AP automation: requirements checklist

From the guide at bestfinancesoftware.com/guides/ap-automation, published 29 October 2026. Use your browser's print command; the site header and footer are left off the page.

Requirement	Vendor A	Vendor B	Vendor C
Must have
Invoice capture from email and upload, with a person able to correct and confirm each field.
Duplicate detection on vendor, invoice number, amount and date.
Approval rules by amount, entity, department and vendor, with delegation and an approval log.
Control over changes to vendor bank details: who can make them, how they are verified, and a log.
Two-way sync with your ERP for vendors, coding, bills and payment status.
Depends on you
Two-way and three-way matching to purchase orders and receipts, if you buy against POs.
Payment execution by ACH, check, wire, virtual card or international transfer, if the tool will pay.
Collection of W-9 forms and 1099 reporting, if you pay US contractors.
Sanctions screening of payees, if you pay suppliers abroad.

Questions to ask in the demo

Process ten of our own invoices, including a credit note and a duplicate, while we watch.
Show who can change a vendor's bank account, what verification is required, and the log.
Show a three-way match exception and how it is resolved.
How does an approval route when the approver is away?
Show the sync of one bill and its payment status to our ERP.
If you execute payments, whose bank account holds the funds, when do they leave it, and which payment rails do you use?

Back to the guide, with the reasons behind each item and the vendors described from their own pages.