If you’re managing your accounts payable (AP) using spreadsheets, you will likely face data entry errors, overspending, and slow approvals. 

Tipalti and Bill.com both offer powerful automation to streamline the accounts payable process. Each platform provides tools for spend control, cash flow visibility, and approval workflows. But choosing the right one isn’t easy.

In this article, we’ll compare Tipalti and Bill.com. We’ll review each platform’s features, pricing, and user experiences to help you find the right one for your business. 

What is Tipalti?

Tipalti is a finance automation platform that simplifies and scales global accounts payable, mass payouts, procurement, and expense management.

It’s mainly designed for companies that manage high volumes of vendor payments. This includes businesses operating across multiple countries and dealing with various currencies and payment methods.

Tipalti serves various industries, including software, media, e-commerce, advertising, gaming, healthcare, nonprofits, and manufacturing — all of which benefit from its robust functionality and scale.

Tipalti Key Features

Here are the key features of Tipalti:

• Spend visibility: Tracks spend at the sub-ledger and entity level for better financial oversight. 
• AI-powered automation: Leverages AI for smarter workflows, predictive insights, and reduced manual work.
• Automated invoice processing: Automate invoice data capture, match invoices to purchase orders, and route them for approval.
• Customizable approval routing: Approval workflows tailored to organizational hierarchy and policies.
• Self-supplier management: Allows suppliers to manage their own details and payment preferences.
• Built-In payment error prevention: Features a rules engine with 26,000+ validations to catch issues like incorrect bank account details or OFAC-listed payees.
• Purchase order (PO) management: Streamlines purchase order creation, approval, and tracking with visibility.
• Two and three-way PO matching: Supports both two-way and three-way matching of purchase orders, invoices, and receipts.
• Automated tax compliance: Automates tax form collection and validation. Follows compliance with over 3,000 US and global tax rules.
• Global payment automation: Streamlines payments to suppliers in 196 countries, supporting 120 currencies and over 50 payment methods.
• Corporate card management: Helps you control and reconcile virtual cards and physical card spending in one place.
• Integrations: Connects with ERPs, accounting tools, SAP, Acumatica, HR platforms, and more via APIs.

Tipalti Pricing

Tipalti offers different pricing plans starting at $99 per month. The overall price depends on factors such as the number of payments processed, selected features, and transaction volume.

Tipalti Reviews

What users like about Tipalti:

• Simple user interface
• Streamlined invoice approvals
• Helpful audit trails
• Self-service supplier portal
• Custom approval workflows
• Reliable global payments

What users don’t like about Tipalti: 

• Slow sync with NetSuite
• Limited in-app reporting
• Slow customer support
• Expensive fees on payouts

Review #1: “UX is good and relatively easy to understand, even for first time users. Approvers seem to like the platform. The ability to adjust approval flows ad-hoc is a real bonus as this is not a common feature for competitors on the market.” – Ajit K.

Review #2: “We are utilizing the PO solution, and it needs more developer attention for reporting, best practices trainings, and integration with ERP to proactively prevent sync errors.” – User Review 

Customer Rating

• 4.5 stars on G2
• 4.6 stars on Capterra

What is Bill.com? 

Bill.com or BILL is an accounts payable and receivable software built for small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs). It automates bill payments, spend tracking, and expense management, all from a single, easy-to-use dashboard.

Bill.com serves industries like accounting firms, construction, education, healthcare, and hospitality. It connects with your accounting software, giving you control, visibility, and access to credit to help your business grow.

Bill.com Key Features

Here are the key features of Bill.com:

• AP automation: Streamlines bill creation, approvals, and payments with syncing to your accounting software.
• AR automation: Enables invoice creation, delivery, and real-time payment tracking with multiple payment options like ACH transfers and credit card.
• Spend management: Lets you set budgets, control team spend, and access credit through the BILL Divvy Card.
• Expense management: Allows teams to submit, approve, and track expenses with real-time visibility.
• Mobile app support: Lets you approve, pay, and manage tasks from any device using the mobile app.
• Tax compliance: Supports U.S.-based tax validation with advanced automation and validation features, suitable for businesses operating across multiple jurisdictions.
• Smart approval workflows: Automates routing based on policies, departments, or roles for faster decision-making.
• Real-time cash flow tracking: Offers dashboards and task lists for up-to-date visibility into financial operations.
• Accounting software integrations: Syncs seamlessly with QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, Sage, and others.
• Security and compliance: Provides encryption, role-based access, and financial compliance protections.
• Integrations: Offers two-way sync with your existing systems with automatic sync and data integration.

Bill.com Pricing

Bill.com has four pricing plans:

• Essentials: $45 per user per month for automated invoicing..
• Team: $55 per user per month for all Essential features, plus granular controls and two-way sync with accounting software.
• Corporate: $79 per user per month for managing AP and AR with advanced customization.
• Enterprise: Custom pricing for enterprises.

Bill.com Reviews

What users like about Bill.com:

• Ease of use
• Smooth AP automation
• Strong software integrations
• Saves processing time
• Helpful customer support
• Flexible payment options

What users don’t like about Bill.com: 

• Some features are too basic
• High international fees
• Syncing issues
• Basic reporting tools
• Manual document handling

Review #1: “BILL makes invoicing and payment processing so simple. I am able to quickly move through the entire life-cycle of my billing in record time.” – Krystal T. 

Review #2: “Bill.com is a bit slow. Sometimes we have to process invoices manually. Some times, it will not auto capture the invoice where we should do it manually.” – Priya R. 

Customer Rating

• 4.4 stars on G2
• 4.2 stars on Capterra

Tipalti vs Bill.com: Feature Comparison

Here’s the feature-by-feature comparison between Tipalti and Bill.com:

AP Automation

Tipalti automates invoices, approvals, and global payments with tax compliance and multi-entity support. Bill.com focuses on speeding up approvals and payments with a simple invoice-to-pay process and real-time sync. 

Tipalti suits global, high-volume finance teams, while Bill.com fits businesses prioritizing ease of use and speed. 

Payment Methods

Tipalti allows payments in 196 countries with support for 120 currencies and 50+ methods. Bill.com supports international payments and multiple entities, but offers fewer details on a global scale compared to Tipalti.

Expense Management

Both platforms support expense management and corporate virtual cards. But Bill.com offers more robust tools like budget controls, real-time tracking, and a dedicated Spend & Expense platform. 

Spend Visibility

Tipalti’s spend visibility covers a broader, more strategic view across global payables and procurement workflows. Bill.com helps with expense-level visibility.

Invoice PO Matching

Both offer 3-way PO matching. But Tipalti excels in enterprise-grade controls and global scalability.

Self-Service Supplier Management

Tipalti offers an advanced self-service supplier portal with multi-language support, tax form validation, preferred payment setup, and real-time payment tracking. Bill.com provides basic vendor management through email-based invoice submission and payment notifications.

Approval Workflows

Both Tipalti and Bill.com offer strong approval workflows. Tipalti stands out with AI-driven routing, Slack/email approvals, and flexible configurations. Bill.com provides custom approval rules and admin overrides that are ideal for simpler setups.

PO Management

Tipalti provides end-to-end PO management with supplier communication and deep ERP integration, ideal for full procurement automation. Bill.com focuses on basic PO creation, approval, and syncing with accounting systems for financial workflows.

Integrations

Tipalti offers broader ERP integrations, including SAP, Acumatica, and HR tools, plus APIs for full automation. Bill.com focuses more on major accounting software with two-way sync and CSV import/export for others.

Tax Compliance

Tipalti offers a KPMG-approved tax engine with automated validation of 3,000+ tax rules, global compliance support, and e-filing for 1099 and 1042-S forms. Bill.com focuses on U.S. tax compliance with built-in 1099 filing and W-9 collection, tailored for SMBs.

Mobile Access

Tipalti offers a mobile app focused on expense management, allowing you to submit, edit, and approve expenses with receipt uploads. Bill.com provides a mobile experience so you can approve and manage both accounts payable and accounts receivable tasks directly from the app.

Reporting & Insights

Tipalti offers advanced reporting for finance teams managing global operations, with multi-entity spend analytics and ERP-integrated reconciliation. Bill.com focuses on real-time expense tracking and budget controls for day-to-day spend management.

Tipalti vs Bill.com: Feature Comparison Summary Table

Feature	Tipalti	Bill.com
AP Automation	End-to-end automation including invoice processing, approvals, global payments, and tax compliance.	Automates invoice capture, approvals, and payments with real-time sync to accounting systems.
Global Payments	Supports payments in 196 countries, 120 currencies, and over 50 payment methods.	Offers international payments; specific country and currency support details not specified.
Expense Management	Provides expense management with features like receipt capture and approval workflows.	Offers robust expense management through BILL Spend & Expense, including corporate cards, budgets, and real-time tracking.
Spend Visibility	Real-time dashboards with payment reconciliation and spend analytics across entities.	Provides visibility into expenses and budgets with customizable controls.
Invoice PO Matching	Supports 2-way and 3-way PO matching with automated workflows.	Offers 2-way and 3-way PO matching capabilities.
Supplier Management	Self-service supplier portal with onboarding, tax form collection, and payment tracking.	Vendors can submit invoices and receive payment notifications; lacks a dedicated supplier portal.
Approval Workflows	Customizable workflows with AI-driven routing and multi-channel approvals.	Custom approval policies with options for sequential or non-sequential flows.
PO Management	Comprehensive PO management integrated with procurement and ERP systems.	Basic PO creation and approval with accounting system integration.
Integrations	Integrates with major ERPs like NetSuite, SAP, and QuickBooks; offers open APIs.	Integrates with accounting software such as QuickBooks, Xero, and NetSuite.
Tax Compliance	Built-in, KPMG-reviewed tax engine with global compliance support.	Provides 1099 and W-9 form collection and filing for U.S. compliance.
Mobile Access	Mobile app focused on expense submission and approvals.	Mobile app for managing AP, AR, and expenses, including approvals and payments.
Reporting & Insights	Real-time dashboards with drill-down capabilities for spend analysis.	Provides reporting tools for spend and expense management.

Tipalti vs Bill.com: Pricing Comparison

Feature / Plan	Tipalti	Bill.com
Starting Price	$99/month platform fee + volume-based pricing	$45/user/month
Pricing Model	Based on the number of payments processed, features included	Per-user monthly fee, varying by plan
Available Plans	Starter, Premium, Elite, Accelerate, Plus (custom pricing for higher tiers)	Essentials ($45/user/month), Team ($55/user/month), Corporate ($79/user/month), Enterprise (custom pricing)
Included Features	Accounts payable automation, global payments, tax compliance, fraud protection, and multi-entity support	Accounts payable and receivable automation, spend and expense management, and integrations with accounting software
Add-On Services	Procurement, expense management, multi-entity workflows (additional cost)	Spend & Expense management (free), additional features depending on the plan

ProcureDesk: A Better Alternative to Tipalti and Bill.com

ProcureDesk is an accounts payable and procurement automation software for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs). If you handle 50+ invoices or POs per month, ProcureDesk helps you simplify your entire workflow with complete control and visibility.

The software is built for industries like healthcare, construction, education, biotech and life sciences, climate tech, and non-profit organizations.

As a Tipalti and Bill.com alternative, ProcureDesk offers advanced customization options with deep spend analytics, allowing you more flexibility to manage your AP process.

Here’s a detailed look at ProcureDesk’s key features that help SMBs streamline purchasing and payments:

Multi-Layer Custom Workflows for Faster AP Approvals 

Many Bill.com users say the approval workflows are too basic. They mostly work for simple cases like approving a bill amount. But for complex approvals based on department, vendor, or project, Bill.com isn’t suitable. 

Teams are often forced to manual workarounds, leading to delays, miscommunication, and compliance risks.

ProcureDesk offers customizable approval workflows that match how your business operates. You can configure rules based on roles, departments, purchase categories, vendor types, or spending thresholds. This allows every purchase to follow the right path automatically.

With a 100% done-for-you setup, you simply need to enter empty fields, assign profiles, and track the entire workflow. 

Unlike Bill.com or Tipalti, ProcureDesk gives you complete control over your approval workflows. Every purchase follows the right path, with full visibility into who’s approving what, and why.

Here’s how ProcureDesk’s workflows help you:

• Quick setup: Use ready-made templates or build your own approval flows with a visual tool.

• Faster approvals: Route requests to the right people automatically without emailing them.

• Smart rules: Use conditions like vendor, cost center, or amount to send approvals down the right path.

• Self-approval options: Automate low-cost purchase orders while keeping control over bigger purchases.

• Invoice routing: Send invoices to the right approvers based on their type, amount, or department.

For example, an amusement park used ProcureDesk’s approval workflows to auto-route seasonal purchase requests, like ride parts or food supplies. They set approvals based on department and spend thresholds. 

This replaced email approvals, cut PO cycle times, and gave finance real-time visibility into cash outflows before invoices arrived.

Spend Analytics for Cash Flow Management

Many SMBs rely on emails, spreadsheets, or accounting tools to manage purchases. This makes it hard to track invoices, approve purchases on time, or control your spending. 

ProcureDesk gives you clear insights into your company’s spending with built-in spend analytics. You can integrate it with your existing accounting software or use ProcureDesk to track, manage, and automate your expenses.

Unlike Tipalti’s centralized spend view and Bill.com’s basic tracking, ProcureDesk offers real-time visibility with custom dashboards. You can track expenses by department, supplier, category, or project to understand your spending patterns. 

With our 30+ built-in reports, ProcureDesk also helps you identify trends, vendor performance, or unnecessary purchases. 

For example, you can analyze vendor delivery times, pricing, and quality, then use that data to renegotiate terms or streamline your supplier list. This leads to smarter purchasing decisions and stronger vendor relationships.

You can also assign budget limits by department or project. ProcureDesk flags off-contract or unauthorized purchases (rogue spending) automatically based on the budget limit. This helps your teams follow compliance with internal policies without overspending.

Catalog Integration with Custom Limits for Budget Control

When spending is scattered across different spreadsheets, employees often don’t know which vendors to buy from or need to enter product details manually. This causes overspending or pricing errors, invoice mismatches, and payment delays.

ProcureDesk provides punchout and custom catalog integrations to simplify purchasing. Unlike Tipalti or Bill.com, which focus on AP automation, ProcureDesk combines procurement and payables. It guides employees to buy only from approved vendors with accurate, real-time product data.

You can choose from 200+ catalogs, like Amazon Business, CDW, Office Depot, and Staples, to create a list of approved suppliers. ProcureDesk also lets you add custom catalogs from your vendors to meet your complex procurement needs. 

Once a catalog is connected, employees can browse approved items directly within ProcureDesk, add them to a cart, and submit POs with just a few clicks.

Here’s how it benefits your procurement and AP processes:

• Standardizes purchasing by limiting orders to approved vendors and products
• Reduces manual entry through direct selection from digital catalogs
• Improves data accuracy by pre-filling item details like price and description
• Enforces compliance with procurement policies and contract terms
• Speeds up approvals with consistent, easy-to-verify product information
• Simplifies invoice matching through accurate and aligned purchase data
• Improves visibility into spending patterns and supplier usage.

Purchase Order Management for Budget Control

With manual processes, you can’t keep accurate records of your purchase orders. For example, an employee might request items by emailing a manager and placing the order directly with a vendor, without a formal PO.

This leads to unauthorized purchases, budget overruns, invoice mismatches when the invoice doesn’t match any documented request, and poor visibility into company spending.

ProcureDesk automates purchase order creation and management from a single dashboard. Your employees can easily submit POs and receive faster approvals through automated workflows based on the budget limit.

If a PO crosses the budget limit, the software forwards it to the approver without emailing manually. You can also set role-based permissions for each user, so the right people review and approve every request. This improves accuracy and keeps the approval process compliant.

For example, if a lab operations manager needs to source lab equipment for carbon capture research, ProcureDesk helps set spending limits and automate approval flows. 

This feature helps you avoid overspending on high-cost materials with grant requirements.

Centralized Vendor Management for Better Contract Terms

Managing multiple suppliers requires strong vendor management to regularly evaluate performance and maintain quality control.

Many teams use accounting systems to invoice their suppliers. But they lack visibility into contract renewal dates, pricing, and whether vendors meet negotiated terms.

ProcureDesk helps you track and manage your vendor list by centralizing supplier records, including tax details, contact information, and payment terms.

It also syncs real-time invoice data with your accounting systems. This prevents switching between systems, which may waste time and effort. 

ProcureDesk also lets you monitor vendor performance and store contracts, so you never miss a renewal or lose track of negotiated pricing. 

For example, if a vendor’s invoice price doesn’t match the rate agreed in the contract, ProcureDesk flags the discrepancy. This helps you catch overcharges early and avoid paying more than you should.

ProcureDesk also includes a vendor portal, allowing suppliers to track order requests, update delivery statuses, and confirm invoices directly on the platform. Every vendor activity is captured on the dashboard, so you get better control over spend, inventory, and budget without manual follow-ups.

Automated Invoicing for Three-Way PO Matching 

Manual invoicing often requires teams to enter data line by line and cross-check with vendors manually. This slows down processing and leads to delays or mismatches.

Some Tipalti users also report that the platform separates procurement and AP into different modules. This creates disconnects between purchasing and payments.

ProcureDesk automates the invoice matching process within your procurement or AP processes. 

For example, if a biotech company needs to manage chemical purchases, ProcureDesk allows researchers to select items from approved catalogs. They can submit purchase requests without dealing with invoice confirmation.

ProcureDesk uses OCR (optical character recognition) to extract and validate invoice details like serial number, line items, and pricing. This helps you turn unstructured invoice documents like PDFs into structured data for faster approvals.

It then compares the invoice to the original PO and goods receipt (a process called three-way matching) to align with the quantity, price, and terms.

If there’s a mismatch, it flags the issue and routes it to the right approver. This reduces manual work, improves accuracy, and helps teams avoid overpayments or delays. 

Once matched and approved, the invoice is forwarded to your accounting system for payment processing. 

Built-in Audit Trails for Accountability

When you rely on emails to manage procurement, it’s often hard to hold team members accountable due to a lack of audit trails. For a small business with a limited budget, auditing is crucial for controlled spending and budget management as you grow. 

ProcureDesk offers built-in audit trails that automate activity logs, allowing your teams to perform internal reviews and external audits. From approvals to purchases, everything is recorded and searchable on your dashboard with real-time data. 

For example, a university managing federal research grants can use ProcureDesk to log every approval, change, and invoice related to a purchase. 

Regulators can easily access complete, time-stamped records. This creates a clear audit trail that meets grant reporting requirements and streamlines purchasing compliance reviews.

Configurable Dashboards for Real-Time Visibility

Without centralized, real-time data, teams often rely on outdated spreadsheets or disconnected reports. This makes it hard to track spending, spot issues early, or understand where money is going.

ProcureDesk provides configurable dashboards with real-time data on procurement and AP activities. You can track spend by department, supplier, or project, monitor open POs and invoices, and view budget usage.

According to user reviews, Bill.com’s reporting features are too limited for advanced AP processes. 

ProcureDesk offers advanced reporting features with dashboards tailored to your team’s needs. Each team sees the data as most relevant to their role. 

As an AP software for small businesses, ProcureDesk helps you to:

• Monitor spend by department, project, or vendor instantly
• Track budget utilization and prevent overspending in real time
• Identify bottlenecks in approvals or invoice processing
• Get clear insights without switching between tools or requesting reports.

ProcureDesk Mobile App for On-Site Access

Many teams can access accounting tools like Bill.com on their phones. But they struggle with purchasing workflows.

ProcureDesk’s mobile app lets your team manage purchasing from anywhere. Your employees can create and approve purchase orders directly from their phones. Managers also receive real-time notifications for order requests. 

As a mobile procurement software, ProcureDesk makes it easy to review and take action without delays. You can also scan receipts, track budget usage, and receive custom alerts for important purchases. This helps you speed up your approval workflows as you grow. 

Third-Party and API Integration for Financial Workflows

Many teams think procurement software will disrupt their existing systems. They rely on accounting or ERP tools for financial workflows, but use spreadsheets for purchasing and approvals. This reduces control over your entire process.

ProcureDesk supports both API integration and batch integration, giving you flexibility based on your systems and needs.

With API integration, ProcureDesk connects accounting and ERP platforms like QuickBooks, NetSuite, Xero, and Sage Intacct. This allows you to track your purchase orders, invoices, and payment data in real-time. This also helps avoid approval delays and eliminates manual updates.

You can also integrate Bill.com with ProcureDesk. The software syncs approved invoices after matching them to purchase orders and receipts. This automates your data entry and streamlines your entire procure-to-pay process.

If you’re working with legacy systems or prefer scheduled updates, ProcureDesk supports batch integration. It lets you automate data exchange through simple file uploads, making integration easy without rebuilding your infrastructure.

ProcureDesk Pricing

ProcureDesk offers three pricing plans:

Plan	Price	Users Included	Key Features
Purchasing Automation	$598 per month (billed monthly)	10	Onboarding Support, Custom Approval Workflows
Purchasing & AP Automation	$948 per month (billed monthly)	10+	All Purchasing Automation Features + Invoice Approval Workflows, 3-Way Matching, OCR for Invoices
Enterprise	Custom Quote	Custom	All Purchasing & AP Features + Dedicated Account Manager, Vendor Portal, SSO

Request a free demo for more information on ProcureDesk pricing.

ProcureDesk Reviews

What users like about ProcureDesk:

• Easy to use
• Simple interface
• Customizable and flexible
• Suitable for SMBs
• Strong ERP and accounting integration
• Mobile and remote access
• Good customer support
• Real-time order visibility

What users don’t like about ProcureDesk: 

• Some advanced features can slow down the setup process, but ProcureDesk will set everything up for you during onboarding.
• Offline features aren’t available, but you can use the mobile app to access the software when on-site.

Review #1: “I like how simple it is to reconcile invoices to receive orders. I like how easy it is to tell when there’s a problem, and to fix it is most of the time easy and straight forward. I also like how easy it was to integrate several different entities into one system.” – User.

Review #2: “The system supports PO and Non-PO invoices and the flexibility to customize the approval workflow.” – User.

Customer Rating

• 4.2 stars on G2
• 4.8 stars on Capterra

Comparing ProcureDesk vs Bill.com vs Tipalti

Platform	Key Features	Pricing	Overall Rating
ProcureDesk	Full AP automation, custom approval flows, 3-way matching, real-time spend analytics, catalog integration, strong API	Starts at $598/mo (billed monthly) for 10 users	4.7/5 ⭐
Bill.com	AP/AR automation, real-time sync, mobile access, expense management, budget tracking	Starts at $45/user/month	4.3/5 ⭐
Tipalti	Global payments, tax compliance, AI workflows, supplier portal, multi-entity support.	Starts at $99/month, but volume-based pricing will make the real amount a lot more.	4.5/5 ⭐

Tipalti vs Bill.com: Which Platform is Better?

When comparing Tipalti vs Bill.com, you need to have a good handle on your budget, business size, and needs.

Tipalti is best for medium to large companies managing high-volume, global payments that require enterprise-grade automation solutions. It’s ideal for large finance teams that need features like tax compliance, multi-entity support, and supplier self-service portals.

Bill.com fits small to medium-sized teams that want to automate basic AP/AR workflows and track expenses in real time. It’s easy to use and focuses on visibility and fast payment approvals.

ProcureDesk is best for SMBs handling 50+ invoices per month that need both procurement and AP automation tools. It offers advanced approval workflows, catalog and vendor management, 3-way invoice matching, and real-time spend analytics.

Bottom Line: Choosing a Better Alternative to Tipalti and Bill.com

For SMBs, ProcureDesk is the best Tipalti and Bill.com alternative that gives you complete control to automate your AP processes. It tailors to your needs by combining procurement, approvals, invoicing, and vendor management in a unified system.

The software offers real-time visibility into spending, supports complex workflows, and integrates with your existing tools. This helps finance teams to control budgets, speed up approvals, and reduce manual data errors. 

Compared to Bill.com vs Tipalti AP automation, ProcureDesk provides a more flexible and complete solution for managing procurement and AP automation.

Book a free demo to learn how ProcureDesk simplifies procurement and accounts payable.