Business travel bookings increased 15% year-over-year according to Navan travel data, proving companies are investing more in face-to-face connections. We’ve witnessed this growth firsthand while testing Navan’s platform across our organization.
After managing over 500 business trips through this all-in-one solution, we’re sharing our comprehensive review. Specifically designed for organizations with up to 250 employees, Navan integrates travel booking with expense management to simplify the entire business travel process. Beyond just being corporate travel software, what is Navan Travel exactly? Founded in 2015 by Ariel Cohen and Ilan Twig, it’s a complete business travel management software that combines booking tools, corporate payment cards, expense reporting, and analytics.
From our extensive testing, we’ll show you how Navan handles everything from initial booking to final expense reporting. If you’re considering a new solution for your company’s travel needs, this review breaks down exactly what you can expect.
Booking Experience with Navan: 500+ Trips Tested
The search experience in Navan Travel stands out from traditional corporate booking tools. When testing flights and accommodations across our 500+ trips, Navan’s AI-powered search delivered personalized results based on our team’s booking patterns, loyalty programs, and previous stays.
During the booking phase, the platform clearly highlighted in-policy options and hotels where our colleagues had previously stayed, making decision-making faster for our team members. Furthermore, flight statistics and hotel reviews appeared prominently, helping travelers make optimal choices.
One notable improvement over conventional systems is the approval workflow. Navan allowed us to either automatically approve all in-policy bookings or route requests to specific approvers based on factors like trip purpose or department. This flexibility proved invaluable for our growing team.
The platform truly shines with its multi-functional approach. We successfully tested booking for individuals, delegating travel arrangements for executives, and coordinating group travel for conferences, all from a single dashboard.
Indeed, the mobile experience deserves praise. Our team managed entire trip lifecycles from initial booking through expense submission directly from their phones. This mobile-first design prioritized critical information, making it easy to handle travel tasks between meetings or in transit.
Expense Management: Automation That Saves Time
Expense management typically consumes significant time for finance teams, but Navan’s automation capabilities transformed this reality for our organization. The platform eliminates traditional expense reports by automatically extracting receipt details and matching them to transactions.
Navan’s real-time policy enforcement proved invaluable. Employees clearly see custom spend guardrails before making purchases, as out-of-policy transactions are instantly flagged for review. Consequently, companies using Navan have seen a 21% reduction in overspending by implementing these proactive spending policies.
Time savings were substantial across our testing. Finance teams who implemented Navan’s Auto-Reject feature eliminated more than 1.5 days of administrative work, whereas other organizations reported reducing reconciliation time by 73%.
Additionally, the Auto-Itemization feature leverages AI to categorize individual receipt line items with over 90% accuracy, automatically assigning each to specific expense policies. This eliminated what was previously a frustrating 10-step manual process.
Moreover, Navan streamlines reimbursements for out-of-pocket expenses. Employees simply upload receipt photos, and if approved, they receive payments within days via payroll or direct bank deposit.
The platform integrates seamlessly with major accounting systems, including NetSuite, QuickBooks, and Xero, which streamlines month-end close processes. This comprehensive automation makes Navan travel an essential component of efficient business travel management software.
Admin Tools and Analytics: Managing Business Travel at Scale
Managing travel for our entire organization requires robust administrative capabilities, which is precisely where Navan’s platform excels. The real-time reporting dashboard gives our finance team instant visibility into every aspect of our travel program, enabling quick decision-making and strategic adjustments.
Notably, Navan’s traveler tracking system provides comprehensive safety management through real-time location monitoring and communication tools. We can easily set location-based restrictions and handle emergencies from a centralized dashboard.
Policy management is remarkably intuitive yet powerful. Rather than relying on static rules, Navan dynamically enforces travel policies based on employee role, destination, or market conditions. This flexibility has helped companies reduce overspending by 21%.
The platform’s customizable approval workflows allow us to determine which bookings need review based on team structure, trip type, or spend thresholds. Additionally, Navan integrates with our HRIS to automatically sync employee data and travel policies, eliminating manual updates as teams change.
For audit purposes, the system maintains detailed logs that help identify spending patterns and compliance issues. This level of transparency has enabled other companies using Navan to save approximately $50,000 in gross flight costs.
Ultimately, the platform’s data-driven insights give us the clarity needed to negotiate preferred corporate rates with suppliers, further maximizing our travel budget.
Conclusion
After thoroughly testing Navan across our organization’s 500+ business trips, we found it stands head and shoulders above traditional corporate travel solutions. The platform truly delivers on its promise to simplify the entire business travel process through thoughtful integration of booking, expense management, and administrative tools.
The most significant advantage we discovered was time savings. Managers spent less time approving trips, travelers booked faster with personalized recommendations, and our finance team practically eliminated manual expense processing. This efficiency allowed everyone to focus on work that actually matters rather than administrative tasks.
Undoubtedly, Navan’s mobile-first approach proved essential for our team. The ability to manage entire trips from booking to expense submission directly from smartphones transformed how our employees handled travel responsibilities while on the go.
Safety features also deserve special mention. The comprehensive traveler tracking system gave us peace of mind knowing we could quickly locate and assist employees during emergencies or unexpected situations.
The platform’s dynamic policy enforcement resulted in measurable cost savings by preventing out-of-policy spending before it happens. Additionally, the detailed analytics provided valuable insights that helped us optimize our travel budget and negotiate better rates with suppliers.
Though no platform is perfect, Navan successfully addressed the major pain points in our corporate travel process. The combination of intuitive design, powerful automation, and comprehensive management tools makes it an excellent choice for mid-sized companies seeking to streamline their business travel operations.
Based on our extensive testing, Navan delivers exceptional value for organizations looking to modernize their approach to business travel management while simultaneously reducing administrative burden and controlling costs.
If your team manages frequent business travel and wants better cost control, faster approvals, and automated expenses, Navan is worth testing.
👉 Try Navan for your business and see how AI-powered booking, real-time policy enforcement, and expense automation can simplify your entire travel process.