ApprovalMax and Quadient AP both target inefficient accounts payable processes, yet the way they structure automation is not identical. This guide compares the shared capabilities, the important gaps, and the points where their approaches to approvals and AP management move in different directions.
ApprovalMax connects purchasing, invoice capture, matching, approvals and payments, helping finance follow a transaction from the original order to settlement. Quadient AP packages invoice processing and purchasing separately. ApprovalMax includes bill and purchase-order approval together from Standard.
Keep purchase authorisation and supplier invoices connected, so finance can check what was agreed before paying what was billed.
| ApprovalMax | Quadient AP | |
|---|---|---|
| Invoice capture | ApprovalMax Capture reads supplier invoices automatically, which reduces manual entry. Included in current Xero and QuickBooks Online plans. | Invoice capture within the Invoices package |
| 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. | Requisitions and blanket orders in the separate purchasing package |
| 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-to-PO matching in the purchasing package |
| Approval speed and flexibility | Independent reviewers approve at the same time instead of queueing, with substitutes and reminders so absence never stalls a bill. | Approval Channels by amount, ERP list and organisational unit; Stop Channels halt lower channels |
| 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 payments offered as a separate package |
| 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. | Focused on payables, purchasing and expenses |
| Accounting integrations | Xero, QuickBooks Online and NetSuite, each with its own product and document coverage. | Xero, QuickBooks and Sage products |
| 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. | Separate invoice, purchasing and expense packages, quoted; Invoices includes unlimited users |
Product and pricing sources: ApprovalMax Xero plans; ApprovalMax QuickBooks Online plans; ApprovalMax NetSuite scope; Quadient AP; Quadient AP plans; Quadient Approval Channels; Quadient channel sequences; Quadient integration description.
Quadient AP is modular: invoices, purchasing, expenses and supplier payments are described as separate packages. ApprovalMax runs purchasing, payables and receivables end to end on Xero, QuickBooks Online and NetSuite in one subscription.
Standard includes bill, purchase-order and customer-invoice workflows for Xero. Advanced and Premium add journal approvals. Quadient AP's invoice and purchasing workflows span two packages whose prices are available by quote.
ApprovalMax supports sequential and parallel approval steps with configured conditions. Quadient uses Approval Channels built on amounts, ERP lists and organisational units, where multiple people within a channel approve in sequence and the channel order shapes the route.
A £12,000 office-refurbishment bill might need both the facilities manager and the local office manager. ApprovalMax lets those independent reviews happen in parallel, so one does not have to wait for the other.
Quadient's Stop Channels prevent a transaction from continuing through channels below them. ApprovalMax's matrix lets finance specify the decisions required by the transaction, including separate mandatory reviews.
ApprovalMax connects with Xero, QuickBooks Online and NetSuite, each as a dedicated product. Quadient documents accounting connections including Xero, QuickBooks and Sage products, making it the broader option for Sage businesses.
For Xero and QuickBooks Online, ApprovalMax lets managers review requests without needing an accounting-system licence, so department owners can approve without a ledger seat. ApprovalMax supports nominated substitutes for absence cover, while Quadient's Invoices plan includes approval channel delegation.
ApprovalMax lets staff create, approve and send purchase orders, included from Standard, with bill-to-PO matching and budget checking on Advanced and Premium for Xero and QuickBooks Online. Quadient's purchasing plan includes requisitions, blanket orders and invoice-to-PO matching.
Quadient supports requisitions and blanket orders. ApprovalMax includes PO and bill approval together from Standard, keeping the original spending decision connected to the later invoice.
If training approved at £6,400 is invoiced at £7,200 after an extra session, finance needs to resolve the £800 difference. ApprovalMax's matching and approval workflow helps the responsible person compare the bill with the order and record whether the change was agreed.
Quadient captures invoices within its Invoices package. ApprovalMax Capture is included from Standard on Xero and QuickBooks Online, alongside the purchase-order workflows &mdash. This means capture and purchasing are one subscription rather than two packages.
Quadient sells supplier payments as a further package. ApprovalMax Pay sends approved bills in 35 currencies across 150+ countries in batches of up to 200, available to UK businesses using Xero.
ApprovalMax provides approval records and audit reporting, including an Auditor role for read-only access, with detailed monitoring functions depending on the integration and setup.
Keep the reason for an unusual invoice with its approval record. ApprovalMax makes the supporting documents and decisions available for later review, including journals and customer invoices on the relevant plans.
ApprovalMax has fixed Xero and QuickBooks Online plan prices; Quadient does not publicly disclose the prices of its invoice and purchasing packages. 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. ApprovalMax for NetSuite is quoted separately.
Both include unlimited users, so additional approvers do not establish a saving. ApprovalMax includes bill and PO approval in Standard; Quadient prices its invoice and purchasing packages by quote.
Try ApprovalMax free for 14 days to see its approval workflow with your team.
Choose ApprovalMax if:
Quadient AP may suit if:
Choose ApprovalMax to connect capture, purchasing, invoice checks and payment decisions, with bill and PO approvals together from Standard and customer-invoice workflows alongside AP.
Yes. ApprovalMax connects invoice capture, purchasing, checks, approvals and payments, with customer-invoice workflows alongside AP. It includes bill and PO approvals from Standard on Xero and QuickBooks Online, while Quadient packages invoices and purchasing separately.
Yes. Quadient uses Approval Channels configured on amounts, ERP lists and organisational units, with approval channel delegation in its Invoices plan. Within a channel, multiple people approve in sequence, and channel order plus Stop Channels determine the overall route.
Quadient's Stop Channels provide a routing control: when a transaction reaches one, it does not continue through channels positioned below it in the sequence. Where several conditions could apply to the same invoice, the channel order therefore determines which approvals actually run.
Yes. ApprovalMax supports sequential and parallel approval steps, so reviewers whose decisions do not depend on each other can work at the same time. That removes waiting between independent checks, such as a facilities manager and a local office manager reviewing the same invoice.
Yes, and both are included together on Standard for Xero and QuickBooks Online. Staff can create purchase orders, obtain approval and send the approved order to the supplier. Bill-to-PO matching and budget checking are available on Advanced and Premium.
No. Current ApprovalMax plans for Xero and QuickBooks Online include unlimited active approvers, so adding a reviewer adds no seat charge. Quadient's Invoices plan also includes unlimited users, so approver headcount is not the deciding cost factor between them.
ApprovalMax plans start at £35.83 per organisation per month billed yearly, excluding tax, covering bill and purchase-order workflows on Standard. Quadient does not publicly disclose its invoice and purchasing package prices, so a quote for the required combination is needed before comparing totals.
ApprovalMax runs bill and purchase-order approvals under one policy across Xero, QuickBooks Online and NetSuite, with parallel routing and unlimited approvers included.
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. NetSuite terms are quoted separately and existing accounts may hold different contract terms.