Thanks to the accounts payable (AP) department of any organization, payments owed to suppliers are accurately tracked, approved, and processed. Thus, vendor relationships are proactively maintained. But—especially as organizations grow—they have to handle tons of documents from different companies. So, what is the best AP automation software to efficiently handle numerous invoices?
Read on to find out what the options are and how to pick the best one for your business.
If you’d first like to learn more about how to begin an automation strategy for your AP department, download Impact’s helpful eBook, Understanding Workflow Automation.
What is Accounts Payable Automation Software?
When a business needs to handle a large number of invoices and vendor transactions, AP automation software comes in.
AP automation software uses bots handle repetitive manual tasks such as retrieving the relevant data from invoices, sorting, and classifying these documents. AP automation software also allows users to benefit from data-derived insights. Since the software stores and sorts through data, users can uncover trends and make informed decisions.
Watch our tech experts discuss the most efficient ways to digitize AP processes in the video below:
Related Bog: Q&A With an Accounts Payable Manager | Invoice Detectives Using Smart Solutions
Best 5 AP Automation Software Programs
Here are our reviews of the five best cloud-based AP automation software available to business owners. We have delineated their main benefits so you can decide which will fit your needs best.
5. Stampli
A digital AP management software, Stampli joins invoice documentation, payments, and communications in one program.
Its communications capabilities means that vendors, approvers, and AP managers can easily communicate about the status and steps needed to finalize an invoice.
Their AI bot, named Billy, can identify if there are duplicate invoices, auto-populate fields, and process invoices in real time.
Standout feature: Communication hub that allows collaborative invoice processing
Best for: Small and midsized businesses
Price range: Quotes only
4. Airbase
Airbase is another cloud-based accounting software. It combines accounts payable, a corporate program, and an employee-expense reimbursement system into one platform.
Airbase learns from your transactions, and it automates field population for future transactions. It also allows users to set up approval workflows for more visibility.
Its mobile app also lets business owners manage transactions on the go. However, its customer support is through email and online ticket only.
Standout feature: Its mobile app for small business owners on the go
Best for: Small businesses
Price range: Quotes only
3. Tipalti
Tipalti is an accounting managing solution. It automates all accounts payable phases into one platform. Like most cloud-based AP automation tools, the Tipalti software can also scale up as your business grows.
Tipalti allows users to handle several invoices at once and classifies them for payment regardless of the vendor or payment form.
One of the biggest benefits of Tipalti is that it allows businesses to adhere to IRS tax regulations with its tax and VAT compliance tool. This tool asks vendors to complete the proper tax forms and enter their VAT or tax ID.
Standout feature: Global payment methods for international vendors with several currencies
Best for: Small and midsized businesses
Price range: $149 per month
2. Nanonets
Nanonets is software solution that automate AP processes and workflows. It allows users to capture invoices through scanning, email, cloud storage platforms, and ERPs.
With Nanonets, users can take existing workflows with invoices and POs (purchase orders) and structure them into an organized system. Users can also set up rules for validations and approvals as well as reconcile stalled invoices.
Users can quickly validate the extracted data, while its AI capabilities let the software learn and become more efficient.
Standout feature: Its ability to extract data from numerous channels
Best for: Small, midsize, and large businesses
Price range: $499 per month and quotes for enterprises
1. DocuWare
This cloud-based AP automation solution automatically extracts invoice data, sorts it into folders, and highlights the correct information.
DocuWare lets users design the approval process. It can handle a large amount of physical and digital invoices scanned from any device, email, or mobile devices. Therefore, it also works as a document management software.
This software’s AI, named Intelligent Indexing, can identify the most pertinent information from each document and turn it into structured data. The AI learns from corrections, which means it gets faster and more effective with each use.
Standout feature: Versatility; it can integrate with 500+ different types of accounting software and serve most industries
Best for: Small, midsize, and large businesses
Price range: Depends on storage space and length of contract
Related Blog: What Is a Document Management System?
Conclusion
At Impact, our first choice of AP automation software is DocuWare. Besides all of the benefits listed above, DocuWare scales up with your business as it grows and the demand on your AP department increases.
DocuWare allows users to edit, annotate, and mark invoices without altering the original document. It’s drag-and-drop interface is intuitive and user friendly.
Most importantly, when you work with an MSP like Impact, you get the assistance from experts to customize and implement the software in your business while considering your organizational and industry needs.
To learn more about how automation can streamline your operations, reduce costs, and make your AP department more efficient, download our free eBook, Understanding Workflow Automation.
