Airbase vs. AvidXchange vs. Stampli: Best AP solution?

Automating accounts payable can help your business accelerate invoice processing, prevent late payments, reduce fraud and errors, and enhance supplier relationships. However, selecting the best AP automation solution can be difficult. AP solution providers all claim to offer improved efficiency, cost savings, and streamlined financial processes, but how do you choose the right one from all the available options?

Leading accounts payable automation solutions share an AP-first approach. They simplify complex, time-consuming manual tasks and make them easy for AP departments and vendors. The best providers excel in four key areas:

• Ease of Use
• Collaboration and Communication
• Invoice Approval Confidence
• Product Performance

Stampli, Airbase, and AvidXchange each offer invoice processing and verification, ERP and accounting software integrations, approval routing, payment management, and more. Which is the best choice for you? We compare their capabilities and features to help you decide.

Customer satisfaction scores

The G2 Satisfaction Score for AP Automation measures customer satisfaction with AP automation solutions based on user reviews. It evaluates how well solution providers satisfy users’ needs. The score measures customer satisfaction in four categories:

• Implementation: How easily can you implement the solution?
• Usability: How easy is the solution to use?
• Relationship: How well does the solution provider build customer relationships?
• Results: How well does the solution deliver results?

By comparing each AP automation provider’s Satisfaction Scores, you can quickly identify the product that provides the best customer experience based on feedback from actual AP automation users.

Let’s dig into the scores for Airbase, AvidXchange, and Stampli.

Implementation Index

The Implementation Index consists of three scores: Ease of Setup, User Adoption, and Time to Go Live.

Of the three competitors, Stampli received a significantly higher score in Ease of Setup, indicating that it is the easiest solution to implement. Moreover, Stampli scored higher than the AP automation industry average for User Adoption and Time to Go Live, reinforcing its industry-leading reputation for fast deployment, implementation, and user adoption.

Usability Index 

Stampli is also a leader in the Usability Index, scoring higher than Airbase and AvidXchange for Ease of administration and surpassing the industry average for Ease of use—another indication of Stampli’s popularity among AP teams.

Relationship Index 

Stampli scored highest in Quality of Support and Ease of Doing Business and exceeded the industry average for Likelihood to Recommend, indicating that Stampli is the leader in building strong customer relationships.

Results Index 

Stampli scored higher than Airbase and AvidXchange in the Estimated Return on Investment category and surpassed the industry average in the Meets Requirements category. These scores reflect how well Stampli’s AP automation solution consistently delivers results for customers.

Stampli

Stampli is the ideal choice if you’re looking for a powerful and user-friendly accounts payable or P2P automation platform. It features exceptional customer service, AI-powered AP automation capabilities, and deep accounting expertise, making Stampli the best choice for AP automation and a perfect fit for any business.

Stampli simplifies invoice processing, coding, verification, approval routing, reconciliations, and payment processing. For greater expense control, Stampli offers Stampli Direct Pay. This integrated payment automation solution centralizes all payment methods (ACH, check, wire transfer, and credit card) on a single AP automation platform.

• Prebuilt integration with more than 70 ERPs and accounting systems, including Sage Intacct, QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, SAP S4/HANA, Oracle NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance, and Microsoft Dynamics Business Central.
• Stampli Insights gives real-time AP performance and financial data visibility through prebuilt reports and dashboards.
• Learns and manages complex invoice approval workflows (multi-approver, multi-location, multi-category, and multi-subsidiary) with the option to use custom approval flows.
• International payments in USD or local currency to suppliers in over 150+ countries with integrated FX management tools.
• Advanced Vendor Management simplifies vendor onboarding, management, and collection and maintenance of vendor information such as payment methods, bank account details, and address.
• Prevents errors and fraud with automated 3-way matching, duplicate invoice detection, and audit trail creation.
• Customized user roles with automated enforcement of internal controls and segregation of duties.

Pricing

Stampli offers simple monthly or annual pricing with unlimited users, vendors, and training.

Seamless integration with your ERP

Stampli’s philosophy of ERP integration is unique in the industry. It builds its integrations in-house, fully supporting native functionality and data sharing. Stampli’s flexible integrations support a wide range of businesses across all industries, including multi-entity corporate structures and those in highly regulated industries such as life sciences and biopharmaceuticals. 

It integrates with ERP in three ways:

Prebuilt integration: Fast and easy no-code integration via an application programming interface (API) that’s great for cloud applications. 

File integration: Uses customized file templates (created by Stampli) to import and export files easily with any on-premise or cloud ERP or accounting system.

Process integration: Support for existing processes requiring manual data entry or other specialized workflows.

Stampli offers fully supported ERP implementations or migrations in days, not weeks. There is no need to hire developers, adjust existing processes, or reconfigure your ERP. 

Best-in-class customer support

The industry leader in Accounts Payable automation software solutions, Stampli consistently receives top scores in the G2 Grid® for AP Automation software. Stampli has been awarded for customer service, corporate citizenship, and excellence, including: 

• No. 2 in the G2 list of Best Accounting and Finance Products for 2023.
• Recognized By Forbes As One Of America’s Best Startup Employers Of 2023.
• Best Accounts Payable Automation Solution, 2022 Fintech Breakthrough Awards.

Numerous case studies from happy customers and independent user reviews recognize Stampli for excellence in areas such as:

• Easy to use, intuitive interface
• Fast implementation and onboarding
• Good AI/OCR for extracting paper invoice data
• Integration with accounting software like NetSuite and QuickBooks
• Streamlined workflow automation 
• Audit trail providing transparency
• Reporting capabilities
• Live setup assistance and 24/7 customer support from AP and ERP experts
• Cash management

Simplified, centralized invoice management

Billy, Stampli’s AI, learns AP processes and patterns and optimizes the invoice lifecycle by automating tasks like invoice capture, data entry, GL coding, 3-way matching, approval routing, and error and fraud detection. 

To gain more control over the AP process, Stampli centralizes tasks, documents, and communications on top of the invoice—no more hunting for documents or lost emails. Stampli also integrates services to its core AP automation solution, adding advanced functionality. These include virtual cards (Stampli Card), domestic and international payment solutions (Stampli Direct Pay), and employee expense management (Stampli Expenses).

Airbase

Airbase is a spend management platform that provides credit cards, employee expense management tools, and payment processing services. It integrates optional modules for guided procurement, corporate cards, expense management, and accounts payable into three tiers: 

• Standard (up to 200 employees): Basic functionality with limited access to special features.
• Premium (up to 500 employees): Enhanced functionality without enterprise-level features.
• Enterprise (up to 5,000 employees): Full functionality and all features.

Pricing

Airbase pricing is customized to user needs. Certain Airbase features and modules are only available at higher-priced tiers. 

Positive user reviews for Airbase

Customer feedback suggests Airbase has some key strengths. Here are some highlights:

Accounts payable and expense management

Airbase users comment positively about its spend management and AP capabilities, especially its all-in-one approach. According to one TrustRadius reviewer, “Airbase serves as a one-tool-fits-all approach to our expense tracking and management, particularly as it relates to corporate cards and travel, and gives us full visibility and control over that process, saving us time and money.” Another reviewer rated Airbase against other spend management platforms: “I honestly think Airbase is better at bills than Bill.com and better at expense reports than Expensify.”

Despite its advantages, users had some complaints about Airbase’s AP capabilities. One G2 reviewer said that Airbase’s “Reporting could be more robust however what is currently available is sufficient. Giving more options for in-depth analysis of overall spend by category etc would be very helpful.” Another complained about the lack of reporting options, saying “there was nothing that we could use to help us reconcile the accounts.”

In comparison, Stampli enhances efficiency in every aspect of accounts payable processes. In   a recent G2 review, a CFO praised Stampli’s “Outstanding product and service,” commenting that “The system is very easy to use to process payments, both for accounting and payees. Integrating corporate card management and charge recording makes it even better! And the support is first-rate. The functionality of multiple approval processes while maintaining internal controls consistent with company policy is exceptional as well.”

Good interface and customer support

Customers say Airbase features a user-friendly invoice and commented positively about Airbase’s customer support. “We really like the simplicity of Airbase,” reported one G2 reviewer. “It’s very user-friendly, and we like that our employees only have to use one system for all spend-related tasks.” 

While many customers appreciated Airbase’s simplicity, several noted specific issues, including the poor usability of certain features. The same customer who praised the platform’s simplicity above complained about complicated and frustrating processes for tasks like unapplying payments.

Stampli is the AP industry leader for customer support and user design. One customer praises Stampli’s user interface: “It’s a modern and full-screen UI with lots of thought to user experience and ease of navigation. They highlight Stampli’s internal communication system, good approval workflow, intuitive searches, granular user access, custom fields, friendly support, and “fantastic onboarding experience” as key strengths.

Negative Airbase reviews

Here are several aspects of the platform that Airbase customers didn’t appreciate as much.

Chronic technical issues

Several customers complained of frequent and chronic technical glitches while using Airbase. For instance, one G2 reviewer shared a litany of complaints: “Clunky userface. Reporting is not great. Multiple subsidiaries and currencies are difficult to use. Initial setup took a while to finally get integrations to work as they should. Support team generally can’t answer any questions.”

Persistent technical issues can quickly ruin a customer relationship. Through proactive customer support and continuous product development, Stampli provides a consistent and positive experience. One Trustradius reviewer says Stampli is an “AP game changer,” going on to say Stampli is “incredibly intuitive, easy to deploy, use, and integrate with Sage Intacct. The Stampli team listens to their customers, continually upgrades the product, has impeccable customer support- probably one of the best I’ve encountered in my 30 years’ experience as a vendor and customer.” 

Poor corporate credit card experience

Airbase customers generally left positive reviews of the platform’s corporate credit cards. However, several users complained of negative experiences. Airbase’s cards suffer from a “lack of details typically found on a credit card statement or online banking when using a physical or virtual card,” and “Unclear dispute transaction options and lack of protections provided from traditional credit cards,” said one G2 reviewer. Another reviewer criticized Airbase’s requirement to pre-fund credit card accounts before purchases: “The use of pre-funded debit cards versus credit cards is something to consider if your organization has cash flow concerns.”

Ideally, corporate credit cards should give you control over cash flow and help prevent fraud. By providing accurate and detailed reporting on transactions, Stampli Card fits the bill — plus it has no pre-funding requirement. One Stampli customer says Stampli Card provides them with “much better tracking to ensure we have receipts and proper approvals,” concluding that it’s easy and convenient to upload receipts and route expense reports to the correct approver.

AvidXchange

AvidXchange’s cloud-based platform provides AP automation and payment processing to mid-market businesses. Its services are built around three core functions: automating purchase-to-pay workflows, routing invoice approvals and supplier payments, and processing invoices. AvidXchange serves specific industries, like real estate (AvidSuite for Real Estate), construction companies, banks, and financial institutions (AvidAccess). 

• Automatically performs OFAC (Office for Foreign Asset Control) checks on vendors during onboarding and before each payment run.
• Expedited supplier payments to US vendors in the AvidPay membership network.
• Proactively engages your suppliers to enroll them in AvidXchange’s payment network.
• Integrates with industry-specific business systems like Rent Manager, MIP Fund Accounting, Yardi, QuickBooks Online, Sage Intacct, NetSuite, and MRI Software.

Pricing

AvidXchange doesn’t post pricing information on its website. Its prices are by quote only.

Positive user reviews for AvidXchange

Here are a few things that AvidXchange customers say they like about the platform.

Well-designed user interface

Many AvidXchange user reviews spoke positively about its user interface. ”The site is very easy to maneuver; very user-friendly and aesthetically appealing,” said one customer. Another reviewer was even more generous in their praise, saying, “AvidXchange is an extremely user-friendly tool and provides flexibility to create unique workflows for reviewing and approving invoices. It is a powerful reporting tool and reference for all things Accounts Payable.” Reviewers also mentioned that menu options are easy to navigate and “provide flexibility to create unique workflows.” 

Despite these glowing reviews, other customers were more critical of AvidXchange’s design. One reviewer complained about the platform’s limited search capabilities: “It is not user-friendly and the search options lack an interface that is easy to use. I find that half the time the functions are not able to provide me with an efficient way to search for anything.” Another reviewer on GetApp criticized the reporting system, saying, “The reporting system is cumbersome. I would like a report that would let me customize the detail I am looking for.”

An attractive interface design is a nice-to-have. However, good design needs to be backed up with flexibility and capability. While Stampli customers like its simple, functional design, they praise its industry-leading capabilities. “Stampli has been a wonderful solution for our company,” says one customer on G2. “The user interface is extremely smooth and intuitive, offering not only a modern and clean look, but also a lot of impressive capabilities…There are so many other little – or big – features that showcase Stampli’s attention to detail when it comes to making AP easier.

Efficient invoice processing

Many AvidXchange customers said they liked the solution’s AvidInvoice solution. One Capterra reviewer summed up their positive experience with the solution: “AvidXchange has helped streamline our invoice processing; to eliminate paper, and approval routing time.” Other customers spoke positively about how well AvidXchange captures and enters invoice details. Customers also speak positively about how AvidXchange enters their invoice details. Another Capterra reviewer commented, “My invoices are scanned to AVID, they enter the majority of the invoice details and I verify, perform filling account coding and post invoices for processing.”

Despite these positive comments, several AvidXchange customers complained about AvidXchange’s use of human indexers to verify invoice details. An AP professional on G2 complained about the impact of inaccurate invoice verification on their growing business, saying, “The indexers are likely to make mistakes which makes our high volume invoicing difficult at times…The indexers input wrong information when sorting through our invoices.” Other G2 reviewers said, “Indexers send a lot of invoices to the exceptions queues when they shouldn’t” and that “coders occasionally code the invoices to the wrong property” when manually processing invoices. 

You can’t afford an AP solution that relies on inaccurate manual indexing, coding, and verification. Leading solutions use full automation to efficiently and accurately process invoices — only requiring human intervention to confirm key decisions. One Stampli customer describes the ease of efficient AP automation: “Stampli has been so much easier to use than any other accounts payable program that I have used. Stampli automatically fills in coding details if it recognizes and even suggests approvers. I still have the ability to change anything which makes it even easier to use.”

Negative AvidXchange customer reviews

Here are the most frequently reported negative issues by AvidXchange customers.

AvidPay payment network

AvidXchange offers membership in the AvidPay payment network of over 900,000 suppliers in the United States. Although some customers say they appreciate the convenience of trusting their vendor payments to a third party, many have reported negative experiences. 

The problem is that according to its terms of service, AvidXchange is permitted to approach its customers’ suppliers to attempt to enroll them in AvidPay. This has resulted in some angry customers. “AvidXchange insists on attempting to sell its v-card payment method to vendors,” complains one customer on TrustRadius, “and does so in a less-than-above-board way, which has disgruntled some vendors when they discovered fees withheld that they didn’t understand.” 

A GetApp reviewer reported similar sales tactics: “One vendor called them and tried to change payment methods, and Avid Pay customer support told them they should be charging us 5% more on invoices to make up for the usage fee from them.” 

Perhaps most tellingly, there are multiple customer complaints about these sales practices on AvidXchange’s BBB Business Profile. One complainant stated, “We run a service business and have accepted payments from clients through Avid for many years. However, during the past 2 years payments have gotten very slow and they have been contacting us inquiring whether we want to expedite payments for an exorbitant fee. We did not know that Avidxchange is becoming a factoring company. Avoid them if you can.”

Ouch.

It goes without saying that a negative experience can damage any business relationship. Leading AP and payment processing solutions are transparent and vendor-neutral. They focus more on enabling you to build strong vendor relationships and pay your bills on time. Stampli doesn’t contact your suppliers to pressure them into buying anything. Customers appreciate the integrity of this approach. In the words of one G2 reviewer: “Another deciding factor for our company in choosing Stampli over a competitor we looked at was that Stampli’s Direct Pay feature (ACH payments to vendors) is free to vendors without being expensive for us, either.”

Negative customer support experiences

Although customers report they like AvidXchange’s design and user experience, they are less positive about its customer service. Many users complain about slow and unresponsive customer support. One user describes the problem at length. “There is not much we liked about using this software,” they complain, saying, “The customer support is fairly slow and makes it really hard to solve issues that come up. It’s not uncommon for a customer support ticket to remain open for weeks and to need to follow up multiple times.” According to the customer, things came to a head when they struggled to end their AvidXchange contract. “The straw that broke the camel’s back for us was when we transitioned out, we stayed with the software for a few days of the next month. The company would not prorate our bill even though we did not use the system in the final month. Bad customer service until the very end.”

Poor customer service results in frustration, particularly when you have to wait months to resolve issues or when support teams lack the necessary skills and experience to solve your problems effectively. Exceptional customer service sets the best AP solutions apart from the competition. “Stampli is a fantastic AP workflow software that is efficient and user-friendly. It has tremendously helped our team process, record, approve, modify, and export invoices to our accounting system,” says one controller on G2. They go on to praise Stampli’s customer support team: “[T]he chat feature with a live customer care representative is extremely handy. You receive immediate attention with an actual person who will help answer questions and guide you in the right path. Overall, wonderful software for all businesses who receive vendor invoices!”

Stampli: The #1 choice for AP automation

Tired of dealing with workarounds, spreadsheets, or manual ERP work for your accounts payable process? If so, Stampli is the comprehensive solution you need. Stampli provides an efficient, AI-powered solution that automates complex workflows and enhances your existing processes. 

With Stampli, you don’t have to change your AP workflows, as all the AP-related tasks are centralized in a unified platform, simplifying communication, documentation, and workflows and making them easy to manage.

Artificial intelligence automation features like Billy, Stampli’s AI, streamline manual processes and provide real-time visibility and control over the invoice lifecycle. This way, you can stay on top of your finances and effortlessly manage your AP tasks.

Stampli’s versatile suite of integrated products and compatibility with over 70 ERPs make for swift deployment, helping companies turn AP into a powerful engine for growth.

Want to learn more about how Stampli can help your invoice and payment management workflow? Contact us today for a free demo and see why Stampli is the best choice for AP automation.