What is accounts payable automation, and how does Forwardly help?

Accounts payable automation uses software to streamline bill payments, approvals, and cash flow management. Forwardly automates accounts payable with AI-driven flexible workflows and payments by card or bank transfer, all managed from a real-time dashboard.

How does Forwardly’s AP automation save my business time?

Forwardly reduces manual data entry, eliminates duplicate work, and streamlines approvals. Businesses can save more than 70 hours per month by automating invoices and payments through the Forwardly Business Network, with seamless syncing to accounting platforms such as QuickBooks Online, Xero, and Sage Intacct.

Is Forwardly’s accounts payable solution secure?

Forwardly is SOC 2 Type II certified with bank-level security and supports both bank-to-bank transfers and card payments. Role-based approval workflows and audit trails help prevent fraud and costly errors. When paying a bill with Forwardly, bank details or card numbers are never shared with the vendor.

How do approval workflows work in Forwardly?

Forwardly allows businesses to create custom approval rules and bill pay policies, assign roles, and set payment thresholds for each role. This ensures no single employee controls the entire payment process and allows every transaction to be securely reviewed.

How much does Forwardly cost for accounts payable automation?

Forwardly has no monthly subscription or user seat fees. Businesses only pay transaction fees based on payment speed and can choose whether their business or the recipient covers the fees.

How does Forwardly’s AI-powered AP inbox process invoices automatically?

Forwardly’s AI-powered AP inbox captures and processes invoices automatically, helping businesses handle hundreds of invoices in minutes with near 100 percent accuracy. The system learns from past invoices and applies that logic across line items to code them correctly, helping finance teams process large volumes of invoices faster with far less manual work.

The Best Accounts Payable Software for SMBs

How you're always in control

STEP 1

Capture vendor invoices

Use your dedicated AI-powered AP inbox to process hundreds of invoices in minutes. Every detail and line item is captured and coded with near 100% accuracy.

STEP 2

Review & approve

Set up smart approval workflows to automatically route every bill to the right approver, from everyday expenses to CFO-level approvals.

STEP 3

Pay bills your way

Multiple payment options available. Data is synced with your accounting/ERP system, no double entry needed.

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Intelligent modern bill pay solution

Flexible payment speeds for AP

Forwardly helps businesses pay vendors instantly, same-day, next-day, with standard ACH or cards. You control payment speed to match your business needs, vendor preferences and cash flow, even on weekends and holidays.

Flexible payment speeds for Accounts Payable — with Forwardly.

Custom approval workflows for AP automation — with Forwardly.

Custom approval workflows that fit your needs

Create smart, role-based approval workflows with Forwardly’s AP automation. Assign approvers, set thresholds, and manage bill review seamlessly. Every action is securely logged in an automatic audit trail, giving you complete visibility; from invoice capture to payment reconciliation with your accounting.

Keep fraud and errors out of your payments

OCR systems often misread invoices, leading to errors and extra manual work. Forwardly’s AI-powered AP Inbox captures and verifies your bills accurately, automates approvals, and moves funds securely without any pre-funding of wallets requirement. Forwardly makes sending payments to your suppliers, vendors, and contractors simple, reliable, and stress-free.

Protect every payment — eliminate fraud and errors with Forwardly.

Join the Forwardly Business Network for instant payments.

Access to the unique Forwardly Business Network

You get premium access to verified businesses on the Forwardly Business Network, allowing invoices to flow securely and directly into your accounting or ERP system even when partners use different platforms, all while maintaining full control. This eliminates PDF data extraction process and delivers simplified bill creation with near 100% accuracy, saving 70+ hours a month with a truly modern accounts payable workflow unlike anything else available today.

Verified suppliers. No email PDFs. No spoofing or malware risk. Secure system-to-system connections.

Vendor onboarding & management

Seamlessly onboard new and existing vendors while keeping everything centralized and up to date. Monitor vendors for payment status and compliance, securely collect W-9 tax forms for accurate and timely 1099 filing, and reduce fraud and financial risk with built-in controls.

Secure payments, delivered instantly — with Forwardly.

More benefits. Less hassle.

Pay by card or bank transfers
Securely store payment methods
No monthly subscription fee
Faster payments at low-cost
Choose your payment speed
Onboard, monitor, and pay suppliers, vendors and contractors

Proof that better payments are possible

While I usually use QBO for my A/R and A/P, there are times when it is either too slow, too expensive, or doesn't give me the workflow I need. When that happens, I turn to Forwardly.com for instant payments.

Alicia Katz Pollock

Founder, Royalwise

Forwardly's team really gives the impression that they care about their product and the customer experience, and they've proven that to us time and again. Their product, as it is today, is probably a 4 or 4.5 star product, and is a huge improvement from when we started with them (just 10 months ago). Their customer service, however, is easily 10 or 15 stars, and we love them for it.

Philippe Kahn

Managing Partner, Josh Rosebrook

A professional and expedient option that balances value for money, with a long term free/trial tier to try out. Excellent professional support, product turnaround times are great, platform integrates well with known packages like Xero and Plaid service to banking.