Author: Ruslan Nikolaev

Despite transformative innovation in accounts payable software like AI-driven optical character recognition (OCR) and workflow automation, 69% of Canadian SMBs still feel that invoice processing and vendor payment needs to be more efficient. The accounts payable system that today’s growing businesses rely on stifles operations. Twenty-seven percent of Canadian SMBs report that their most pressing challenge is delays in incoming and outgoing payments while 18% report that cash flow management issues are their biggest obstacle. 

In this article, we’ll discuss why today’s businesses need better solutions for AP automation and how to choose the best accounts payable automation software in 2025. 

What is accounts payable software? 

Accounts payable (AP) software solutions automate invoice and bill intake, GL coding, matching, validation, and approvals to streamline the process of paying your suppliers and vendors. 

Business leaders often look into investing in accounts payable workflow software when their teams get fed up with tedious manual data entry and when their current approvals and payment processes create frustrating bottlenecks. But beyond just saving you time and labour, the right AP software solutions also give you greater control over your expenses, provide more accurate invoice validation and help you close your books quickly. 

The best accounts payable automation software have embedded payment and business options, so you can make EFT payments to your vendors and contractors or pay them via ACH, international wire transfer, cheque or credit card without having to navigate through your online banking portals every time an invoice comes due.

Why Canadian businesses need accounts payable automation software

Your AP strategy is where you put your budget into action. Accounts payable automation software is an essential tool for monitoring and controlling where your cash is allocated so you can keep your business running and invest wisely in growth-driving opportunities. With AP automation software, businesses can:

Eliminate manual data entry. The best AP software solutions offer OCR that automatically transfers information from invoices and receipts into the system and applies appropriate general ledger (GL) and tax codes.

Enhance security and reduce fraud. Two- and three-way matching automatically check invoices against purchase orders (POs) and goods receipt notes (GRN) to ensure you’re paying the right person.

Improve vendor relationships. If you’re trying to figure out how to pay an invoice faster for a valued vendor, you can schedule transactions and track payments with an AP solution to reduce days payable outstanding (DPO), build trust with your vendors, and take advantage of early payment discounts.

Control spend and manage expenses. Track spend in one place to get insights into your budget. With an AP automation solution like Float, you can also proactively set limits (not just company handbook policies) on corporate card spending to keep everyone on track. 

Make global payments. Leading AP solutions allow you to seamlessly pay US invoices and international invoices within the platform. 

Close the books faster. Automatically reconcile invoices in your AP solution with your accounting software.

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What to look for in accounts payable software in 2025

Today, the status-quo accounts payable system for a Canadian businesses includes a patchwork of point solutions that breeds bottlenecks and holds businesses back.

The best accounts payable automation software provides holistic, end-to-end workflows, speedy payments and cash flow management, facilitating financial momentum so you can grow your business. Look for an AP software solution with key features like:

✓ AI-driven OCR for automated receipt and invoice intake

✓ Automatic GL and tax coding

✓ Automatic two- or three-way invoice matching and validation 

✓ Employee expense management and reimbursement capabilities 

✓ Customizable approvals controls and automated approvals processes

✓ Multiple ways to pay invoices including EFT and ACH, wire, credit card or via platform-based account

✓ International payment capabilities plus low- or no-fee FX

✓ Payment tracking for both you and your vendors

✓ Reliable two-way sync integrations and automatic reconciliation with accounting software 

Does accounts payable workflow software handle employee expenses?  

Most AP software workflows lump employee expenses—like travel, meals, fuel, and supplies—in with vendor invoices, even though they should be treated differently. Typical AP solutions focus on facilitating vendor payments and most businesses opt to (or have to) reimburse employees through payroll. 

With an AP automation platform like Float, corporate card spending and reimbursements happen seamlessly in the same place as invoice management and vendor payments. 

Float lets you see how spending across all your corporate cards impacts cash flow as transactions happen. You can also customize spending limits in real time, giving you total control over when and how your team spends. You can use Float to process same-day reimbursements, but with corporate cards, you don’t have to worry about reimbursements at all. 

6 best accounts payable software for Canadian businesses in 2025

Float Bill Pay is an accounts payable software small business teams love to use, but there are other options out there. To help you make an informed decision about the accounts payable software that fits your business, here’s how Canadian AP software solutions stack up.

1. Float Bill Pay

Float Bill Pay is an intuitive financial management platform built in Canada for Canadian businesses of all sizes. Designed for efficiency, it offers seamless invoice and receipt capture workflows powered by leading-edge AI data extraction. With automated GL and tax coding, custom approval workflows and embedded EFT/ACH and wire payments (CAD and USD), managing payments has never been easier. Float also includes built-in FX services, ensuring smooth international transactions.

Payments made through your Float balance arrive within one to two business days, with real-time payment tracking for vendors. The platform integrates effortlessly with QuickBooks, Xero and Netsuite through two-way sync, along with HRIS and Slack integrations.

Float Bill Pay is available at a SaaS pricing of $0 to $10 per user per month, with enterprise pricing options. EFT/ACH transactions are just $1 per transaction. Additionally, Float combines best-in-class accounts payable automation software with corporate and virtual cards for employee spend management. Businesses can also benefit from 1% cashback on corporate card purchases and earn 4% interest on CAD and USD business balances.

2. Plooto

Plooto is an AP and accounts receivables (AR) automation software. It’s a good point solution for SMBs looking for status-quo AP software. 

The platform offers automated invoice processing alongside customizable automated approval workflows so that invoices are routed to the right person at the right time. The platform also provides in-depth payment history with a comprehensive audit view of transactions. 

Plooto subscriptions cost between $32 and $99 per month. It offers EFT and ACH payments at $0.50 per transaction and enables international payments to over 40 countries with no FX fees. However, payments can take between 4 to 5 days to process and customers report that payments often take far longer to go though. Limited customer support and a poor payee experience are also common issues with this platform. Plooto is purely an AP/AR solution and doesn’t handle employee spend or reimbursements. 

3. Dext

Dext is a bookkeeping automation software with a focus on record-keeping. Its strength is its OCR intake functionality. Dext provides multiple convenient ways for employees to upload receipts on the go with real-time expense tracking for the back office. Like Plooto, it offers robust approvals controls. It also provides automated reporting to help get the books closed quicker. 

Currently, Dext doesn’t offer payment features. You’ll need to manually make payments through your bank or another platform. Dext may offer payment features in the future, but for now, it only provides a point solution that must be integrated with other platforms. 

A Dext subscription costs between $30 and $107.50 per month. 

4. Loop

Loop is a banking platform focused on streamlining cross-border payments. It’s built more like a digital banking app than an AP software solution. Loop  delivers on flexibility and speed for making global payments, but it’s not the best choice for end-to-end AP automation. It doesn’t integrate with accounting software or automate invoice intake—you’ll need another solution for collecting and storing invoices. You’ll also have to manually validate and reconcile payments made through Loop with other systems.

Similar to Float, Loop does offer corporate credit cards in CAD and USD, as well as GBP and EUR with no annual fees, rewards points up to $1 million credit limits and a 55-day repayment grace period. The corporate card makes it easier to track and control employee spend alongside vendor payments for a more holistic view of your cash flow.

Loop has a free version, but its paid tiers cost between $49 and $199 per month. EFT/ACH payments cost between 0.25% and 0.5% per invoice plus $1, which means that the bigger the invoice, the more you’ll pay. Loop provides real-time payment tracking and payments typically arrive in 1 to 3 business days. 

5. Quadient accounts payable automation by Beanworks

Primarily a mailing and customer experience solution provider, Quadient also offers a AP automation by Beanworks. Quadient might be a good option for larger, global mid-market businesses and enterprises, but it’s not flexible (or affordable) enough for SMBs. It offers comprehensive AP features like automated purchase order (PO) and invoice processing as well as automatic GL coding.

You can make payments through an integration with your online banking portal or via cheques, e-cheques, ACH or virtual credit cards which offer 1.1% cash back. Payments are automatically reconciled with your accounting software—Quadient offers custom integrations in addition to its long list of financial and enterprise resource planning (ERP) integrations. 

There’s no publicly available pricing, but costs are tied to transaction volume, so it’s not ideal for rapidly growing companies.

6. RBC PayEdge

RBC PayEdge is an AP platform from RBC Royal Bank. It’s a good option if you want to make payments through the traditional banking system. The platform allows you to pay invoices from multiple Canadian bank accounts or credit cards and also offers EFT/ACH and cheque payments. You can also pay multiple vendors from a single payment order. RBC PayEdge offers tracking for global payments. Both domestic and international payments can take between 1 to 7 business days to arrive. 

The platform doesn’t offer robust expense management features or reporting. As you might expect from a bank, the user interface is outdated and customers report that it’s not intuitive to use. It does integrate with accounting and ERP software.

RBC PayEdge has a free version, but its paid tiers cost between $89.95 and $219.95 per month (woof). EFT transactions cost $1 while ACH transactions cost a whopping $9.99, which means it’s not an ideal solution for businesses that need to make cross-border payments on a regular basis. 

Accounts Payable Software: Quick Comparison Chart

Solution	Costs & Fees	Standout Features	Limitations
⭐️ Float Bill Pay	SaaS: $0–$10 per user/mo. (+ enterprise pricing options) EFT/ACH fees: $1/txn.	AI-powered invoice and receipt captureAutomated GL and tax codingCustom approval workflowsEmbedded EFT/ACH & wire payments (CAD, USD)Built-in FX servicesPayments in 1–2 business daysReal-time vendor trackingTwo-way sync with QuickBooks, Xero, Netsuite	Focus on incorporated businesses vs. freelancers or sole proprietorsBuilt for Canadian-based companies
Plooto	SaaS: $32–$99/mo. EFT/ACH fees: $0.50/txn.	Automated invoice processingEFT/ACH, cheque payments via credit cardNo FX fees.Payments (might) arrive in 4–5 business daysAR automation and payment processingTwo-way sync with QuickBooks, Xero, and Netsuite	Customers find that payments take far longer than 5 business daysLimited customer supportPoor payee user experience Doesn’t handle employee spend and reimbursements
Dext	SaaS: $30–$107.50/mo. EFT/ACH fees: N/A	Leading OCR receipt and invoice intakeMultiple ways to upload receiptsReal-time expense trackingRobust approvals controlsAutomated reportingQuickBooks, Xero, Sage, and other accounting software integrations	No payment functionalityDoesn’t handle employee spend and reimbursements
Loop	SaaS: $0–$199/mo. EFT/ACH fees: 0.5-0.25%/ invoice + $1	Global payments Multi-currency corporate credit cardsRobust approval controlsReal-time payment trackingPayments arrive in 1–3 business days	No invoice intake or storageNo accounting software integrationsPercentage-based pricing punishes growthNo cash backNo interest
Quadient accounts payable automation by Beanworks	No public pricing available. Pricing is based on monthly invoice volume and purchase order and payment requirements.	Automated PO, invoice processingAutomatic GL codingReal-time spend trackingRobust approvals controls1.1% cash back with virtual credit cardsTwo-way sync with QuickBooks, Xero, Sage and moreERP software integrations	Expensive and over-built for SMBsComplex user interfaceFrequent issues with integrationsTransaction volume-based pricing punishes growthDoesn’t handle employee spend and reimbursements
RBC PayEdge	SaaS: $0–$219.95/mo. EFT fees: $1/txn.ACH fees: $9.99/txn.	Pay out of multiple Canadian bank accounts or credit cardsSet approval controlsEFT/ACH, cheque payments via credit cardPay multiple vendors in a single payment orderTrackable global paymentsPayments arrive in 1–7 business daysQuickBooks Online, Sage, Xero, ERP software integrations	No robust expense management features No reporting featuresOutdated user interface Limited customer supportDoesn’t handle employee spend and reimbursements

Choosing the accounts payable automation software that’s right for your business

Migrating your AP processes to a new system is a major investment, so it’s important to choose software that’s easy to add into your existing workflows and is intuitive to use. Find a solution that can deliver tangible, measurable results—like reducing DPO and time saved closing the books—as well as intangible benefits like employee satisfaction. If you’re doing business across borders, select a solution that allows you to easily make EFT or ACH payments, wire transfers or no-fee FX payments in your required currencies. 

The solution you choose should also address your business’s unique needs today while pushing your operations forward by boosting efficiency and reducing costs. Float’s Bill Pay provides accounts payable software small business owners and their accounting teams can use to manage employee spend and pay vendors for total control over AP. It’s designed by Canadians to support the nuances of Canadian accounts payable systems. 

But don’t just take our word for it. Try Float for free and take the headache out of your accounts payable software processes, once and for all. 

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Managing business expenses can quickly become chaotic without the right systems. From vendor invoices to employee reimbursements, keeping track of payments is a critical part of maintaining healthy cash flow. 

This is where accounts payable (AP) comes in—the core of your company’s financial operations. But traditional AP processes are often slow, error-prone and a major headache for finance teams. So, how can you streamline your AP process and free up time for what really matters?

In this guide, we’ll break down everything you need to know about accounts payable: what it is, how it works and how modern automation tools like Float can transform your AP workflow. Whether you’re a finance leader aiming to eliminate gruntwork or a business owner seeking better visibility into company spending, we’ve got you covered.

What is Accounts Payable (AP)?

Accounts payable (AP) refers to the money a company owes to its vendors for goods or services received but not yet paid for. It’s recorded as a liability on the balance sheet and includes payments such as supplier invoices, contractor fees and utility bills.

Examples of accounts payable:

• Invoices for supplies and equipment (e.g. office supplies, computer hardware, raw materials, etc.)
• Professional services payments (e.g. legal fees, marketing retainers, consultant invoices, etc.)
• Recurring bills (e.g. rent, utilities, subscriptions, etc.)

Why is AP efficiency so important?

The way your business manages accounts payable can make or break its cash flow, vendor relationships and bottom line. In fact, 65% of SMBs report long processing times for financial transactions, which ties directly to cash flow problems and missed opportunities for growth.

Imagine a missed invoice leads to a late fee and a frustrated vendor who pauses your deliveries. Or maybe your finance team is scrambling to fix a double payment, wasting hours chasing down refunds. Meanwhile, slow approvals stall an important purchase, putting a critical project on hold. There are just a few ways inefficient AP processes can cost you time, money and trust.

Accounts payable vs. accounts receivable

While accounts payable tracks what your business owes, accounts receivable (AR) tracks what others owe you. AP is a liability, whereas AR is an asset. Both are important for understanding cash flow and maintaining financial stability.

Tracking both AP and AR is key to maintaining a healthy cash flow—see how cash flow statements tie it all together.

What is the accounts payable process? 

Accounts payable management involves outlining the journey from invoice to payment, offering a clear framework for how to pay an invoice efficiently and accurately.

Here’s how it typically flows:

• Invoice receipt: Capture invoices via email, mail or automated systems.
• Invoice review: Verify charges and ensure they match purchase orders.
• Approval workflow: Route invoices to the right team members for swift approval.
• Payment processing: Settle bills via EFT transfers, credit cards, or cheques.
• Record-keeping: Log payments into your accounting system.

When your AP process runs smoothly, payments are on time, vendors stay happy and your cash flow stays clear.

6 common challenges in traditional AP management

Traditional accounts payable processes can feel like a time sink—slowing operations, frustrating finance teams, and leaving room for costly mistakes. Without modern tools, businesses face a range of issues that can quickly snowball into bigger problems.

1. Manual workflows

First, there’s the chaos of manual workflows. Paper invoices, spreadsheets and email chains create confusion, waste time and make it easy for documents to slip through the cracks. Finance teams end up chasing receipts instead of focusing on strategic work.

2. Approval bottlenecks

Then come the approval bottlenecks. Payments stall when they’re stuck in endless sign-off loops. The longer the delay, the greater the risk of late fees—or worse, strained vendor relationships.

3. Frequent errors

On top of that, errors run rampant with manual processes. It’s easy to enter the wrong numbers, pay the same invoice twice or miss a payment altogether.

4. Poor visibility

There’s also the issue of poor visibility into spending. Without a centralized view, finance teams are left in the dark, scrambling to piece together where money is going and struggling to catch unwanted expenses in real time.

5. Decentralized tools

Compounding these problems is that many businesses still rely on disconnected tools to manage the AP process—55% of SMBs say financial tools that don’t integrate well with each other are a top inefficiency driver. Often, this looks like using one system for bill intake, another for approvals, an accounting platform to track unpaid bills and a separate bank portal to process payments. 

When integrations between tools break, it causes delays and wastes time on troubleshooting. Even if you’re processing high volumes of payments every month, this patchwork approach can waste time rather than save it.

6. Fraud

What’s worse, all of these challenges compound to increase your fraud risk. Loose controls and outdated systems can leave the door open for unauthorized payments or fake invoices to slip through unnoticed, costing your business money and damaging trust.

When these challenges pile up, they can have real-world consequences. But with a modern, automated accounts payable process, you can gain the visibility and control you need to make payments simpler. 

Benefits of automating accounts payable management

From speeding up payments to improving visibility, accounting automation helps your business move faster, smarter, and more securely.

Here’s how:

1. Faster invoice processing
   Manual invoice processing is slow and clunky, often dragging payments out for days or even weeks. Automation can capture invoice data instantly and route approvals with a click. Payments that once took days can be completed in minutes, keeping your vendors happy and your operations running smoothly.
2. Reduced errors and fraud risk
   Manual data entry is a breeding ground for costly mistakes: duplicate payments, missed invoices and misfiled records. Automated accounts payable systems use built-in validations to catch errors before they happen, reducing the risk of costly slip-ups. With proper controls and approval workflows in place, you’ll minimize the chance of fraudulent activity or unauthorized spending.
3. Improved cash flow management
   With automation, you get real-time insights into every outgoing payment—what’s due, what’s paid and what’s pending. Clear visibility into your liabilities helps you forecast expenses, avoid late fees and take advantage of early payment discounts. 
4. Increased visibility and control
   No more chasing down receipts or wondering where an invoice stands. Automation centralizes your AP data into one dashboard, giving you a complete, real-time view of every transaction. You can track approvals, spot spending patterns and enforce policies, all without digging through email threads or spreadsheets.

Modern accounts payable strategies 

Focus on these accounts payable strategies to reduce delays, eliminate errors, and gain better control over your AP processes.

1. Automate invoice processing

Manual data entry is a productivity killer that leads to errors and slows down your entire AP workflow. Automating invoice processing is one of the fastest ways to make your AP process more efficient and accurate.

Here’s how to do it right:

• Digitize invoices with OCR technology. Optical character recognition (OCR) technology scans and converts paper invoices into digital records. This eliminates manual data entry, reduces errors, and speeds up processing—especially if you’re dealing with high volumes of invoices.
• Automate invoice-to-PO matching. Set up rules to automatically match invoices to purchase orders (POs). With automated matching, any discrepancies like price differences or unexpected charges are flagged for review. This helps catch errors early and prevents overpayments.
• Schedule recurring payments. For vendors with regular billing cycles, such as utilities or monthly service providers, automate recurring payments. This ensures that predictable bills are paid on time without the risk of missed deadlines or late fees.

2. Optimize approval workflows

Bottlenecks in the approval process slow down payments, frustrate vendors, and create unnecessary delays. Streamlining your approval workflows keeps payments moving and eliminates confusion.

Here’s how to do it:

• Establish clear approval hierarchies. Define who needs to approve invoices based on payment amounts, vendor types, or departments. With clear guidelines, everyone knows their role, and invoices don’t get stuck waiting for the right sign-off.
• Set spending limits for team members. Create thresholds for automatic approvals to reduce unnecessary reviews. For example, purchases under $250 can be pre-approved, while anything above requires manager review. This keeps small expenses moving without bottlenecks.
• Route approvals digitally. Use an automated system to assign invoices to the right approvers, notify them instantly, and track every step of the process. Real-time updates and digital records eliminate back-and-forth emails and make it easy to follow the status of each invoice.

3. Transition to electronic payments

Paper cheques are slow, costly and prone to error. Switching to electronic payment methods speeds up your accounts payable process and reduces administrative headaches.

Here’s how to make the shift:

• Prioritize virtual cards for all online payments. Virtual cards are single-use or limited-use payment numbers tied to your corporate account. They’re easy to track, help prevent fraud and are perfect for one-off payments or online purchases (especially software trials). Many vendors prefer virtual cards because they process instantly and don’t require banking details.
• Use electronic transfers for domestic payments. For all other domestic transactions, EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) payments are faster, more secure and often cheaper than traditional cheques in Canada. An EFT payment is ideal for recurring payments and bulk transfers, cutting out mailing delays and lowering processing costs.

💡 Pro tip: Understand the difference between ACH vs EFT. Automated clearing house payment (ACH) is a specific type of EFT used primarily for domestic payments within the US. Some more modern providers do offer cross-border ACH payments, but you’ll need to check with your bank. Or, try making international payments with Float.

New to digital payments? Start by learning how to make an EFT payment, from setting up vendors to scheduling transfers. 

Looking to pay invoices from Canada to other countries?

Check out our articles on how to pay invoices from the U.S., Mexico, Philippines, EU and India..

While this may seem overwhelming at first, modern tools have come a long way. Solutions (like Float) will allow you to implement all of these strategies in one place. 

Accounts Payable Metrics to Track

• Days Payable Outstanding (DPO): measures the average time it takes to pay vendors
• Invoice processing time: tracks the efficiency of the AP process from invoice receipt to payment
• Early payment discount capture rate: shows the percentage of available discounts captured
• Electronic invoice adoption rate: indicates the level of automation in the AP process
• Vendor satisfaction score: assesses the strength of vendor relationships based on timely payments and communication

Tips for choosing the right accounts payable software

Accounts payable software should simplify your processes, not complicate them.

Here’s what to look for.

Start with automation. Capabilities like invoice capture and approval workflows will save your team time and reduce errors. Look for features like OCR technology to digitize invoices and automatic matching to purchase orders to streamline your process.

Next, prioritize integration. Your software should connect seamlessly with your accounting system, keeping your records accurate without extra manual work.

Visibility matters, too. Real-time dashboards and easy-to-read reports help you track spending, catch errors and make smarter financial decisions.

Don’t forget security. Built-in safeguards like multi-factor authentication and role-based permissions protect your payments from fraud and unauthorized access.

Last, choose software that grows with you. Look for a solution that can handle increasing transaction volumes, add users easily and adapt to your changing needs, all while offering responsive support.

Why Float fits the bill 

Float offers fast automation, real-time insights and secure, seamless integrations—everything you need to manage your accounts payable process without the headaches. With built-in tools like bill pay to automate invoice payments, you can process transactions faster and reduce manual work. Plus, it’s built to scale with your business, supporting your growth every step of the way.

Simplify business spending with Float’s smart AP & corporate cards

“Float’s Bill Pay has become our main AP solution for Canadian business expenses. They built a product that is better than anything else on the market in Canada.”

Thomas Kwon
Head of Finance & Operations

Accounts payable management doesn’t have to be complicated or costly. Float brings everything you need into one easy-to-use platform, helping you automate your AP workflows, track spending in real time, and process payments faster—all while keeping complete control over your finances.

With Float, you get a smarter way to manage every dollar your business spends. 

• Issue corporate cards instantly
• Automate bill payments from one place
• Close your books up to 8x faster with seamless accounting integrations
• Earn 4% interest on your Float balance
• Get 1% cashback on card spend

Float is trusted by thousands of Canadian businesses to simplify their spending, from approvals to payments—all with no hidden fees and fast, friendly support when you need it. Whether you’re eliminating approval bottlenecks or gaining better control over your cash flow, Float helps your business spend smarter and scale faster.

Ready to take control of your business spending?

Get started with Float today and experience faster payments, fewer errors, and complete visibility.

Float is Canada’s Only All-in-one AP Solution

Automate bill intake, approvals, accounting sync, and pay anyone in the world with Float’s Bill Pay — plus unlock 7% savings on your spend.

Automate intake with Float’s AI powered OCR and inbox integrations

Streamline approvals with flexible workflows and policies

Pay via Global Wires, EFT, or ACH with Float’s next day payments

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