What Is Accounts Payable Invoice Approval Software? Top 8 Solutions for 2025

Invoice approval is one of the most frustrating bottlenecks in traditional accounts payable (AP) workflows.

The 2023 Payment Practices Barometer survey for the US found that 55% of all B2B invoiced sales are overdue, and issues such as paper trails and manual routing are the primary reasons for delayed payments.

Payment delays cause several issues:

      — Troubled vendor relationships

      — Mounting invoice processing costs

      — Lack of visibility of compliance issues

      — Cash flow issues and invoice fraud

You can address these issues with invoice approval automation solutions. These tools help automate invoice capture, approval routing, and other processes, leading to faster approvals, stronger internal controls, and improved compliance.

However, choosing the right AP invoice approval software requires careful consideration, as many tools offer diverse features that your business may or may not need.

In this blog, we explore accounts payable approval software, its functionality, benefits, and the top 8 solutions leading the way in 2025.

What Is Invoice Approval Software?

Invoice approval software is a software solution that digitizes and automates multi-level AP invoice approval processes.

Instead of relying on paper-based workflows or scattered email threads, it automatically routes invoices to the correct approvers according to predefined rules.

The accounts payable approval software is a key component of broader accounts payable (AP) automation. Together, they automate the end-to-end accounts payable (AP) process, resulting in reduced manual effort, fewer errors, and a faster invoice-to-payment workflow.

How Invoice Approval Software Works

An Accounts Payable approval software validates and authorizes supplier invoices before payment using a series of steps.

Here’s a step-by-step explanation of how the software works:

Step #1: Invoice capture

The software receives the invoices via email, vendor portals, or as scanned documents and uploads them into the system. It uses optical character recognition (OCR) or similar data capture tools to extract invoice details, like invoice number, supplier details, due dates, and amounts.

Step #2: Data validation and matching

After capturing the invoice details, the accounts payable approval software automatically verifies supplier details and matches invoices using two-way or three-way methods. In two-way matching, the invoice is matched against the purchase order, while in three-way matching, the invoice is matched against the purchase order and goods receipts.

Step #3: Automated routing

Here, the software routes the invoices to the appropriate approvers based on predefined rules. You can customize the workflow for single or multi-level approvals, different departments, and split amounts for different departments.

Step #4: Exception handling

If discrepancies (mismatched purchase order number) or missing data (invoice number or amount) are detected, the system flags these issues and notifies users to address these issues before proceeding.

Step #4: Review and approval

In this stage, the approvers receive notifications and can review, approve, or reject invoices directly within the system. The accounts payable approval software tracks every action, creating a clear audit trail.

Step #5: Payment scheduling

After the invoice has been approved, the invoice moves to the payment queue. The payments in the queue are scheduled for payment based on vendor payment conditions, like payment windows, preferred currency, and more.

Step #6: Archiving and reporting

All invoice data and actions are securely archived for compliance, audits, and real-time reporting. This offers your finance team full visibility into the AP process.

Benefits of Invoice Approval Automation

Automating invoice approval helps you save time and reduce the cost of invoice processing by minimizing manual efforts and errors.

Here are a few of the top benefits of automating the invoice approval process:

1. Faster processing and approvals

Manual processes slow things down. Data entry, chasing approvals, and fixing invoice mistakes all eat up time, leading to businesses taking an average of 9.2 days to process a single invoice.

Invoice approval automation speeds everything up. It captures data accurately, routes invoices to the right people, and sends reminders automatically.

The result? Faster approvals and shorter payment cycles. It also ensures a steady flow of materials and services to your business—no delays, no disruptions.

2. Reduced cost of payments

Manual invoice approval is expensive—to the tune of $9.4 per invoice. It needs human effort at every step—data entry, routing, follow-ups, and corrections. These tasks add to payroll costs and delay payments.

Invoice approval automation reduces these costs by removing repetitive, manual work. It captures invoice data, routes it for approval, and flags errors automatically. With faster approvals, payments go out on time or earlier. This improves cash flow and often qualifies your business for early payment discounts from vendors.

Together, these savings reduce the total cost of managing payments and free up your finance team for more strategic tasks.

3. Fewer invoice mistakes

According to Gartner, nearly 59% of accountants report making invoice-related errors, like incorrect due dates, invoice numbers, or vendor details, each month. These mistakes don’t just slow down approvals. They cost time, delay payments, and often strain vendor relationships.

Invoice approval automation helps eliminate such errors by using OCR and machine learning to extract invoice data with high accuracy.

The system can also automatically detect and flag mismatched vendor names to concerned parties for faster correction. In manual processes, issues like these often go unnoticed.

4. Real-time visibility and reporting

Automation helps you understand where things are. You can track invoice status, approval progress, and payment timelines instantly. And no more chasing updates or digging through spreadsheets.

This visibility helps you spot delays before they become problems. It also means your finance team can manage cash flow more proactively, adjusting spending or scheduling payments as needed.

Accounts payable approval software can generate real-time dashboards and reports on payment statuses, pending payments, and more, with just a few clicks to help you make smarter decisions.

5. Scale your operations

As your business grows, so does the number of invoices. But hiring more people just to keep up is not practical or efficient.

Invoice approval automation lets your AP team handle growing volumes without added headcount. Whether it is 500 invoices or 5000, the system processes them all with the same speed and accuracy.

With automation, your team will no longer waste time on data entry or chasing approvals. Instead, they can focus on tasks that actually drive growth, such as forecasting, cash flow management.

Automation gives you the flexibility to scale fast, without slowing down your back-office operations.

Comparison Table – Top 8 Invoice Approval Software Solutions for 2025

Before exploring the top accounts payable invoice approval software in detail, here is a table to quickly compare their features, pricing, free trial, and ratings.

Software	Key Features	Pricing	Free Trial
PathQuest	Auto-routing, mobile approvals, and audit trail	Custom	Yes
Kissflow	Workflow builder, GSuite integrations	From $1500/month	Yes
Tipalti	Global payables, invoice approvals	From $99/month	Yes
AvidXchange	AI approval agent, PO matching	Custom	N/A
SAP Concur	Enterprise-level invoice workflow, quick exception handling	Custom	No
Zoho Billing	Simple approvals + invoicing	From $25/month	Yes
DocuWare	Document management, invoice approvals	Custom	Yes
MineralTree	Extensive integrations, fraud detection	Custom	Yes

Detailed Breakdown of Top 8 Invoice Approval Software

1. PathQuest AP

PathQuest AP is an all-in-one accounts payable automation platform that automates invoice processing, approvals, and payments. It helps eliminate manual invoice data entry, get approvals faster, reduce invoice errors, and improve the overall speed of accounts payable processes. 

The accounts payable invoice approval software lets you capture vital invoice information, like invoice number, amount, vendor details, and more, automatically. It also provides real-time insights into the status of invoices, including paid, pending, and unpaid invoices, for vendors or departments.

PathQuest AP also integrates with leading ERP and accounting software like Sage Intacct, QuickBooks, and Xero to ensure smoother data flow between these systems to improve payments and cash flow management.

Key features

PathQuest invoice approval automation software provides a range of features to streamline your invoice approval process efficiently. 

Here are a few of the most important features:

• Insights-rich dashboards: Get insights into the payment and approval status of the invoices based on vendors, approvals, departments, audit trails, and more, to understand paid and outstanding invoices
• Smart OCR: Automatically import, scan, and sync bills from Google Drive, Dropbox, FTP, and email, and map fields for faster data capture
• Custom approval workflow: Customize your approval workflow exactly as your business needs by adding multi-level approvers, inter-department invoices, and exceptional handling rules
• Multiple entities: Process invoices for all entities from a single AP account with flexible and customized control
• Comprehensive audit trail: Understand everything that happens within the invoice approval process, from who makes what changes and when. It helps improve compliance and build accountability while eliminating the chances of errors
• Real-time invoice tracking: Get real-time insights into all your invoices and their approval status. The feature lets you understand which invoices are approved, which are pending, and approvers who have pending approvals

Pros

1. Quick and in-built integrations to leading accounting and ERP systems, like Sage Intacct, Xero, QuickBooks
2. Smart OCR with machine learning capability ensures accurate, faster, and smoother invoice data entry
3. A single platform to receive, track, and pay invoices for minimal human intervention in the invoice approval process 
4. Quick escalation and customized notifications of issues in the invoice approval workflow for faster resolution
5. Effortless invoice matching and comprehensive audit trails to avoid errors and incorrect payments 

Cons

1. Steep learning curve for new teams
2. Pricing details are unavailable

Rating

• 4.8

Target audience

PathQuest accounts payable invoice approval software is suitable for small and medium businesses looking to speed up their invoice approval process.

2. Kissflow

Kissflow’s invoice approval system helps businesses speed up the invoice approval process while ensuring compliance and making three-watching easier. The platform allows you to automate your approval workflows in less than 15 minutes.

Features

• Drag-and-drop tools: Customize the workflows in any way your business needs using drag-and-drop capabilities
• Custom fields: Attach files, auto-populate data and tables, etc., with the help of custom data fields
• Access control: Control who can edit and modify the invoices as per your use cases

Pros

1. Cloud-based system for universal access
2. No-code platform suitable for non-technical users
3. Timely and reliable customer support

Cons

1. Limited document search functionality
2. Limited native integration support

Rating

• 4.3/5 from 585+ reviews on G2

Target audience

Small to mid-sized businesses, startups, and mid-market organizations that need invoice approval automation software without complexity.

3. Tipalti

Tipalti’s invoice approval system offers an end-to-end workflow for efficient and accurate processing while providing controls for better finance management. It focuses on minimizing manual effort and maximizing self-service, all while promoting scalability and auditability.

Features

• Supplier Hub: Enable suppliers to manage their invoices and details on a single platform to avoid back and forth
• Automated vendor communication: Notify vendors when payments are made or if there is an issue automatically
• Real-time reconciliation: Update the system automatically when an invoice is successfully cleared

Pros

1. Process payments in multiple currencies across diverse countries
2. Streamlined vendor management for better vendor relationships
3. Integrates with multiple accounting software and ERP systems

Cons

1. Less intuitive user interface
2. Expensive for small and medium businesses

Target audience

Tipalti’s invoice approval automation software is ideal for medium to large businesses looking for extensive automation support for invoice approval.

Rating

• 4.5/5 from 342+ reviews on G2

4. AvidXchange

AvidXchange offers an AI-enhanced invoice approval automation solution that users can access anywhere, anytime. Backed by a team of experts, the platform lets you customize the approval workflow as you need. The accounts payable approval workflow platform also integrates with leading accounting software and ERP systems.

Features of AvidXchange

• AI approval agent: Get real-time insights into your AP workflow to ensure better control and approval management
• Smart invoice capture: AI-enabled invoice data capture to avoid mistakes, manual efforts, and delayed payments
• PO matching agent: Ensure the accuracy of the invoice by matching the invoice with the purchase order using AI

Pros

1. Reduce inefficiencies by streamlining invoice approval workflows
2. Centralized platform for managing all invoice approvals
3. Get real-time insights into approval statuses 

Cons

1. Limited workflow customizations
2. Slow customer support

Target audience

AvidXchange caters to mid-market businesses looking to scale their operations with a reliable invoice approval automation solution

Rating

• 4.4/5 from 265+ reviews on G2

5. SAP Concur

SAP Concur‘s invoice approval automation platform saves time, empowers approvers, and brings mobile accessibility to users. You can reduce errors by eliminating manual effort and improving the efficiency of your end-to-end invoice approval process.

SAP Concur features

• Automated invoice capture: Automatically scan, read, and extract key invoice details using OCR technology
• Quick exception handling: Avoid the risks of incorrect or delayed payments with quick flagging of incorrect invoices
• Automated escalations: Escalate overdue invoices to managers automatically for timely processing

Pros

1. Approvers can access invoices for approval on mobile devices
2. Built-in data compliance capabilities for data security
3. Three-way matching to avoid payment fraud

Cons

1. Complex invoice approval workflow configuration
2. Expensive compared to similar other tools

Target audience

Large and medium-sized businesses that need to automate their invoice approval processes.

SAP Concur rating

• 4/5 from 6199+ reviews on G2

6. Zoho Billing

Zoho Billing’s invoice approval automation is suitable for businesses that value both speed and transparency in payment processing workflows. The solution helps avoid manual efforts and increases accountability with comprehensive audit trails. It helps you build better vendor relationships while reducing the cost of payments.

Features

• Real-time approvals: Ensure real-time approvals of invoices with Zoho’s cloud-based platform integrated with your business processes
• Multitier approval hierarchy: Create approval workflows with multiple approval levels as required by your business structure
• API integration: Quickly integrate the solution with any of your business tools and systems with Zoho’s API integration

Pros 

1. Get instant notification about approvals via email, mobile, and SMS
2. Automated invoice reconciliation for accurate payments
3. Manage invoices with the Zoho Billing mobile app

Cons

1. Steep learning curve
2. Limited automation customizations

Target audience

Zoho Billing’s invoice approval automation solution is suitable for all types of businesses, from small to medium-sized and large enterprises 

Rating

• 4.3/5 from 61+ reviews on G2

7. DocuWare

DocuWare’s invoice approval automation solution enables businesses to streamline the invoice approval process, avoid bottlenecks in the process, and help collaboration between AP professionals and approvers. 

Features

• Automatic invoice capture: Extract details from any type of invoice, such as PDF, XML, for faster approvals
• Dynamic workflows: Approve invoices and share them with your internal accounting system
• Invoice finding: Find any invoices within the platform using index data or full text search for quick invoice access

Pros

1. Cut down invoice processing time by 95%
2. Ensure accurate payments all the time with internal validation
3. Improve invoice approval time for faster payment releases

Cons

1. The platform is expensive compared to other similar tools
2. Invoice approval workflows can be complex at times

Target audience

DocuWare is suitable for all types of businesses looking to automate their invoice approval workflows.

Rating

• 4.4 from 240+ reviews on G2

8. MineralTree

TotalPay invoice payment automation solution by MineralTree helps transform your labor-intensive and manual approval workflows into a fully automated, smart approval workflow for speed, accuracy, and timely payments. 

Features

• Extensive integrations: Connect with all leading ERP systems with out-of-the-box integrations just as you need
• OCR technology: Accurately capture invoice details with OCR, supported by human verification to ensure 99.5% accuracy for every single invoice
• Automatic payment release: Release payments automatically using payment methods, such as checks, ACH, virtual card, and FX, as needed by the vendors

Pros

1. Easy to set up and use
2. Dedicated customer success manager
3. Analytics dashboard to find useful insights for decision making

Cons

1. Limited in-process invoice visibility for approvers
2. No pending payments alerts

Target audience

MineralTree targets medium and large enterprise businesses with a high volume of invoices.

Rating

• 4.5/5 from 152+ reviews on G2

How to Choose the Right Invoice Approval Tool

Although you can find several invoice approval tools in the market, not all are made equally. Hence, it is important for you to choose the right invoice approval tool that matches your business’s needs.

Here are a few criteria you need to consider when choosing an invoice approval solution:

1. Number of approvers

Ensure the tool supports the required number of approvers and flexible approval hierarchies. The more approvers you can add to the workflow, the better, as it helps you use the same workflow to get approval from different levels.

This also allows you to accommodate multi-department or department-specific approval processes as your organization grows.

2. Workflow customization

Look for customizable workflow automation that lets you design and adjust approval routes based on criteria such as invoice amount, currency, vendor, or department.

The customization capabilities also let you add exception rules and error correction options to quickly intervene and correct issues when flagged by the system.

3. Mobile readiness

Prioritize solutions with robust mobile compatibility, which enables approvers to review and approve invoices from any device, anywhere with an internet connection.

If your business has more remote teams and on-the-go decision-makers, mobile readiness and cloud-based accessibility are vital for faster payments.

4. Audit and compliance features

Choose software with comprehensive audit trails and compliance support. The right invoice approval software should log every action in the workflow: who did what, when, and why. This makes internal reviews and external audits faster, easier, and less stressful.

Good tools also support compliance with tax regulations, payment policies, and financial reporting standards.

5. ERP integration

Invoice approval software works with your existing systems, such as accounting systems and ERP platforms. Hence, strong integration capabilities are a must for your invoice automation software. 

Efficient integration helps data flow smoothly between the invoice automation system and platforms like NetSuite, SAP, or QuickBooks.

This means invoice details, vendor records, and payment statuses stay consistent across your finance stack.

6. Real-time reporting

Real-time reporting is another vital feature to look for in an invoice approval automation solution. It helps finance teams make timely decisions to manage cash flows, vendors, and payments.

The right software gives you up-to-the-minute insights into invoice status, approval bottlenecks, payment schedules, and spend by vendor or category. As these reports eliminate the need to scour through spreadsheets and invoice data, you can also save time.

The right reporting features can also make your team proactive and manage payments better based on real-time insights.

Best Practices for Implementing Invoice Approval Workflows

Having the right invoice approval workflow automation software is only half the story. The other half is about building clear procedures, ensuring team alignment, and timely policy enforcement.

Here are 5 best practices to implement invoice approval workflows successfully 

1. Start with a pilot team

Before rolling out your invoice approval workflow company-wide, start small. Put together a pilot team that represents key roles, like AP staff, finance managers, and approvers.

This controlled rollout helps you:

1. Test the process in a real-world setting without disrupting your entire operation
2. Identify any technical issues, policy gaps, or workflow bottlenecks
3. Gather feedback on user experience and feature usability to improve the process

A successful pilot reduces the risk of company-wide issues, such as delayed payments and compliance concerns and ensures smoother adoption. It will also allow you to optimize the process based on feedback for easier and faster scaling.

2. Define roles and routing rules

When you first start implementing invoice approval automation, confusion is bound to occur. This happens due to a lack of clarity on what to do and who will do it.

Therefore, you need to define the roles and responsibilities properly for everyone involved in the process. Assign responsibility for each step, from invoice intake to final approval, to ensure there is no confusion or delay.

It is also vital to set up routing rules based on your internal controls and establish hierarchy and structure.

Keep the following things in mind:

1. Route high-value invoices to senior approvers
2. Match vendor types to the right department
3. Ensure exceptions follow escalation paths

The right structure ensures invoices reach the right people at the right time without bottlenecks or missteps.

3. Set up exception management

Even the most efficient workflows can run into problems, like mismatched totals, missing purchase orders, or duplicate invoices. That’s exactly why strong exception management is critical.

Automated systems help detect issues in real time and route them to the right person for quick action. You need to define clear rules for how errors are flagged and who resolves them.

An  efficient exception management allows you to:

1. Identify issues, like mismatched data, before they disrupt the workflow
2. Automatically route flagged invoices to the right person for faster approvals
3. Address issues early to avoid late fees and maintain strong vendor relationships
4. Maintains a clear audit trail of what was flagged, when, and by whom

Having a strong exception management system ensures that your process can continue despite issues that may happen.

4. Train finance and ops users

No matter how advanced your automation system is, it’s only as strong as the people using it. Make sure every user, including finance, operations, and department heads, knows exactly how the new workflow works.

Train users on how to review, approve, escalate, and resolve exceptions. Walk them through common scenarios and offer support during the early stages. Good onboarding reduces hesitation and builds confidence.

Training also helps users adopt the system faster, with fewer mistakes or delays. And when everyone is trained and aligned, your invoice approval workflow becomes more efficient and more reliable.

Ready to Simplify Invoice Approvals with PathQuest AP?

Automated invoice approvals are vital for all businesses that want to grow in 2025 and beyond. By eliminating manual bottlenecks, organizations can reduce costs, minimize errors, and ensure compliance to make invoice approval automation a strategic advantage for any finance team.

PathQuest AP offers powerful features designed to transform your invoice approval workflow with a range of tailor-made features, such as:

1. Auto-approvals for routine or low-value invoices, reducing manual workload
2. Multi-step workflows that route invoices through customizable approval chains for better control
3. Insightful dashboards to track invoices, approvals, payments, and pending actions in real time
4. Faster invoice capture with smart OCR technology combined with machine learning capabilities
5. Extensive error and exception handling within the workflow to avoid approval delays and payment issues

With PathQuest, you gain efficiency, transparency, and control over your entire invoice approval workflow.

Book a free demo of PathQuest AP and learn how the platform can save 50% of your AP team’s time.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is invoice approval software?

Invoice approval software automates the review and approval of invoices by routing them to the right personnel. By replacing manual data entry and routing, it helps speed up payments, ensure accuracy and compliance, and process timely payments.

How does invoice approval fit into AP automation?

Invoice approval can streamline the AP process from invoice receipt to payment, eliminating manual entry and enabling real-time tracking. Without a proper invoice approval process, AP automation is impossible.

What are the top invoice approval solutions in 2025?

Leading invoice approval solutions in 2025 include PathQuest AP, Airbase, Tipalti, and more. PathQuest AP differentiates itself in the category by offering AI-powered automation, seamless integrations, and robust compliance features for small and medium businesses.

How can small businesses streamline invoice approvals?

Small businesses can streamline invoice approvals by adopting automation software that offers customized approval workflows, automated invoice capture, and adequate exception handling. It helps reduce manual errors and accelerates approvals for timely payments.

Why choose PathQuest for invoice automation?

PathQuest offers smart, intuitive AP automation with features like automated workflows, real-time dashboards, and seamless integration. PathQuest helps you eliminate paper approvals, prevent late payments, and get complete visibility over your expenses.