Precoro and Zip simplify purchasing, approvals, and spend control, but they‘re designed for different use cases.
Precoro focuses on giving teams a full procure-to-pay system with purchase orders, budget tracking, and vendor management. Zip specializes in intake-to-procure workflows that streamline approvals and connect requests to downstream systems.
In this article, we’ll compare Precoro vs. Zip across features, pricing, and user experience.
We’ll also introduce a third option, ProcureDesk, so you can choose the right tool for your budget, team size, and workflows.
Precoro Overview
Precoro is a cloud-based procurement platform that brings procure-to-pay tasks into one system. It gives procurement teams visibility and control at scale. It’s built for industries like biotech & life sciences, technology, manufacturing, construction, healthcare, and non-profit organizations.
But if you’re a small team moving from spreadsheets or email-based purchasing, Precoro’s advanced configuration and features can feel heavy.
Precoro Key Features
Here are the key features of Precoro:
- Intake-to-purchase order (PO) automation: Centralizes the procurement flow, captures requests, manages vendors, raises purchase orders, and automates approval pipelines.
- Custom approval workflows: Allows you to build no-code, multi-level approval paths tailored by department, budget thresholds, or requester.
- 2-/3-way matching: Automatically digitizes invoices using AI, matches invoices to POs and receipts.
- Real-time budget controls: Track spending against budget limits live, receive alerts on overspending, and outright block out-of-budget requests.
- Supplier and catalog management: Maintain centralized supplier data, contracts, and searchable item catalogs with punchout and punch-in integrations.
- Expense and invoice management: Manage employee expenses, including reimbursements, with invoices and receipts for a unified workflow and audit trail.
- Inventory management: Support internal stock inventory, warehouse requisition, consumption tracking, and generate purchase orders when stock runs low.
- Custom reporting and dashboards: Generate real-time, filterable reports using multiple parameters to identify cost-saving opportunities.
- Mobile access: Approve and manage purchases via email, mobile, or Slack notifications, and access documents from anywhere.
- Accounting and ERP integrations: Seamlessly sync POs, invoices, vendors, chart of accounts, and more with platforms like QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, Dynamics, Sage, or via API.
- Security and compliance: Offers role-based access, audit logs, and standard compliance (like SOC 2 or GDPR).
Precoro Pricing
Precoro offers three pricing plans, starting from $499 per month when billed annually.
Precoro Reviews
We looked through online user reviews on G2 and Capterra to find real user experiences.
Here’s what users like about Precoro:
- A user says Precoro “simplifies procurement for my team by automating purchase approvals and budget tracking, ensuring compliance and financial control…”
- Another user writes, “…Precoro is easy to use for both end users and administrators. Its versatility allows it to adapt to any procurement model or approval flow, making it a great fit for various organizational needs…”
Here’s what users complain about Precoro:
- A user expresses, “I find it challenging to understand where a purchase is in the approval flow at any given time.”
- Another user complains: “The invoicing piece could be easier to use. If a supplier generates part invoices for an order, it’s still a bit awkward to manage if it has not been split properly when drafting the PO.”
Precoro Rating
Zip Overview
Zip is an AI-powered agentic procurement platform designed to help growing and mid-market teams improve their purchasing workflows. Zip serves financial services, life sciences, and tech companies.
Zip offers a smooth “intake-to-pay” experience with embedded AI agents that guide users through each procurement step with minimal training.
But if you’re switching from manual purchasing with no downstream tools, you need to add other platforms to manage the full procurement cycle.
Zip Key Features
Here are the key features of Zip:
- Unified intake-to-pay workflow: Centralizes request intake, approval routing, purchase orders, and payments in a single platform.
- AI-guided procurement workflows: Uses embedded AI agents to guide requesters and approvers through each step to meet policy compliance and reduce training time.
- No-code workflow builder: Allows teams to configure and update multi-level approval paths, routing rules, and intake forms without engineering support.
- Automated purchase order creation: Generates POs directly from approved requests, links them to budgets, and tracks them through to delivery and payment.
- Integrated invoice processing: Captures and processes invoices, matches them to POs, and automates approvals to shorten payment cycles.
- Supplier onboarding and management: Provides a centralized vendor hub with self-service onboarding, documentation collection, and payment preference setup.
- Budget tracking and spend visibility: Links spend requests to budgets in real time, providing dashboards to monitor consumption and prevent overspending.
- ERP and financial system integrations: Connects with tools like NetSuite, QuickBooks, Coupa, and other ERP/accounting platforms for synchronized data and workflows.
- Role-based access and audit trails: Meets compliance and accountability with granular permissions, activity tracking, and full audit logs.
- Mobile and remote access: Allows users to submit requests, approve purchases, and manage workflows from any device, anywhere.
Zip Pricing
Zip offers custom pricing quotes based on your business size and feature needs. According to users, the platform pricing may range from $50,000 to $200,000 for companies with 1,500-2,000 employees.
Zip Reviews
Here’s what users like about Zip:
- A user says, “It has a user-friendly interface, simplifies data collection, and improves efficiency in streamlining various processes related to procurement or form submissions.”
- Another user says: “I love having a single platform for the entire Procure-to-Pay process; it has simplified our workflow significantly.”
Here’s what users don’t like about Zip:
- A user complains, “The workflows and queues are currently a very manual process, and there are limited connections between production and sandbox environments.”
- Another user says, “The reporting functionality is the area that the tool needs improvement.”
Zip Rating
Precoro vs. Zip: Feature-by-Feature Comparison
Here’s a feature comparison between Precoro and Zip:
Precoro Offers Full Procure-to-Pay Coverage, Zip Focuses On Intake-to-Procure
Precoro manages every procurement stage, requisitions, purchase orders, approvals, invoices, receipts, inventory, and supplier management, within one platform.
Zip specializes in orchestrating the front end of procurement, from request intake to approvals and vendor selection. It then passes data into existing ERP or P2P systems.
Precoro Offers Highly Customizable Workflows, Zip Uses A No-Code Builder
Precoro offers dynamic, multi-step approval paths that can be routed by department, project, or budget thresholds, with custom forms and rules.
Zip’s no-code workflow builder allows teams to configure approvals and intake forms quickly, with embedded AI to help keep requests compliant and moving.
Precoro Manages The Full PO Lifecycle, Zip Embeds PO Creation In Orchestration
Precoro handles the entire PO process in-platform, from requisition approvals to sending POs and tracking delivery. Zip generates POs from approved requests but relies on connected ERP or P2P (procure-to-pay) systems for the rest of the lifecycle.
Precoro Automates Invoice Processing, Zip Supports Invoice Capture And Matching
Precoro automates the full invoice processing cycle with AI-powered OCR (optical character recognition) and advanced PO/receipt matching for accounts payable (AP) efficiency. Zip focuses on fast invoice capture and basic matching as part of its intake-to-pay workflows.
Precoro Provides Detailed Spend Reporting, Zip Offers Streamlined Dashboards
Precoro’s reporting tools include 20+ filters and 120+ custom fields, allowing deep analysis of budgets, categories, and supplier performance.
Zip focuses on high-level dashboards and spend visibility, making it easier to monitor procurement performance without deep customization.
Precoro Includes Expense Management, Zip Offers Basic Expense Tracking
Precoro integrates expense reimbursements and approvals into its AP workflows, creating a unified expense and invoice management process.
Zip supports expense categorization and tracking as part of intake workflows, but doesn’t highlight detailed reimbursement features.
Precoro Enforces Real-Time Budget Limits, Zip Provides Visibility Only
Precoro links budgets to departments or projects and blocks or flags over-budget requests during approvals. Zip shows real-time spend against budgets but doesn’t enforce limits within the procurement workflow.
Precoro Manages Suppliers And Catalogs, Zip Centralizes Vendor Onboarding
Precoro maintains supplier records, contracts, and searchable catalogs with punchout integrations and internal catalog creation. Zip focuses on vendor onboarding, compliance documentation, and lifecycle updates, with less emphasis on catalog functionality.
Precoro Supports Inventory Tracking, Zip Doesn’t
Precoro includes internal stock control, warehouse requisitions, and inventory visibility. Zip doesn’t list inventory management among its procurement features.
Zip Supports Global Payments, Precoro Doesn’t
Zip includes built-in global payment capabilities, enabling multi-currency payouts across 200+ countries with compliance and automation. Precoro lacks native global payment features, requiring payments to be managed through external systems.
Precoro Integrates With Accounting And ERP Systems, Zip Connects To Enterprise Tools
Precoro offers direct integrations with QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, Sage, and more, along with API connectivity. Zip connects with ERP, CLM, SSO, and ticketing systems, functioning as an orchestration layer for your existing enterprise infrastructure.
Precoro Has A Mobile App, Zip Runs On Mobile Browsers
Precoro offers a dedicated iOS and Android app for approvals, PO tracking, and order updates on the go. Zip doesn’t have a mobile app, but runs on mobile browsers.
Precoro vs. Zip: Feature Comparison Summary Table
| Feature | Precoro | Zip |
| Procure-to-pay coverage | Full platform covering requisitions, POs, approvals, invoices, inventory, and suppliers. | Focuses on intake-to-procure, handing off to ERP/P2P systems. |
| Workflow customization | Multi-step approvals with custom routing, forms, and rules. | No-code builder with AI to configure approvals quickly. |
| Purchase order management | Manages full PO lifecycle in-platform. | Generates POs from requests, lifecycle handled in connected systems. |
| Invoice processing | AI-powered OCR with advanced PO/receipt matching. | Automates invoice capture and basic PO matching. |
| Reporting | 20+ filters, 120+ fields for detailed spend analysis. | High-level dashboards for spend visibility. |
| Expense management | Includes reimbursements and approvals in AP workflows. | Basic expense tracking within intake workflows. |
| Payments | Relies on external systems for payments | Supports global payments |
| Budget control | Enforces budget limits and blocks over-budget requests. | Shows spend vs. budgets but doesn’t enforce limits. |
| Supplier & catalog management | Centralized supplier records, contracts, and catalogs. | Vendor onboarding and compliance tracking. |
| Inventory tracking | Supports stock control, requisitions, and visibility. | No inventory management features listed. |
| Integrations | Connects with QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, Sage, and API. | Connects with ERP, CLM, SSO, and ticketing systems. |
| Mobile access | Supports a native mobile app in iOS and Android | Offers mobile-optimized browsers |
ProcureDesk: A Better Alternative to Precoro and Zip
ProcureDesk is a procurement software for small to mid-sized businesses managing 50+ POs or 100+ invoices per month. Our platform serves a wide range of industries, including biotech and life sciences, construction, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations.
ProcureDesk offers a simpler, end-to-end solution with onboarding support to centralize purchasing, enforce approvals, and see real-time spend from day one.
Here’s how ProcureDesk features help you improve your procure-to-pay process and accounts payable workflows:
Custom Hierarchical Workflows for Faster Approvals
If you’re managing 100+ invoice approvals via emails or spreadsheets, you’re dragging your whole team down.
ProcureDesk offers custom workflows for hierarchical approvals that speed up the process. All purchase requests, orders, and invoices are created, stored, and managed in one system for easy tracking.
As a Zip alternative, ProcureDesk supports conditional and automated routing. Each request is routed or auto-approved based on your preset conditions. You can set rules by department, cost center, requester role, threshold, or item type.
Your low-value items get instant approvals, while high-value or sensitive purchases reach the right approvers without manual work.
For example, a biotech company switched from an open purchasing method to ProcureDesk for controlled spending. Every purchase request was routed through Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) and management for approval before a purchase order was created. This prevented unauthorized spending, and each request aligned with department budgets.
Purchase Order Management for Streamlined Procurement
Many small teams still rely on spreadsheets to log purchase orders and manually re-enter the same data into accounting tools like QuickBooks for budget tracking. This process slows procurement and increases the risk of entry errors.
With ProcureDesk, your employees can create and submit purchase orders directly inside the platform. Each PO is automatically synced to your connected accounting or ERP system, so you only enter information once.
This reduces delays in approval cycles and prevents mistakes caused by manual updates.
Your team can choose from ready-made templates for repeat orders or build a custom PO with vendor details, SKUs, quantities, pricing, and delivery terms. Standardizing these details improves communication between requesters, approvers, and suppliers.
Once a PO is issued, ProcureDesk tracks every step from a single dashboard. You can see when an order is approved, when a supplier acknowledges it, and when shipments are in transit or delivered.
This visibility helps you address delays quickly, follow up with the right person, and keep accurate records of every purchase from request to receipt.
Vendor Catalogs to Avoid Unauthorized Spending
Zip doesn’t include built-in vendor catalogs, so employees source items from any supplier. This forces procurement teams to verify prices manually, check supplier eligibility, and follow up after requests are submitted.
ProcureDesk supports over 300 punchout catalogs, including Amazon, BDI, CDW, Office Depot, and Staples. You can select preferred suppliers and make their catalogs the only ones available when employees create purchase requests.
Employees can browse and add items from supplier catalogs directly on ProcureDesk and see real-time product details, availability, and negotiated pricing from approved vendors.
For vendors not covered by punchout integrations, ProcureDesk’s onboarding team adds a custom catalog for you. This catalog is configured in the system with the supplier’s items, SKUs, and pricing, giving employees the same real-time access as with standard punchouts.
This helps you control costs, eliminates the need for manual pricing checks, and prevents unauthorized spending.
Vendor Management to Evaluate Performance and Improve Relationships
Many Zip users complain that its vendor compliance and onboarding features are limited. This makes it hard to enforce supplier readiness or capture key compliance data early.
ProcureDesk offers vendor management tools with a simplified onboarding process. This allows your teams to onboard suppliers faster while keeping quality and compliance.
Here’s how ProcureDesk helps you manage suppliers:
- Centralize supplier information: Keep a single, up-to-date record of every vendor, including performance history, ratings, certifications, and key documents.
- Monitor performance and contracts: Track delivery timelines, order accuracy, and linked contract details, with renewal dates flagged to prevent missed reviews.
- Enable supplier self-service: Give vendors access to the vendor portal for real-time purchase order updates. They can also check the invoice status without relying on your team for updates.
- Prevent duplicate vendors: Use built-in checks to identify and remove duplicate entries, keeping your vendor list clean and accurate.
- Support audits with activity logs: Maintain a record of every supplier interaction, from approvals to payments, for full transparency and audit readiness.
- Automate payment and invoice syncing: Connect payment and invoice data directly to your accounting system, so records stay accurate and ready for audits at all times.
This gives you more control and visibility over your vendor relationships. ProcureDesk shows you which vendors meet delivery terms, consistently provide quality goods, and offer competitive pricing.
For example, if a supplier’s on-time delivery rate drops below your target, you can flag the issue. Then you can review their contract and decide whether to renegotiate terms or shift orders to a higher-performing vendor.
Vendor Contract Management for Timely Renewals
Without centralized tracking, contracts are scattered across emails, folders, and spreadsheets, making it hard to see what’s coming up for review.
ProcureDesk offers a contract management module that connects directly to purchase orders and spend records. Our platform records start and end dates, sends automated renewal alerts, and maintains a complete contract history for quick reference.
This gives you real-time visibility into contract lifecycles. The software sends alerts well before deadlines, giving teams time to review terms, renegotiate pricing, or end agreements before they renew.
This helps prevent unexpected renewals, supports better negotiation outcomes, and keeps vendor relationships aligned with current business needs.
Automated Invoicing and 3-Way Matching to Streamline AP
Precoro users report difficulties when processing invoices that require partial payments or deposits. This can slow down approvals and create extra work for finance teams handling milestone-based payments.
ProcureDesk’s invoice approval software supports both 2-way and 3-way matching, along with configurable tolerance levels for price and quantity.
You can process invoices that match fully, partially, or across multiple receipts for the same purchase order.
When a vendor submits an invoice, ProcureDesk scans the invoices using its built-in OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology to extract key data. This includes invoice number, date, amounts, and line items.
It then matches the invoices against POs and receipts.
If an invoice doesn’t match, the system flags it automatically and routes it into an exception-based workflow for review. This workflow is fully customizable, so you can set approval rules for specific cases, vendors, or payment structures.
The approved invoices are synchronized with your accounting systems and sent forward to clear out payments.
ProcureDesk’s invoice workflow software helps you:
- Reduce 80% of paper-based invoices by capturing them digitally through supplier portal submissions or centralized upload.
- Save time with OCR that extracts key invoice data automatically, reducing manual entry errors.
- Approve invoices faster with real-time status tracking and mobile-ready approval options.
- Automate recurring invoice workflows so routine approvals happen without extra effort.
- Gain complete audit readiness with a searchable record of all invoice data, actions, and supplier interactions.
Inventory Management to Track Materials
Managing procurement without inventory visibility leads to budget overruns or project delays.
ProcureDesk’s inventory management feature shows real-time stock availability and valuation across multiple job sites in one dashboard. You can access the same data from the mobile app, making it easy to check status while on the go.
As a Precoro alternative, ProcureDesk supports automated reordering. The software lets you set a quantity threshold, so when you’re low on stock, it creates a purchase request or order automatically.
This helps you avoid delays, reduce costs, and synchronize your inventory with your procurement and AP workflows.
Expense Management to Control Spending
You can’t control costs if you don’t know how purchases are impacting budgets in real time. Without clear budget tracking, your teams overspend, leading to unplanned expenses and budget shortfalls.
ProcureDesk offers built-in expense management with complete spend visibility. Each purchase request, PO, and invoice is linked to a budget category, with remaining funds visible before approval.
You can set spending limits by department, project, or vendor, and the system enforces them automatically. The software then updates budgets in real time as transactions are approved or paid. This helps you control unauthorized or maverick spending.
ProcureDesk also generates detailed expense reports that break down spending by category, location, or time.
Expense data can also be synced directly with your accounting or ERP system, which removes the need for manual reconciliation.
Real-time Dashboards and Spend Analytics for Decision-Making
Zip users complain about the platform’s lack of reporting functionalities for complex setups.
ProcureDesk offers custom reporting and real-time dashboards that break down expenses by vendor, department, project, or category.
You can access over 30 pre-built reports or create your own with filters that let you drill into specific times, locations, or supplier groups. Data updates in real time as transactions are processed, so you’re never relying on outdated figures.
ProcureDesk gives role-based views to make sure that department heads, procurement teams, and finance controllers see the data most relevant to their decisions. A department manager might see purchase orders and budget usage for their team.
The business owner gets a complete picture of all procurement workflows, spend patterns, and approvals happening company-wide.
With ProcureDesk’s spend analytics, you can identify:
- High-frequency purchases that could be consolidated for better vendor terms.
- Categories or projects with the highest spend for targeted cost control.
- Underutilized budgets that can be reallocated to priority initiatives.
- Supplier performance trends tied directly to spend data for smarter sourcing decisions.
This helps you proactively create a procurement strategy, reduce costs, and keep budgets aligned with business priorities in real time.
ProcureDesk Mobile App for On-Site Tracking and Updates
If your field teams can’t submit purchase requests or confirm invoices on-site, you need a mobile-friendly tool that lets them update statuses instantly and keep purchasing moving.
ProcureDesk offers a native mobile app available on iOS and Android.
ProcureDesk’s mobile procurement software allows your teams to:
- Submit and approve purchase requests on the spot
- Get automated notifications when a request or approval needs your attention, so important tasks never get overlooked.
- Take photos of receipts and upload them instantly, reducing paperwork and admin work.
- Check budgets and track order progress from your phone, without being tied to a computer.
For example, a construction company can use the ProcureDesk mobile app to approve urgent material requests from the job site. They can also upload supplier invoices the moment they’re received and monitor project budgets instantly.
Book a free demo to learn more about ProcureDesk’s mobile app.
ProcureDesk Integrations
Many users complain about Zip’s limited integration options. Precoro also has clunky integration that causes sync issues occasionally.
ProcureDesk offers integration options with popular systems, so you can automatically sync your existing workflows:
ProcureDesk also supports batch integration to automate the transfer of procurement data, such as purchase orders, receipts, and invoices, with legacy systems. It can process large data sets in one step, reducing repetitive manual tasks.
ProcureDesk Pros and Cons
Pros
- Beginner-friendly interface
- Guided onboarding setup
- Supports custom multi-level approval workflows
- Streamlines purchase order management
- Speeds up invoice processing and AP workflows
- Supports expense management
- Offers budget controls
- Supports supplier management
- Offers vendor portals
- Automates contract renewal alerts
- Supports real-time inventory tracking
- Offers virtual cards for one-time payments
- Provides real‑time spend analytics and budget visibility
- Automates three‑way matching with OCR technology
- Supports strong integrations with accounting and ERP systems
Cons
- Learning curve on advanced features, but the support team can help you
- Lacks offline features, but teams can use the mobile app to update purchase orders or invoices on-site
ProcureDesk Pricing
ProcureDesk offers three pricing plans:
| Plan | Price (Billed Annually) | Includes | Best For |
| Purchasing Automation | $498/mo | 10 users included, onboarding support, and custom approval workflows | Companies needing to automate purchasing & approvals |
| Purchasing & AP Automation | $850/mo | All Purchasing Automation features plus invoice approval workflows, 3-way invoice matching, and OCR for invoices | Companies wanting to save time on invoice matching |
| Enterprise | Custom Quote | All Purchasing Automation features plus a dedicated account manager, vendor portal, and single sign-on (SSO) | Large companies needing white-glove service |
ProcureDesk Reviews
Here’s what users like about ProcureDesk:
- A user said, “ProcureDesk gives finance eyes and ears over the procurement process. Implementation is simple, and the ease of integration between ERP and ProcureDesk, along with all the punchout catalogs that are available to add, makes ProcureDesk an easy answer to a complex problem.”
- Another user says, “A fantastic Procure-To-Pay solution with functionalities…Cost controls, cash flow visibility, workflows, and approvals are some of the exciting features, with unlimited document storage space.”
Here’s what users don’t like about ProcureDesk:
- A user said, “We have a bit of a learning curve as our team operates a little differently than most, but they [customer support team] are willing to work with us to make the system work for us.”
ProcureDesk Rating
Quick Comparison: ProcureDesk vs. Precoro vs. Zip
| Platform | Key Features | Best For | Pricing | Rating |
| ProcureDesk | Custom hierarchy workflows, punch-out catalogs, 3-way matching, AP automation, vendor portals, mobile app, real-time spend analytics | Small-mid-sized teams managing 50+ POs or 100+ invoices per month | $498/mo for up to 10 users | 4.8/5 ⭐ |
| Precoro | Procure-to-pay automation, 2-way/3-way matching, inventory, vendor management, mobile app | SMBs needing full P2P with inventory and contract features | $499/month | 4.7/5 ⭐ |
| Zip | Intake-to-procure workflows, AI guidance, no-code automation, budget insights, vendor cards | Enterprises needing streamlined request-to-pay with AI and deep integrations | Custom pricing | 4.6/5 ⭐ |
Precoro vs. Zip: Which Platform is Best for You?
Choosing between Precoro and Zip depends on your business type, feature needs, and transaction volume.
Choose Precoro if You Need Full Procure-to-Pay Coverage
Precoro is a strong fit for businesses that want an all-in-one platform to manage every stage of procurement. This includes requisitions, purchase orders, approvals, invoices, inventory, and supplier management.
Choose Zip if You Want Faster Intake-to-Procure Workflows
Zip is best for teams that need to improve the front end of procurement. This involves capturing requests, routing them for approval, and onboarding suppliers, without overhauling their existing ERP or P2P system.
If your company already has strong downstream processes but struggles with intake issues, Zip’s no-code workflow builder can help. Its AI-guided request routing speeds up approvals while keeping compliance in check.
Bottom Line: Consider ProcureDesk if You Need a Scalable SMB-Friendly Solution
ProcureDesk is built for SMBs with $10M–$100M in annual revenue and 50–250 employees. Our software offers features like purchasing automation, custom workflows, invoice processing, 3-way matching, vendor catalogs, supplier management, and real-time spend analytics.
If you’re looking for a scalable solution that gives you control and visibility over your entire procurement cycle, ProcureDesk is a better choice than Precoro and Zip.
Book a free demo to see how ProcureDesk cuts costs, enforces budgets, and gives you real-time spend visibility.
