Plooto and ApprovalMax both help businesses move finance tasks out of email, spreadsheets and disconnected processes. The similarity ends there in several important areas. Here, we compare how each platform approaches approvals, purchasing, payments and financial control.
ApprovalMax connects purchasing and invoice processing with approval and payment, so finance can follow a supplier bill back to the original spending decision. Plooto combines AP payments with receivables collection. ApprovalMax's purchasing workflows bring control earlier in the process, before the supplier invoice arrives.
Approve the purchase before committing the spend, then check the bill against what was agreed.
Key takeaways
- ApprovalMax routes approvals by amount, supplier and department; Plooto's payment rules use bank accounts or payment amounts.
- ApprovalMax creates and approves purchase orders before they are sent to suppliers, while Plooto's current AP materials emphasise invoice-to-payment processing.
- Plooto connects to NetSuite through a Pro add-on, as well as to Xero and QuickBooks.
- Quebec firm Le Contrôleur reports cutting a client's weekly AP time from 10–15 hours to 4–5 hours using ApprovalMax, with approval processing time more than halved.
ApprovalMax vs Plooto at a glance
| |
ApprovalMax |
Plooto |
| Invoice capture |
ApprovalMax Capture reads supplier invoices automatically, which reduces manual entry. Included in current Xero and QuickBooks Online plans. |
Invoice capture within the AP process |
| 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. |
Focused on invoice-to-payment rather than purchase authorisation |
| 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. |
Invoice review before payment |
| 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 rules using bank accounts or payment amounts; unlimited approvers on Grow and Pro |
| Supplier payments |
ApprovalMax Pay sends approved bills in 35 currencies across 150+ countries, in batches of up to 200. |
EFT, ACH, cheques and international payments |
| 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. |
AR collection services rather than customer-invoice approval |
| Accounting integrations |
Xero, QuickBooks Online and NetSuite, each with its own product and document coverage. |
Xero, QuickBooks and NetSuite, with NetSuite as a Pro add-on |
| Pricing and included participation |
From US$50 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. |
Subscription plus transaction charges |
Product and pricing sources: ApprovalMax Xero plans; ApprovalMax QuickBooks Online plans; ApprovalMax NetSuite scope; Plooto invoice management; Plooto plans; Plooto AP overview; Plooto NetSuite integration.
What is the difference between ApprovalMax and Plooto?
Plooto is an invoice-to-payment product, strongest at moving money and chasing receivables. ApprovalMax is finance software that starts earlier, covering purchase orders, bills, journals and customer invoices on Xero, QuickBooks Online and NetSuite.
An approved purchase order gives finance a record of what the business agreed to buy. ApprovalMax connects that decision to the incoming invoice, checks and payment approval, so a bill does not become the first record of a commitment.
How do approval workflows compare?
ApprovalMax supports multiple approval stages using conditions such as amount, supplier and department. Plooto's payment rules use bank accounts or payment amounts, with unlimited approvers and payment approval rules listed on Grow and Pro.
The routing dimension is the substantive difference. Take three bills of identical value: a £2,400 recruitment agency fee, £2,400 of warehouse repairs and a £2,400 software implementation. The hiring manager, operations manager and IT manager are the people who can confirm the work was agreed and completed and the amount does not identify which. If all three are paid from the same account, the bank account does not identify them either.
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.
Both connect with Xero and QuickBooks. Plooto now documents a NetSuite connection offered as an additional Pro integration, so any comparison claiming Plooto lacks NetSuite support would be out of date.
ApprovalMax's NetSuite product has separate pricing and covers bills, POs, journals and sales documents. Xero and QuickBooks Online approvers can review requests without an accounting licence.
How do purchase orders and matching compare?
ApprovalMax lets staff create and approve purchase orders before they are sent to suppliers, and supports bill-to-PO matching with the available functions tied to the accounting integration and plan. Plooto's current AP materials emphasise invoice-to-payment processing rather than purchase authorisation.
If six months of software support was agreed at £900 a month and the first bill is £1,100, the reviewer needs an explanation for the extra £200. ApprovalMax keeps the approved order available for that check and records the resulting decision.
How does invoice capture compare?
ApprovalMax Capture reads the invoice on arrival, included from Standard on Xero and QuickBooks Online. Because the bill lands next to the approved purchase order, the reviewer is checking it against something the business already agreed rather than judging it cold.
How do supplier payments compare?
Plooto's payment breadth - EFT, ACH, cheques and international transfers - is its strongest asset, particularly in Canada. ApprovalMax Pay reaches 150+ countries in 35 currencies in batches of up to 200, available to UK businesses using Xero and launching in 2026 for QuickBooks Online.
What audit trail does each leave?
ApprovalMax provides document approval records and audit reporting connected to the accounting workflow, with an Auditor role for read-only review access. Plooto includes a payment audit trail on its Grow and Pro plans.
ApprovalMax keeps the purchase and invoice decisions with their supporting records. Finance can trace who authorised the commitment and accepted the bill before funds were released.
Le Contrôleur, a Quebec accounting firm, uses ApprovalMax with QuickBooks Online and Dext for remote client approvals, reporting a reduction in one client's AP work from 10–15 hours a week to 4–5 hours, with approval processing time more than halved.
ApprovalMax vs Plooto pricing
ApprovalMax has fixed Xero and QuickBooks Online plan prices; Plooto pricing combines subscription with transaction charges. ApprovalMax Standard Small starts at US$50 per organisation per month billed yearly, or US$60 billed monthly, excluding tax, with unlimited active approvers at every Xero/QBO size.
Size follows document volume rather than headcount: Small includes 100 approved documents per month, Medium 300 and Large 500, with annual billing pooling 12 times the monthly allowance. ApprovalMax for NetSuite is quoted separately.
Plooto supports EFT, ACH, cheques and international payments. ApprovalMax Pay is available to UK businesses on Xero. Its NetSuite workflow prepares and approves payments before NetSuite generates the file. Canadian EFT and cheque requirements are separate from those ApprovalMax Pay routes.
Try ApprovalMax free for 14 days to see its approval workflow with your team.
Which should you choose?
Choose ApprovalMax if:
- Approval needs to happen before a commitment is made, not just before funds are released.
- Routing should follow department, supplier or purpose rather than value or bank account.
- Journals and sales invoices need the same formal approval as supplier bills.
- Operational managers should approve without an accounting-system licence.
- You need audit evidence covering the authorisation chain, not only the payment.
Plooto may suit if:
- Payment execution across EFT, ACH, cheques and international methods is the core requirement, particularly in Canada.
- You want AR collection handled in the same product as AP payments.
Choose ApprovalMax to authorise purchases before invoices arrive, connect the bill to what was agreed and keep approvals and payment decisions together. Customer-invoice workflows extend that control to outgoing bills.
ApprovalMax vs Plooto FAQs
Is ApprovalMax an alternative to Plooto?
Yes. ApprovalMax connects purchasing, invoice capture, checks, approvals and payments with your accounting system, with customer-invoice workflows alongside AP. Plooto also provides AP payments and AR collection, including Canadian EFT and cheques. Payment availability differs by accounting system and country.
Does Plooto support multiple approvers?
Yes. Plooto's Grow and Pro plans include unlimited approvers and payment approval rules. Plooto's payment rules use bank accounts or payment amounts, while ApprovalMax also routes by supplier and department.
Does Plooto integrate with NetSuite?
Yes. Plooto offers NetSuite as an additional Pro integration. ApprovalMax also has a separately priced NetSuite product covering bills, purchase orders, journals and sales documents.
Can ApprovalMax route invoices by department?
Yes. ApprovalMax supports multiple approval stages using conditions such as amount, supplier and department, so bills of identical value can reach different reviewers depending on who understands the purchase. The route can reflect the supplier and department, as well as the amount.
Can ApprovalMax approve spending before the bill arrives?
Yes. ApprovalMax lets staff raise purchase orders and obtain approval before the order is sent to the supplier, recording the proposed supplier, items and cost. Bill-to-PO matching then compares the later invoice against that approved commitment, with available functions tied to the integration and plan.
Does ApprovalMax charge for each approver?
No. Current ApprovalMax plans for Xero and QuickBooks Online include unlimited active approvers, so adding a reviewer adds no seat charge. Price is set by feature plan, organisation count and approved-document volume rather than by the number of people in the workflow.
Can ApprovalMax pay my suppliers internationally?
Yes. ApprovalMax Pay reaches 150+ countries in 35 currencies using local payment rails rather than bank international rates, in batches of up to 200 payments released in one click. Canadian domestic rails such as EFT and cheques remain Plooto territory.
Bring your AP process together
ApprovalMax approves purchase orders, bills, journals and sales documents across Xero, QuickBooks Online and NetSuite, routed by amount, supplier and department.
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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