ERP integration tools span categories such as iPaaS, ETL/data integration, APIs, and software with native ERP integrations. This guide helps finance teams understand the available ERP integration solutions and choose the right approach for their needs.
What are ERP integration tools?
ERP integration tools are solutions used to migrate data and connect your enterprise resource planning system to third-party software applications. Main connection methods include: iPaaS, APIs, ETL/data integration, and native/pre-built connectors.
8 best ERP integration tools for finance teams
A comparison table showing 8 ERP integration tools by type follows. These tools solve different problems: iPaaS platforms connect and automate applications, ETL/ELT tools move data for analysis, and AP platforms add finance workflows with ERP synchronization.
| Tool | Type | Best suited for | Finance/ERP use case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Celigo | iPaaS | NetSuite-centric integrations | Connecting ERP with operational applications |
| Workato | iPaaS / workflow automation | Cross-functional automation | Automating finance and business workflows |
| Fivetran | ELT/data integration | Analytics pipelines | Sending ERP data to cloud warehouses |
| Informatica | Enterprise data Integration and ETL | Large enterprises | Data integration and governance |
| SnapLogic | iPaaS/API management | Low-code or no-code integration | Real-time application and API integration |
| Jitterbit | iPaaS/API and AI model integration | Application integration | Connecting ERP and business applications |
| Boomi | iPaaS/API management | Enterprise application integration | Connecting ERP with cloud and on-premises applications |
| Tipalti | Finance automation | AP and finance workflows | Connecting AP automation with ERP systems |
Note: If the reason you’re evaluating an iPaaS is to connect AP to your ERP, you may not need one. AP automation platforms with prebuilt ERP connectors handle that sync directly.
Celigo
Celigo is an iPaaS platform that leverages native cloud technology on Amazon Web Services (AWS) to connect cloud-based applications via APIs (application programming interfaces).
Celigo is an intelligent iPaaS platform with this functionality:
- Application integration for the entire tech stack with prebuilt connectors and workflows
- API management that transforms integrations into shareable APIs
- B2B manager for EDI partner connections and transactions
- AI Agents
Best suited for: Businesses needing connectivity for e-commerce and ERP systems, including NetSuite integration, to eliminate data silos and have applications work together.
Consider another approach if: Your business needs complex data transformation, enterprise-grade data warehousing, or has budget constraints and can get a lower-cost solution that meets its needs.
Workato
Workato is an iPaaS with a Control and Execution Platform used to:
- Connect applications and data
- Orchestrate workflows and agents
- Govern AI
Workato helps eliminate application and data silos in enterprise companies. It enables scalable automation, AI-driven business intelligence, and agents. Workato is iPaaS middleware that replaces point-to-point integration between two applications with a centralized hub that connects all applications (using a low-code interface), enabling them to exchange data as it orchestrates workflows.
Best suited for: Companies with sufficient resources that desire a high-end iPaaS platform implemented over a sufficient, planned timeframe.
Consider another approach if: Your company is a small business with a tight budget or no in-house IT team for the implementation cycle.
Fivetran
Fivetran is an ELT solution that securely extracts, loads, and transforms data from any source using automation.
Fivetran functionality includes:
- Moving high-quality data into warehouses, lakes, and applications
- Using open table formats for data (e.g., Iceberg and Delta Lake)
- Running data transformations in your destination, using SQL for analytics-ready datasets
Best suited for: Businesses seeking an automated ELT pipeline that adapts to API changes, reduces ongoing maintenance, and offers hundreds of pre-built connectors.
Consider another approach if: Usage-based (MAR) pricing is hard to forecast at your data volume, or you need app-to-app workflow automation rather than replication into a warehouse.
Informatica
Informatica is now part of Salesforce. It is used mostly by large enterprises and mid-sized companies to:
- Clean data with ETL
- Connect systems, data, and agents
- Check for and fix errors and duplicates
- Provide Master Data Management (MDM) for customers, products, and suppliers across all of your systems
- Provide compliant data governance
Informatica’s cloud data integration capabilities connect sources such as cloud applications, databases, and local files. The platform also supports AI agent workflows.
Best suited for: Large enterprises that need data integration, data quality and master data management governed in one platform.
Consider another approach if: You need a few app-to-ERP connections or finance workflow automation; the breadth and implementation effort are hard to justify at mid-market scale.
SnapLogic
SnapLogic is an iPaaS and API management platform that brands itself as the AI operational layer for the agentic enterprise.
SnapLogic products are used for:
- Data integration using visual ETL/ELT
- Application integration, using no-code iPaaS or low-code drag-and-drop prebuilt connectors called Snaps
- API management to design, publish, and secure APIs
- SLIM to intelligently migrate legacy applications with modernization
- AI development and runtime tools, including AgentCreator and the SnapGPT assistant
In SnapLogic, no-code tasks include standard data movements, mapping, and simple workflows.
Best suited for: IT-led teams that want one low-code platform for application integration, ETL/ELT pipelines and API management.
Consider another approach if: Finance needs a pre-built ERP connection it can own without IT, or only needs to replicate data to a warehouse.
Jitterbit
Jitterbit products include:
- iPaaS
- EDI
- API Manager
- MCP (Model Context Protocol)
- App Builder
Jitterbit MCP connects AI models to enterprise data and applications through a universal interface, as an open standard. AI agents use MCP to perform multi-step tasks securely using context, tools, and instructions.
Best suited for: Enterprise teams that need application integration plus EDI and API management around their ERP.
Consider another approach if: The main need is moving analytics data into a warehouse, or AP-specific workflows.
Boomi
Boomi is an integration platform as a service (iPaaS) that connects cloud and on-premises applications, data and APIs. Its low-code platform helps businesses integrate ERP systems and automate workflows.
Boomi’s capabilities include:
- Prebuilt ERP and application connectors
- Low-code integration and workflow automation
- API management and monitoring
- B2B/EDI integration
- AI-assisted integration tools
Best suited for: Mid-sized and large enterprises that need to connect ERP systems with multiple applications and automate complex workflows.
Consider another approach if: You primarily need AP automation or lack the IT resources to manage an enterprise integration platform.
Tipalti
Tipalti is a finance and AP automation platform with ERP integrations, providing a finance automation layer that extends ERP functionality rather than serving as a general-purpose iPaaS like Celigo or Workato.
It offers prebuilt integrations with many widely used ERP systems. Tipalti provides two-way sync with ERP systems and accounting software at the subledger level. Sync with NetSuite and Microsoft Dynamics runs in real time, including entity-level sub-ledgers.
Its finance automation products reconcile accounts payable payments and global mass payments in real time with supported ERPs, including NetSuite and Microsoft Dynamics.
The finance/ERP team needs AP automation to:
- Route invoices through approval workflows tied to ERP data
- Strengthen internal controls
- Capture early payment discounts
- Increase efficiency to reduce costs
- Collect and validate supplier tax information, including W-9 and W-8 forms for U.S. tax workflows, and support 1099 and 1042-S preparation reporting
Best suited for: Global, multi-entity, mid-market businesses with finance teams that need automation, synced application data, API (or flat-file) integration, and workflow integration for payables.
Consider another approach if: You need to connect many non-finance applications or move data into a warehouse; an iPaaS or ELT tool fits that job better.
Connect your ERP to more efficient AP workflows
Looking to automate accounts payable alongside your ERP? Explore Tipalti’s prebuilt integrations to connect invoice processing, payments, and reconciliation with your existing system.
ERP integration tools vs. AP automation with ERP integration
Using a general-purpose integration platform to connect systems differs from using AP automation software with built-in ERP connectivity to extend finance workflows. AP automation is automated accounts payable software with ERP integration that extends your ERP system’s functionality.
The following comparison table differentiates an ERP integration platform from AP automation with ERP integration.
| Capability | ERP integration platform | AP automation with ERP integration |
|---|---|---|
| Primary purpose | Connect applications and data | Automate AP/finance processes |
| Data synchronization | Yes | Yes, within finance workflows |
| Cross-application workflows | Broad | Finance/AP focused |
| Invoice processing | Usually requires configuration | Built into the platform |
| Supplier onboarding | Usually not native | Can be built in |
| Payment workflows | Usually not native | Can be built in |
| ERP connectivity | Core function | Supports finance-to-ERPsynchronization |
| Best fit | Broad integration requirements | Improving AP without replacing the ERP |
The best AP automation software with ERP integration should extend your ERP with capabilities such as self-service supplier onboarding, multi-entity workflows, global payments, and automated data synchronization between AP and the ERP.
Pro tip: Your ERP may not cover every AP workflow. Download AP and ERP: How to Close the Execution Gap to learn how AP automation can reduce manual work.
What to look for in an ERP integration tool
When selecting an ERP integration tool, consider these evaluation criteria for finance teams:
- ERP compatibility
- Pre-built vs. custom integrations
- Data synchronization
- Finance workflow support
- Scalability and multi-entity requirements
- Error handling and monitoring
- Security, controls, and governance
The ERP integration tool must be compatible with your ERP system. Some solutions offer pre-built vs. custom integrations, which saves implementation time. Expect accurate data synchronization between your ERP and the third-party add-on application. Some third-party applications include a sandbox test environment to use before going live.
Third-party applications that are often integrated using ERP system integration tools include:
- Tipalti Accounts Payable and Global Mass Payments for AP and payouts automation
- Salesforce for CRM systems (customer relationship management)
- Shopify, an e-commerce platform
- Various supply chain management (SCM) solutions
In AP automation systems and other third-party applications, the ability to handle finance workflows and scale with growth and multi-entity capabilities is essential. Scalability means the ability to handle increased transaction volume, more business complexity, and new locations, entities, and global operations.
An ERP integration tool needs to detect and monitor errors. This capability includes exception triggering, which may require human-in-the-loop follow-up. It should provide enterprise-grade security, controls, and governance to satisfy your company’s internal control requirements.
How to choose the right ERP integration approach
Use the following decision table to match your primary integration need with the appropriate type of ERP integration software solution.
| If your primary goal is… | Consider… |
|---|---|
| Connecting many SaaS applications | iPaaS |
| Automating cross-functional workflows | iPaaS/workflow automation |
| Moving ERP data into a warehouse | ETL/ELT or data integration software |
| Building highly customized connections | APIs |
| Automating AP while keeping your ERP | AP automation with native ERP integrations |
| Managing enterprise-wide data governance | Enterprise data integration platform |
iPaaS (integration platform as a service) is a cloud software hub that manages multiple business systems, databases, and applications, enabling them to work together smoothly and detect errors.
ETL stands for Extract, Transform, and Load; ELT stands for Extract, Load, and Transform. ETL and ELT are data import, cleaning, management, and transformation processes handled by ERP data integration software.
How Tipalti integrates with ERP systems
Tipalti’s AP automation software is a finance automation layer that enhances the ERP (with an integrated ERP system), rather than replacing it. Tipalti is finance/AP automation with ERP integration, not a general-purpose iPaaS, middleware, or ETL platform.
ERP connectivity supports AP and finance workflows by adding automation and other functionality to the native ERP and enabling two-way data synchronization between financial systems, thereby avoiding error-prone, time-consuming manual data entry. Tipalti’s ERP accounts payable integration works with most types of ERP systems.
Tipalti’s pre-built integrations include:
- NetSuite (a.k.a. Oracle NetSuite)
- Sage Intacct
- Sage 50, 100, 200, 300, and X3
- Microsoft Dynamics BC
- Microsoft Dynamics GP
- SAP Business One
- Infor SyteLine
- Acumatica
- QuickBooks
- Xero
Tipalti integrations supported by Professional Services include:
- Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations (F&O)
- SAP S/4HANA
- Oracle Fusion
- Workday
The right ERP integration approach depends on what your finance team needs to accomplish, from connecting applications and moving data to automating AP workflows.
See how Tipalti integrates with your ERP
Explore Tipalti’s prebuilt and supported ERP integrations for accounts payable automation.
ERP integration tools FAQs
What are the most common types of ERP integration tools?
The most common types of ERP integration tools are iPaaS, ETL/data integration, APIs, and software with native or prebuilt ERP integrations, such as AP automation software.
What is the difference between ERP integration software and iPaaS?
ERP integration software connects ERP systems with third-party applications that extend or automate ERP functionality. An iPaaS is a cloud platform that orchestrates multiple systems, databases, and applications to work together.
What is the best ERP integration tool for accounts payable?
For companies specifically looking to automate accounts payable while keeping their existing ERP, Tipalti is an AP automation platform with prebuilt and supported ERP integrations. It combines invoice processing, supplier management, payments, controls, and ERP synchronization rather than serving as a general-purpose integration platform.
Can accounts payable software integrate with an ERP?
Yes. Accounts payable software connects to an ERP in three main ways: prebuilt connectors that sync data out of the box, APIs for custom connections, or flat-file (CSV) imports and exports on a schedule. Prebuilt connectors take the least setup, while APIs and flat files suit ERPs without one. Learn more about flat file integration vs. API.
Do you need an iPaaS to integrate AP software with an ERP?
You may not need an iPaaS to integrate AP automation software with an ERP if the software includes verified or certified connectors for major ERP systems, such as NetSuite and Microsoft Dynamics.
What is the difference between ETL and ERP integration?
ETL is an Extract, Transform, Load tool for ERP migration that pulls data from various sources, cleans and formats it for data migration, and loads it into a new system. ETL also supports ongoing data integration and analytics. In contrast, ERP integration connects third-party applications to ERP systems.
During ERP implementation, ETL is a process performed with special-purpose software tools to migrate cleaned, transformed data (with data mapping) into the new system.
