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

Are you able to consider 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 e 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 handbook bill processing, gradual approvals, and fee errors, points that the very best accounts payable automation software program may simply clear up.

Pondering again to these days, I needed to see simply how a lot AP automation has developed. So, I examined over 25 instruments to seek out those that actually simplify bill processing, automate approvals, and enhance money circulate visibility. In case your group is uninterested in chasing approvals and fixing errors, these handpicked seven instruments are value contemplating.

7 finest AP automation software program I like to recommend

Again once I labored in procurement, I spent approach an excessive amount of time coping with gradual approvals, lacking buy orders, and fee delays. Belief me, I do know the struggles!

The perfect accounts payable automation software program doesn’t simply make issues sooner. It eliminates inefficiencies, reduces errors, and retains the 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 clear up.

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 of the next components when evaluating the very best accounts payable automation software program.

• Bill processing and knowledge seize: Manually coming into bill particulars wastes time and is susceptible to errors. I regarded for platforms that robotically seize knowledge from invoices utilizing AI and optical character recognition (OCR). The perfect AP automation instruments go additional by matching invoices to buy orders and receipts, stopping duplicate funds, and decreasing handbook reconciliation.
• Approval workflows that scale 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 centered 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 present accounting and enterprise useful resource planning techniques. I prioritized instruments that combine easily with frequent ERPs and different main monetary platforms, decreasing the necessity for handbook knowledge entry and guaranteeing up-to-date monetary data.
• 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, automated duplicate bill flagging, audit trails, and compliance monitoring.
• Automated vendor funds: AP groups take care of a number of distributors, currencies, and fee strategies. I regarded for software program that helps ACH transfers, wire funds, digital playing cards, and worldwide funds whereas offering options like early fee reductions and automated reconciliation.
• Actual-time reporting and money circulate visibility: Finance groups want clear, real-time insights into excellent invoices, fee schedules, and general money circulate. I centered on platforms that provide customizable dashboards, spend analytics, and predictive reporting so companies can keep forward of their monetary obligations.
• Person 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, guaranteeing finance groups may obtain immediate help when points come up.

The checklist under 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 reminiscent of knowledge entry
• Embody doc seize and imaging options to transform paper invoices into digital paperwork
• Course of massive volumes of provider paperwork reminiscent of invoices or credit score memos
• Present a single repository for customers to go looking and retrieve AP paperwork
• Match provider invoices with corresponding buy orders to precisely monitor the quantities owed
• Supply approval processes for funds, debits, or any modifications to AP transactions
• Adjust to accounting requirements and laws for AP processing
• Combine with accounting software program, ERP, or superior monetary techniques reminiscent of company efficiency administration (CPM)

*This knowledge 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 handbook 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 snug rapidly. That ease of use might help shave hours off the month-to-month workflow and get rid of confusion.

Vendor administration additionally felt smoother than I anticipated. BILL shops detailed vendor profiles and allows you to automate fee reminders. I may preserve monitor of fee 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 may assign customized roles, route approvals throughout departments, and monitor each resolution with full visibility. It’s an incredible 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 may very well be higher. I seen the transfers can take a number of days, which isn’t superb when a vendor wants a fast turnaround. That delay provides a bit of 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 stay chat wasn’t constantly accessible. 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 think about a delay when scheduling vendor payouts. It’s not a dealbreaker, however it does require extra ahead planning.
• There have been just a few hiccups in knowledge syncing, and I spent a while double-checking entries. I additionally seen occasional mismatches that took further time to scrub up.

What G2 customers dislike about BILL AP/AR:

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

– BILL AP/AR Assessment, Manoj B.

Sage Intacct is a cloud-based monetary administration answer for rising companies and organizations with complicated accounting wants. It covers core modules like normal 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 seek out. I didn’t must depend on guesswork to find options or settings. As soon as I acquired the cling of the workflow, duties like bill approvals and journal entries flowed rapidly.

The reporting engine is one in every of Sage Intacct’s standout options. I may slice knowledge by division, location, or challenge and customise experiences with filters and dimensions. It gave me the flexibleness to see financials from a number of angles, which is one thing many different techniques wrestle with. For data-driven groups, it is a large 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 stated, not every part got here simply—particularly the superior options. It took time (and a few outdoors assist) to discover ways to totally use dimensions, automate workflows, or optimize reporting layouts. This can be a little bit of a ramp-up for groups and not using a 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 way in which I needed. As soon as issues have been configured, they labored effectively, 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 outdoors assist to get essentially the most from it.
• Sure modules typically 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 will be simpler for me if every part I wanted to do with one bill may very well be carried out from the identical web page. I often should refund invoices, and this cannot be carried out from Intacct. I’ve to go to Intacct to seek out the knowledge and take it to Braintree (each EFT and CC variations). There’s a few 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 be taught at first, both. Since there are such a lot of back-and-forth steps, a whole lot of handbook fixes, and one factor at a time, it takes a whole lot of endurance and asking questions. The phrases are extra geared in the direction of accountants and never a billing help group”

– Sage Intacct Assessment, Amber J.

Stampli simplifies bill administration and approvals and works alongside your present accounting system to assist route invoices sooner and scale back handbook knowledge entry. The device is very in style 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 incredible job of auto-filling key fields. I appreciated how approvers have been looped in robotically, 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 rapidly. I by no means felt caught ready for a repair, which gave me extra confidence within the device general. The help group clearly is aware of the platform inside and outside.

The interface is easy, fashionable, and simple to be taught. 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 fee situations, and relying in your business, there could also be restrictions. This meant I nonetheless needed to depend on different techniques for the ultimate fee step, which broke the circulate a bit. 

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

What I dislike about Stampli:

• Funds aren’t totally supported for each business. I seen 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 precipitated me just a few duplicate efforts.

What G2 customers dislike about Stampli:

“There are some options that my group is ready for Stampli to implement, and a few issues aren’t as easy as I might like. For instance, I might like to see fee info instantly on the bill web page or, on the very least, have a hyperlink from the bill web page to the fee web page, just like how invoice.com does it. This might 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 techniques like invoice.com. A brand new expedited fee possibility has been launched just lately, however it prices cash and has a cap on the fee quantities allowed to be expedited. Would like to see sooner funds general and finally no cap on expedited funds.”

– Stampli Assessment, 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 enhancing 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 scale back last-minute surprises throughout reconciliations. I additionally appreciated how spending limits and insurance policies may very well be set upfront, serving to stop overspending earlier than it occurs.

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

General, the interface is clear and intuitive. The format makes it simple to seek 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 stated, the cell app expertise wasn’t at all times constant. Often, receipt uploads stalled or didn’t undergo the primary time. I double-checked submissions way more than I might like when counting on cell.

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

The approval course of labored effectively general however lacked some flexibility in additional complicated workflows. If a request wanted rerouting or needed to undergo a number of layers, it wasn’t at all times clear the way to regulate the circulate. It acquired the job carried out, however it felt a bit inflexible in edge instances.

What I dislike about Airbase:

• The cell app typically struggles with receipt uploads, so through the testing section, I acquired into the behavior of double-checking every part.
• Approval routing often works effectively, however making modifications mid-flow takes just a few extra steps than I anticipated.

What G2 customers dislike about Airbase:

“Whereas Airbase is incredible, there are a few minor issues I might prefer to see improved. Often, the automated categorization of bills is not good, and I’ve to manually regulate it. It is not an enormous deal, however it could be even higher if the AI was a bit extra correct. Additionally, whereas the cell app is nice, I’ve seen that typically it may be a bit of gradual 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 numerous advantages of utilizing Airbase.”

– Airbase Assessment, Kyle C.

Whereas SAP Concur is finest recognized for expense and journey administration, it additionally performs an vital position in automating components of the accounts payable course of—particularly in terms of 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 transferring. It’s not your typical AP answer however fills a essential hole in broader spend management.

The cell 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 is useful throughout work journeys when you want to preserve issues transferring. For groups on the go, the app actually helps scale back delays in reimbursement.

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

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

That stated, the cell expertise wasn’t at all times flawless. Often, receipts wouldn’t sync with the suitable expense, or I needed to re-upload photos 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 seek out historic experiences or view pending duties. It is advantageous as soon as you understand the place issues stay, however the preliminary studying curve is steeper than anticipated.

There have been additionally moments when the system felt gradual or unresponsive, particularly when submitting experiences with many attachments. Nothing crashed, however load occasions 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 cell 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:

“Person interface! It’s actually dangerous. 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 Assessment, Adarsh S.

Ramp automates expense workflows for companies, enhancing management over spending. Whereas it isn’t 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 likely 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 also be a main energy. I can textual content or e 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 through 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 rapidly and with out friction.

The one actual limitation I seen 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 international groups will need to plan round in the event that they’re hoping for seamless protection.

Exporting knowledge for accounting was typically trickier. Whereas many of the experiences have been accessible, formatting them for extra complicated use instances took further effort. I often needed to regulate columns or manually set up fields earlier than importing elsewhere.

What I dislike about Ramp:

• I seen that Ramp doesn’t supply 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 overseas transactions, and a few higher dashboards for spend over time would assist.”

– Ramp Assessment, 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 likewise consists of built-in fraud prevention.

Tipalti actually shines within the bill processing workflow. It robotically 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 in a while. The time saved right here is straight away noticeable.

Vendor onboarding is quick and structured. I discovered it simple to gather tax kinds, banking particulars, and compliance paperwork multi function portal, so distributors don’t should e mail info backwards and forwards. As soon as they’re within the system, every part runs extra easily. It reduces handbook 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 group felt accessible and responsive. I did not have to attend lengthy for a reply, which made the educational curve simpler to handle.

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

Search performance is also improved. When on the lookout for particular funds or vendor data, 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 knowledge 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 seek out the report I wanted.

What G2 customers dislike about Tipalti:

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

– Tipalti Assessment, Kristi H.

Looking for 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.