- Best for most small businesses: QuickBooks Online.
- Best for accounts payable automation: Stampli.
- Best value for your money: Bill.com.
Best Accounts Payable Software Solutions
Product | Promotion | Learn more | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
QuickBooks Online Learn more on QuickBooks Online's secure website | 5.0/5 Best for Most small businesses | $35/month Additional pricing tiers (per month): $65, $99, $235. | 50% off for first three months or free 30-day trial. | Learn more on QuickBooks Online's secure website |
Xero Learn more on Xero's secure website | 5.0/5 Best for Built-in document organization | $20/month Additional pricing tiers (per month): $47, $80. | 95% off for 6 months. | Learn more on Xero's secure website |
FreshBooks Learn more on FreshBooks' secure website | 4.5/5 Best for Freelancers with bills to pay | $19/month Additional pricing tiers (per month): $33, $60, custom. | 75% off for 3 months. 30-Day Money Back Guarantee. | Learn more on FreshBooks' secure website |
Sage Intacct Learn more on Sage Intacct's secure website | Best for Growing businesses with complex accounts payable needs | N/A Quote-based. | N/A | Learn more on Sage Intacct's secure website |
Stampli | Best for Automated accounts payable workflows | N/A Quote-based. | N/A | |
Lightyear | Best for Businesses with high bill and purchase order volume | $189/month Additional pricing tiers (per month): $449, $799. | 30-day free trial | |
Bill.com | Best for Low-cost, high-value accounts payable software | $45/month Per user. Additional pricing tiers (per user, per month): $55, $79, custom. | N/A | |
AvidXchange | Best for Industry-specific accounts payable software features | N/A Quote-based. | N/A | |
Tipalti | Best for Customer support | $99/month Additional pricing tiers (per month): custom. | N/A | |
Airbase | Best for Multicurrency bill pay | N/A Quote-based. | N/A |
Our pick for
Most small businesses
QuickBooks Online is ubiquitous in the small-business accounting industry, and lots of entrepreneurs will find that it sufficiently manages accounts payable, too — as long as you don't mind paying for the Essentials plan or up.
QuickBooks Online
on QuickBooks Online's secure website
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $65, $99, $235.
for first three months or free 30-day trial.
Pros
- Easy to share information with your accountant and to find QuickBooks experts and online resources if needed.
- More than 750 app integrations.
- Robust feature set includes record-keeping, reporting, invoicing and inventory management, plus a capable mobile app.
- Chat and phone support available Monday through Saturday in all plans.
Cons
- Expensive compared with the competition.
- Frequent price increases and a tendency toward upselling.
- Limited account users with each plan.
Our pick for
Built-in document organization
Xero is another popular small-business accounting software product, and it lets businesses quickly upload and extract data from bills using Hubdoc, a business app for digitally storing financial documents.
Xero
on Xero's secure website
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $47, $80.
for 6 months.
Pros
- Unlimited users in all pricing plans.
- Integrates with more than 1,000 third-party apps.
- Feature set includes an excellent mobile app and suite of reports, capable invoicing features, plus automated bill and receipt capture through Hubdoc.
- Simple layout and easy to use.
Cons
- No inbound phone customer support (callbacks are available, though).
- Entry-level plan limits bills and invoices to five and 20 per month, respectively.
- Must subscribe to the highest-tier Established plan to claim expenses.
Our pick for
Freelancers with bills to pay
FreshBooks allows freelancers to keep track of bills and, just as importantly, keep in close touch with their clients. The accounting software’s client portal lets clients collaborate with you on projects and leave comments on invoices.
FreshBooks
on FreshBooks' secure website
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $33, $60, custom.
for 3 months. 30-Day Money Back Guarantee.
Pros
- Stay in touch with clients through the FreshBooks mobile app and get notified when invoices have been viewed or become overdue.
- Intuitive, customizable invoicing capabilities compete with those of more robust accounting solutions.
- Track time and add billable hours to invoices in all plans.
- Weekday phone support in all plans.
Cons
- Highest-tier Select plan only comes with two users (additional users add $11 per month) and lower-tier plans put limits on billable clients.
- Least expensive plan lacks double-entry accounting reports, bank reconciliation and accountant access.
Our pick for
Growing businesses with complex accounts payable needs
Growing businesses that need to streamline their processes can use Sage Intacct’s AI-powered accounts payable tool to save time on recording bills, assigning them to vendors and reconciling them later on.
Sage Intacct
on Sage Intacct's secure website
Quote-based.
Pros
- Automation features streamline financial processes.
- Customizable reports and dashboard enhance business insights.
- Consolidates many functions, like billing, invoicing, cash flow management payroll and HR, within a single product.
Cons
- Quote-based pricing makes it difficult to compare with competitors.
- Not suitable for small businesses that don’t plan to grow.
Our pick for
Automated accounts payable workflows
Take advantage of the benefits that accounts payable automation software can offer your business by replacing time-consuming, manual processes with paperless, automated workflows. Stampli’s automation software for bill payment enables you and your team to focus on more business-critical tasks and ensures your bills get paid quickly and accurately.
Stampli
Quote-based.
Pros
- Dedicated communication channel for invoices consolidates all activity related to each invoice for easy record-keeping.
- Bot alerts you to duplicate invoices.
- Audit and reporting tools.
- Mobile app available.
Cons
- Lack of pricing transparency.
Our pick for
Businesses with high bill and purchase order volume
Due to Lightyear’s unique pricing structure — pay a monthly fee to purchase credits, which are then exchanged on a 1:1 basis for each bill, statement or purchase order — which rewards higher-volumes of purchasing and bill paying with discounted credits, this software is a better fit for businesses that process a large number of purchase orders and bills each month.
Lightyear
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $449, $799.
Pros
- Unlimited number of users.
- Live support.
- Mobile app, available for iOS and Android.
- Free trial.
Cons
- Price can be a deterrent for smaller businesses.
- Requires upgrade to handle purchase orders.
- Least expensive package only processes 125 bills or statements per month.
Our pick for
Low-cost, high-value accounts payable software
Bill.com’s pricing tiers come in on the lower end, compared with others on this list. Even bundling its accounts payable and accounts receivable software comes in at a reasonable price point and will fetch you tools for bill and invoice management along with automated syncs with your accounting software.
Bill.com
Per user. Additional pricing tiers (per user, per month): $55, $79, custom.
Pros
- Plan options available that bundle receivable and payable software.
- Customize approval workflows for paying bills.
- Accept multiple payment methods from customers (ACH, card, check); sync received payments directly with your accounting software.
- Customer support available via live chat or call-back request.
- Mobile app available.
Cons
- Least-expensive plan includes manual integration only with accounting software.
Our pick for
Industry-specific accounts payable software features
AvidXchange is one among many on the market offering accounts payable automation software. It stands out, however, for its features tailored to a variety of industries, including real estate, healthcare, technology, financial services and construction.
AvidXchange
Quote-based.
Pros
- Integrates with many accounting software packages.
- Live support.
- Offers tool for advanced analytics and business insights.
Cons
- Lack of pricing transparency.
- No mobile app.
- No free trial.
Our pick for
Customer support
Although several providers on this list offer live customer support, Tipalti stands out for its multichannel customer support. You can reach the team seven days a week by phone and email and on weekdays by chat. The company advertises its fast response time and high satisfaction rating for the support team.
Tipalti
Additional pricing tiers (per month): custom.
Pros
- Automated purchase order matching.
- Live support by phone, email and chat.
- Includes machine learning technology for assigning accounting codes and approval routes.
Cons
- No mobile app for accounts payable.
- No free trial.
Our pick for
Multicurrency bill pay
With the ability to pay bills in more than 145 currencies across more than 200 countries, Airbase is a strong accounts payable software solution for businesses with international vendors.
Airbase
Quote-based.
Pros
- Self-service vendor portal.
- Automated purchase order matching.
- Mobile app.
Cons
- Email and ticket support only.
- Lack of pricing transparency.
- Receive bills from vendors and/or creditors.
- Transfer important data from each bill to your accounting system.
- Confirm the bill amount is correct and whether it requires specific approval before payment is sent.
- Generate and send a payment for each bill.
- Record that each bill is paid.
Benefits of using accounts payable software
