Tipalti vs. AvidXchange vs. Stampli

Accounts payable (AP) automation solutions streamline invoice processing, eliminate late payments, and improve cash flow management while reducing errors and fraud.

AP solution providers promise cost savings, efficiency improvements, and streamlined peer-to-peer (P2P) processes. How do you choose the right AP automation provider from the many players in the industry?

AP solutions from Stampli, Tipalti, and AvidXchange offer features like invoice processing and verification, integration with ERPs, financial systems, and accounting software, automated approval routing, cash management, and more.

Criteria for choosing an AP solution

The best accounts payable automation solutions simplify complex manual processes and make AP intuitive for employees and vendors. Five criteria separate the leading AP solutions from the rest:

• Efficient invoice processing: Automation of accounts payable functions like invoice capture, coding, and three-way matching is fast and accurate.
• Easy implementation: Setting up workflows and operating procedures is simple, and implementing the solution requires minimal changes to existing processes.
• User friendly: interfaces are easy to use and intuitive, and customer support teams are responsive and knowledgeable.
• Good vendor engagement: The platform helps strengthen vendor relationships with clear communications and easy payment processes, and it doesn’t upsell services to your suppliers.
• Seamless ERP integration: The solution supports automatic real-time data sync and native ERP functionality with minimal coding requirements and rework of ERP processes.

Which one is the best solution for you? To help you decide, we compare each solution’s capabilities, customer satisfaction ratings, and features.

Customer satisfaction ratings for AP automation

The G2 Satisfaction Score for AP Automation measures customer satisfaction with AP automation solutions basd 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 Tipalti, AvidXchange, and Stampli.

Implementation Index

The Implementation Index comprises three scores:

• Ease of setup
• User adoption
• Time to go live

Stampli scored significantly higher in ease of setup of the three competitors, indicating it is the easiest solution to implement. Stampli also scored higher than the AP automation industry average for User adoption and Time to go live – reflecting its reputation for fast implementation and user adoption.

Usability Index

The usability index evaluates customer satisfaction with each AP solution’s user interface and functionality. It measures two factors:

• Ease of use
• Ease of admin

Stampli is a leader in the Usability Index, scoring higher than Tipalti and AvidXchange for ease of use and ease of admin, another indication of Stampli’s popularity among AP teams.

Relationship Index

The relationship index measures customer satisfaction by assessing how well each supplier manages the business relationship with each supplier. It consists of three factors:

• Likelihood to recommend
• Ease of doing business
• Quality of support

Stampli earned the overall “Best Relationship” score for its industry-leading ratings in quality of support, ease of doing business, and likelihood to recommend -– the likelihood Stampli users would recommend Stampli to a colleague.

Results Index

The results index evaluates the bottom-line impact of working with each supplier. The index measures two factors:

• Meets requirements
• Estimated ROI 

Stampli earned one of the highest “Best Results” scores for its estimated return on investment. In the meets requirements category,Stampli also scored higher than Tipalti and AvidXchange, reflecting how well Stampli’s AP automation consistently delivers results for customers.

By comparing the Satisfaction scores of different AP automation providers, you can easily pinpoint the product customers say offers the best customer experience. Now, let’s explore the strengths and weaknesses of each competitor based on customer reviews on G2, TrustRadius, GetApp, Capterra, and Software Advice.

Tipalti features and customer reviews

Tipalti is a payment automation platform. It also offers AP automation and spend management functions.

Tipalti’s key features

Tipalti serves small, medium, and enterprise-level businesses wanting to streamline and optimize their financial processes. Its customers report they like Tipalti’s global payment automation features, its customizable, user-friendly interface, and good customer support.

Tipalti’s solution supports accounting and finance tasks, including global payments, purchasing, and expenses management.

• Automated invoice entry, purchase order matching, payments, and reconciliations.
• Global supplier payment processing and foreign exchange risk mitigation.
• Automated internal controls, payment audit trails, error and fraud detection, regulatory compliance, and role-based security.

Pricing

Tipalti charges a monthly access fee for its basic service. It requires customers to pre-fund a Tipalti account to pay vendors, and charges additional fees for added services, modules, and advanced features.

Tipalti customer-reported positives

Here are some things customers like about Tipalti as their financial automation solution.

Customizable financial automation solution

Tipalti’s platform offers customizable options such as a brandable supplier portal, automated vendor communications, and custom approval routing. Reviewers mention Tipalti’s customizable vendor portal is “easy to use” and say “feedback from our vendors is positive.” Other Tipalti users customers say it is easy to make payments and create customized approval routing.

However, some customers complained it was hard to navigate Tipalti’s features, commenting, “it can take some time to understand all the functionalities and features available.” Users criticized Tipalti’s steep learning curve, saying it’s “[o]ne of the things that I liked the least…it can be a bit overwhelming to get familiar with all the features and functionality of the platform.”

Despite Tipalti’s customization options, some customers pointed out that those options are limited, especially regarding AP reports. In the words of one user, Tipalti provides “only a [handful] of standard reports.”

If customization and user-friendliness are a priority for your business, look to an alternate AP automation solution. Stampli users praise how it makes day-to-day tasks easier for AP teams. “[I] use this software daily,” says one Stampli customer, “and [its] ease of use is what I like the most.”

Additionally, effective AP management requires accurate and comprehensive reporting that provides actionable data and analytics. Stampli’s AP reporting and analysis features are “outstanding,” according to one user, who said Stampli “has eliminated all our previously manual processes for AP. It also has excellent reporting and analysis tools for cost management.”

Expansion into global markets

Tipalti users mention its global payments solution as one of the solution’s top strengths, commenting, “Tipalti is an all-in-one global payments solution that simplifies the process of paying suppliers and vendors across the world. Its automated system reduces manual work and errors, allowing businesses to easily manage tax compliance, payment regulations, and currency conversions.”

Tipalti’s solution is targeted at businesses wanting to simplify paying their overseas vendors. It offers a centralized payment platform that processes payments to several countries, foreign exchange management features, and various payment methods.

However, customers complain about Tipalti’s policy requiring customers to pre-fund their Tipalti payment account before they can pay vendors. One customer described the policy as “Con: Having to fund our Tipalti account to pay vendors.”

Customers wanting to simplify vendor payments without tying up their money in a payment account should consider a solution like Stampli Direct Pay. One customer describes how Stampli has made vendor payments faster: “Direct Pay is one of my favorite features! Before Stampli, I was making sure each invoice was in QuickBooks, then using a second program to pay our vendors. So I’d have to make a bill payment in QBs, then manually put in the amount for that vendor in the second program to pay them. Now I don’t have to do any of that. I simply select what invoices I want to pay and click pay. It’s seriously that simple.”

Friendly customer support

Many Tipalti customers leave positive reviews of its customer support team, which one user described as being “always kind and attentive.” Customers say Tipalti’s support team is friendly, with one customer saying they are “exceptionally helpful and it was a pleasure to communicate with them. I have always received prompt responses to any inquiries.”

However, despite customer satisfaction with the friendliness of Tipalti’s customer support, some reviewers complain it lacks technical ability, especially when dealing with complex issues such as implementations. One user described their implementation experience as “terrible…Onboarding was incomplete and long,” and complained that the Tipalti support team “forgot to setup some prominent things like the second admin, subcompany, and ACH instructions.”

Stampli leads the industry in excellent customer support. Its support team has the expertise and experience to understand the challenges AP teams face and help them resolve complex issues. Stampli’s “[c]ustomer support in this process has been outstanding,” said one customer of their onboarding experience. “Each time we have reached out to customer support, they have been quick to resolve our problems.”

Tipalti: Customer-reported negatives

Despite Tipalti’s strengths, Tipalti customers report significant challenges with the solution.

Troublesome and slow onboarding

Several Tipalti customers report a negative experience with onboarding, citing slow implementations and a lack of customer support. “We started out our implementation with one consultant who simply could not deliver,” said one customer. “Every requirement we had was a question they needed to forward to their engineering team. This caused a delay of a full month on an implementation that was going to take 5 weeks.”

A negative onboarding experience can sour a business relationship, especially with a platform you trust with your financial and accounting processes. Stampli has a proven track record of fast, trouble-free implementations.

“We were up and running within weeks of signing our contract,” says one Stampli customer. “The few times we’ve had to reach out to support, we are chatting with a real person within 1 minute. We integrate with NetSuite, and that works perfectly (and our implementation specialist [at Stampli] was very [knowledgeable] and fixed a problem that no other 3rd party integration was able to).”

Challenges integrating Tipalti with ERPs

Customer reviews identify users face challenges integrating Tipalti with ERPs and accounting systems. One customer complained that although Tipalti had a seamless NetSuite integration, they didn’t deliver: “We had a ton of issues with our connection between Teampay/Tipalti/Netsuite. We were sold Tipalti and Teampay as a package deal, and they definitely have not lived up to the promise.”

Other Tipalti user reviews mention connectivity issues. One customer complained they had “No VAT or GST functionality between Tipalti and Intacct. Not able to have attachment for credit memos sync from Tipalti to Intacct.” Another reported longstanding problems with their integration, saying, “[e]ven after 4 years, we run into at least one integration complication each month.”

Another Tipalti customer called chronic sync issues with their NetSuite integration “[t] the biggest drawback from my experience with Tipalti,” saying that Tipalti ” constantly failed to sync billing PDFs with NetSuite, which caused a lot of inconveniences.”

Sync issues and glitchy integrations frustrate AP teams and bring your workflows to a standstill while you try to find a fix or workaround, or even worse, tolerate the problem for years.

Stampli exceeds customer expectations for seamless integration. It “provides a single source of receiving and processing ALL of our bills into one platform and syncing with NetSuite,” says one customer. ”We no longer have ‘exceptions’ with our complicated processes that a platform cannot handle. If Stampli cannot handle it by it native features alone, there are simple workarounds that have been able to work out perfectly. No expensive customizations or bypassing of their system is required.”

Tipalti bottom line

Tipalti’s many strengths make it a strong contender for companies choosing a global payment or financial automation platform. However, Tipalti customer reviews reveal difficult onboarding, inexpert customer support, and glitchy ERP integrations. If these are show-stoppers for you, there are better choices for a painless implementation, like Stampli.

Stampli is the perfect choice. It offers exceptional customer service, provides fast and seamless onboarding, and delivers proven business results.

My experience with Stampli has been excellent!” said one Stampli reviewer. “They have provided answers to any questions that I have had and always give me solutions for any issues very quickly. They have superb customer service and the software is extremely user friendly!”

AvidXchange features and customer reviews

AvidXchange is a financial automation platform. Its cloud-based solution provides AP automation and payment processing to mid-market businesses.

AvidXchange’s key features

AvidXchange’s services are built around three core functions: automating purchase-to-pay workflows, routing invoice approvals and supplier payments, and processing invoices. It targets its services to specific industries, like real estate (AvidSuite for Real Estate), construction companies, and banks and financial institutions (AvidAccess).

• Expedited supplier payments to US vendors in the proprietary AvidPay membership network.
• Integration with industry-specific business systems like Rent Manager, MIP Fund Accounting, and Yardi and with ERPs like QuickBooks Online, Sage Intacct, NetSuite, and MRI Software.
• AvidInvoice invoice processing service using human indexers to code and verify invoices.

Pricing

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

AvidXchange customer-reported positives

Here are some things AvidXchange customers say they like about the solution.

Good user interface

AvidXchange customers were generally positive about its user interface, which one customer described as “very easy to maneuver; very user-friendly and aesthetically appealing.” Reviewers also mentioned that menu options are easy to navigate and they “provide flexibility to create unique workflows.”

However, other customers complained of challenges with AvidXchange’s interface. One customer mentioned its limited search capabilities, saying, “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 complained about deficiencies in reporting: “The reporting system is cumbersome. I would like a report that would let me customize the detail I am looking for.”

Good interface design is an attractive feature however it needs to be backed up with good functionality. Stampli customers praise its simple design and industry-leading functionality. “Stampli has been a wonderful solution for our company,” said one customer. “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.”

Invoice processing

AvidXchange’s AvidInvoice service is popular with customers. One user reported, “AvidXchange has helped streamline our invoice processing; to eliminate paper, and approval routing time.” Customers also speak positively about how AvidXchange enters their invoice details, saying, “ 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.”

On the other hand, many users complain about the quality of AvidXchange’s invoice indexing service. “Indexing is sometimes inaccurate,” says one user. Another complained, “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.” Users also complained about indexers failing to enter invoices, saying, “Indexers send a lot of invoices to the exceptions queues when they shouldn’t,” and applying the wrong GL codes: “coders occasionally code the invoices to the wrong property.”

Industry-leading AP solutions don’t rely on error-prone manual processes to enter and code invoices. Solutions like Stampli use AI and machine learning – with human oversight – to accurately and efficiently enter and code invoices. “Stampli has been so much easier to use than any other accounts payable program that I have used,” said one customer. “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. I use Stampli everyday whether it is to code invoices answer question or check the status of invoices.”

AvidPay payment network

AvidXchange offers membership in the AvidPay payment network of over 900,000 suppliers in the United States. Some customers appreciate the convenience of trusting their vendor payments to a third party. “​​AvidPay allows us to take the middleman work out of supplier payments,” says one user, saying that AvidPay “has freed up much needed time to focus on other pressing issues.” Another customer says, “AvidPay has helped us be much more mainstream with our payment processing and the rebates are a huge plus!”

Unfortunately, AvidPay can come at the cost of good vendor relationships. According to their terms of service, AvidXchange can approach your suppliers to attempt to enroll them in AvidPay and other solutions – a practice that has infuriated many customers. “AvidXchange insists on attempting to sell its v-card payment method to vendors,” complains one customer, “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.”

Another reviewer reported similar shady 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.”

Tellingly, there are numerous negative customer complaints about these sales practices on AvidXchange’s BBB Business Profile. One reviewer said, “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 becomming a factoring company. Avoid them if you can.”

A negative payment experience can sour any vendor relationship. AP and payment processing solutions should be vendor-neutral and transparent – focusing on building positive communications and paying vendors on time. Stampli won’t contact vendors to pressure them into buying services, which is a policy customers appreciate. As one customer attests, this vendor-neutral approach was one reason they chose Stampli: “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.”

AvidXchange customer-reported negatives

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

Late and missed supplier payments

Several AvidXchange customers complain about slow invoice and payment processing, causing delayed or missed vendor payments. One real estate customer complained: “I do not like how long it takes to get an invoice from approval status to paid. Many vendors call because the payment has taken so long.” Another user said missed payments frustrate them and their suppliers: “Payments often do not get to suppliers. This creates frustration.” Many customers blame AvidXchange’s policies, with one reviewer saying, “Stay Away from Avid…They put holds on payments multiple times, delaying payments.”

A GetApp reviewer (and former AvidXhange customer) complained, “It would take anywhere from 3-5 weeks for our vendors to receive payment once the total approval and Sage Intacct processes were completed. If a check was lost or went missing, you would have to call or send an email to request a stop payment. It would often take up to a week to receive a response that they were completing the stop payment, and when a check is lost you want the payment stopped immediately. It was very hard to get someone to actually respond to you. We had more problems than solutions with the software.”

Late and missed payments damage vendor relationships and can cost money in late fees. Pay vendors on time with an AP solution that processes invoices and payments quickly and accurately. Customers say Stampli is “easy to use and streamlines processing for accurate and timely payments to vendors.” Another happy customer commented on how much faster they process invoices and payments after implementing Stampli: “I love how easy and efficient Stampli has made out A/P process. It has cut back 80% of our processing time and significantly improved our accuracy.”

Slow, unresponsive customer support

Many AvidXchange customers complained about slow, unresponsive customer support. “There is not much we liked about using this software,” complained one user. “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. The straw that broke the camels back for us was when we transitioned out, we staying 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.”

Other customers expressed similar feelings. “ If I were asked to keep Avid or switch to another company to outsource payments, I would probably advise that we should switch,” said one unhappy customer, who added, “I don’t have an assigned contact for my team any longer so the only way to speak with someone is to send in an email and hope they get back to you. I need answers right away on issues involving payments and do not get this very often from AvidXchange.”

Poor customer service leads to frustration, especially when you need to wait months to resolve issues or when customer support teams lack the skill and experience to resolve them. Good customer service separates the best AP solutions from the rest. “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,” says one reviewer. “The Customer Success team is very knowledgeable in the Accounts Payable space, schedules system optimization meetings to help our AP team understand how we can better utilize AP automation based on system usage metrics.”

AvidXchange bottom line

AvidXchange could be a good solution for businesses needing an industry-specific financial automation solution. However, customer complaints about sketchy upselling to vendors, inaccurate invoice processing, poor customer service, and late payments should give you pause. If you want to pay suppliers on time (and keep them happy), you may want to consider a solution that offers better customer support and accurate end-to-end invoice processing and doesn’t pressure your vendors to switch payment methods.

Stampli: The smart choice for accounts payable

Stampli is the best choice for powerful, user-friendly accounts payable automation that doesn’t require reworking your ERP.

Stampli key features

Stampli helps accounting teams optimize AP with paperless invoice processing, data entry and GL coding, three-way matching, approval routing, and supplier payment management. It helps you manage cash flow by automating core AP processes and giving you visibility into spending.

• 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.
• Learns and manages complex invoice approval workflows (multi-approver, multi-location, multi-category, and multi-subsidiary) with the option to use custom approval flows.
• Advanced Vendor Management: Simplified 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.

How Stampli solves your AP challenges

Customers choose Stampli’s power and exceptional customer service over AP solution providers. “In the procurement of any software, before price and features is the adaptability of the product to meet our company needs,” says one Stampli customer. “In consideration of Stampli, Tipalti, and Bill.com I felt that Stampli was the most adaptable and had a customer success team that was willing to help our team make the implementation and customizations at the pace we needed.”

Let’s look at some challenges that Stampli solves for customers.

Challenge: Slow and inaccurate AP automation

Tipalti and AvidXchange customers complain about slow, inaccurate processing, limited reporting options, and late payments.

Stampli’s AI assistant, Billy the Bot™, streamlines AP processes and improves accuracy errors by automating error-prone manual tasks like invoice data entry and coding.

One Stampli customer says, “Stampli has been a game-changer for our finance operations. It has significantly streamlined our Accounts Payable process, making it more efficient and error-free. The automation features have saved us countless hours of manual work, allowing our team to focus on other important tasks. After a very quick and simple integration, our employees adopted it very quickly and have been loving it ever since.”

Start saving time and money as soon as you start using Stampli. “love how easy and efficient Stampli has made our A/P process. It has cut back 80% of our processing time and significantly improved our accuracy,” one of many happy Stampli customers said.

Challenge: Poor or inexperienced customer service

Tipalti and AvidXchange customers complain about unresponsive customer support teams who lack the skills and experience to resolve complex AP problems.

A wealth of user reviews and case studies prove Stampli’s excellence in customer support. Stampli’s entire support team consists of AP experts with first-hand accounts payable experience — giving them deep insight into each customer’s unique challenges and the expertise to solve them quickly and effectively.

Stampli’s support team also helps guide its product development. As they work alongside customers to solve their challenges, the team gains important feedback and insights into how to do things better. Stampli uses these insights to improve its services and build new features.

Challenge: Unclear pricing models

Tipalti and AvidXchange don’t make their pricing models public and only disclose partial information about their fees. This makes it difficult to determine the best solution for your business.

Stampli keeps pricing clear and simple with monthly or annual pricing, unlimited users, vendors, and training, as well as transparent pricing policies. “Our implementation was quick and easy, says one Stampli client. The functionality is great, and the pricing structure is even better. All users have mentioned how easy it is to use.”

Customers love Stampli

Empowered with intelligent features like Billy the Bot™ you can streamline and optimize manual tasks and get real-time visibility and control over your AP spending.

Stampli’s versatile suite of integrated products and compatibility with over 70 ERPs make for swift deployment, helping companies like the New England Security Protective Services Agency (NESPSA) process invoices 5x faster and eliminate late payments.

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.