Apron and ApprovalMax both aim to make finance work faster and easier to control, but they enter the process from different angles. In this comparison, we look at the functions they have in common, the areas where their workflows differ, and what sits beyond the overlap.
ApprovalMax brings purchasing, invoice capture, checks, approvals and payments together. Apron combines document processing with supplier and payroll payments. ApprovalMax's purchase-order workflows help finance control spending before the supplier starts work, then carry that decision through the invoice and payment process.
Avoid discovering a commitment only when the invoice arrives. Approve the purchase first and keep the order, bill and decisions connected and sequenced.
Key takeaways
- ApprovalMax creates, approves and sends purchase orders; Apron's documentation covers document processing and payment approval rather than raising purchase orders.
- ApprovalMax shows budget context during approval on Advanced and Premium, so an approver sees whether a request within their authority still fits the budget.
- For UK businesses on Xero, local Open Banking payments are included in the ApprovalMax subscription; Apron charges per supplier payment above plan allowances.
ApprovalMax vs Apron at a glance
| |
ApprovalMax |
Apron |
| Invoice capture |
ApprovalMax Capture reads supplier invoices automatically, which reduces manual entry. Included in current Xero and QuickBooks Online plans. |
Document processing with invoice and receipt extraction, including line items |
| Purchasing before spending |
Raise and approve purchase orders before a supplier starts work, so nothing arrives unannounced. Included from Standard on Xero and QuickBooks Online. |
Purchase-order approval is not described in its documentation |
| Invoice checks and matching |
Check the bill against what you agreed to buy and catch differences before payment. Bill-to-PO matching and budget checks on Advanced and Premium; three-way matching on NetSuite. |
Checks applied at the payment stage |
| Approval speed and flexibility |
Independent reviewers approve at the same time instead of queueing, with substitutes and reminders so absence never stalls a bill. |
Payment workflows with ordered, any-of and custom structures |
| Supplier payments |
ApprovalMax Pay sends approved bills in 35 currencies across 150+ countries, in batches of up to 200. Available to UK businesses using Xero. |
Supplier and payroll payments, with card and balance funding |
| Customer invoicing |
Create, approve and send customer invoices on every plan, so errors are caught before a client sees them. Sales quotes, and invoicing from an approved quote, on Xero Advanced and Premium. |
Processes sales invoices, without customer-invoice approval workflows |
| Accounting integrations |
Xero, QuickBooks Online and NetSuite, each with its own product and document coverage. |
Xero and QuickBooks sync |
| Pricing and included participation |
From £35.83 per organisation per month billed yearly (Standard Small, Xero and QuickBooks Online, excluding tax), with unlimited active approvers. Overage limits apply (rates). NetSuite quoted separately. |
Essential £29 per company per month with 50 supplier payments, then £0.80 each; Pro £49 with 100, then £0.50 |
Product and pricing sources: ApprovalMax Xero plans; ApprovalMax QuickBooks Online plans; ApprovalMax NetSuite scope; Apron product range; Apron plans; Apron payment workflows; Apron document processing; Apron payment methods; Apron forthcoming pricing date.
What is the difference between ApprovalMax and Apron?
Apron organises around payments: document processing feeds supplier and payroll payment runs, supported by cards and expenses. ApprovalMax organises around the commitment, covering purchase orders, bills, journals and customer invoices on Xero, QuickBooks Online and NetSuite.
ApprovalMax records the spending decision before a supplier starts work, then connects it to the invoice, review and payment. Apron combines document processing with supplier and payroll payment workflows.
How do approval workflows compare?
ApprovalMax runs conditional workflows with sequential and parallel steps. Apron provides payment workflows with ordered, any-of and custom approval structures.
Approve the purchase before ordering, check the invoice when it arrives and authorise the payment when it is due. ApprovalMax keeps those decisions connected. Apron also processes invoices and provides configurable payment approvals.
ApprovalMax Advanced and Premium include a Review step for Xero and QuickBooks Online, so accounting details can be checked before formal approval begins. The Xero offer also includes Editing on Approval, allowing authorised corrections during review. This helps finance resolve coding issues before final sign-off.
ApprovalMax has dedicated offerings for Xero, QuickBooks Online and NetSuite. Apron syncs with Xero and QuickBooks.
ApprovalMax also reads invoices itself through Capture, which processes supported documents inside the approval application rather than passing them in from elsewhere. Supported document types differ between Xero, QuickBooks Online and NetSuite, so the relevant list depends on the connection.
ApprovalMax's NetSuite product includes journals, sales orders and customer invoices alongside purchasing and AP. Finance can manage those workflows in the same application; NetSuite pricing is separate.
How do purchase orders and matching compare?
ApprovalMax lets staff create purchase orders, obtain approval and send the authorised order to the supplier, with bill-to-PO matching available depending on the accounting connection and plan. Apron's documentation covers document processing and payment approval rather than raising purchase orders.
Consider a business arranging £7,500 of maintenance across three premises. An approved purchase order gives the supplier and the finance team a common reference, so when the invoice arrives the question is whether the charge agrees with the order and the completed work, rather than whether £7,500 sounds about right.
Budget context is the other control. ApprovalMax displays budget information during bill and purchase-order approval, with budget checking available on Advanced and Premium. Suppose a facilities manager has authority up to £5,000 with £2,400 remaining in the relevant budget: a £3,100 request sits inside their value limit but exceeds the available budget by £700. Having authority to approve that amount is not the same as having the budget for it, and both need answering. The approver sees the position and decides; budget status cannot itself trigger an approval-matrix condition.
How does invoice capture compare?
Apron extracts invoice and receipt data including line items. ApprovalMax Capture is included from Standard on Xero and QuickBooks Online, and the captured bill arrives beside the purchase order it belongs to, so the reviewer can see what was agreed before approving what was billed.
How do supplier payments compare?
Apron includes 50 supplier payments on Essential and 100 on Pro, then charges £0.80 and £0.50 per payment. For UK businesses on Xero, ApprovalMax Pay covers local Open Banking payments within the subscription, and reaches 150+ countries in 35 currencies through Wallets.
What audit trail does each leave?
ApprovalMax retains an approval record against each document, covering the request, the reviewers and the decision, attached to the record that reaches the ledger.
ApprovalMax keeps the approved purchase, supporting quote, invoice checks and payment decisions connected. Finance can see what was agreed, what changed and who authorised the transaction.
ApprovalMax vs Apron pricing
Apron Essential costs £29 per company per month including 50 supplier payments, then £0.80 per extra supplier payment, and Pro at £49 including 100 supplier payments, then £0.50 per extra. On 120 domestic supplier payments that gives roughly £85 a month on Essential or £59 on Pro, before other services and charges.
ApprovalMax Standard Small starts at £35.83 per organisation per month billed yearly, or £43 billed monthly, excluding tax, with unlimited active approvers at every Xero/QBO size. Small includes 100 approved documents per month, Medium 300 and Large 500, with annual billing pooling 12 times the monthly allowance. Standard covers multi-step approval rules, bill and purchase-order workflows, accounting sync and ApprovalMax Capture; Advanced and Premium add bill-to-PO matching and budget checking.
Local Open Banking payments are included in the ApprovalMax subscription for UK businesses on Xero, without a per-payment charge on that route. Apron charges for supplier payments above its plan allowances. ApprovalMax's subscription still depends on plan, organisations and approved-document volume; NetSuite pricing is separate.
Try ApprovalMax free for 14 days to see its approval workflow with your team.
Which should you choose?
Choose ApprovalMax if:
- Spending needs authorising before the supplier starts work, not just before payment.
- Approvers should see the budget position at the moment of decision.
- Coding errors should be corrected before authorisation rather than after posting.
- Journals and sales invoices need the same approval discipline as bills.
- You are a UK business on Xero with high payment volume and want local payments included.
Apron may suit if:
- Payroll payments, cards and expenses need to sit in the same product as supplier payments.
- You want to fund payments by credit card or from a held balance.
Choose ApprovalMax to authorise purchases before work starts and connect incoming bills to the original agreement. UK businesses on Xero can also make local Open Banking payments within the subscription.
ApprovalMax vs Apron FAQs
Is ApprovalMax an alternative to Apron?
Yes. ApprovalMax connects purchasing, invoice capture, checks, approvals and payments, with customer-invoice workflows alongside AP. Its PO approvals authorise spending before the invoice arrives. Apron also offers payroll payments, cards and expenses.
Does Apron have approval workflows?
Yes. Apron provides payment workflows with ordered, any-of and custom approval structures, alongside document processing that includes invoice and receipt extraction with line items. ApprovalMax also lets the business approve a purchase before the supplier receives the order.
Does ApprovalMax read invoices itself?
Yes. ApprovalMax Capture processes supported documents within the approval application, so extraction and approval happen in one place. Supported document types differ between Xero, QuickBooks Online and NetSuite, and Capture is included in current Xero and QuickBooks Online plans.
Can ApprovalMax approve a purchase before the invoice arrives?
Yes. Staff create a purchase order in ApprovalMax, obtain approval and send the authorised order to the supplier, so the commitment is agreed in advance. Bill-to-PO matching then compares the later invoice against that order, with functions depending on the accounting connection and plan.
Can ApprovalMax pay suppliers from a UK bank account?
Yes. UK businesses on Xero connect an existing bank account through Open Banking and pay local suppliers without a per-payment charge. Apron charges £0.80 or £0.50 per additional payment above its plan allowances. International suppliers are reached through Wallets in 35 currencies across 150+ countries.
Does ApprovalMax charge for each approver?
No. Current ApprovalMax plans for Xero and QuickBooks Online include unlimited active approvers, so adding an approver adds no seat charge. Price is set by feature plan, organisation count and approved-document volume. NetSuite pricing is separate.
Is ApprovalMax cheaper than Apron?
It depends on payment volume. Apron charges £29 or £49 per company per month with 50 or 100 supplier payments included, then £0.80 or £0.50 each. ApprovalMax is £35.83 per organisation per month billed yearly with unlimited approvers, and includes local Open Banking payments for UK businesses on Xero.
Bring your AP process together
ApprovalMax approves purchase orders, bills, journals and sales documents across Xero, QuickBooks Online and NetSuite, with budget context for approvers and unlimited approvers on current Xero and QuickBooks Online plans.
See how ApprovalMax handles your approvals
Bring the right managers into bill and purchase approvals while finance keeps control of the accounting process.
Bring your AP process together. Start your 14-day ApprovalMax trial.
Product and pricing details checked on 14 September 2026. Payment availability and eligibility depend on country, accounting integration and payment method.
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