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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    ApprovalMax

    Score9.9 out of 10
    N/AApprovalMax 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…

    $54

    per month

    Esker

    Score7.4 out of 10
    N/AEsker is a global cloud platform built to unlock strategic value for finance and customer service professionals and strengthen collaboration between companies by automating the cash conversion cycle. Esker’s mission is to build a foundation that promotes positive-sum growth, increased productivity, improved employee engagement, and greater trust between organizations.N/A

    IBM Sterling Order Management

    Score8 out of 10
    N/AIBM now owns and supports Sterling Commerce products (since August 2010), the most notable product being IBM Order Management. The platform emphasizes order promising and fulfillment and provides tools to adaptively complete orders specified to customer demands.N/A
    Pricing
    ApprovalMaxEskerIBM Sterling Order Management
    Editions & Modules
    ApprovalMax Standard
    $54
    per month per organization
    ApprovalMax Advanced
    $83
    per month per organization
    ApprovalMax Premium
    $121
    per month per organization
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    ApprovalMaxEskerIBM Sterling Order Management
    Free Trial
    YesNoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesNoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsDiscount available for annual pricing and for management of multiple organizations.——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    ApprovalMaxEskerIBM Sterling Order Management
    Considered Multiple Products
    ApprovalMax
    No answer on this topic
    Esker
    No answer on this topic
    IBM
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Would buy again
    12 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    9 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    12 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    5 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    78%
    Implementation went as expected
    7 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    ApprovalMaxEskerIBM Sterling Order Management
    Payment Management
    Comparison of Payment Management features of ApprovalMax and Esker and IBM Sterling Order Management
    Feature
    ApprovalMax
    8.0
    1 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Esker
    -
    Ratings
    IBM Sterling Order Management
    -
    Ratings
    Customizable Approval Policies9.01 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
    Financial Document Management9.01 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
    Payment Status Tracking9.01 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
    Payment Audit Trail9.01 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
    Duplicate Bill Detection4.01 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
    Accounts Payable
    Comparison of Accounts Payable features of ApprovalMax and Esker and IBM Sterling Order Management
    Feature
    ApprovalMax
    8.5
    1 Ratings
    17% above category average
    Esker
    -
    Ratings
    IBM Sterling Order Management
    -
    Ratings
    Automated Accounts Payable Processes9.01 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
    Vendor Management8.01 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
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    ApprovalMaxEskerIBM Sterling Order Management
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    User Ratings
    ApprovalMaxEskerIBM Sterling Order Management
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    10.0
    (17 ratings)
    7.0
    (5 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.4
    (3 ratings)
    Usability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.5
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.9
    (10 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    ApprovalMaxEskerIBM Sterling Order Management
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Esker
    Esker On Demand is great for Sales Order Processing order creation. We use it with web services. It can make table read calls, test order creations (simulate order), and help with order creation. They are also working on change order management, but if you have multiple order entry methods or touch points, this feature may not be usable for your company.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    It's perfect for medium to large retailers
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Esker
    • Esker makes automated invoice sending very easy
    • Esker tracks the sending of documents & records whether or not the message was successful
    • Esker offers various reports that can be very helpful
    • Esker stores all of our customers' contact info on the cloud, and it can be accessed from anywhere
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    • Centralizing data.
    • Instantaneously updated data.
    • Ad hoc reporting.
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Esker
    • We can't enter credit memos in Esker. Need to enter in SAP and then link.
    • PO invoices that were trained to go into the PO bucket, route into the non-PO buckets.
    • Freight invoices that have had hundreds going into the non-PO bucket have a tendency to route to the PO-bucket because a PO number is referenced on page 7.
    Read full review
    IBM
    • RCP Based deployment
    • Wider variety of sourcing configuration
    • Product Documentation
    • COM Features need to better so that Customer case handling is facilitated
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    ApprovalMax
    No answers on this topic
    Esker
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    The package of Sterling Order Management / Sterling Store / Sterling Call Center works very well and it supports the expansion to Geographies like US/EU/JP/China, some of hottest markets for e-commerce.
    Read full review
    Usability
    ApprovalMax
    No answers on this topic
    Esker
    Esker does everything that it promises to do, but it is very hard to figure out. I am a very tech-savvy person, but I needed extensive training to be able to use the basic functions of Esker. Once you know what you're doing, it's not too hard, but I don't understand why they couldn't make it easier to use.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    ApprovalMax
    No answers on this topic
    Esker
    They have been very helpful and the online support site is awesome. They keep the site up to date with the latest changes and present challenges to keep learning the new updates to keep things entertaining. They are overall a great crew to work with
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    ApprovalMax
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Esker
    I have listed a few that we considered but there were many more in the initial assessment, Esker was priced well and had the best user interface. Was really easy to use and the implementation process was well designed. It was a system that could handle a two tiered delegations of authority for project expenditure and operational expenditure.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    Warehouse Management System which is mainly focussed on warehouse fulfillment but not on the routing and availability tracking
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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 .
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Esker
    • We now have reporting available down to the individual field level (changes, errors, etc) and can calculate cost to serve.
    • It replaced on-premise hardware with cloud SaaS that is more cost effective and risk adverse.
    • It is more intuitive; we can put new hires on order entry and experience less user errors. As a solution owner who fixes problems and answers questions, I don't find myself having to "think" about Esker and it has become a smaller part of my job now that end-users are more self-sufficient.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    IBM
    • Optimal inventory management resulted in more orders per minute and good ROI and customer experience
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    ApprovalMax Screenshots

    Screenshot of where approval processes are set up  – no matter how simple or complex.Screenshot of the interface to build approval steps that follow any business rules – whether approvals happen one after another, all at once, or only in certain cases. The user can also control who approves based on things like amount, supplier, account code, or category.Screenshot of where to approve bills and purchase orders the way that works best.Screenshot of the interface that matches bills to approved purchase orders from the same supplier to keep coding accurate and control spending. Unmatched bills can also be stopped from being approved.Screenshot of where to mention others in comments to bring them in or get their input – even if they’re not part of the original approval. If they don’t have access, a prompt to add them as a Watcher is sent. Mentions work on web and mobile, sending notifications as soon as access is granted.Screenshot of where to raise purchase orders, approve requests, and extract key details from bills and purchase orders – all on the go with the ApprovalMax mobile app for iOS and Android.