ApprovalMax and Zahara both aim to replace manual finance processes with structured digital workflows, but they do not solve every problem in the same way. We compare the features they share, the areas where their approaches differ, and the gaps that may matter depending on how your finance team works.
ApprovalMax brings invoice capture, purchasing, matching, approvals and payments together. Zahara also supports purchasing and AP. ApprovalMax's organisation-based pricing is particularly useful when responsibility is spread across many managers: more people can participate without additional approver seat charges.
Let the manager who knows the purchase check the invoice, without making finance choose between involving the right person and paying for another seat.
| ApprovalMax | Zahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Invoice capture | ApprovalMax Capture reads supplier invoices automatically, which reduces manual entry. Included in current Xero and QuickBooks Online plans. | Invoice capture and data extraction |
| 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. | Purchasing workflows with budget visibility |
| 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 matching within the purchasing process |
| Approval speed and flexibility | Independent reviewers approve at the same time instead of queueing, with substitutes and reminders so absence never stalls a bill. | Conditional steps, branching, reminders and escalations |
| 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 payment runs including international services |
| 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 invoice approvals and quote-based invoicing are not part of the offering |
| Accounting integrations | Xero, QuickBooks Online and NetSuite, each with its own product and document coverage. | Xero, QuickBooks and several ERP systems; NetSuite via Integration Engine |
| 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. | User allowances per plan, with paid capacity to add more |
Product and pricing sources: ApprovalMax Xero plans; ApprovalMax QuickBooks Online plans; ApprovalMax NetSuite scope; Zahara plans; Zahara invoice approvals; Zahara NetSuite integration; Zahara purchase orders; Zahara supplier payments.
Zahara focuses on purchasing and accounts payable. ApprovalMax runs purchasing, payables and receivables on Xero, QuickBooks Online and NetSuite, so bills, purchase orders, journals, sales quotes and customer invoices all follow one approval process.
Zahara allocates user allowances by plan, with additional capacity charged separately. ApprovalMax's current Xero and QuickBooks Online plans include unlimited approvers, so a regional manager can join the workflow without an extra approver charge or accounting licence.
ApprovalMax supports multiple stages running in sequence or in parallel, with rules using value, supplier and department. Zahara documents branching workflows, conditional stages, reminders and escalations, genuinely configurable logic, so the comparison is not about capability alone.
Take a business with regional offices. A routine facilities bill below £1,000 needs the responsible office manager to confirm the service. An IT purchase above £1,000 needs IT to check the specification and the department owner to authorise the cost. Anything above £10,000 adds the finance director. A bill with incorrect coding needs finance to fix the accounting details before final approval.
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 connects with Xero, QuickBooks Online and NetSuite, each as a dedicated product. Zahara connects with Xero, QuickBooks and several ERP systems, and connects to NetSuite through Integration Engine.
For Xero and QuickBooks Online, ApprovalMax's practical advantage is participation: approvers work in ApprovalMax without needing access to the accounting system. That keeps department managers and budget holders inside the approval process without giving them ledger access or consuming an accounting seat.
ApprovalMax's NetSuite product includes journals, sales orders and customer invoices alongside purchasing and AP, keeping more finance workflows in one application.
Both support purchasing. Zahara includes purchasing workflows with budget visibility, and ApprovalMax lets staff create purchase orders for approval before they are sent to suppliers, with bill-to-PO matching varying by accounting platform and plan and three-way matching on NetSuite.
If 12 desks ordered at £240 each are invoiced at £255 each, finance needs to resolve the £180 increase. ApprovalMax's matching and approval process helps the responsible manager compare the bill with the agreed order and record whether the change was authorised.
ApprovalMax can also display the budget impact of bills and purchase orders during approval, with budget checking included in Advanced and Premium for Xero and QuickBooks Online. The approver sees the available position and decides, budget status itself cannot trigger a workflow condition.
Both extract invoice data automatically. With ApprovalMax, Capture is included from Standard on Xero and QuickBooks Online and the captured bill moves straight into an approval route that any number of managers can join, because approvers are not counted.
Zahara offers supplier payment runs including international services. ApprovalMax Pay reaches 150+ countries in 35 currencies in batches of up to 200, with fees posted as separate Xero lines so reconciliation is one click. Available to UK businesses using Xero.
ApprovalMax produces approval records and supports audit reports linked to transactions, with an Auditor role for read-only review access and monitoring functions depending on the connected platform and configuration.
Keep journal and customer-invoice decisions with their supporting records, as you do for supplier bills. Finance can answer month-end questions without searching a separate email thread. Document types vary by accounting system and plan.
ApprovalMax Capture extracts invoice details from emailed or uploaded documents and sends them into the AP process, reducing manual entry.
Zahara Teams costs £159, Business £289 and Enterprise £499 per month, excluding UK VAT, with 10, 18 and 35 users respectively. Teams includes 120 POs and 250 AI-processed invoices monthly. These allowances differ from ApprovalMax's approved-document allowance.
The two price on different units. 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. Zahara's plans carry allowances for users, purchase orders and invoices, with additional capacity available.
A regional manager can join an ApprovalMax workflow without another approver seat charge. Current Xero and QuickBooks Online subscription costs depend on the plan, organisations and approved-document volume. Zahara participants count towards its user allowances.
ApprovalMax counts organisations and approved documents; Zahara’s packages also have user and processing allowances. Those different units affect the complete subscription cost. ApprovalMax for NetSuite is quoted separately. On payments, ApprovalMax Pay serves UK businesses on Xero with local bank payments through Open Banking and international payments through Wallets, Zahara offers supplier payment runs including international payment services.
Yoco coordinates 32 approvers across multiple business entities using ApprovalMax, distributing decisions to the people responsible for each purchase.
Try ApprovalMax free for 14 days to see its approval workflow with your team.
Choose ApprovalMax if:
Zahara may suit if:
When approval responsibility is spread wide and the documents go beyond AP, ApprovalMax covers more and costs the same however many managers you add.
Yes. ApprovalMax is a direct alternative for bill and purchase-order approvals on Xero, QuickBooks Online and NetSuite. Its case is strongest when many managers need to approve, or when sales invoices and journals need the same controlled process as accounts payable documents.
No. Current ApprovalMax plans for Xero and QuickBooks Online include unlimited active approvers, so adding a reviewer adds no charge. Zahara's plans instead allocate user allowances per plan, with additional capacity available as a paid option.
Yes. Zahara connects to NetSuite through Integration Engine. ApprovalMax has a dedicated NetSuite product covering journal, sales order and sales invoice workflows alongside AP documents.
Yes. ApprovalMax Capture extracts invoice details from emailed or uploaded documents and feeds the approval process. It is included in current Xero and QuickBooks Online plans.
Yes. Staff can create purchase orders in ApprovalMax and obtain approval before the order is sent to the supplier, so the commitment is authorised in advance. Bill-to-PO matching then compares the later invoice against that approved order, with functionality varying by accounting platform and plan.
No. ApprovalMax displays the budget impact of bills and purchase orders during approval, with budget checking included in Advanced and Premium for Xero and QuickBooks Online. The approver sees the available position and makes the decision; budget status cannot itself trigger a workflow condition.
It depends on approver numbers. ApprovalMax plans start at £35.83 per organisation per month billed yearly with unlimited approvers, so cost tracks organisations and document volume. Zahara prices against plan allowances for users, purchase orders and invoices, so wide approval matrices are where ApprovalMax typically costs less.
ApprovalMax approves bills, purchase orders, sales invoices and journals across Xero, QuickBooks Online and NetSuite, with unlimited approvers on current Xero and QuickBooks Online plans.
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.