The 10 Best Accounts Payable Software Platforms

What is Accounts Payable Software?

AP software is designed to automate business payment processes from start-to-finish, by leveraging sets of instructions that are customized to each process within a business. The software filters, categorizes, matches and validates critical accounting information that is then pushed through the accounting system to be recorded.

ERP systems like NetSuite, as well as AP automation solutions like Tipalti, and even small business solutions like Quickbooks Online, are all AP software solutions. AP teams implement accounts payable software solutions to process, record, and pay discounted vendor invoices.

Accounts payable software may require manual tasks like data entry and matching paper invoices with purchase orders and receivers, but the best automation solutions are designed to reduce these manual tasks by up to 80%. 

Additional functions of accounts payable software include processing and recording vendor invoices for purchases and services with trade credit terms, account coding of the short-term liability and the asset or expense, document matching, approvals, discounts, bill payments, aging and cash disbursement reports, and general ledger posting. Ultimately, AP automation software creates the ultimate accounts payable system by reducing accounts payable workload, human error, and fraud. 

What is an Accounts Payable System?

An accounts payable system is an organized (and often automated) system that is responsible for paying vendors and suppliers for goods and services purchased by its company. The ultimate goal is to ensure a company pays its debts on time, to the correct vendors, for the correct amounts.

The right AP automation software setup can guarantee that the AP system runs as securely and efficiently as possible.

Here’s a Deeper Look at Some of The Best Accounts Payable Software Platforms

1. QuickBooks Online

• QuickBooks Online is the cloud-based version of QuickBooks accounting software. QuickBooks Online offers one of the best accounts payable software for small business. The QuickBooks accounting solution includes AP software and offers seamlessly integrated third-party add-ons for accounts payable automation through the QuickBooks Apps Store. Although QuickBooks Online integrates with Bill.com, that accounts payable add-on lacks some essential payment features, particularly for growing global businesses with cross-border transactions.

QuickBooks Payments, an optional feature of QuickBooks Online, uses Intuit Merchant Services for payment processing. QuickBooks payment methods include credit cards, debit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, wire transfers, and ACH electronic bank transfers. 

• Best for: Small businesses and mid-market companies with up to 25 users.
• Price Range: $ – $$

2. Oracle NetSuite

• NetSuite, owned by Oracle, is a cloud ERP system with a wide range of Suites (modules) for different business functions. NetSuite includes accounts payable software. AP automation can be seamlessly integrated with NetSuite to increase its features and efficiency.
• Best for: Mid-sized and large enterprises.
• Price Range: $$$

3. Tipalti

• Tipalti is a cloud-based integrated  SaaS add-on software solution to automate accounts payable. Tipalti offers top accounts payable automation software features, including self-service supplier onboarding, invoice automation, automated invoice approval workflows, multiple payment methods in hundreds of currencies for global mass vendor payments and bill pay, tax compliance, and fraud reduction. 
• Best for: Midsize and large enterprise companies and high-growth potential small businesses with at least 20 employees. 
• Price Range: $$

4. Sage Intacct

• Sage Intacct is a cloud-based ERP accounting software system endorsed by the AICPA. It includes accounts payable software with automated payables workflows. Sage Intacct offers real-time tracking and views of payments, approvals, and reports. Add-on third-party AP automation apps increase Sage Intacct capabilities and efficiency. 
• Best for: Small businesses and Mid-sized companies
• Price Range: $$ – $$$

5. Xero

• Xero is New Zealand-based cloud accounting software that includes accounts payable and vendor payments. Like its competitor, QuickBooks Online, Xero integrates with Bill.com, an accounts payable add-on lacking some payment features, particularly those needed by global businesses with cross-border transactions.
• Best for: Small businesses and Mid-sized companies
• Price Range: $

6. Oracle ERP

• Oracle ERP is a high-end cloud software system covering many business functions. Oracle is integrated with EnterpriseOne software, using an accounts payable solution from its acquired ERP company, JD Edwards. 
• Best for: Mid-sized and large enterprise companies
• Price Range: $$$

7. SAP

• SAP is a high-end cloud ERP system for a wide range of business processes. SAP, an Oracle ERP competitor, includes accounts payable software for large business in its ERP system. 
• Best for: Mid-sized and large enterprise companies
• Price Range: $$$

9. Microsoft Dynamics 

• Microsoft Dynamics ERP (enterprise resource planning)/CRM (customer resource planning) software includes accounts payable software solutions for a wide range of industries.
• Best for: Companies of all sizes
• Price Range: $ – $$$

10. Epicor

• Epicor is a global on-premises and cloud ERP system for manufacturers, wholesale distributors, retailers, and service industries, featuring Industrial IoT capabilities for supply chain and manufacturing. The Epicor ERP system includes accounts payable software. 
• Best for: Companies of all sizes
• Price Range: $$ – $$$

How to Choose the Best Accounts Payable Automation Software

1. Define Your AP Landscape

To define your AP landscape, it’s imperative to understand the intricacies involved in invoice processing. How does your company receive vendor invoices? Is vendor invoicing in paper, XML, or PDF format? Do you receive some invoices on paper while receiving others in PDF format via email? An AP automation software worth investing in will allow you to receive supplier invoices in a variety of formats and will support turning them into digital copies through built-in optical character recognition (OCR) scanning.  

Defining your AP landscape also consists of outlining your invoice workflow. The goal is to speed up processing time by automating manual tasks, particularly the repetitive and tedious ones. Ask any AP department employee and they will quickly attest to the importance of properly processing invoices. For example: When expense invoices aren’t coded and distributed correctly, this hinders the approval workflow and payment process. When purchase order (PO) invoices aren’t matched according to their specific line levels, this makes it nearly impossible to pinpoint deviations and mitigate errors. More importantly, it makes it difficult to pay vendors and suppliers on time.

Accounts payable automation software worth purchasing will automate coding and matching. It will integrate with your existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) and finance systems to deliver touchless invoice processing. To ensure that you choose the right software, consider how it will be configured to support your current workflows.

2. Map Your AP Invoice Process

Defining the AP landscape involves mapping the accounts payable invoice process. There’s a good chance the AP process is comprised of two separate workflows: processing expense invoices that aren’t related to POs and processing ones that are. You’ll need to identify your pain points in both of these workflows to ensure that you find the most helpful AP automation software. You can deploy software with all of the bells and whistles, but if those features don’t address your unique needs, your investment is going to be ill-spent.

The first step in mapping the accounts payable invoice workflow and invoice management is identifying how you handle non-PO related expense invoices and PO-related direct spend invoices. Which steps are repetitive? Which ones are manual? Do you already have some steps that are automated? Where do bottlenecks occur? What type of invoice archiving are you using?

Here’s a list of common pain points:

• Invoices where pertinent line data isn’t synced between systems;
• Invoice data deviations;
• Lack of a central inbox for sending vendor invoices;
• Too many people involved in invoice processing;
• Human error due to manual invoice processing;
• Invoice processing delays due to clunky AP systems.

Identifying your pain points and AP challenges allow you to intelligently move forward in choosing the best accounts payable automation software.

3. Look for Centralized Information Management

It becomes difficult to keep track of all of your invoices when they aren’t managed in a central location. AP automation management software worth investing in will ensure that all invoice elements are stored and processed in a centralized location, including the receiving of invoice receipts, extraction of data, and validation of data. Software should make it possible for the entire accounts payable department to collaborate through an online, centralized platform even if they are working from different offices; this is particularly advantageous if you have multiple business locations.

4. Opt for Automated Tax Form Collection

Have you ever spent hours looking for a vendor’s specific tax ID number? Collecting and managing tax information becomes a major headache when AP processes are not automated, especially when working with global suppliers. You must pay close attention to detail to stay in compliance with regulations and rules set forth by the Office of Foreign Asset Control and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. You may need to collect everything from W-8EXP, W-8BEN, and W-8IMY forms from suppliers. Tax and regulatory compliance become much simpler when you deploy AP software that features automated tax form collection.

5. Consider Your Workflow Rules

Achieve the highest level of accounts payable efficiency by choosing software that allows you to define workflow rules. These rules lessen the likelihood of employees completing the same task twice, like making a double payment on an invoice.

Defining workflow rules involves setting tolerance ranges, such as those directed toward purchase order matching. These ranges can be customized to align with your company’s precise needs. For example: If an invoice and PO can’t be matched using OCR scanning according to your set tolerance thresholds, the software can ping the appropriate entity for approval. This leads to a faster procure-to-pay cycle, which is vital to establishing positive long-term relationships with suppliers.

6. The Cloud Is the Way to Go

Installing an on-premise accounts payable automation software solution means you’ll need to deploy your own servers and perform your own system configurations. Stack these tasks on top of your existing AP landscape and you’ll create a time-consuming and costly AP environment. Choosing AP automation software that operates via the cloud is a smart business decision and still allows you to create a strong internal AP framework.

Cloud accounts payable software can be configured to support your existing AP infrastructure and can scale on an as-needed basis. These software programs typically come with advanced analytics and metrics, easily allowing you to determine which AP business processes are hindering efficiency and which ones are improving it.

Common key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure include:

• Percentage of invoices received versus the number of invoices being processed within a certain period of time;
• Average cost of processing each invoice;
• Invoice cycle time;
• Percentage of incorrect payments versus the percentage of total payments;
• Percentage of early payment discounts versus the percentage of discounts offered.

Today’s accounts payable solutions are designed to take advantage of artificial intelligence and machine learning, which yield significant benefits. You’ll enjoy increased B2B vendor payment efficiency, better spend and expense management, enhanced ERP, lower levels of fraudulent activity, and more real-time business intelligence.