“Have I paid that vendor yet?” you ask yourself as you sort through the dozens of invoices you’ve received this month. Definitely not the way you wanted to spend your Friday afternoon.
As your small business grows, manually managing accounts payable (AP) processes becomes more challenging, time-consuming and error-prone.
Enter accounts payable software. These platforms can automate processes like invoice management and payment processing while syncing to your accounting software to ensure nothing slips through the cracks.
This article offers an overview of the six best accounts payable software solutions for small businesses so you can find just the right platform for your needs. We’ll also give you a list of the features you should look for when choosing a platform, plus tips for how to make your decision.*
Financial admin eating up too much of your time? We can take it off your plate
Automate your accounts payable processes with Juni and free up your day for more impactful work.
*The information about all the platforms discussed in this article was collected between 9 January 2024 and 11 January 2024. This article was written and approved by Juni and is intended as marketing material.
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Whenever you’re researching software, whether that be an accounts payable solution or inventory management platform, you need to be clear on what functionalities your business needs. So before we get into our list, here are some features you should prioritise when selecting accounts payable software:
Let’s take an in-depth look at our list of software. For each platform, we’ll list its features (as well as its limitations), explain how pricing works and point out what kind of business it’s best fit for.
Juni’s platform for ecommerce entrepreneurs comes with automated accounts payable features that can help you run simpler, tighter and more accurate financial admin. With Juni, it takes just seconds to auto-collect, pay and even finance your invoices.
By collecting and scanning your invoices automatically, then pre-filling all the important payment details, Juni saves you time and reduces the risk of human error. You can also automatically import your receipts and invoices with your dedicated Juni inbox for effortless spend management, plus match receipts to transactions.
What’s more, if you need to reduce pressure on your cash flow cycles, Juni offers financing options for certain types of payments, giving you up to 120 days to pay.*
The platform goes beyond accounts payable features, also offering business accounts and cards, features to optimise cash flow management, powerful accounting automations, fast transfers and storefront integrations.
Most suitable for: Ecommerce entrepreneurs and small businesses
Juni has two plan options:
You can try our Scale plan for free for the first 30 days.
Based in Copenhagen, Pleo is a business spending solution with built-in AP automation software. Pleo’s invoice management features make it easy to capture, process, approve, pay and bookkeep invoices in a central location. With over 50 supported currencies, Pleo users can seamlessly pay vendors across the world.
Most suitable for: Companies that need to pay invoices in several currencies
Pleo has three plan options:
Spendesk is a spend management platform with accounts payable features like invoice automation and approval workflows, giving you greater control over the invoicing lifecycle and your AP processes. By using Spendesk, you can minimise (or eliminate) manual data entry for your invoicing processes, plus get real-time insights into your spending patterns.
Most suitable for: SaaS, tech and fintech companies
Spendesk doesn’t list its pricing options, so you’ll have to reach out to sales to get a quote
Sage Intacct’s cloud-based invoicing software helps small business owners and finance teams automate invoice management with the power of AI. For example, simply upload or email an invoice, and the software will automatically extract details and populate fields for your approval. The platform can also detect duplicate invoices, helping you stay in control of your expenses and avoid costly errors.
Most suitable for: Businesses that need powerful analytics tools
Sage Intacct has three plans for its accounts payable software. All plans come with three months free:
While SAP Concur isn’t specifically designed for small businesses, it’s still a good fit for solopreneurs and SMBs looking to automate their AP processes. The platform automates invoicing processes, meaning you can pay suppliers quickly without constantly having to double-check invoices and complete transactions yourself.
Most suitable for: Businesses with immediate plans to scale
SAP Concur doesn’t list its pricing options, so you’ll have to reach out to sales to get a quote.
Visma is the parent organisation for a number of accounting and invoicing solutions across Europe. It has designated products for 15 different EU countries, such as Visma eKonomi, its designated Swedish accounting platform. Visma eKonomi has basic AP features for paying vendors, but it has a range of other accounting features that can help you streamline your financial admin as a whole.
Most suitable for: Small businesses in Sweden
Visma platform prices range depending on which country you operate in and the Visma product you select. Visma eEkonomi has three plans that come with supplier invoicing features:
You can have all the software comparison guides in the world available to you, but if you aren’t intentional about your decision, you may end up choosing software that falls short for your needs. Here are a few steps you can take to help you make the right decision when selecting an accounts payable platform for your small business.
By digitising the traditionally paper-intensive process of handling invoices and payments, AP software is not only more efficient than manual processes, but also minimises the possibility of errors, like a missed or incorrect payment. Having more visibility over invoices, due dates and your general spending patterns can help you maintain tighter control over your financial operations.
But to get the most out of a platform, you need to make sure you’re choosing the right one for your needs. For example, if you run an online storefront, you’ll want to choose a solution like Juni that has the specific needs of ecommerce entrepreneurs in mind.
By choosing a software solution that’s a good fit for you, you’ll make your business more agile, resilient and competitive. Meanwhile, you’ll get back more time in the day to focus on what you most love about running your company, whether that’s marketing your product, interacting with customers or finding ways to scale.
Financial admin eating up too much of your time? We can take it off your plate
Automate your accounts payable processes with Juni and free up your day for more impactful work.
*Juni Invoices is available for EU-based companies only. Media financing is available for companies registered in NL, SE, DE, FR, ES, IT, FI and NO, upon eligibility. Fees and terms and conditions apply. Click here for more details.
Accounts payable automation software helps businesses manage and track the money they owe to suppliers, vendors and other parties. Essentially, this type of software helps business owners and finance departments handle their payment processes by recording invoices, tracking due dates and organising information.
While you can manually manage your accounts payable process, this approach can be time-consuming and error-prone. A better way to keep track of accounts payable is by using specialised accounts payable software that tracks and pays your invoices for you.
You can automate accounts payable processes by using specialised software. These platforms handle a number of tasks, including:
"Only six more to go," you tell yourself as you upload yet another receipt to your accounting software. We all know the pain of searching for receipts across emails and platforms and trying to match them to expenses.
This becomes even more challenging the larger your business becomes and the more vendors you have to pay. You can avoid most of that frustration and wasted time with the right spend management software.
But not all spend management platforms will be a good fit for your business. For example, digital commerce companies need solutions that take into account sector-specific expenses like ad receipts and multiple platform payments, while small businesses need tools that simplify their financial admin, not complicate it.
This article takes a look at the six best spend management software solutions so you can find just the right platform for your needs. We’ll also give you a list of the features you should look for when choosing a platform, plus tips for how to make your decision.*
Spend less time on spend management
With real-time spend overviews, receipt matching automation and powerful integrations, Juni will make you forget what a hassle managing your expenses used to be.
*The information about all the platforms discussed in this article was collected between 17 January 2024 and 19 January 2024. This article was written and approved by Juni and is intended as marketing material.
Before taking a closer look at the tools on our list, here are six features your spend management software (also known as expense management software) should come with:
Bonus: Look out for spend management platforms that come with built-in accounts payable and invoice automation features, which will help you centralise your financial admin and save time.
Now, let's explore the solutions on our list in depth. For each platform, we’ll list its key features (as well as its limitations), explain how pricing works and point out what kind of business it’s best fit for.
Juni helps businesses in digital commerce manage their cash flow, track their expenses and optimise their profits with features that are specifically designed with ecommerce companies in mind.
While it’s not specifically expense management software, you can use the platform for your spend management needs. Juni's goal is to give everyone in digital commerce, from the CFO to the accounting team to marketing managers, everything they need to focus on business growth.
Juni’s expense management features are especially valuable for users who have multiple receipts coming from different media buying channels and online transactions. With Meta and Google Ads integrations, plus powerful receipt matching, expense management suddenly becomes easy. On top of that, you can also manage your unpaid invoices and accounts payable processes within Juni, bringing your financial admin under one roof.
All of this comes with easy access to media and inventory financing for up to 2 million EUR, helping you free up your cash flow and grow your business.*
*Juni Invoices is available for EU-based companies only. Media financing is available for companies registered in NL, SE, DE, FR, ES, IT, FI and NO, upon eligibility. Fees and terms and conditions apply. Click here for more details.
Most suitable for: SMBs and mid-market companies in digital commerce
Juni has two plan options:
SAP Concur helps you streamline processes to deliver efficiency savings, with a focus on eliminating manual data entry, lost receipts and unclaimed VAT refunds. As such, it’s best suited to larger organisations. The platform helps you reduce the risk of human error and compliance issues with automations, plus the software can identify potential mistakes and discrepancies in real-time.
Most suitable for: Larger and enterprise organisations
SAP Concur doesn’t list its pricing options, so you’ll have to reach out to sales to get a quote.
Zoho Expense is the business expense tracking app from the Zoho suite of business tools, which means it integrates with Zoho’s other financial management apps. It’s a reasonably priced platform suited to handling all aspects of expense management and reporting for SMBs. Zoho Expense automatically records expenses from receipts, simplifying and automating the expense reporting process.
Most suitable for: People already using other Zoho products (namely Zoho Books)
Zoho Expense has three plans for its spend management software:
Expensify is a spend management solution for keeping track of business expenses on the go. Most of the expense management functionality can be done on your phone, while a series of handy integrations help to automate and streamline processes around uploading and allocating receipts. Plus, it’s easy for employees to create and submit expense reports for quick reimbursement.
Most suitable for: Small businesses with lots of employee expenses
Expensify has two plans:
One of the many features of smart accounting software QuickBooks is its built-in expense management tool. There are obvious advantages to expenses being handled via your accounting platform, like how easy it is to claim business expenses for tax purposes. And when you connect your bank to the platform, QuickBooks automatically matches and organises your receipts to transactions.
Most suitable for: Businesses who want more comprehensive accounting tools built into their spend management software
Quickbooks has five plans:
Fortnox is a cloud-based accounting software platform based in Sweden that helps businesses manage their accounting and bookkeeping processes, as well as other financial admin like spend management. Users can take photos of receipts and instantly upload them via a mobile app, and the platform automatically fills in date, amount and VAT.
Most suitable for: Businesses that operate in Sweden
Fortnox has three plans:
The information in this guide can help you make your decision, but ultimately, you need to factor in considerations about your business and its needs when choosing a platform. Here are three things you can do to ensure you’re choosing an ideal solution.
As you’ll notice from the list above, different software solutions are more suitable for different business industries and sizes. For example, Juni is spend management software built with the needs of ecommerce companies in mind. So when researching a platform, pay close attention to what type of business (big or small, ecommerce or SaaS) it’s best suited for.
While it shouldn’t be the only factor that guides your decision, you can’t ignore pricing when choosing a solution. You need to find a healthy balance between a platform you can afford (and doesn't go over budget) that still gives you all the key features and functionalities you need to run smarter, more efficient financial admin.
You may be a small business now, but if you have plans of scaling in the future, you want to make sure your expense management solution can scale with you. Juni, for example, caters to both SMBs as well as mid-market companies, meaning we can provide the solutions you need from the time your business is founder-led to when it has 100+ employees.
While you can never remove expense management from your to-do list, you can find a platform that does most of the work for you. The best spend management software is one that not only simplifies financial operations but also contributes to strategic decision-making and the long-term financial health of your organisation.
To find a platform that does all that, you need to make sure you’re making your selection with the unique needs of your business in mind. For example, if you operate in digital commerce, you want to choose a solution like Juni that comes with ecommerce-specific capabilities, like features designed specifically for media buying and online transactions.
So take your time finding the right platform—doing so can lead to significant time savings and valuable insights into spending patterns, helping you improve the overall financial health and success of your business.
Spend less time on spend management
With real-time spend overviews, receipt matching automation and powerful integrations, Juni will make you forget what a hassle managing your expenses used to be.
Spend management software is a platform or tool that helps businesses manage and control their expenses. This type of solution usually includes features for receipt management, expense reporting and approval workflows. Plus, these platforms often integrate with accounting software, as well as sync with banks and credit cards.
There are a number of benefits to using spend management software to control your expenses, including:
The price of expense management software varies depending on the size of your business and what industry you operate in, as this will impact which platform you choose. Prices range from as low as £7 per month to almost £100, and some spend management systems also offer free plans to certain users.
The Tortoise and the Hare — which one of them do you want managing your marketing budget? Do you value the slow, steady success of brand building or the speedy impact of digital marketing?
In Aesop’s fable, the tortoise eventually wins the race, but in ecommerce there are no guarantees of long-term success if you can’t get results quickly. A gradually-growing brand will burn through its cash reserves if it can’t bring in sales at the same time. And with no finishing line to reach, you can be overtaken at any point.
The hare gets off to a rapid start but ultimately runs out of steam. Convinced that it’s on the way to victory, it doesn’t pay attention to what it needs to do to maintain its early successes. It’s similar in digital marketing, where rising cost-per-clicks and customer acquisition costs make it hard to sustain a business fuelled by paid ads alone.
Why not offer both the tortoise and the hare a job share in your marketing team? You can balance your digital marketing spend and brand building to get the best of both worlds. And get more from your marketing spend to boot. This is called hybrid marketing.
In hybrid marketing, you’ll find what the title of this blog post refers to: a balance between digital marketing spend and brand building.
Even Meta, which is reliant on paid advertising for its revenue, pushes its advertisers towards a hybrid approach. It ran multiple brand lift studies to measure the impact of campaigns that combined short-term sales activation with long-term brand growth. The studies found that building brand within performance campaigns generated a 10.9% brand awareness lift, 12.5% increase in ad recall, and a 5.3% lift in familiarity. On top of those brand-led benefits, 94% of advertisers had an uplift in conversions.
Similarly, McKinsey says that combining performance marketing tactics with brand-led creative can create incremental top-line growth of up to 10% and efficiency gains of 30% without increasing marketing budget.
Those are some of the results businesses see when they strike the right balance between brand and demand. But what does the situation look like when your marketing budget is weighed too heavily towards digital marketing?
We’ve had a tortoise and a hare, so why not throw a hen into the mix? When you ignore brand growth, you’re putting all your eggs in one basket. Paid ads are undoubtedly the quickest way to get customers and build sales, but they’re also expensive (and getting even more so).
What happens when the cost-per-click wipes out your margin? Or what if you hit cash flow problems and can’t pay for ads? If you’re not growing your brand at the same time, the moment you switch off the ads you have nothing left.
Take the example of interior design marketplace Laurel & Wolf. The site secured a $20 million venture capital investment after launching in 2014 but shut down in March 2019. An over-reliance on paid media was a big factor in that. Its customer acquisition costs soared to $1,500 — for products that usually cost a few hundred dollars (out of which a big chunk would go to designers and makers).
In addition to being financially unviable, the addiction to ads prevented any sense of community building.
“We had to continually resell the product again and again to new customers,” explained Laurel & Wolf’s former vice president of engineering, Dave Arthurs. “We couldn’t build any momentum, because every single month we had to start fresh, marketing to a new audience.”
Dropbox narrowly avoided similar problems when it launched paid ad campaigns in 2009. Its CPA was between $233 and $388 for a paid product it was offering for $99. The cloud storage giant was saved by the fact that its results were so bad it didn’t pursue PPC over a sustained period.
Instead, it built a community based around a successful referral scheme, social media shares, and a product that delivered sufficiently to encourage word-of-mouth recommendations from customers. As it grew from 100,000 registered users in September 2008 to 4 million in January 2010, 35% of signups came from the referral scheme.
There are tell-tale signs of an unbalanced marketing budget. The same mistakes are repeated time and again, usually with the same results:
Let’s look at some of the mistakes that create those outcomes.
The Dropbox example shows the value of a brand community. Community members become loyal customers and brand advocates who go out into the world to spread the word on your behalf. This helps to build customer lifetime value while also cutting acquisition costs.
Not building a community leaves you in a position like Laurel & Wolf: high CAC and nothing to show for it when the budget dries up.
SEO is hard work, and it’s time-consuming. But putting in the effort brings gradual, long-lasting, and scalable growth. Even relatively simple measures, like correctly formatting URLs, adding alt text to images, and improving page speed can soon get results.
If you don’t work on your SEO, you’re costing your business money in the long term and maintaining your reliance on a big variable cost in the form of paid marketing.
At its most basic level, content marketing is giving customers the information they want. Creating content that answers questions gives you the opportunity to bring free, organic traffic to your site. You can then point this traffic towards your products and bring in sales with a very low CAC.
Not engaging with potential customers in this way means leaving money on the table and giving a competitor the opportunity to share their wisdom instead.
Social shares were key to Dropbox turning a corner — and they can also be important for your business. Organic social media content allows you to reach customers where they’re already spending time. Your followers can engage with and share your content.
Your social accounts are also a place to gather and share reviews and user-generated content. This makes it a key aspect of community building.
You’ll be familiar with the main metrics in performance marketing. Most of them feature prominently on our Google Ads and Facebook Ads dashboards. Things like:
It’s all about hard data that shows how successfully your ad drives people to your store and how much they spend once they’re there.
One of the reasons less budget is spent on brand marketing is that the data is softer. It’s not as instantly compelling as the performance marketing KPIs. Nonetheless, financial KPIs are hugely important when it comes to measuring your brand.
You can measure your brand using lift studies (like the Facebook ones we mentioned earlier), focus groups, surveys, and sales data. KPIs could include:
You can also dig into historical financial metrics, such as:
By comparing these KPIs before and after increasing brand marketing, you can measure the impact of your branding. This helps you to put a financial value on your brand and justify continued investment.
Investing too heavily in either demand-based digital marketing or long-term brand building puts your ecommerce business at risk of stagnation and, ultimately, failure. Focus too much on performance and you’ll never achieve the foundation for long-term growth. Ignore performance in favour of branding and you’ll never get going in the first place.
The answer is to strike a balance between the two that works for your business. You can achieve this by:
If you’ve found these tips useful, you should definitely check out our other articles. Head over to our blog to read our latest blog posts.
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