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 components? And if there’s one factor I keep in mind clearly, it’s how painful the accounts payable course of was. Invoices piled up, approvals obtained 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 at present, many are caught with guide bill processing, sluggish approvals, and cost errors, points that the perfect 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 search out those that actually simplify bill processing, automate approvals, and enhance money stream visibility. In case your crew is bored with chasing approvals and fixing errors, these handpicked seven instruments are price contemplating.

7 greatest AP automation software program I like to recommend

Again once I labored in procurement, I spent method an excessive amount of time coping with sluggish approvals, lacking buy orders, and cost 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 all the 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 means of 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 perfect accounts payable automation software program.

• Bill processing and knowledge seize: Manually coming into bill particulars wastes time and is liable to errors. I regarded for platforms that mechanically 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 lowering guide reconciliation.
• Approval workflows that cut back bottlenecks: One of many greatest 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 current accounting and enterprise useful resource planning methods. I prioritized instruments that combine easily with widespread ERPs and different main monetary platforms, lowering the necessity for guide 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, 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 regarded 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 stream visibility: Finance groups want clear, real-time insights into excellent invoices, cost schedules, and general money stream. I centered on platforms that supply 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 record beneath accommodates real person critiques 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 comparable to knowledge entry
• Embrace doc seize and imaging options to transform paper invoices into digital paperwork
• Course of massive volumes of provider paperwork comparable to 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
• 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 comparable to company efficiency administration (CPM)

*This knowledge was pulled from G2 in 2025. Some critiques 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.

One in every of BILL’s greatest strengths is its user-friendliness. The structure 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 rapidly. That ease of use can assist shave hours off the month-to-month workflow and eradicate confusion.

Vendor administration additionally felt smoother than I anticipated. BILL shops detailed vendor profiles and allows you to automate cost reminders. I may preserve 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 choice with full visibility. It’s an excellent match for groups that need inner controls with out pointless bottlenecks. I appreciated how straightforward 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 perfect when a vendor wants a fast turnaround. That delay provides a little bit friction to an in any other case clean course of.

Based mostly on my analysis and chatting with my colleagues in operations, I additionally realized that buyer help didn’t all the time come by means of when wanted. Some questions took days to reply, and stay 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 a couple of G2 customers additionally resonate with this sentiment.

The sync with different accounting instruments principally works; there have been a couple of bumps early on. I bumped into duplicate transactions and a few lacking entries when syncing payments. It took additional time to reconcile these points manually. With common checks, it is manageable, however I wouldn’t name the mixing 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 a couple of hiccups in knowledge syncing, and I spent a while double-checking entries. I additionally observed occasional mismatches that took additional time to scrub up.

What G2 customers dislike about BILL AP/AR:

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

– BILL AP/AR Overview, Manoj B.

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

I appreciated how user-friendly the core navigation was. The structure is clear, menus are logically grouped, and customary actions are straightforward to search out. I didn’t must depend on guesswork to find options or settings. As soon as I obtained the cling of the workflow, duties like bill approvals and journal entries flowed rapidly.

The reporting engine is considered one of Sage Intacct’s standout options. I may slice knowledge by division, location, or venture and customise studies with filters and dimensions. It gave me the flexibleness to see financials from a number of angles, which is one thing many different methods battle with. For data-driven groups, it is a enormous 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 easy. It made overseeing parent-child relationships a lot simpler and rolling all the pieces into unified studies when wanted.

That stated, not all the pieces 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 out a devoted administrator.

There have been additionally a couple of persistent bugs that interrupted sure workflows. Venture monitoring didn’t all the time 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. A number of the setup choices felt buried, and I needed to experiment fairly a bit to get studies to look the best way I needed. As soon as issues have been configured, they labored effectively, however the path to get there wasn’t all the time clean.

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 might be simpler for me if all the pieces I wanted to do with one bill could possibly be accomplished from the identical web page. I continuously must refund invoices, and this cannot be accomplished 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 all the pieces 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 straightforward to be taught at first, both. Since there are such a lot of back-and-forth steps, loads of guide fixes, and one factor at a time, it takes loads of endurance and asking questions. The phrases are extra geared in the direction of accountants and never a billing help crew”

– Sage Intacct Overview, Amber J.

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

Bill processing in Stampli is clean and quick. I used to be in a position to add, route, and monitor invoices with minimal effort, and the system does an excellent job of auto-filling key fields. I favored how approvers have been looped in mechanically, which sped up turnaround time. Even with excessive volumes, all the pieces feels straightforward 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 obtained useful responses rapidly. I by no means felt caught ready for a repair, which gave me extra confidence within the device general. The help crew clearly is aware of the platform inside and outside.

The interface is easy, fashionable, and straightforward 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 easy.

One limitation I bumped into was round funds. Stampli doesn’t deal with all cost eventualities, 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 stream 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 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 straightforward, which triggered me a couple of duplicate efforts.

What G2 customers dislike about Stampli:

“There are some options that my crew is ready for Stampli to implement, and a few issues aren’t as clean as I might like. For instance, I might 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 choice has been launched not too long ago, nevertheless it prices cash and has a cap on the cost quantities allowed to be expedited. Would like to see sooner funds general and ultimately no cap on expedited funds.”

– Stampli Overview, 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 achieve 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 straightforward and cut back last-minute surprises throughout reconciliations. I additionally favored how spending limits and insurance policies could possibly be set upfront, serving to forestall overspending earlier than it occurs.

The cell app provides loads of flexibility. I may add receipts, submit reimbursements, and approve bills whereas on the go. It got here in useful throughout journey, and the short photograph add characteristic meant I didn’t have to save lots of piles of paper receipts. It made holding issues updated really feel much less like a chore.

General, the interface is clear and intuitive. The structure makes it straightforward to search out key options while not having 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 all the time constant. Often, receipt uploads stalled or didn’t undergo the primary time. I double-checked submissions far more than I might like when counting on cell.

There have been additionally some hiccups with how receipts have been matched to transactions. In a couple of 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 all the time clear the right way to alter the stream. It obtained the job accomplished, nevertheless it felt a bit inflexible in edge instances.

What I dislike about Airbase:

• The cell app generally struggles with receipt uploads, so in the course of the testing part, I obtained into the behavior of double-checking all the pieces.
• Approval routing often works effectively, however making modifications mid-flow takes a couple of extra steps than I anticipated.

What G2 customers dislike about Airbase:

“Whereas Airbase is improbable, there are a few minor issues I might wish to see improved. Often, the automated categorization of bills is not good, and I’ve to manually alter it. It isn’t 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 observed that generally it may be a little bit sluggish to load, particularly when I’ve loads of receipts to add. These are simply minor inconveniences, although, they usually actually do not outweigh the numerous advantages of utilizing Airbase.”

– Airbase Overview, Kyle C.

Whereas SAP Concur is greatest identified for expense and journey administration, it additionally performs an necessary function in automating components of the accounts payable course of—particularly in terms of worker reimbursements and non-PO spending. For corporations 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 resolution however fills a essential hole in broader spend management.

The cell app is considered one of Concur’s most useful options. I may snap an image of a receipt, assign it to an expense, and submit it while not having to open my laptop computer. It is useful throughout work journeys when it’s good to preserve issues transferring. For groups on the go, the app actually helps cut back delays in reimbursement.

Expense administration feels structured and scalable. I may escape 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 studies in draft. It may well make month-to-month closeouts far much less chaotic.

The approval workflow was one other sturdy level. Requests transfer easily by means of the chain, and notifications make it straightforward for managers to overview and log off. I favored that you would customise roles and arrange multi-layer approvals. That flexibility is a plus for finance groups attempting to keep up management.

That stated, the cell expertise wasn’t all the time flawless. Often, receipts wouldn’t sync with the appropriate 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 search out historic studies or view pending duties. It is advantageous as soon as you recognize the place issues stay, however the preliminary studying curve is steeper than anticipated.

There have been additionally moments when the system felt sluggish or unresponsive, particularly when submitting studies 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 trying to find issues, and it helps us to discover issues simply moderately than somebody instructing us to navigate.”

– SAP Concur Overview, 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 each day bills that finance groups oversee.

Ramp’s card administration system is among the most effective I’ve tried. With only a few clicks, I may subject digital playing cards immediately, set spending limits, and assign playing cards to departments or initiatives. It helps present real-time visibility and forestall 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 in the course of 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, all the pieces moved rapidly 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 a couple of hiccups. It’s one thing world groups will need to plan round in the event that they’re hoping for seamless protection.

Exporting knowledge for accounting was generally trickier. Whereas many of the studies have been out there, formatting them for extra complicated use instances took additional effort. I sometimes needed to alter columns or manually manage 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 needs to be dealt with individually.
• Customizing exports for particular accounting wants wasn’t all the time intuitive, and I spent additional time cleansing up studies.

What G2 customers dislike about Ramp:

“Downsides for me will not be having the ability to pay worldwide wires in international transactions, and a few higher dashboards for spend over time would assist.”

– Ramp Overview, Gabriel F.

Tipalti is a worldwide payables automation platform that handles all the pieces from bill consumption and approvals to vendor onboarding and cross-border funds. The platform integrates with widespread ERPs and likewise contains 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 in a while. The time saved right here is straight away noticeable.

Vendor onboarding is quick and structured. I discovered it straightforward 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, all the pieces runs extra easily. It reduces guide errors and saves loads of follow-up time.

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

That stated, the reporting instruments are purposeful however restricted. I discovered it difficult to create customized studies or export knowledge in exactly the specified format. It labored effectively for fundamental overviews, however deeper evaluation usually required guide cleanup in spreadsheets.

Search performance may be improved. When in search of particular funds or vendor data, the outcomes weren’t all the time intuitive or full. It slowed me down when answering fast inner questions or pulling up previous actions.

What I dislike about Tipalti:

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

What G2 customers dislike about Tipalti:

“There are some extra complicated payout guidelines I might like to include into our payout routine, nevertheless 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 possibly sooner or later.”

– Tipalti Overview, Kristi H.

Trying to find an invoicing device as a substitute? Try this record of the 8 greatest free invoicing software program for 2025, ranked and reviewed by my colleague.