Imagine you’re in charge of taking your entire school class on a field trip. You have to book the bus, arrange food, make sure everyone has their tickets, and later ask parents for money. Sounds a little messy, right? Now think of a company with thousands of employees traveling around the world for meetings, events, or client visits. Booking flights, paying for hotels, saving receipts, reimbursing employees, and making sure all the money is spent correctly—it’s like organizing ten thousand field trips at the same time!
That’s the daily challenge most companies face. They use different apps to book travel, another tool to manage expenses, another one to reimburse employees, and endless spreadsheets to track budgets. The result? Confusion, delays, and a lot of wasted time.
This is where a modern solution comes in—a tool that brings everything under one roof. That tool is Navan.
What Is Navan?
Think of Navan as a smart teacher who not only organizes the field trip but also books the bus, gives you the tickets, pays for your snacks, and keeps a record of every rupee spent. In business terms, Navan is a corporate travel and expense management platform. It combines travel booking, expense tracking, reimbursements, and even payment cards—all in one place.
Instead of juggling different apps for travel and expenses, Navan acts like one big playground where everything works together smoothly. Employees can book their flights and hotels directly through Navan. When they spend money during their trip—say, buying dinner or taking a cab—they simply upload the receipt through the Navan app, and the system takes care of reimbursement. Meanwhile, the finance team can see, in real time, how much money is being spent and whether it matches company policies.
So if you’ve been wondering what is Navan, it’s not just another booking tool—it’s like the master organizer for all things travel and expense in a company.
Why Choose Navan?
Now, you might ask: why would a company pick Navan when there are so many apps out there? Let’s break it down in simple steps.
One Place for Everything
Instead of using five different apps—one for flights, one for hotels, one for expenses, one for reimbursements, and one for reporting—Navan does it all.
- Saves Time
Employees don’t need to keep paper receipts or fill out endless spreadsheets. Just take a picture of the bill in the Navan app and you’re done.
- Keeps Budgets in Control
Finance teams can see how much money is being spent instantly. No more waiting until the end of the month to find out the budget was blown.
- Makes Travel Easy for Employees
Employees can book their own flights and hotels without needing a travel agent. And since the company’s policies are built into Navan, they don’t have to worry about overspending.
- Global Support
Navan provides 24/7 support, so if someone gets stuck at an airport at 2 AM, they can still get help.
So in short—companies choose Navan because it makes life easier for both employees and finance managers.
Key Navan Features
Let’s look at the Navan features one by one, from simple to advanced, so you get the full picture.
1. Travel Booking
Navan lets employees book flights, hotels, cars, or trains directly inside the platform. The system checks company rules automatically. For example:
If the rule says “Only economy class for domestic flights,” the system won’t even show business-class tickets.
If the rule says “Hotel budget is $150 per night,” it will highlight the options within that limit.
This way, employees don’t have to remember the rules—Navan remembers them for you.
2. Expense Management
When someone spends money during a trip, they can snap a photo of the receipt in the Navan app. Navan automatically scans it, fills in the details, and matches it with the company policy. If everything is fine, the expense is approved automatically. If not, it gets flagged for review.
No more stuffing pockets with receipts or filling out complicated forms.
3. Navan Connect
Some companies already give employees corporate cards like Visa, MasterCard, or Amex. Instead of replacing them, Navan can connect to these cards.
This means expenses are tracked in real time, without employees doing anything extra.
It’s like having a magic notebook that writes down every purchase as soon as you make it.
4. Real-Time Visibility
Finance teams can log into the dashboard and see every detail:
- How much money has been spent this month.
- Which department spent the most.
- Who is traveling right now.
This visibility means no surprises at the end of the month.
5. Policy Enforcement
Policies are built right into Navan. Instead of manually checking expenses later, the system stops wrong expenses from happening in the first place.
Example: If the policy says “No luxury hotels,” the employee will never see those options when booking.
6. Fast Reimbursements
Employees don’t like waiting weeks to get their money back. With Navan, reimbursements are super fast—sometimes within just a couple of days.
7. Integrations
Navan can connect with accounting tools like QuickBooks, NetSuite, and Xero. This means finance teams don’t have to manually enter data. Everything flows automatically.
8. Rewards and Loyalty
Employees can still earn their personal loyalty points while booking through Navan, so they don’t miss out on airline miles or hotel rewards.
How to Use Navan: Step-by-Step?
Let’s now go step by step—like showing a little kid how to play a new board game.
Step 1: Navan Login & Setup
A company first signs up and creates an account. Employees then use their navan login to access the system. The admin sets up rules like:
- Travel budget per employee.
- Approval flows (who approves whose trips).
- Reimbursement policies.
Step 2: Booking Travel
An employee opens the navan app, searches for flights or hotels, and books instantly. All options shown already follow the company’s rules.
Step 3: Submitting Expenses
While traveling, if the employee spends on food or transport, they take a picture of the receipt in the app. Navan fills in all details and checks compliance automatically.
Step 4: Reimbursement
Once approved, the reimbursement gets processed automatically to the employee’s bank account or payroll.
Step 5: Monitoring by Finance Teams
Finance managers can see dashboards, reports, and analytics. They can also download data for accounting purposes.
Navan vs Competitors
How does Navan compare with other tools? Let’s see.
- Navan vs Expensify: Expensify is strong in expense tracking but doesn’t handle travel booking as deeply. Navan covers both in one platform.
- Navan vs Concur: Concur is powerful but often complicated. Navan is more modern and easier to use.
- Navan vs Monday.com or Notion: These are project management tools, not travel & expense platforms. Navan is built specifically for T&E.
If you’re looking for a Navan alternative, these tools exist—but Navan’s strength is its all-in-one design.
Navan Pricing
One of the biggest questions companies ask is about navan pricing. The good news is:
For small businesses, Navan offers a free plan with basic features.
For larger companies, there are enterprise plans with custom pricing depending on team size and needs.
This flexibility makes Navan cost-effective for both startups and big enterprises.
Pros & Cons of Navan
✅ Pros:
- One platform for travel and expense.
- Easy for employees to use.
- Real-time visibility for finance teams.
- Integrates with accounting tools.
- Fast reimbursements.
❌ Cons:
- Some advanced features are only available on paid plans.
- The mobile experience, while good, can be less powerful than desktop.
- Smaller teams may not need all the enterprise features.
Navan Reviews
If you look at navan reviews, you’ll see that most companies appreciate how easy it is to use and how much time it saves. Employees like the fast reimbursements, while finance teams love the visibility and control.
Some reviews do mention that it takes time to set up policies correctly in the beginning, but once it’s done, the system runs smoothly.
Final Thoughts: Is Navan Worth It?
So, is Navan worth it in 2025? The answer is yes.
If you are tired of juggling separate apps for travel booking, expense reporting, and reimbursements, Navan gives you one single platform to manage it all. The learning curve is mild, the features are robust, and the benefits are clear: less hassle for employees, more control for finance, and big savings for the company.
Whether you are a small startup looking to manage your first set of business trips or a global enterprise needing advanced visibility and compliance, navan is flexible enough to grow with you.
Think of it this way—why carry five bags when one smart backpack can hold everything neatly? Navan is that smart backpack for corporate travel and expenses.
