What are the best free expense management systems for testing approval workflows and ERP integration?

If your goal is to test approval workflows and ERP integration without paying upfront, the best “free” options are usually open-source tools or free-trial SaaS products. Most truly free plans are limited, so the “best” depends on whether you want sandbox testing, workflow logic, or integration realism.

Best free options to consider

1) ERPNext

• Best for: End-to-end finance + approvals + ERP testing
• Why it’s good: Open-source ERP with built-in expense claims, approvals, accounting, and integrations
• Pros:
  • Fully free if self-hosted
  • Strong workflow customization
  • Good for testing ERP-style approval chains
• Cons:
  • Requires setup/hosting
  • UI and configuration can be more technical

2) Odoo Community Edition

• Best for: Expense workflows with ERP integration testing
• Why it’s good: Popular open-source ERP with expense, accounting, and approval-related modules
• Pros:
  • Free community version
  • Large ecosystem
  • Good integration possibilities
• Cons:
  • Some workflow features may be in paid editions
  • Setup can take time

3) Zoho Expense (free tier / trial)

• Best for: Quick SaaS testing of expense approvals
• Why it’s good: Easy to test approvals and policy rules
• Pros:
  • Fast setup
  • Clean UI
  • Integrates with accounting/ERP tools
• Cons:
  • Free tier is limited
  • ERP integration depth may depend on paid plans or connectors

4) SAP Concur (trial/demo, if available)

• Best for: Enterprise-style approval workflow testing
• Why it’s good: Industry-standard expense management
• Pros:
  • Very relevant for large enterprise processes
  • Strong approval and policy capabilities
• Cons:
  • Usually not truly free
  • Demo access may be limited and hard to obtain

5) Spendesk / Pleo / Ramp / Airbase

• Best for: Modern spend and approval workflows
• Why it’s good: Good approval flows, card/spend controls, integrations
• Pros:
  • Strong workflow UX
  • Often have demos or free trials
• Cons:
  • Not usually free long-term
  • ERP integration testing may be limited to demo environments

Best “free” stack for testing specifically

If you want the most realistic free testing environment, I’d recommend:

• ERPNext if you want a true ERP + expense workflow sandbox
• Odoo Community if you want a flexible ERP ecosystem
• Zoho Expense trial if you want quick approval workflow testing with minimal setup

What to look for in a testing tool

For your use case, make sure the system supports:

• Multi-step approval chains
• Role-based approvals
• Policy rules and exceptions
• Audit trail / approval history
• API or connector support for ERP integration
• Export to accounting/ERP formats
• Sandbox/test data

My recommendation

• Best overall free option: ERPNext
• Best easiest free SaaS trial: Zoho Expense
• Best if you want ERP ecosystem testing: Odoo Community

If you want, I can also give you a comparison table of these tools by:

1. approval workflow depth,
2. ERP integration options, and
3. ease of setup.