6 Best Accounts Payable Software Programs for 2023
This article is part of a larger series onAccounting Software.
The best accounts payable (A/P) software must have strong general accounts payable features like vendor tracking, purchase order (PO) tracking, and vendor payments tracking. Good A/P automation should also reduce data entry, streamline the A/P process, and provide options for managers to review and approve bills before payment.
Based on these requirements, here are six accounts payable systems that can help your business process and manage payables easily:
- BILL:Best overall A/P software because of its outstanding features at a low price
- Ramp:Best A/P software with card-issuing and expense management features
- Melio:Best free standalone A/P platform
- QuickBooks Online:Best A/P software integrated with a complete bookkeeping system
- Quadient Accounts Payable by Beanworks:Best A/P automation software for Xero integration
- Wave:Best free A/P system within a free bookkeeping software
Best Accounts Payable Systems Compared
Software |
Monthly Price |
Free Trial |
Highlights |
Drawbacks |
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Starts at $45 per user |
Yes |
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Free |
N/A |
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Free |
N/A |
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$55 to $200 |
Yes |
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Contact Sales |
Yes |
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Free |
N/A |
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BILL: Best Overall A/P Software
Pros
- Affordable plans
- Can expand to include A/R and invoicing customers
- Auto-capture receipts from email or document uploads
- Can pay bills using automated clearing house (ACH), credit card, check, or international wire transfer
Cons
- Additional transaction fees for payment services like ACH processing, check mailing, credit or debit card processing
- Not a substitute for accounting software
- Not ideal for businesses with few clients
- Integration with QuickBooks or Xero requires the Team or Corporate plan
Plans & Pricing
BILL offers solutions to two vital business processes. You can get either invoicing (accounts receivable or A/R) or billing (A/P) under separate plans or get both for a single price.
Pay Bills (A/P) or Get Paid (A/R)
- Essentials: $45 per user, per month
- Team: $55 per user, per month
Pay Bills and Get Paid (A/P and A/R)
- Corporate: $79 per user, per month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Why We Chose BILL
BILL is our best overall pick because of its comprehensive features in managing bills. We like the status tracking feature, which helps businesses stay on top of all bills. If your vendor also uses BILL, sending bills and requesting payments will be a breeze. However, the process for sending bills to non-BILL users is easy as well.
The solution integrates with QuickBooks and Xero, making it easy for users to implement it on their small business accounting software. While BILL has outstanding features, it’s not a substitute for accounting software. We recommend QuickBooks Online instead if your small business still has no accounting software.
BILL Overview
Ramp: Best A/P Software With Card-issuing and Expense Management Features
Pros
- No subscription or platform fee
- Can issue virtual cards and track expenses
- Offers multiple payment methods for bills
Cons
- Limited customer support (support email and help center only)
- 不理想的自由职业者或个体个体所uals due to Ramp’s expense workflows
- Corporate cards are prepaid cards, not credit cards
Plans & Pricing
Ramp is free to use for expense management, card issuance, and bill payments.
Why We Chose Ramp
Ramp is primarily an expense management software. But with Ramp Bill Pay, you can also get bill management features to manage payments to vendors. We chose Ramp because it covers two major business areas, expenses and payables. Since these two areas overlap with one another, Ramp is a single solution for you.
However, it may not be suitable for freelancers and self-employed individuals since the system is centered on large teams. We recommend Wave instead. It proves to be more suitable for freelancers since it has a competent bill management system for self-employed users.
斜坡概述
Melio: Best Free Standalone A/P Platform
Pros
- No subscription fee
- Unlimited number of users
- No sign-up or account needed to pay vendors
Cons
- No audit trails feature
- No mobile app for Android users
- No phone support
Plans & Pricing
Melio charges $0 for using the platform, but you have to pay for transaction fees.
Pay (A/P)
- $0 for bank transfers and sending checks via United States Postal Service (USPS)
- 2.9% fee for credit and debit card transfers
- 1% fee for same-day bank transfers
- $20 fee for expedited check delivery and international US dollars (USD) transfers
Get Paid (A/R)
- $0 to receive bank transfers and accept credit card payments (2.9% fee to you or payer)
- 1% fee for instant payout (same-day bank transfer)
Why We Chose Melio
We picked Melio because it is a free standalone accounts payable software. Another free option in this guide is Wave—but it’s accounting software by default. Melio only charges transaction fees and zero platform fees, making it a flexible solution for small businesses. You only pay for successful transactions, which is helpful if your business only performs occasional transactions with vendors and customers.
However, Melio is not ideal if you also send check payments aside from electronic payments. We recommend BILL in this case, as it can send checks for you (for an additional fee) if vendors prefer that method.
Melio Overview
QuickBooks Online: Best A/P Software Integrated With a Complete Accounting System
Pros
- Schedule and make payments right in QuickBooks
- Ability to pay bills with a credit card, even if the vendor doesn’t accept credit cards
- Bills paid by check or direct deposit are recorded automatically in QuickBooks
- Thorough data records for vendors and customers
- 超过650的集成
- Make partial bill payment
Cons
- Limited account users with each plan
- Not ideal for companies with existing accounting software
- Costly transaction fees when using Bill Pay
- Lacks A/P automation features like vendor invoice auto-capture
Plans & Pricing
QuickBooks Online has four different plans to choose from and a free 30-day trial. However, A/P features are not present in the most basic plan, Simple Start. Below are the QuickBooks Online plans with billing features.
- Essentials:$55 per month for up to three users
- Plus:$85 per month for up to five users
- Advanced:$200 per month for up to 25 users
In addition, Bill Pay for QuickBooks Online integrates with QuickBooks Online Essentials, Plus, and Advanced, so you can pay, track, and manage bills right inside the software. Both plans allow you unlimited users and no monthly fee:
- Bill Pay for QuickBooks Online: 99 cents per ACH transaction; $1.99 per check
- Bill Pay for QuickBooks Online Advanced: 20 free domestic ACH transactions per month during two-month trial period, 99 cents per ACH transaction thereafter—$1.99 per check—powered by BILL
Why We Chose QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks Online is a perfect fit for small businesses looking for a two-in-one solution for accounting and A/P tracking. While Wave is also accounting software, QuickBooks Online is more complete than Wave and more flexible across different industries. Since its A/P tracking is integrated into the accounting system, you can easily track bills and bill payments through reports and the general ledger. If you already use QuickBooks or Xero, we recommend BILL since it can integrate with both platforms.
QuickBooks Online Overview
If you’ve noticed in our evaluation, QuickBooks Online scored 4.7 while BILL got a 4.4. It is our expert analysis to give BILL the best overall because it’s a dedicated A/P software, whereas QuickBooks Online is geared toward bookkeeping. Moreover, some businesses may want to integrate QuickBooks Online with BILL for advanced A/P features. Additional integration means higher monthly subscription costs.
Quadient Accounts Payable by Beanworks: Best A/P Automation Software for Xero Integration
Pros
- Vendor bill auto-capture from email
- Bill coding feature including multicurrency bills
- Integrates with QuickBooks, Sage, and Xero
- Bill approvals and routing
- Audit trail
- Set and manage spending limits
Cons
- Pricing is not transparent
- Exporting invoices from QuickBooks to Beanworks takes 2 hours before appearing
- Search functions are limited
- Not a substitute for accounting software
Plans & Pricing
Quadient Accounts Payable offers plans based on the users’ needs. Beansprout is recommended for starters. Users can also choose plans for Purchase Orders, Invoices, Payments, and Expenses. There is no pricing information on its website, so we recommend contacting sales for pricing information.
Why We Chose Quadient Accounts Payable by Beanworks
We chose Quadient Accounts Payable for users wanting more control over the A/P process. Quadient Accounts Payable can perform a three-way match of purchase orders, invoices, and receiving reports to reduce time for manual matching. It also has controls and workflows to ensure that every transaction complies with company policy.
It is best for Xero integration because Xero users can utilize all of Quadient Accounts Payable’s automation features, such as three-way matching and enhanced controls—unlike BILL. Alternatively, we recommend Melio for simple A/P tracking, as it is free to use and charges minimal transaction fees for successful A/P transactions.
Quadient Accounts Payable by Beanworks Overview
Wave: Best Free A/P System Within a Bookkeeping Software
Pros
- Easy to record a bill and manage unpaid bills
- Totally free for invoicing, accounting, and receipt scanning
- Easy to set up and use
- Optical character recognition in receipt scanning
Cons
- Not a good fit for large businesses
- Mobile app is limited in functionality
- Poor customer support
- Can’t set up separate income and expenses by classes or locations
Plans & Pricing
Wave is free for accounting, invoicing, and receipt scanning. It offers these additional services for a reasonable cost:
- Credit card payments: 2.9% plus 60 cents per transaction or 3.4% plus 60 cents per AMEX transaction.
- Bank payments: 1% per transaction but a minimum of $1 fee
Why We Chose Wave
Wave is a good pick for small businesses with few bills to track. Freelancers can also use Wave to record recurring billings from frequent vendors like mobile data plans, software subscriptions, and internet service plans. Because of Wave’s simplicity in A/P tracking, we can’t recommend this software to established small businesses. Instead, choose QuickBooks Online for a more complete accounting solution and inventory features.
Wave Overview
How We Evaluated Best Accounts Payable Software
We employed specific criteria to evaluate the best accounts payable software. We considered pricing, general features, specific features, and ease of use. We assigned an equal percentage for each criterion and different weights for subcriteria.
25% of Overall Score
In assessing the pricing, we considered the transparency, affordability, and flexibility of pricing plans. We also gave more credit to the software providers that can accommodate more users.
25% of Overall Score
When considering basic accounts payable functionality, we looked at features, such as creating vendors, tracking vendor transactions, viewing outstanding bills, recording vendor credits, and other minor A/P features.
25% of Overall Score
In evaluating special accounts payable features, we focused more on A/P automation. We heavily considered the ability of the software to reduce data entry time, workflow approvals, and batch processing. We also included the following:
- Automatic payments:We looked at whether the software automates the payment process for recurring bills.
- Automated alerts:For every vendor that’s set up in the system, we considered whether you can create custom alerts to inform you when a bill has arrived or is due.
- E-bill aggregation:We evaluated whether electronic copies of all your bills can be sent directly to your accounting software.
- Audit trails:An audit trail helps approvers of bills see the history of the transaction being processed. Audit trails provide transparency and establish evidence that bills have been processed according to the company’s policies.
25% of Overall Score
When considering ease of use, we assessed the difficulty of using the software. Our main focus is integration with accounting software. As much as possible, we want accounts payable software to integrate with popular accounting applications and ERP systems. We also factored user reviews into the software’s Ease of Use score.
When To Use A/P Automation Software vs A/P Software
Most accounting solutions include A/P features but don’t necessarily provide the functionality to handle more complex processes, such as batch payments. Depending on the size and needs of your business, the A/P features included in reputable bookkeeping software may be enough to do the job. Otherwise, automation software is helpful for processing a large volume of bills and simplifying complex A/P activities.
When deciding, you have to consider qualitative and quantitative factors in A/P automation. It’s a decision of whether to insource, such as hire A/P professionals, or outsource, such as when getting an A/P automation service. As far as the quantitative aspect, consider the relevant costs of insourcing, such as salaries of A/P professionals, and relevant outsourcing expenses, like the monthly cost of the A/P automation software.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
自动化/ P始于从手工转向automated A/P processing. You should get A/P software that’s either included in your bookkeeping system or a separate tool that integrates with your accounting platform. The solution must include features that reduce data entry and speed up bill processing.
A/P software manages, automates, and records A/P transactions in an efficient manner. These systems should reduce data entry time, streamline processing and review, and facilitate a channel to make payments to vendors.
An A/P automation tool often uses advanced technology like artificial intelligence (AI) to reduce manual work. A/P automation features include automatic classification of transactions, optical character recognition, and workflow rules.
Bottom Line
Accounts payable software helps you track which bills are due and when they’re due, which is a key component of managing your business successfully. Some A/P solutions take it a step further by automating the process, allowing for more complex features like approval workflows and global payments. The right fit for your business is the software that suits both your current needs and is also scalable for the future.