Tipalti Vs Stampli: Which AP Platform Is Right For Your Business?

What does Tipalti do?

Tipalti is an accounts payable automation and bill payment software that targets mid-market and enterprise companies. The platform also has expense management and procurement capabilities in addition to facilitating payments to affiliates, contractors, and creators.

What does Stampli do?

Stampli is an automated invoice processing software that uses AI to streamline accounts payable processes. In addition, Stampli offers vendor engagement tools, corporate cards, and payment solutions for SMBs and mid-market companies.

Tipalti vs Stampli: A comparison of features.

How does Tipalti differ from Stampli?

Here are the many ways that Tipalti differs from Stampli:

• Tipalti Expenses integrates with Tipalti Card as well as Visa, American Express, and Mastercard. Stampli’s AP and expense cards integrate with its AP automation and Direct Pay software.
• AP workflows and approvals are handled within the Stampli platform while Tipalti syncs to Approve, an approval workflow solution, to manage approvals.
• Unlike Stampli, Tipalti requires users to set up virtual bank accounts and pre-fund them to make remittances.
• While Tipalti supports global payments in 196
countries and 120 currencies, Stampli allows payments in local currencies in 100 countries.
• Tipalti offers these procurement features that Stampli lacks:
  • Customizable intake forms to submit purchase requests.
  • PO creation and PR approval workflows.
  • A centralized contract repository, contract approval flows, and Ironclad integrations.

Key features: Tipalti.

Let’s look at Tipalti’s features in more detail.

Accounting automation.

Tipalti automates the accounts payable processes, starting from invoice capturing to reconciliation. Vendors can upload invoices through a self-service portal or email them.

The system uses OCR technology to extract invoice data and machine learning to predict additional bill data. Approval management, however, is not a seamless process and occurs outside of Tipalti. The platform syncs with a third-party software solution, Approve, where employees need to enter the vendor’s details and once the vendor is approved, Tipalti sends an onboarding invite to vendors to register on Tipalti for payment.

Tipalti offers invoice processing features, such as the ability to group invoices for batch payment and withhold payment to specific invoices. While vendors can specify their preferred payment method, Tipalti enables payments to 196 countries in 120 currencies via ACH, wire transfer, international ACH, PayPal, and more. Tipalti users need to open and fund a virtual bank account with Tipalti to manage remittances.

Procurement.

The platform enables employees to submit purchase requests through customizable intake forms, while approval flows are automated based on organizational charts, budget items, and custom rules. Users can monitor the status of their requests on a dashboard. Similar to the AP process, PO approvals occur in Approve and matched POs are synced to NetSuite.

Integration with Amazon PunchOut and ticketing systems, such as Asana, Jira, and Zendesk, are some features that help streamline the procurement process.

Tipalti offers a dashboard to view spend analytics related to receipts, purchases, contracts, and suppliers.

Expense.

Tipalti Expenses integrates with Tipalti Card, American Express, Mastercard, and Visa to bring all spend under one roof.

Admins can issue both physical and virtual cards from Tipalti Hub, apply limits for vendors, and various spend categories. Tipalti reconciles card transactions automatically by capturing card receipts, creating expense reports, and assigning each expense to a specific GL category. The platform enables global reimbursements and provides visibility on approval status via email and push notifications.

Payment solutions.

Tipalti supports cross-border payments to vendors in 120 currencies to 196 countries using different payment methods. Users can leverage Tipalti API to expand the payments infrastructure. Tipalti leverages AI to screen payee records and detect potential fraud prior to payment. Integrations with affiliate marketing systems, such as Everflow, Paladin, and HitPath, trigger payments to partners and affiliates.

Tipalti integrations.

Tipalti offers APIs and pre-built integrations with ERPs, performance marketing platforms, SSO, HRIS, and ticketing systems.

ERP solutions:

• NetSuite
• Xero
• Sage Intacct
• QuickBooks (Online and Desktop)
• Acumatica

Performance marketing:

• Affise
• Everflow
• HitPath
• LinkTrust

Communication:

• Slack

HRIS:

• Bamboo HR
• Bob

Ticketing systems:

• Wrike
• HelpScout
• Asana
• Jira
• Zendesk

Tipalti pricing.

Tipalti pros.

• Global payment support: Enables international payments to 196 countries in 120 currencies.
• Tax compliance: Tipalti supports global tax compliance, including 1099 filing, tax forms, W-9s, and eFiling integrations.
• Vendor documents: Streamlines procurement with electronic access to vendor documents and automates vendor data validation.

Tipalti cons.

• Disintegrated experience: Vendor purchase requisition and approvals are managed outside of Tipalti resulting in a disintegrated purchase management experience.
• Lack of dynamic intake forms: Tipalti’s intake forms offer basic customization with no ability to set dynamic conditions based on responses in the form.
• Basic approval workflows: The approval engine lacks advanced features, such as milestone-level routing and approval grouping, and a dashboard that offers a consolidated view.
• Complicated setup: The setup process is time-consuming, necessitating substantial training for users to fully utilize the platform’s capabilities.

Key features: Stampli.

In this section, we take a closer look at Stampli’s features to see how they stack up against Tipalti.

Accounts Payable.

Stampli uses AI to automate accounts payable tasks, such as invoice capture, GL coding, flagging duplicate invoices, cost center allocation, and approval routing. Users can opt for predefined approval flows or dynamic workflows that route invoices based on past patterns. Specific approvers can be assigned based on five criteria — amount, vendor, department, company, and custom fields. However, the entire account must use either predefined or dynamic workflows, and this cannot be set on an individual invoice basis.

Admins and vendors can track the invoice status via a comprehensive dashboard, which provides visibility on all approvals and communications related to the invoice. AI also matches invoices with POs, while a mobile app facilitates approvals.

Vendor management.

Stampli’s vendor management tools, integrated with its AP automation platform, help streamline vendor onboarding, communication, and management. Users can leverage invitation templates to create branded email invites and log-in pages on the vendor portal.

Stampli also allows users to create custom onboarding processes for various vendor types. The vendor portal acts as the central platform to collect vendor information, such as payment methods in addition to documents, such as licenses, W-9s, and insurance.

Payments.

Payment solutions are offered through Stampli Direct Pay which integrates with AP automation software and Stampli card. In addition to domestic payments, the platform supports international payments in 100+ countries and local currencies. The system provides banking requirements to vendors in each country to simplify vendor onboarding.

Detailed remittance emails are sent for each payment, maintaining transparency and a clear audit trail. Stampli also helps manage foreign exchange (FX) risk by displaying real-time FX rates and allowing businesses to set target FX rates for automatic execution when targets are met.

Corporate cards.

Stampli offers two types of corporate cards — AP Cards and Expense Cards. AP Cards integrate with Stampli’s AP Automation platform and transactions that occur on these cards are channeled through the invoice processing workflows. Admins can set limits and specify the usage of AP Cards to certain categories or vendors.

Expense Cards allow companies to control employee spend with custom spend controls and real-time transaction details. The platform matches receipts captured via a mobile app and automates expense submission. Admins can issue single-use and multi-use physical and virtual cards in unlimited quantities while defining the timeframe for refreshing the credit limit.

Stampli integrations.

Stampli offers both pre-built integrations and Bridge integrations with ERP systems.

• Sage Intacct
• QuickBooks
• Acumatica
• NetSuite
• Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
• Dealertrack DMS

Stampli pricing.

Stampli does not mention the pricing information on its website.

Stampli pros.

• Invoice management: Simplifies invoice management by unifying all activities related to invoices under one platform.
• Multiple ERP integrations: Offers pre-built and Bridge integrations with over 70 ERPs.
• AI-Powered automation: Billy the Bot™ automates capture, coding, routing, and fraud detection, reducing manual tasks.

Stampli cons.

• No P2P capabilities: The platform does not handle procurement functions, including PO creation, guided purchase, and PR workflows.
• Basic expense management features: Stampli does not offer travel management tools and mileage tracking, unlike its competitors.
• Lacks multi-subsidiary support: Companies cannot pay bills directly from an international subsidiary’s bank account.
• Payment delays: Some users complain about the payment delays with Stampli’s Direct Pay.

Which is better: Tipalti or Stampli?

It’s important to consider the following factors before investing in Tipalti or Stampli.

• Business size and growth stage: Consider the size of your business and where you are in your growth journey. While Stampli is designed for SMB to mid-market companies, Tipalti caters to fast-growing small businesses, mid-market, and enterprise companies.
• Feature requirements: Evaluate the specific features and capabilities you need to support your operations. For instance, Tipalti offers procurement features that Stampli lacks. Tipalti is also a good choice if you are looking for integrations with performance marketing, HRIS, SSO, and ticketing systems. On the other hand, Stampli can be deployed faster. Besides, when you use Stampli, there is no need to pre-fund a virtual bank account, which is a requirement for Tipalti users.
• Budget: Assess your budget and how much you’re willing to invest in an accounts payable solution.

Can these two systems be used together?

No, Tipalti and Stampli cannot be used together as they do not integrate with each other. While the platforms offer similar features, using both would result in higher costs without added benefits. It’s more efficient to choose one platform that best fits your business needs rather than managing two disparate systems.

What sets Airbase apart from Tipalti and Stampli?

Now that you have gone through our Tipalti vs Stampli comparison, you may have observed that each of these platforms lacks some features that fast-growing businesses need. For instance, Tipalti offers a disintegrated purchase request and PO approval management experience but lacks true intake capabilities. Stampli lacks procurement solutions entirely and falls short when it comes to tracking unapproved invoices or offering amortization and advanced reporting features.

If you are looking for an easy-to-use platform that goes beyond what Tipalti and Stampli offer, Airbase is an excellent choice. Airbase provides a true procure, pay, close experience by integrating AP automation, guided purchasing, expense management, and corporate cards into a cohesive system.

This eliminates the need for using manual processes or disconnected systems to manage cards, travel booking, vendors, multiple subsidiaries, intake, and accounts payable functions. Above all, Airbase provides a faster payment process, supporting international vendor payments in over 200 countries and 145 currencies.

Like Tipalti, Airbase is designed to handle the complexity of mid-market and enterprise-level organizations. A key differentiator is Airbase’s proprietary intake and dynamic approval workflows, for which Tipalti relies on a third-party vendor integration. Airbase also has a dedicated fraud unit that helps detect vendor fraud and keeps payments from being directed to bad actors.

Thanks to its robust customer support, innovativeness, and advanced features, Airbase continues to be the top-ranked mid-market spend management platform on G2.

See how Airbase represents the next generation of P2P solutions — book a demo with us!