ApprovalMax vs. BILL

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
ApprovalMax
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
ApprovalMax provides approval workflow automation for cloud accounting platforms such as Xero and QuickBooks Online. It replaces paper- and email-based approval processes with multi-step and multi-role automated approval workflows that enable automated notifications to approvers, automated audit trails, and mobile approvals. Approval workflows include: Invoice approvals / bill review and bill approval Purchase order approval, including the functionality to create…
$44
per month
BILL
Score 7.5 out of 10
N/A
BILL is an online service for SMBs which provides a central dashboard for managing Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, and cash flow management. It syncs with all major accounting systems like QuickBooks, Sage, Intaact, and NetSuite.
$45
per month
Pricing
ApprovalMaxBILL
Editions & Modules
ApprovalMax Standard
$44
per month
ApprovalMax Advanced
$69
per month
ApprovalMax Premium
$99
per month
Essentials
$45
per user/per month
Team
$55
per user/per month
Corporate
$79
per user/per month
Enterprise
Custom Pricing
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
ApprovalMaxBILL
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
ApprovalMaxBILL
Top Pros

No answers on this topic

Top Cons

No answers on this topic

Features
ApprovalMaxBILL
Payment Management
Comparison of Payment Management features of Product A and Product B
ApprovalMax
8.0
1 Ratings
29% above category average
BILL
3.5
4 Ratings
52% below category average
Customizable Approval Policies9.01 Ratings5.52 Ratings
Financial Document Management9.01 Ratings3.34 Ratings
Payment Status Tracking9.01 Ratings1.64 Ratings
Payment Audit Trail9.01 Ratings3.64 Ratings
Duplicate Bill Detection4.01 Ratings8.32 Ratings
Advanced OCR00 Ratings1.01 Ratings
Electronic Funds Transfer00 Ratings1.43 Ratings
Accounts Payable
Comparison of Accounts Payable features of Product A and Product B
ApprovalMax
8.5
1 Ratings
43% above category average
BILL
3.9
2 Ratings
34% below category average
Automated Accounts Payable Processes9.01 Ratings5.02 Ratings
Vendor Management8.01 Ratings5.62 Ratings
Tax Form Preparation00 Ratings1.01 Ratings
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Score 8.5 out of 10
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User Ratings
ApprovalMaxBILL
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(1 ratings)
2.5
(64 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
8.9
(13 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
1.0
(6 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
8.3
(6 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
1.0
(17 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(2 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(5 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
ApprovalMaxBILL
Likelihood to Recommend
ApprovalMax
As mentioned previously - able to send invoice based on amount , program code and division code ,supplier is very useful feature ; If an invoice does not fit into approval process than it is rejected and an email is received mentioning the reason
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BILL
It depends, Bill.com certainly has a strong reputation and I agree it can be a great solution in the right scenario but I think the implementation and initial setup are critical and need to be well thought out based on the setup of the organization you are a part of.
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Pros
ApprovalMax
  • choice based on Program codes / division codes - we use Xero accounting system and we have 22 program codes and 11 divison codes ; once invoice is entered in Xero depending on relevant program code and divison code, Approval max automatically send invoice to relevant person depending on approval workflow process . One manager could be handling multiple divison and program codes; if our approval work flow process is properly designed - it is accurate in sending invoice to relevant manager.
  • invoice can also send to various managers based on General ledger codes ; this flexibility makes useful when manager is handling only certain nature of expenses regardless of program codes / divisionl.
  • Approval process can also be designed based on level of amount ; and level of amount is derived from our Delegation policy. it makes audit of application of delegation policy easy ; we give copy of delegation policy and print of approval work flow process to auditor.
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BILL
  • The fact that bill.com automatically processes most information on the invoice is really helpful - leads to quicker processing
  • The "to do list" feature ensures you see the tasks that need to be completed ASAP
  • The reports section is very helpful in year end prepping for audits
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Cons
ApprovalMax
  • date and time of change in approval process ; for example if Mr. A was responsible for all expenses above $1000 in Oct 23 and from Nov 23 it is changed to $5000 . in Dec 23 if it is checked - it will show approval limit of $5000 ; but will not show from which date limit was changed. Auditor always asks this question when the limit was changed in approval max - we cannot prove it.
  • If there is audit trail of who made the changes , when and what changes were made ; will be good.
  • when we are in main page of seeing invoices awaiting approval - there are hundreds of invoices - searching for one invoice from particular supplier is very cumbersome job - we have to go by each and every invoice in order to find that invoice ; it will be good if we have search function on main page itself ; in current scenario we have to go to report section - input all filters and than search for that particular invoice.
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BILL
  • Currently, our company uses a different platform to submit expenses, we only use bill.com to receive them. So perhaps this isn't actually a place where bill.com could improve, but the expense submission process may not have been robust enough for our company.
  • The bill.com platform wasn't the most beautiful or pleasing to use, but this is a minor fault.
  • I'd love a way to set up recurring payments (e.g., my phone bill is reimbursed each month).
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Likelihood to Renew
ApprovalMax
No answers on this topic
BILL
While our firm does not use Bill.com internally, we know many customers that use Bill.com and are very happy with it. Based on the feedback from current users, I would say that the product should have a strong renewal forecast. Once customers move their AP to the cloud, they would be unlikely to move it back given a choice.
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Usability
ApprovalMax
No answers on this topic
BILL
Bill.com continues to raise the bar with new features and improved interface. The Fast Pay option is another innovation that reduces administrative time when you have to get an overnight check out. The new Chat Support interface, powered by Zopim, which is world-class, adds to the responsiveness of Bill.com's support team and makes getting real-time answers that much easier.
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Reliability and Availability
ApprovalMax
No answers on this topic
BILL
The only time Bill.com was ever "unavailable" was then the Sync to Quickbooks function failed. That happened a time or two but was usually quickly remedied. I'm not sure if that's an issue with newer online versions of Quickbooks Enterprise -- at the time we were using a remotely hosted Quickbooks instance accessed via terminal server (vs a cloud offering like Bill.com is)
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Performance
ApprovalMax
No answers on this topic
BILL
pretty fast usually
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Support Rating
ApprovalMax
No answers on this topic
BILL
I could not explain to them how I was trying to remove an old email account from my company page while granting the new email account access to the bank account that the first email account had added. The "set a bank account as inactive" button is labeled delete, but they don't seem to recognize that. I requested my Bill.com account be deleted on Wednesday so I could start all over with a fresh account; this seemed to be completed Wednesday night, but when I tried to create a new Bill.com account from the same email, it took me to my old bill.com account.
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Online Training
ApprovalMax
No answers on this topic
BILL
The online training provided by Bill.com is concise and since the firm consistently improves the platform functionality, users are able to select the training for the modules they specifically need.
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Implementation Rating
ApprovalMax
No answers on this topic
BILL
I heard from my leadership that it went very well.
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Alternatives Considered
ApprovalMax
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BILL
top solution out there to simplify accounting and finance tracking. Only negative note: they started charging for every single client ACH payment done through Quickbooks. Originally this feature was free, but then it grew to up to $10 per transaction. Reason for which we had to look into alternate solutions
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Return on Investment
ApprovalMax
  • It has certainly made a positive impact ; it is definately worth its value ; when we are processing hundreds of invoices every fortnight ; getting approval of invoices in timely manner for all invoices is of paramount importance . as approval max has its own app - approval can be done on mobile phone also ; this is particularly helpful when staff is travelling .
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BILL
  • After receiving an offer to 'finance' outstanding invoices, I was enticed by the promise of a 3% total cost for a 60-day period, with the possibility of extending the financing for an additional 10 months (for an additional fee). Eager to access funds, I decided to finance an invoice worth $17,160.00. Within 24 hours, BILL deposited $16,645.20 (97% of the invoice amount) into my account.
  • However, when the customer paid their $17,160 invoice four days later, instead of the funds being deposited into my checking account as I expected, BILL chose to retire the loan and retain my $514.80 fee for the 4 day advance period. This unexpected turn of events resulted in an effective interest rate of a staggering 273.75%. It was clear that this arrangement was far from what I had initially understood, and the financial impact was outrageously high.
  • Frustratingly, my attempts to resolve this issue through customer service were in vain, as I spoke with three agents who provided no satisfactory solutions. To anyone contemplating using BILL's services, I strongly urge you to carefully scrutinize the fine print and consider opting for a more reputable finance company."
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ScreenShots

ApprovalMax Screenshots

Screenshot of Bill approval workflowScreenshot of Purchase order creation and approval workflowScreenshot of Approval rulesScreenshot of Built-in reportsScreenshot of Automated audit trail

BILL Screenshots

Screenshot of BILL’s central dashboard, which displays upcoming bills, invoices, and ingoing and outgoing payments.Screenshot of BILL automatically pulls in bills via email and automatically starts the process. It also checks for duplicate invoices by looking at the invoice numbers and payment amounts to flag questionable invoices.Screenshot of BILL's desktop and mobile applications so users' teams can review invoices and send payments on-the-go.Screenshot of BILL’s mobile app, which can be used to review invoices, add comments, and approve from anywhere.Screenshot of The overview screen, where the status of invoices can be reviewed to get a bird’s eye view of tasks.