Eleven essential features to look for in an accounts payable solution
Not all accounts payable solutions are created equal. The best ones come with key features that help your business run smoother, faster, and with fewer headaches. Here’s what to look for.
1. Automated invoice processing
If your team has ever wasted hours processing invoices and chasing missing ones, there’s hope. Features like Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and intelligent data capture can streamline invoice handling. You save time, reduce errors, and cut down on tedious admin.
2. Customisable workflow automation
Your business's operations have unique aspects, so you need the ability to tailor and automate your AP processes to ensure compliance without sacrificing productivity, adaptability, or speed.
Look for a solution that enables you to set up specific rules, approval hierarchies, and automation triggers. These features will remove bottlenecks from your process and payment operations.
3. Automated Purchase Order matching
From email threads to tracking down purchase orders, accounts payable has a lot of moving parts, and it’s easy to lose time scrolling through spreadsheets or chasing missing data.
That’s where smart AP automation comes in. The best solutions support two-way and three-way matching, depending on the type of purchase. For physical goods, you should expect three-way matching: Invoices, purchase orders, and receipt notes. And for non-physical items, two-way matching between the invoice and the purchase order is enough. Either way, the right controls help catch errors early, before payments go out the door.
Real-time reconciliation is another must-have. The right AP software automatically matches financial transactions — like card payments or bank transfers — with receipts, invoices, and accounting records. These automatic reconciliations then give you cleaner books, faster month-end, and far less manual work.
With the right solution, the benefits won’t stop at accuracy either. By linking POs to invoices, you can also gain predictability, track committed spend upfront, monitor budgets in real time, and make smarter, faster decisions.
4. Integration capabilities
Switching between disconnected tools slows your team down and can reduce productivity by as much as 40%. That’s why the most impactful accounts payable integrations are with your ERP and accounting systems.
Live, two-way integrations ensure that invoice and expense data flows automatically between systems in real time. That means no more manual data entry, fewer reconciliation headaches, and faster month-end closes. Financial records stay current, and your finance team gets instant visibility into spend, so you can make faster, smarter decisions.
The best AP solutions integrate directly with leading ERP and accounting platforms like Xero, QuickBooks, and Sage Intacct. So, look for a solution with these connections in place and help your team spend less time on admin and more time analysing insights that drive real impact.
5. User-friendly interface
A good user experience can make or break software adoption. For accounts payable, an intuitive interface means your finance team can navigate the platform quickly without hours of training or a steep learning curve. That leads to greater adoption, fewer errors, faster approvals, and more time for strategic work.
But the real magic happens when AP tools extend beyond workflows. At Payhawk, for example, our user-friendly AI procurement agent means your employees can raise purchase requests without needing procurement experience. This is critical for driving purchase order adoption and a major part of what sets great AP solutions apart.
The best platforms combine AP and purchase order workflows into a single, easy-to-use solution. That way, you don't just streamline finance processes. You make it easier for everyone to follow purchasing policies and keep spend under control.
6. Scalability
As a business with ambitious goals, you need technology that will grow with you.
Top accounts payable software will support increasing invoice volumes without adding to your team's workload or experiencing system overloads.
Scalable AP systems should also handle complex financial operations, including multi-entity management, tax structures, and supplier payments. Having all these capabilities under the same hood ensures your AP process is smooth from start to finish.
7. Real-time analytics and reporting
Things change fast in business, whether fluctuating FX rates or freight delivery disruptions. So, it’s essential to have current data to take appropriate action quickly.
Live analytics and reporting tools shine here: In fact, 57% of procurement professionals say they experience significant improvement in risk management by using data from various technologies, including advanced analytics. The best accounts payable software will leverage live analytics and reporting and give you accurate insights into cash flow, budgets, and expenses in one place.
8. Security and compliance
Sticky-fingered criminals remain on the prowl for business resources and show no signs of slowing their pursuit. In 2023, cyberattacks and data breaches were the biggest threat to supply chains for the next five years.
Look for a solution that prioritises safety. With Payhawk, for example, you get encrypted data, real-time transaction monitoring, and compliance with industry standards like PCI DSS. You can control access with roles and permissions, track everything with audit trails, and add extra protection with multifactor authentication.
You can also automatically offboard leavers via HRIS integrations, meaning access shuts down when someone leaves. Together, these features help protect sensitive financial information, mitigate fraud, and promote regulatory compliance.
9. Supplier management
Ditch the chaos of managing contracts, invoices, and payments in different tools. With the right AP software, you get a single source of truth for all supplier data.
You can access accurate information quickly, optimise cash flow by timing payments smartly, and even negotiate better deals. Fewer errors, faster issue resolution, and stronger vendor relationships — all in one place.
10. Budget tracking
You can't manage what you can't see. That's why the best AP tools give budget owners real-time visibility into how teams use funds — without needing to chase updates or approvals.
With our solution for example, you can monitor spend against budgets as it happens. You'll see not just what's been paid, but also what's been committed through POs so you can spot risks early and make smarter decisions.
You can even flag invoices that exceed budget automatically, helping teams stay accountable without slowing them down. It's a simple way to give budget owners more autonomy and your business more control.
11. Mobile accessibility
People spend over five hours a day on their phones, so it makes a lot of sense to let your team manage expenses from them, wherever they are.
With the best AP solutions, you can submit expenses, approve requests, and track spend on the go. Your team stays flexible and responsive, even when they're away from their desks.
Look for a solution that will let you snap receipts with an AI-powered camera, capture details instantly with OCR technology, and manage the entire process with just a few taps.
Why now is the time to invest in the best accounts payable software
If a finance team is a machine that powers a business, then the accounts payable automation software is the fuel that keeps operations ticking along smoothly.
Here are the top four reasons why you should invest in AP technology.
Strengthened cash flow shields your company from unexpected blows
It's been a rocky time for businesses, from overcoming a global pandemic to navigating economic turbulence. These storms pressure finance teams to do more with fewer resources.
That's where AP automation comes in. This solution will help you manage AP to drive efficiency and productivity. The result? Rock solid cash flow and profits.
Outdated AP processes put your company's resources on the line
Whether it's stitching together spreadsheets or checking payment details, manual AP processes are slow and expensive. Worse, human-handled processes are mistake-ridden.
Ten out of every 100 manual actions contain errors. These flaws increase the risk of duplicate invoices, overpayments, and missed payments. They can also make your business appear untrustworthy and unstable. Next comes damaged vendor relationships and tarnished reputations. The best accounts payable automation software eliminates these issues.
Gain a competitive advantage through a fully digitised finance function
Here are some concerning stats: 53% of companies report many exceptions in their AP processes, 41% say approvals and invoice payments take too long, and 22% say they don't have visibility into invoice and payment data.
Additionally, it takes 30 days on average for an AP team in a mid-market company to execute a payment. And 47% of suppliers get paid late because of this sluggish pace.
Digitising your AP cuts processing time, giving your team the bandwidth and insights to make smarter decisions fast.
Keep up with stricter regulatory and compliance obligations amid rising fraud
Fraud incidents are rising, and often, companies are vulnerable because of their technology. More than half of occupational fraud cases occur because of weak or overridden internal controls. Also, 65% of businesses report check fraud cases. Governments are fighting back with stricter rules and responsibilities, like the GDPR. Such developments make strong AP controls essential to stay compliant and keep your company’s resources safe.
