, reimbursements).
Who is Airbase best for?
Airbase fits Paylocity payroll customers adding spend management, Mid-market finance teams (200-2,000 employees) wanting payroll + AP unified, Controllers running monthly close across NetSuite or Intacct, Companies replacing point tools like Expensify, Bill.com, and Ramp. Right for you if you're already a Paylocity payroll customer (or evaluating one) and want spend management bolted onto the same HRIS contract. The Off the Ledger community of 6,000+ finance professionals is a real perk. Skip if you don't use Paylocity payroll, since standalone Airbase is being phased into the parent platform and you'll lose strategic optionality. Skip if you need published per-user pricing today, because Airbase pricing is now bundled inside Paylocity quotes.
What are alternatives to Airbase?
Common alternatives to Airbase include CostAllocation Pro, FreshBooks, Wave, Sage, Zoho Books, Bench.