Accounts payable automation for QuickBooks Online and Desktop

Accounts Payable Automation For QuickBooks

Streamline your accounts payable workflow effortlessly (without granting QuickBooks access to your team).

THE PROBLEM

QuickBooks is great, but it doesn't provide accounts payable automation

An inefficient accounts payable process can cost $1000s in lost productivity & blunders like paying duplicate invoices.

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Every week, 10s or 100s of invoices go through a manual invoice approval process.

You can’t see invoice status — whether approved, paid, or pending.
You send late vendor payments or can’t meet payment terms and end up hit with late fees.
Manual data entry into QuickBooks means hundreds of hours of redundant data entry for AP teams (and risk of human error).

Watch me make a “1-click” invoice approval process & track its real-time status.

Real-time visibility into the invoice status.
Pay supplier invoices on time and avail of early payment discounts.
Seamless integration with QuickBooks to automatically prepare payments.

ProcureDesk’s QuickBooks integration automates the entire AP process and invoice lifecycle. Here is how it works.

(We’ll Set Up Everything For You)

No more manual bookkeeping: automate invoice capture and speed up invoice processing.
Close books on time by automating AP workflows for invoice approvals and bill payments.
Minimal user training is required to get started. White-glove onboarding and training included.

Step: 01

Capture All Invoices in a Centralized Hub

The first step in AP automation is to centralize the invoice capture process:

Set up an AP email box and route all invoices there. Add billing instructions to purchase orders, asking suppliers to ditch paper invoices and send all invoices via email; this will save everyone time and money.

Use e-invoicing for large vendors like Amazon.com to reconcile credit card transactions easily.

Create Supplier Portals so vendors can upload new invoices right into ProcureDesk.

Step: 02

Extract Data Using OCR & Review The Invoice

Our OCR (optical character recognition) engine automatically captures invoice data — like headers and line items — to eliminate virtually all manual data entry.

Note: When invoices pair with purchase orders, our system can find the corresponding PO and populate those line items.

Then, you can review vendor invoices — the products, quantities, and pricing — to ensure accuracy before ProcureDesk routes invoices for approval.

Step: 03

Automated Three-Way Matching

No more spending time on matching invoices with purchase orders.

ProcureDesk’s accounts payable automation software matches invoices to their corresponding purchase orders and receipts.

Our system will even notify buyers to upload receipt details, allowing ProcureDesk to automate this entire process and ensure orders are correct before invoices are approved.

Step: 04

Automated Invoice Approval Workflows

With an automated invoice approval workflow, you can be stress-free about your accounting internal controls compliance. Create approval trees and let our system route invoices to the right person(s) for approval.

Control spending by reviewing the non-PO invoices. Save cost and reduce compliance risk.

Send automated email reminders for pending approvals. You don’t have to chase down or constantly remind users that approvals are needed.

Step: 05

Auto Code Invoices

QuickBooks AP automation solution still requires you to code invoices before payment, but ProcureDesk’s matching engine can automatically code invoices based on the details we extract from POs.

Establish auto-coding guidelines based on the supplier, user, or purchased item; this saves time and avoids manual journal entries to fix coding errors.

When an invoice lacks purchase order information, you can set up rules to automatically assign the chart of accounts to it.

Step: 06

Send Bills to QuickBooks

Have peace of mind by managing all outstanding invoices in one place.

ProcureDesk automatically syncs approved invoices with QuickBooks accounting software to prepare and send payment; you can sync unpaid invoices in real-time (as they’re approved) or on a schedule.

For the QuickBooks Enterprise or QuickBooks Desktop, you can set up the frequency for data sync, and the system does the rest.

ProcureDesk also offers integrated payment options with other accounting systems and ERPs, and providers like Bill.com.

Step: 07

Sync Payment Status

Once payment is issued in your accounting system (QuickBooks Online or Desktop), the payment status is synced into ProcureDesk. Pay vendors on time and avail of any early payment discounts.

Whether you use electronic payments, checks, or cash, the payment status is automatically synced back in ProcureDesk.

ProcureDesk streamlines the payment process and syncs with your accounting software (QuickBooks). Employees always know when the invoice is paid, leading to fewer queries from internal stakeholders and vendors.

FAQs

ProcureDesk supports all versions of QuickBooks, including:

QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks Online Plus
QuickBooks Online Advanced
QuickBooks Desktop
QuickBooks Advanced

Currently, QuickBooks offers limited AP automation tools. QuickBooks users can send bills to each other to avoid the upload process. Otherwise, you can upload vendor bills and send payments.

This is why teams use AP automation software like ProcureDesk to centralize invoice capture and automate the steps before bill payment.

QuickBooks offers various automation features for customer invoices, but there are limited options for automating the accounts payable workflow.

Yes, QuickBooks does have an accounts payable module as a native functionality. You can upload all invoices and bills in one place and monitor how much you owe suppliers as the month progresses.

You can use QuickBooks Online to import invoices and manually match them with purchase orders, but for the model to work, you have to manage approvals and exceptions outside of this system. You should only upload invoices that have been verified and authorized for payment.

Alternatively, you can invest in an AP automation solution like ProcureDesk that integrates with QuickBooks Online.

You can reduce the invoice processing time by at least 30 to 40%.
You can pay your vendors on time or pay early for additional discounts.
You can mitigate compliance risk by implementing segregation of duties.

There is no singular “best” AP automation software; solutions vary and choosing the right one comes down to your requirements and team size. We’ve put together a guide on AP automation software so you can compare the top-rated options.

List the top three use cases you want the AP automation solution to solve.

Take advantage of free trials to explore platforms and test automation tools.

Invite a couple of vendors to the platform for a quick demo and see how they like working with the software.

Consider pricing and scalability to pick a solution that’s right for your team size.

You can see if other AP automation software integrates with QuickBooks by checking the integrations page (most will list this on a homepage or somewhere convenient for readers) or contacting their customer support team.

Note: We suggest finding a solution that pushes QuickBooks in real-time so that you don't have to worry about stepping in mid-process to sync data.