I Examined G2’s 7 Finest Accounts Payable Automation Software program

Are you able to imagine that for some time, I used to be really in company procurement, coping with meals elements? And if there’s one factor I bear in mind clearly, it’s how painful the accounts payable course of was. Invoices piled up, approvals acquired misplaced in electronic mail chains, and last-minute discrepancies turned easy funds into full-blown crises.

That have gave me an enormous appreciation for finance groups that take care of this at scale. Even right now, many are caught with guide bill processing, sluggish approvals, and cost errors, points that the perfect accounts payable automation software program may simply resolve.

Pondering again to these days, I needed to see simply how a lot AP automation has developed. So, I examined over 25 instruments to search out those that really simplify bill processing, automate approvals, and enhance money movement visibility. In case your workforce is bored with chasing approvals and fixing errors, these handpicked seven instruments are value contemplating.

7 finest AP automation software program I like to recommend

Again after I labored in procurement, I spent means an excessive amount of time coping with sluggish approvals, lacking buy orders, and cost delays. Belief me, I do know the struggles!

The most effective accounts payable automation software program doesn’t simply make issues sooner. It eliminates inefficiencies, reduces errors, and retains your complete AP course of operating easily. However not each device will get it proper. Some make life simpler, whereas others create as many complications as they resolve.

I needed to chop by the noise and discover out which of them really assist with bill processing and approvals and provides finance groups higher management over funds. Right here’s how I went about it.

What I prioritized when testing AP automation instruments

I thought-about the next components when evaluating the perfect accounts payable automation software program.

• Bill processing and information seize: Manually getting into bill particulars wastes time and is susceptible to errors. I appeared for platforms that mechanically seize information from invoices utilizing AI and optical character recognition (OCR). The most effective AP automation instruments go additional by matching invoices to buy orders and receipts, stopping duplicate funds, and decreasing guide reconciliation.
• Approval workflows that cut back bottlenecks: One of many largest complaints I’ve seen from finance groups is how lengthy it takes to approve invoices. To hurry up the method, I targeted on software program that lets customers customise approval workflows, arrange automated routing, and set off real-time notifications.
• Seamless integrations with different enterprise instruments: AP automation software program isn’t useful if it doesn’t sync with current accounting and enterprise useful resource planning methods. I prioritized instruments that combine easily with frequent ERPs and different main monetary platforms, decreasing the necessity for guide information entry and making certain up-to-date monetary information.
• Fraud detection and compliance controls: Monetary fraud and compliance violations are main dangers in accounts payable. I checked whether or not every platform had built-in fraud detection, computerized duplicate bill flagging, audit trails, and compliance monitoring.
• Automated vendor funds: AP groups take care of a number of distributors, currencies, and cost strategies. I appeared for software program that helps ACH transfers, wire funds, digital playing cards, and worldwide funds whereas offering options like early cost reductions and computerized reconciliation.
• Actual-time reporting and money movement visibility: Finance groups want clear, real-time insights into excellent invoices, cost schedules, and general money movement. I targeted on platforms that provide customizable dashboards, spend analytics, and predictive reporting so companies can keep forward of their monetary obligations.
• Consumer expertise and buyer help: I worth environment friendly, quick, and user-friendly software program. I assessed every platform’s intuitiveness and reviewed the standard of buyer help, making certain finance groups may obtain immediate help when points come up.

The checklist beneath incorporates real consumer evaluations from the accounts payable automation software program web page. To be included on this class, an answer should:

• Ship customizable workflows to streamline repetitive accounts payable duties similar to information entry
• Embody doc seize and imaging options to transform paper invoices into digital paperwork
• Course of giant volumes of provider paperwork similar to invoices or credit score memos
• Present a single repository for customers to look and retrieve AP paperwork
• Match provider invoices with corresponding buy orders to precisely monitor the quantities owed
• Provide approval processes for funds, debits, or any modifications to AP transactions
• Adjust to accounting requirements and rules for AP processing
• Combine with accounting software program, ERP, or superior monetary methods similar to company efficiency administration (CPM)

*This information was pulled from G2 in 2025. Some evaluations might have been edited for readability.

BILL AP/AR brings invoicing, approvals, and vendor funds into one simplified area for finance groups trying to ditch guide spreadsheet work and follow-ups.

Considered one of BILL’s largest strengths is its user-friendliness. The format is clear, and actions like importing invoices, including distributors, or scheduling funds take only a few clicks. Even I, with restricted AP expertise, was in a position to get comfy shortly. That ease of use will help shave hours off the month-to-month workflow and remove confusion.

Vendor administration additionally felt smoother than I anticipated. BILL shops detailed vendor profiles and allows you to automate cost reminders. I may hold monitor of cost historical past, tax paperwork, and even communication logs in a single place. The method makes vendor relationships extra clear and fewer reactive.

The approval workflow choices are one other main win. You possibly can assign customized roles, route approvals throughout departments, and monitor each resolution with full visibility. It’s an amazing match for groups that need inner controls with out pointless bottlenecks. I appreciated how simple it was to arrange multi-step approvals.

Cost processing velocity is one space that could possibly be higher. I observed the transfers can take a number of days, which isn’t superb when a vendor wants a fast turnaround. That delay provides somewhat friction to an in any other case easy course of.

Primarily based on my analysis and talking to my colleagues in operations, I additionally realized that buyer help didn’t at all times come by when wanted. Some questions took days to reply, and reside chat wasn’t constantly out there. Whereas there’s a good assist heart, I discovered myself counting on trial and error greater than I’d like. Fairly just a few G2 customers additionally resonate with this sentiment.

The sync with different accounting instruments principally works; there have been just a few bumps early on. I bumped into duplicate transactions and a few lacking entries when syncing payments. It took further time to reconcile these points manually. With common checks, it is manageable, however I wouldn’t name the combination 100% dependable out of the field.

What I dislike about BILL AP/AR:

• Funds don’t undergo immediately, so I needed to consider a delay when scheduling vendor payouts. It’s not a dealbreaker, nevertheless it does require extra ahead planning.
• There have been just a few hiccups in information syncing, and I spent a while double-checking entries. I additionally observed occasional mismatches that took further time to wash up.

What G2 customers dislike about BILL AP/AR:

“Downloading experiences from invoice.com is a really tedious course of. There are numerous sycnc errors whereas syncing with different software program like Sage Intact and many others.”

– BILL AP/AR Evaluation, Manoj B.

Sage Intacct is a cloud-based monetary administration answer for rising companies and organizations with advanced accounting wants. It covers core modules like basic ledger, accounts payable and receivable, reporting, and multi-entity consolidation.

I appreciated how user-friendly the core navigation was. The format is clear, menus are logically grouped, and customary actions are simple to search out. I didn’t have to depend on guesswork to find options or settings. As soon as I acquired the dangle of the workflow, duties like bill approvals and journal entries flowed shortly.

The reporting engine is one in every of Sage Intacct’s standout options. I may slice information by division, location, or venture and customise experiences with filters and dimensions. It gave me the pliability to see financials from a number of angles, which is one thing many different methods wrestle with. For data-driven groups, this can be a big win.

I used to be additionally impressed by how simply Sage Intacct dealt with a number of entities. Managing inter-company transactions, consolidations, and entity-specific permissions was simple. It made overseeing parent-child relationships a lot simpler and rolling every part into unified experiences when wanted.

That mentioned, not every part got here simply—particularly the superior options. It took time (and a few exterior assist) to learn to totally use dimensions, automate workflows, or optimize reporting layouts. This can be a little bit of a ramp-up for groups with no devoted administrator.

There have been additionally just a few persistent bugs that interrupted sure workflows. Challenge monitoring didn’t at all times behave as anticipated, and my colleagues who’ve labored with Sage reported minor glitches when switching between entities. These weren’t dealbreakers, however they did require follow-up.

The reporting instruments, whereas highly effective, may’ve been extra intuitive. Among the setup choices felt buried, and I needed to experiment fairly a bit to get experiences to look the best way I needed. As soon as issues have been configured, they labored properly, however the path to get there wasn’t at all times easy.

What I dislike about Sage Intacct:

• It took some time to wrap my head round extra superior options, and I wanted some exterior assist to get probably the most from it.
• Sure modules generally really feel barely unstable, particularly when juggling entities.

What G2 customers dislike about Sage Intacct:

“I dislike how lengthy it initially takes to get to the wanted pages. Having to open a number of tabs makes looking out simpler and cuts down on the period of time I spend ready for the web page to load. It could be simpler for me if every part I wanted to do with one bill could possibly be carried out from the identical web page. I continuously must refund invoices, and this cannot be carried out from Intacct. I’ve to go to Intacct to search out the knowledge and take it to Braintree (each EFT and CC variations). There’s a couple of week’s ready interval for every part to course of and sync; then I’ve to make use of Intacct to verse on one web page and reprocess on one other. It is not very simple to study at first, both. Since there are such a lot of back-and-forth steps, a whole lot of guide fixes, and one factor at a time, it takes a whole lot of endurance and asking questions. The phrases are extra geared in direction of accountants and never a billing help workforce”

– Sage Intacct Evaluation, Amber J.

Stampli simplifies bill administration and approvals and works alongside your current accounting system to assist route invoices sooner and cut back guide information entry. The device is very fashionable amongst finance groups that want extra visibility and collaboration of their AP workflows.

Bill processing in Stampli is easy and quick. I used to be in a position to add, route, and monitor invoices with minimal effort, and the system does an amazing job of auto-filling key fields. I preferred how approvers have been looped in mechanically, which sped up turnaround time. Even with excessive volumes, every part feels simple to handle.

Buyer help stood out in a great way. Anytime I had questions, whether or not it was setup-related or about particular workflows, I acquired useful responses shortly. I by no means felt caught ready for a repair, which gave me extra confidence within the device general. The help workforce clearly is aware of the platform in and out.

The interface is easy, fashionable, and simple to study. I didn’t want a lot coaching to get began. The navigation is intuitive, and customary duties are only a click on or two away. For a finance device, it’s refreshingly simple.

One limitation I bumped into was round funds. Stampli doesn’t deal with all cost situations, and relying in your trade, there could also be restrictions. This meant I nonetheless needed to depend on different methods for the ultimate cost step, which broke the movement a bit. 

Exporting processed invoices got here with its personal set of challenges. As soon as one thing is exported or marked full, modifying turns into tough. That rigidity led to some do-overs after I caught small errors too late. A bit extra flexibility right here would go a great distance.

What I dislike about Stampli:

• Funds aren’t totally supported for each trade. I observed that this disconnect provides a bit of additional coordination when closing the loop on vendor payouts.
• As soon as invoices are exported, making corrections isn’t simple, which induced me just a few duplicate efforts.

What G2 customers dislike about Stampli:

“There are some options that my workforce is ready for Stampli to implement, and a few issues aren’t as easy as I would like. For instance, I would like to see cost info immediately on the bill web page or, on the very least, have a hyperlink from the bill web page to the cost web page, much like how invoice.com does it. This may make issues a lot smoother when checking on the standing of invoices and offering remittance info for distributors. Moreover, ACH funds take longer than different methods like invoice.com. A brand new expedited cost possibility has been launched lately, nevertheless it prices cash and has a cap on the cost quantities allowed to be expedited. Would like to see sooner funds general and finally no cap on expedited funds.”

– Stampli Evaluation, Laura B.

Airbase is a spend administration platform that mixes expense monitoring, approvals, reimbursements, and digital playing cards into one centralized system. It’s designed to assist finance groups acquire extra management over firm spending whereas bettering visibility throughout departments.

Airbase’s spend administration options gave me extra real-time management than I anticipated. The digital playing cards make assigning budgets and monitoring utilization simple and cut back last-minute surprises throughout reconciliations. I additionally preferred how spending limits and insurance policies could possibly be set upfront, serving to forestall overspending earlier than it occurs.

The cellular app provides a whole lot of flexibility. I may add receipts, submit reimbursements, and approve bills whereas on the go. It got here in helpful throughout journey, and the short picture add function meant I didn’t have to save lots of piles of paper receipts. It made protecting issues updated really feel much less like a chore.

Total, the interface is clear and intuitive. The format makes it simple to search out key options with no need a walkthrough, and most actions, like creating a brand new request or submitting a report, take only a few clicks. It seems like a platform constructed to take away friction from on a regular basis duties.

That mentioned, the cellular app expertise wasn’t at all times constant. Sometimes, receipt uploads stalled or didn’t undergo the primary time. I double-checked submissions rather more than I would like when counting on cellular.

There have been additionally some hiccups with how receipts have been matched to transactions. In just a few circumstances, the auto-matching didn’t work, and I needed to re-attach recordsdata manually. It wasn’t tough to repair, however I may see it slowing issues down for customers dealing with giant volumes of bills.

The approval course of labored properly general however lacked some flexibility in additional advanced workflows. If a request wanted rerouting or needed to undergo a number of layers, it wasn’t at all times clear learn how to regulate the movement. It acquired the job carried out, nevertheless it felt a bit inflexible in edge circumstances.

What I dislike about Airbase:

• The cellular app generally struggles with receipt uploads, so throughout the testing section, I acquired into the behavior of double-checking every part.
• Approval routing normally works properly, however making adjustments mid-flow takes just a few extra steps than I anticipated.

What G2 customers dislike about Airbase:

“Whereas Airbase is improbable, there are a few minor issues I would wish to see improved. Sometimes, the automated categorization of bills is not excellent, and I’ve to manually regulate it. It is not an enormous deal, however it will be even higher if the AI was a bit extra correct. Additionally, whereas the cellular app is nice, I’ve observed that generally it may be somewhat sluggish to load, particularly when I’ve a whole lot of receipts to add. These are simply minor inconveniences, although, and so they actually do not outweigh the various advantages of utilizing Airbase.”

– Airbase Evaluation, Kyle C.

Whereas SAP Concur is finest recognized for expense and journey administration, it additionally performs an essential function in automating components of the accounts payable course of—particularly in relation to worker reimbursements and non-PO spending. For firms with excessive volumes of journey bills or decentralized spending, Concur helps construction approval workflows and retains reimbursement cycles shifting. It’s not your typical AP answer however fills a crucial hole in broader spend management.

The cellular app is one in every of Concur’s most useful options. I may snap an image of a receipt, assign it to an expense, and submit it with no need to open my laptop computer. It turns out to be useful throughout work journeys when that you must hold issues shifting. For groups on the go, the app actually helps cut back delays in reimbursement.

Expense administration feels structured and scalable. I may get away classes, monitor spending by division, and fasten documentation with only a few clicks. The automated reminders helped me keep away from lacking receipts or leaving experiences in draft. It could possibly make month-to-month closeouts far much less chaotic.

The approval workflow was one other sturdy level. Requests transfer easily by the chain, and notifications make it simple for managers to assessment and log out. I preferred that you could possibly customise roles and arrange multi-layer approvals. That flexibility is a plus for finance groups attempting to take care of management.

That mentioned, the cellular expertise wasn’t at all times flawless. Sometimes, receipts wouldn’t sync with the appropriate expense, or I needed to re-upload photographs that didn’t course of correctly. It wasn’t frequent, however sufficient to make me double-check submissions.

The desktop interface may use a refresh. Some menus really feel buried, and I needed to click on round to search out historic experiences or view pending duties. It is high quality as soon as you already know the place issues reside, however the preliminary studying curve is steeper than anticipated.

There have been additionally moments when the system felt sluggish or unresponsive, particularly when submitting experiences with many attachments. Nothing crashed, however load instances added up when managing a number of entries. It’s not a dealbreaker, simply one thing that requires endurance.

What I dislike about SAP Concur:

• Some options within the cellular app really feel inconsistent, particularly when receipts don’t connect correctly the primary time.
• The interface takes some getting used to, and I discovered myself clicking round greater than I anticipated early on.

What G2 customers dislike about SAP Concur:

“Consumer interface! It’s actually unhealthy. Issues are too descriptive, nothing icon-based. If the GUI is made extra graphical, the dashboard would look cool and would keep away from us to maintain looking for issues, and it helps us to discover issues simply slightly than somebody instructing us to navigate.”

– SAP Concur Evaluation, Adarsh S.

Ramp automates expense workflows for companies, enhancing management over spending. Whereas it’s not a complete accounts payable system, Ramp manages a good portion of the day by day bills that finance groups oversee.

Ramp’s card administration system is without doubt one of the most effective I’ve tried. With only a few clicks, I may problem digital playing cards immediately, set spending limits, and assign playing cards to departments or initiatives. It helps present real-time visibility and stop unauthorized purchases, making managing recurring or one-off bills a lot simpler.

Receipt administration can be a main power. I can textual content or electronic mail receipts, and Ramp auto-matches them to the proper transaction. This easy course of reduces the standard follow-up emails and retains groups forward throughout the month-to-month shut.

I used to be impressed by how environment friendly the entire platform felt. From approvals to categorization to syncing with accounting instruments, every part moved shortly and with out friction.

The one actual limitation I observed was worldwide utilization. Ramp works nice for U.S.-based groups, however utilizing playing cards overseas or with worldwide distributors launched just a few hiccups. It’s one thing world groups will wish to plan round in the event that they’re hoping for seamless protection.

Exporting information for accounting was generally trickier. Whereas a lot of the experiences have been out there, formatting them for extra advanced use circumstances took further effort. I sometimes needed to regulate columns or manually arrange fields earlier than importing elsewhere.

What I dislike about Ramp:

• I observed that Ramp doesn’t provide a lot help for worldwide funds or utilization, so some spending must be dealt with individually.
• Customizing exports for particular accounting wants wasn’t at all times intuitive, and I spent further time cleansing up experiences.

What G2 customers dislike about Ramp:

“Downsides for me aren’t with the ability to pay worldwide wires in international transactions, and a few higher dashboards for spend over time would assist.”

– Ramp Evaluation, Gabriel F.

Tipalti is a world payables automation platform that handles every part from bill consumption and approvals to vendor onboarding and cross-border funds. The platform integrates with frequent ERPs and in addition consists of built-in fraud prevention.

Tipalti actually shines within the bill processing workflow. It mechanically routes approvals, flags duplicate invoices, and helps standardize formatting throughout distributors. I can simply monitor progress at every step, which helps keep away from bottlenecks afterward. The time saved right here is straight away noticeable.

Vendor onboarding is quick and structured. I discovered it simple to gather tax types, banking particulars, and compliance paperwork multi function portal, so distributors don’t must electronic mail info backwards and forwards. As soon as they’re within the system, every part runs extra easily. It reduces guide errors and saves a whole lot of follow-up time.

Buyer help was additionally constantly useful. Whether or not it was strolling by an integration problem or answering particular reporting questions, the Tipalti help workforce felt accessible and responsive. I did not have to attend lengthy for a reply, which made the training curve simpler to handle.

That mentioned, the reporting instruments are useful however restricted. I discovered it tough to create customized experiences or export information in exactly the specified format. It labored properly for fundamental overviews, however deeper evaluation typically required guide cleanup in spreadsheets.

Search performance may be improved. When on the lookout for particular funds or vendor information, the outcomes weren’t at all times intuitive or full. It slowed me down when answering fast inner questions or pulling up previous actions.

What I dislike about Tipalti:

• I typically needed to export uncooked information and reformat it manually to get the breakdowns I wanted for reporting.
• Search outcomes weren’t at all times related, so I typically needed to dig round to search out the file I wanted.

What G2 customers dislike about Tipalti:

“There are some extra advanced payout guidelines I would like to include into our payout routine, nevertheless it’s not but attainable. In an ideal world, Tipalti may do pay-ins and payouts, so I would not want one other PSP for this, however possibly someday.”

– Tipalti Evaluation, Kristi H.

Trying to find an invoicing device as an alternative? Try this checklist of the 8 finest free invoicing software program for 2025, ranked and reviewed by my colleague.