Best AP Automation Software UK (2026): 9 Tools

9 tools compared at a glance

Who each tool is for, what it costs and how it handles the features that matter here, from each vendor’s own pages.

The 9 best AP automation software tools for UK businesses in 2026: comparison
Tool	Best for	Pricing (UK where published)	Free trial	PO and 3-way matching	Accounting systems
ApprovalMaxApproval workflow add-on	Multi-step approvals on Xero, with UK-only ApprovalMax Pay.	Per organisation with unlimited users (Standard, Advanced, Premium); plan prices were not shown in the page text when we checked [source: ApprovalMax for QuickBooks Online pricing]	14-day free trial on Xero plans, no credit card [source: ApprovalMax for Xero pricing]	PO approval on every plan; bill-to-PO matching and goods received notes on Advanced and Premium [source: ApprovalMax for QuickBooks Online pricing]	Xero, QuickBooks Online and Oracle NetSuite [source: ApprovalMax integrations]
DextDocument capture and bookkeeping	Capturing receipts and bills into Xero, QuickBooks or Sage.	£24.17 a month billed annually (£290) for 250 documents and 5 users, excluding VAT [source: Dext business pricing (UK)]	14-day free trial, no card details [source: Dext business pricing (US)]	Not mentioned on its pricing or capture pages [source: Dext business pricing (US)]	"36+ accounting software platforms"; names Xero, QuickBooks and Sage [source: Dext accounting integrations]
HubdocDocument capture	Xero users who want capture included in their plan.	Included in Xero UK plans when connected [source: Xero UK pricing plans]	30-day free trial, no credit card [source: Hubdoc pricing]	Not mentioned [source: Hubdoc home page]	Xero and QuickBooks Online (also Box) [source: Hubdoc pricing]
LightyearAP automation and purchase orders	UK SME finance teams that want POs and 3-way matching priced in pounds.	Essentials £130 a month for 125 credits; Standard £179 for 250 credits; Professional custom [source: Lightyear pricing (UK)]	30-day free trial [source: Lightyear pricing (UK)]	Purchase orders from Essentials; goods received notes and 3-way matching from Standard [source: Lightyear pricing (UK)]	Xero, Sage, NetSuite, QuickBooks, MYOB and AccountsIQ [source: Lightyear home page]
PayhawkSpend management with AP and procure-to-pay modules	Cards, expenses and bill pay in one platform.	UK modules are custom-priced; the Growth programme is £149 a month for 24 months, capped at 15 invoices a month and one entity [source: Payhawk pricing and plans (UK)]	Optional 7-day free trial on the Growth programme [source: Payhawk pricing and plans (UK)]	2-way and 3-way matching, with goods received notes, sit in the Procurement module, not the AP module [source: Payhawk pricing and plans (US)]	Xero, QuickBooks Online and Exact Online included; NetSuite, Business Central and Sage Intacct are a paid add-on [source: Payhawk pricing and plans (US)]
YoozAP and procure-to-pay suite	Growing businesses that want AP and purchasing together.	Business Edition "starting from 129 £" (billing period not stated); priced by volume, unlimited users [source: Yooz pricing (UK)]	15-day free trial [source: Yooz pricing (UK)]	Line-level PO matching, including multiple POs and partial receipts, with tolerances; edition not stated [source: Yooz, PO matching]	Claims 250+ integrations; names Acumatica, Microsoft Dynamics, NetSuite, QuickBooks, Sage and Sage Intacct [source: Yooz, ERP integrations]
TipaltiGlobal payables platform	Paying suppliers in many countries and currencies.	AP plans from $99 a month plus per-invoice and per-payment fees (rates not published); unlimited users [source: Tipalti pricing]	No free tier; no trial mentioned [source: Tipalti pricing]	2- and 3-way PO matching listed in AP; Procurement is a separate module with an additional fee [source: Tipalti pricing]	Lists QuickBooks Online, Xero, Business Central, NetSuite and Sage Intacct [source: Tipalti integrations]
MediusAP automation suite	Larger finance teams on Business Central, SAP or Oracle.	Quote only (AP Essentials and AP 360) [source: Medius pricing]	Not mentioned [source: Medius pricing]	"Multi-way matching" in both packages [source: Medius pricing]	"100+ ERP connectors", including SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, NetSuite, Infor and Sage; QuickBooks Online and Xero are not named [source: Medius, why Medius]
Aequo APAP automation (capture, matching, approvals)	UK teams on Xero, QuickBooks Online or Business Central that need PO matching and approvals with unlimited users.	$199 (Starter), $699 (Growth) or $1,999 (Scale) a month; Enterprise quoted; unlimited users, no per-transaction fees	14-day free trial	2-way matching on every plan; 3-way matching from Growth	QuickBooks Online, Xero, FreshBooks, Zoho Books and Business Central live; Oracle NetSuite and Sage Intacct in early access

Each vendor row is taken from that vendor’s own pages, checked 2026-10-30; follow [source] for the page. "Not published" or "not mentioned" means the page did not say, not that the feature is missing. Aequo AP values come from our own pricing page and product.

Which tool fits which team?

There is no single best tool; the right one depends on your size, your accounting system and which part of the job is slow.

By accounting system

Xero, approvals only: ApprovalMax.
Xero, capture only: Hubdoc (included) or Dext.
Xero or Sage, with purchase orders and goods received notes: Lightyear or Aequo AP (Xero).
Business Central: Medius, Payhawk (paid add-on) or Aequo AP.
Cards and bill pay together: Payhawk.
Overseas suppliers at volume: Tipalti.

UK rules that shape AP software choices

Making Tax Digital means VAT records must be kept digitally and returns filed through software, so your AP tool must pass VAT data to the accounting system intact, and only a valid VAT invoice supports a reclaim.

All VAT-registered businesses must keep VAT records digitally and file VAT returns using compatible software. [source: GOV.UK, VAT Notice 700/22: Making Tax Digital for VAT]
Records must be linked digitally between software; copying and pasting between programs is not a digital link. [source: GOV.UK, Keeping VAT records]
VAT cannot be reclaimed on documents such as statements or delivery notes; you need a valid VAT invoice. [source: GOV.UK, Keeping VAT records]
A simplified VAT invoice can be used for supplies of £250 or less, including VAT. [source: GOV.UK, VAT Notice 700/21: record keeping]
Under the Construction Industry Scheme, contractors deduct money from subcontractors’ payments and pass it to HMRC. [source: GOV.UK, What is the Construction Industry Scheme]

This is general information, not tax advice. Check VAT treatment with your accountant.

What Xero and Business Central do in the UK on their own

Xero’s UK plans include smart document capture and Hubdoc, and Business Central’s Team Members licence can approve workflows, so check both before buying an add-on.

Xero UK plans: Ignite £18, Grow £39, Comprehensive £55 and Ultimate £70 a month, excluding VAT; Ignite is limited to entering 10 bills. [source: Xero UK pricing plans]
Smart document capture is listed on every Xero UK plan, and Hubdoc is included. [source: Xero UK pricing plans]
CIS calculations are on every Xero UK plan; filing CIS returns is a £5-a-month add-on. [source: Xero UK pricing plans]
Xero UK purchase orders can be created, sent, approved and converted to bills. [source: Xero UK, purchase orders]
Business Central costs £61.50 (Essentials) or £84.60 (Premium) per user a month paid yearly; a Team Members licence (£6.20) can approve workflows. [source: Microsoft, Business Central pricing (UK)]

Known limitations of each tool

Every tool here has gaps, Aequo AP included. Each limitation below comes from the vendor’s own pages, or from what those pages leave out.

ApprovalMax: Bill-to-PO matching and goods received notes need Advanced, and ApprovalMax Pay is exclusive to UK businesses on Xero and charged per payment. [source: ApprovalMax for Xero pricing]
Dext: A capture tool: its pricing page describes no purchase orders or matching, and extraction stops at the monthly document limit [source: Dext business pricing (US)]
Hubdoc: Syncs only to Xero and QuickBooks Online, and its pages describe no approvals, purchase orders or matching [source: Hubdoc pricing]
Lightyear: Credit-based: each invoice and each purchase order uses a credit, and an accounting integration can add a monthly fee [source: Lightyear pricing (UK)]
Payhawk: Business Central, NetSuite and Sage Intacct connectors are a paid add-on, and PO matching needs the Procurement module [source: Payhawk pricing and plans (US)]
Yooz: No US price is published, and which edition includes PO matching and payments is not stated [source: Yooz pricing (US)]
Tipalti: Per-invoice and per-payment fees are added to the $99 base, and their rates are not published [source: Tipalti pricing]
Medius: Quote only with no trial; AP Essentials covers one entity, and Copilot and the supplier portal are only in AP 360 [source: Medius pricing]
Aequo AP: Does not pay vendors yet (coming soon); Oracle NetSuite and Sage Intacct are early access only; no PO approvals or procurement; prices are in US dollars; VAT returns stay in your accounting system

What it costs: a worked example for 500 invoices a month and 5 people who approve them

UK prices are often per organisation or per credit rather than per user. Compare at your own invoice count, and remember that US-dollar prices move with the exchange rate.

Monthly subscription cost for 500 invoices a month and 5 people who approve them, from published prices
Tool	Monthly cost at this volume
ApprovalMax	Not shown in the page text; priced per organisation, and PO matching needs Advanced or Premium [source: ApprovalMax for QuickBooks Online pricing]
Dext	Not published at 500 documents; the listed £24.17 a month covers 250 [source: Dext business pricing (UK)]
Hubdoc	Included with Xero; capture only [source: Xero UK pricing plans]
Lightyear	Professional (custom) at 500+ credits a month; Standard is £179 for 250 [source: Lightyear pricing (UK)]
Payhawk	Not published: the only listed UK price, Growth at £149 a month, caps invoices at 15 a month [source: Payhawk pricing and plans (UK)]
Yooz	Not published (priced by document volume) [source: Yooz pricing (US)]
Tipalti	From $99 a month, plus per-invoice and per-payment fees that are not published [source: Tipalti pricing]
Medius	Quote only [source: Medius pricing]
Aequo AP	$699 a month on Growth (up to 1000 documents, 3-way matching), the same for 5 approvers or 50

List prices only, before discounts, taxes and implementation. “Quote only” and “not published” mean the vendor does not publish a price; ask for one at your volume. Payment fees apply only if you pay vendors through the tool.

When is Aequo AP not the right fit?

In these cases another tool on this page, or your accounting system on its own, is the better choice.

You need prices and invoices in pounds. Aequo AP is priced in US dollars.
You use Sage 50 or Sage 200. Aequo AP does not connect to them; Dext and Lightyear name Sage.
You want one tool that also pays vendors today. Aequo AP vendor payments are coming soon; until then you pay approved bills from your accounting system or bank.

How we chose and compared these tools

We compared 9 tools for UK businesses using each vendor’s own public pages, read on 2026-10-30. Aequo AP publishes this page and includes its own product, so every limitation and price is shown the same way for every tool.

Which tools. The tools that search results and AI assistants name most often for this question, plus the accounting system’s own features where they cover the job. Each has a public product page.
What we compared. Pricing model and published starting price. Whether a free trial or free plan exists. Purchase-order matching: two-way or three-way, and on which plan. Which accounting systems and ERPs the vendor names. Who the vendor says the product is for. Prices in pounds where the vendor publishes them, and one documented limitation per tool.
Where facts come from. Each competitor fact links to the vendor’s own page ([source]). If a page did not say something, we write “not published” or “not mentioned” rather than guess. Prices are list prices.
Disclosure. Aequo AP is our product. Its row comes from our pricing page and product, it is not ranked first, and its limitations are listed with everyone else’s. No vendor paid to be included or reviewed this page.
Updates. We re-check every vendor page at least once a quarter and change the date when the content changes. Spot something out of date? Email support@nexusap.com and we will check it.

See also our company facts page for how we describe Aequo AP.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best AP automation software in the UK?

For UK teams on Xero, ApprovalMax adds approvals, Dext and Hubdoc capture bills, and Lightyear adds purchase orders and 3-way matching with prices in pounds; Payhawk combines cards with bill pay, and Yooz, Tipalti and Medius suit larger teams. Aequo AP connects to Xero, QuickBooks Online and Business Central, with flat pricing in US dollars.

Which AP automation software works with Xero in the UK?

ApprovalMax, Dext, Hubdoc, Lightyear, Payhawk and Aequo AP all name Xero on the pages we checked (2026-10-30), and Xero UK includes Hubdoc in its plans.

Is AP automation software compatible with Making Tax Digital?

Making Tax Digital applies to how VAT records are kept and returns filed. AP tools pass bills, with their VAT, to your accounting software, which files the return; check that the link is digital end to end, since copy-and-paste does not count as a digital link.

How much does AP automation cost in the UK?

Published UK prices include Dext from £24.17 a month billed annually, Lightyear from £130 a month and Payhawk’s Growth programme at £149 a month with a 15-invoice cap. ApprovalMax prices per organisation; Yooz lists a Business Edition from £129. Aequo AP is priced in US dollars, from $199 a month.

Does AP automation handle the Construction Industry Scheme?

CIS deductions are usually calculated in the accounting system: Xero UK includes CIS calculations on every plan, with CIS return filing as a £5-a-month add-on. Check whether your AP tool passes CIS subcontractor bills through without changing them.

Automate matching, approvals and exception handling

Aequo AP captures invoices, matches them to purchase orders and receipts, routes approvals and flags duplicates and exceptions, then syncs with QuickBooks Online, Xero, FreshBooks, Zoho Books or Business Central.

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Sources

Checked on October 30, 2026. Vendor capabilities and prices change; confirm current details with each vendor.