Best Accounts Payable Software Solutions of 2024

Accounts payable software helps you keep track of the debts your company owes, such as unpaid bills, and when payments are due — a key component of successfully managing accounts payable and your business in general. The best accounts payable software options automate the otherwise manual process and include timesaving features, like invoice scanning and accounting software integration.

Top picks from our list include:

Best for most small businesses: QuickBooks Online.
Best for accounts payable automation: Stampli.
Best value for your money: Bill.com.

Below is our full list of the best accounts payable software, including pros and cons and why we selected each option.

250+ small-business products reviewed and rated by our team of experts.

95+ years of combined experience covering small business and personal finance.

75+ categories of best business software selections.

Objective and comprehensive business accounting software ratings rubric. (Learn more about our star ratings.)

NerdWallet's small-business software content, including ratings, recommendations and reviews, is overseen by a team of writers and editors who specialize in business software, including payroll, accounting and payment processing. Their work has appeared in The Associated Press, The Washington Post, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur, ABC News, Yahoo Finance and other national and local media outlets. Each writer and editor follows NerdWallet's strict guidelines for editorial integrity to ensure accuracy and fairness in our coverage.

Best Accounts Payable Software Solutions

Product	Best for▼	Starting at▼	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	$15/month Additional pricing tiers (per month): $42, $78.	30-day free trial or monthly discount (terms vary).	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.	30-day free trial or monthly discount (terms vary).	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

Smart money moves for your small business

Grow your small business with tailored insights and recommendations.

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

5.0

NerdWallet rating

Learn more

on QuickBooks Online's secure website

Starting at

$35/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $65, $99, $235.

Promotion

50% off

for first three months or free 30-day trial.

The beauty of QuickBooks Online is that you can categorize transactions — including bills that fall under the accounts payable category — as granularly or simplistically as you like. This flexibility makes it a good choice for very small businesses and growing operations alike. The Essentials plan lets you enter bills and pay them, and the Plus plan helps automate the process by recording payments for you. You can also automatically import bills from vendors in QuickBooks’ Business Network and run detailed reports on what you owe and when.

Read full review

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.

Read full review

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

5.0

NerdWallet rating

Learn more

on Xero's secure website

Starting at

$15/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $42, $78.

Promotion

30-day free trial

or monthly discount (terms vary).

All of Xero's plans include Hubdoc for uploading financial documents, like bills and receipts, and recording important data from them. This is especially useful for business owners who struggle to keep financial records organized and accessible. The base-level Early plan lets you enter up to five bills per month, and higher-tier plans accommodate an unlimited number of bills. You can also use the software to schedule bill payments and make batch payments.

Read full review

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 phone number for customer support listed.
Entry-level plan limits bills and invoices to five and 20 per month, respectively.

Read full review

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

4.5

NerdWallet rating

Learn more

on FreshBooks' secure website

Starting at

$19/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $33, $60, custom.

Promotion

30-day free trial

or monthly discount (terms vary).

FreshBooks’ client management focus and accounts payable features make it a great fit for freelancers and contractors who need a simple way to track their bills. FreshBooks’ Premium plan and up include the ability to upload bills and mark them as “paid.” Since the software doesn’t include as many bill pay automation tools as some competitors, it’s best for freelancers who receive just a handful of bills each month.

Read full review

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

Lacks features that quickly growing companies need, like audit trails for accountants to review.
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.

Read full review

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

Learn more

on Sage Intacct's secure website

Starting at

N/A

Quote-based.

Promotion

N/A

Sage Intacct’s highly customizable accounting software and AI-powered accounts payable features make it a good solution for growing businesses trying to operate more efficiently. You can also use the software to set spending limits and even manage multiple business entities or locations across the globe. Since Sage Intacct’s plans are customized to businesses’ specific needs, though, you’ll need to reach out to a representative for a quote.

Read full review

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.

Read full review

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

Starting at

N/A

Quote-based.

Promotion

N/A

Stampli uses a bot to automate and streamline various tasks, such as manage approval identifications, alert you to duplicate invoices and even autopopulate fields with certain accounting codes. It integrates with several different accounting packages, including QuickBooks, Sage Intacct and Oracle NetSuite.

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

Starting at

$189/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $449, $799.

Promotion

30-day free trial

Lightyear’s software can read invoices, extract line-item data from them, send invoices off for approval from the appropriate people and automatically assign accounting codes to the data. The product integrates with QuickBooks, Xero, Sage, Oracle NetSuite and more.

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

Starting at

$45/month

Per user. Additional pricing tiers (per user, per month): $55, $79, custom.

Promotion

N/A

Bill.com is a user-friendly platform with competitive pricing, especially for small businesses that don’t need an enterprise-level solution. With Bill.com, you have access to the essential features you need to streamline accounts receivable and accounts payable. It integrates with QuickBooks, Oracle NetSuite, Xero and Sage.

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

Starting at

N/A

Quote-based.

Promotion

N/A

AvidXchange has automated invoice, purchase order and bill payment software that integrates with more than 225 accounting programs, making it more useful for small businesses that use something other than QuickBooks. The company offers live customer support by chat and phone.

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

Starting at

$99/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): custom.

Promotion

N/A

Tipalti matches purchase orders with invoices and receipts and automates vendor communications. All products on this list include optical character recognition for automatically scanning invoices, but Tipalti also features machine learning that helps it perform better over time. The company is highly regarded for its responsive live support and the software integrates with Sage, QuickBooks, Oracle NetSuite and Xero.

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

Starting at

N/A

Quote-based.

Promotion

N/A

Like most of its competitors, Airbase uses OCR technology to scan invoices and extract the data you need to move the process along. The mobile app makes it easier for busy business owners to get things done on the go. If you make a lot of payments to overseas vendors, Airbase’s foreign currency support might be especially attractive. It integrates with QuickBooks, Xero, Oracle NetSuite and Sage Intacct.

Pros

Self-service vendor portal.
Automated purchase order matching.
Mobile app.

Cons

Email and ticket support only.
Lack of pricing transparency.

What is accounts payable software?

Accounts payable (AP) software helps your business manage the debts it owes and will pay at a later date. The software also streamlines the AP process, which typically includes the following steps:

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.

Until they’re paid, AP transactions will show up as liabilities on your balance sheet, a document that conveys your business’s financial health at a particular point in time. In addition to helping ensure your bills are paid on time and that all important details are shared with your accounting software, AP software can also run reports that show how much your business owes and when. Other features may include the ability to create purchase orders, build approval workflows and schedule payments.

» MORE: How to calculate your accounts payable turnover ratio

Benefits of using accounts payable software

AP software, whether it’s a standalone product or built into your larger accounting system, enables your business to better manage cash flow and keep tabs on its debts. Here are some of the major advantages:

Avoid unexpectedly running out of cash. Keeping track of what invoices are outstanding helps you understand how much cash you’re going to need and when, so you can keep your business running smoothly.

Jar with some coins inside and some cash on the side.

Get discounts.Many vendors offer discounts for paying early or charge fees for paying late. Good AP software will help you make the most of those deadlines so you don’t throw money away.

Avoid having to hire extra people. It can take a lot of time to manually key in data from bills, generate payments and make journal entries, which can mean hiring more people if there’s no technology or systems to speed up the work.

Paper documents wrapped with a ribbon that has a checkmark on it.

Prevent errors.AP software can help detect whether you’ve already paid a bill and confirm whether the bill amount is correct.

How to choose accounts payable software

Ask yourself these questions to help determine what AP software is right for you.

How much does it cost?

AP software providers often have multiple plans at varying price points. While the cheapest base plan may work for your business now, consider how you want to grow in the future. Increasing your purchasing base or staffing levels might place you into a more expensive plan in the future. Plus, some important features might actually be add-ons with additional fees.

You’ll also want to consider how AP software factors into your overall business software costs, which can include separate programs for accounting, payroll, inventory and more. Make sure you’re not unnecessarily paying for features you may already be receiving from another software program.

Is it scalable?

Remember to think about the future, not just the present. Some AP packages set prices based on how many users or bills you have; business growth could mean rising costs. Look for AP software that supports the business you plan to run in a year without requiring you to leap up to a much higher pricing tier.

Is it easy for you and your clients to use?

Some AP software providers offer free trials to potential customers. Take advantage of these to make sure you understand how to use the features you need. Choose AP software that accommodates your vendors, especially if you have international business and need to support multiple currencies. If the vendors will interact with your AP software (perhaps when they remit invoices, for example), take time to test the software from the vendor’s end, too.

Does it integrate with your accounting software?

Your existing accounting software may have all the AP firepower you want. But if it doesn’t, look for an option that offers a built-in integration with your existing accounting software.

» MORE: Best accounts receivable software

Last updated on October 21, 2024