Stampli and ApprovalMax both focus on making accounts payable less manual, but the similarities do not tell the whole story. This comparison looks at how their workflows differ, where their capabilities overlap, and the areas where each platform takes a different approach to finance automation.
ApprovalMax connects invoice capture, purchase checks, approvals and payments, and extends its capabilities to customer invoicing. Its parallel approval routes let independent reviewers work at the same time while keeping every required decision recorded.
Reduce waiting between independent reviewers while keeping invoice processing, purchase checks and payment decisions connected.
Key takeaways
- ApprovalMax supports parallel and sequential approvals; Stampli's invoice-workflow guidance confirms stages run sequentially only.
- Current ApprovalMax plans for Xero and QuickBooks Online include unlimited active approvers, so adding a reviewer does not add a seat charge under those offers.
- ApprovalMax plans start at US$50 per organisation per month billed yearly; Stampli prices its packages by quote.
- ApprovalMax approves sales invoices and manual journals alongside bills; Stampli's extra scope runs towards procurement, cards and reimbursements.
ApprovalMax vs Stampli at a glance
| |
ApprovalMax |
Stampli |
| Invoice capture |
ApprovalMax Capture reads supplier invoices automatically, which reduces manual entry. Included in current Xero and QuickBooks Online plans. |
Invoice capture and coding |
| 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 orders within the purchase-to-pay range |
| 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. |
PO matching, with automation set by the 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 stages run one after another, per its invoice-workflow guidance |
| 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 within the platform |
| 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 and company spending |
| Accounting integrations |
Xero, QuickBooks Online and NetSuite, each with its own product and document coverage. |
QuickBooks Online, NetSuite and a broad ERP range |
| 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 price by quote |
Product and pricing sources: ApprovalMax Xero plans; ApprovalMax QuickBooks Online plans; ApprovalMax NetSuite scope; Stampli product scope; Stampli plans; Stampli invoice-workflow guidance; Stampli QuickBooks Online integration; Stampli NetSuite integration.
What is the difference between ApprovalMax and Stampli?
ApprovalMax connects invoice capture, purchase checks, approvals and payments, with customer-invoice workflows alongside AP. Stampli also automates AP, with procurement and spending functions. ApprovalMax's parallel routes let independent reviewers decide at the same time.
That breadth is the decision. A team comparing invoice processing engines will find both credible. A finance team that also wants its outgoing invoices, journals and purchase orders under the same control has fewer options.
How do approval workflows compare?
ApprovalMax runs approvals in parallel as well as in sequence. Stampli's invoice approval stages run sequentially, with one stage following another.
The consequence is practical. Where procurement checks the agreed price and operations confirms the delivery, those reviews have no dependency on each other. In a sequential-only model the second reviewer waits for the first regardless. ApprovalMax removes that queue where the business never required one, and keeps steps sequential where authority genuinely escalates.
Stampli provides conditional routing, authority limits, delegation and an activity trail, substantive controls within a sequential structure. ApprovalMax offers the same class of control without the ordering constraint, which is why approval design is the clearest reason to prefer it.
ApprovalMax has dedicated offerings for Xero, QuickBooks Online and NetSuite. Stampli connects to QuickBooks Online and NetSuite connections within a broader ERP range.
ApprovalMax has a dedicated Xero product with bill, PO and customer-invoice workflows; Advanced and Premium add journals. Stampli connects to QuickBooks Online and NetSuite within a wider ERP range.
On QuickBooks Online and NetSuite both products connect, so the comparison moves to what each returns to the ledger: which company owns the bill, where coding originates, when the bill posts, and whether the approval history stays attached to the record afterwards.
How do purchase orders and matching compare?
ApprovalMax includes purchase-order workflows on every Standard plan, adds bill-to-PO matching and budget checking on Advanced and Premium, and matches bills, purchase orders and receipts on NetSuite. Stampli offers PO matching with the automation level determined by the package purchased.
If a supplier delivers 80 of 100 units but bills for all 100 plus freight, finance needs the discrepancy resolved before payment. ApprovalMax's matching and approval workflow helps the responsible person review the charge and keep their explanation with the bill.
How does invoice capture compare?
Both capture and code invoices automatically. With ApprovalMax, Capture is included from Standard on Xero and QuickBooks Online, and the captured bill can go to several required reviewers at the same time instead of waiting in a single-file queue.
How do supplier payments compare?
Stampli handles supplier payments within its platform. ApprovalMax Pay sends approved bills in 35 currencies across 150+ countries in batches of up to 200, available to UK businesses using Xero.
What audit trail does each leave?
ApprovalMax retains the approval history against the document, so the request, the approvers, the sequence and the timing stay attached to the record that reaches the ledger. Stampli provides an activity trail with prebuilt reporting and dashboards.
An unusual invoice should be understandable from its saved records. ApprovalMax keeps the purchase details, supporting documents and decisions together, so month-end questions do not depend on the original approver being available.
ApprovalMax vs Stampli pricing
Stampli prices its packages by quote. ApprovalMax Standard Small starts at US$50 per organisation per month billed yearly, or US$60 billed monthly, excluding tax. Stampli prices its packages by configuration.
Current ApprovalMax plans for Xero and QuickBooks Online include unlimited active approvers. Small includes 100 approved documents per month, Medium 300 and Large 500, with annual billing pooling 12 times the monthly allowance and overages charged separately. 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's Xero and QuickBooks Online plans include unlimited approvers with subscription prices on its pricing page. Stampli prices its packages by quote. ApprovalMax also offers parallel approval routes; its NetSuite product has separate pricing.
Try ApprovalMax free for 14 days to see its approval workflow with your team.
Which should you choose?
Choose ApprovalMax if:
- Independent reviewers currently wait for each other and parallel approval would remove the queue.
- You run Xero, where ApprovalMax has a dedicated offering with pricing.
- Sales invoices, manual journals or sales orders need the same approval discipline as bills.
- Adding approvers should not add cost.
- Month-end requires approval evidence that explains itself without asking the original reviewer.
Stampli may suit if:
- You want corporate cards, reimbursements and vendor payments from the same platform as AP.
- Your ERP sits outside Xero, QuickBooks Online and NetSuite.
Choose ApprovalMax to connect invoice capture, purchasing, checks and payments, reduce waiting between independent reviewers and bring customer-invoice workflows into the same platform.
ApprovalMax vs Stampli FAQs
Is ApprovalMax a Stampli alternative?
Yes. ApprovalMax connects invoice capture, purchasing, checks, approvals and payments with Xero, QuickBooks Online and NetSuite, with customer-invoice workflows alongside AP. Parallel approvals let independent reviewers work together, with unlimited approvers on current Xero and QuickBooks Online plans.
Can Stampli run invoice approvals in parallel?
No. Stampli's invoice approval stages run sequentially. ApprovalMax supports both parallel and sequential approvals, so reviewers with no dependency on each other can work at the same time rather than queueing.
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: 100 documents a month on Small, 300 on Medium and 500 on Large.
Is ApprovalMax cheaper than Stampli?
ApprovalMax's Xero and QuickBooks Online plans start at US$50 per organisation per month billed yearly, excluding tax, with unlimited approvers. Stampli prices its packages by quote, so the difference depends on the configuration. NetSuite terms are quoted separately for both products.
Do ApprovalMax and Stampli work with QuickBooks Online?
Yes. Both connect to QuickBooks Online. ApprovalMax includes Capture and unlimited approvers in its current plans, supports parallel review and adds workflows for other financial documents on higher plans.
Does ApprovalMax offer native OCR?
Yes. ApprovalMax Capture reads supported documents inside the product and is included from the Standard plan, so invoice data extraction does not require a separate subscription or a third-party tool alongside the approval workflow.
Does Stampli support purchase orders?
Yes. Stampli's product range includes procurement and purchase-order functions alongside invoice matching, with the automation level set by the package purchased. ApprovalMax includes purchase-order workflows on every Standard plan and adds bill-to-PO matching on Advanced and Premium.
Bring your AP process together
ApprovalMax runs parallel and sequential approvals across Xero, QuickBooks Online and NetSuite, with 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.
Pricing reviewed on 14 September 2026. Editorial corrections and selected feature checks completed on 15 September 2026. Existing accounts may hold different contract terms.
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