When we started FIXE, Accounts Payable (AP) automation was fairly new. BILL (fka Bill.com) was the most popular platform, but some restaurant specific platforms were starting to gain traction. Craftable, MarketMan, xtraCHEF, Restaurant365, Plate IQ (now Ottimate), and MarginEdge all have different bells and whistles. These Accounts Payable platforms all do one thing at their core: photograph an invoice, categorize it, and pay those vendors. Which companies are the best at this?
There’s still manual effort behind the scenes that’s necessary in order to convert an image to data. It’s not 100% automated. Platforms that claim they’re 100% automated can still struggle to read handwritten invoices or capture payments from unpredictable vendors.
AP AUTOMATION PLATFORM CONTENDERS
Ottimate is very quick at processing invoices in under 10 hours. It’s easy to use. You upload the invoice. We categorize it. You pay vendors. Their user interface is great. Ottimate integrates perfectly with QuickBooks Online, and it’s simple to set up. I still like that software a lot.
Over the past few years, Ottimate has veered away from being restaurant specific. Now you have other competitors that may not be quite as fast as Ottimate at processing invoices, but do have other features that are specific to restaurants.
MarginEdge takes a little longer to process invoices, closer to 24 hours. However, they have a great bill pay system, built-in inventory, and a great dashboard for restaurant operators.
Factura.AI, which is newer than the companies I mentioned earlier, is more specific to quick service restaurants. Their platform is 100% computer generated. There’s no manual work behind the scenes, so invoices process super quickly. Chains love using it. If you have a bunch of Popeyes locations where invoices look the same, and there’s not much variation, it works well. However, they’re not that great at nuance. If a restaurant is buying from a lot of one-off vendors, like at a farmers market, Factura.AI is not as accurate.
I’ve also played around with Craftable, xtraCHEF and MarketMan a lot. They were built a long time ago, and they’re not as automated in processing invoices. These platforms still require a lot of manual work to update new SKUs. You have to teach Craftable, xtraCHEF and MarketMan proper categorization, whereas MarginEdge is really good at knowing that all cucumbers or tomatoes are produce, for example.
KEY CONSIDERATIONS
Ultimately, you have to pick an AP automation system that’s right for you, integrates well, is easy to set up, and is reasonably priced.” When trying to choose between the many options, you should be asking yourself these questions to set yourself up for success:
- When processing invoices, how automated is each platform at paying bills?
- How fast can I pay bills?
- How does the money come out of my bank account?
Ultimately, you have to pick an AP automation system that is right for you, that integrates well, that’s easy to set up, and that’s reasonably priced.
CASH FLOW
When you send out a bunch of payments, BILL takes 100% of the money out of your bank account in one fell swoop. If you send $10,000 in payments, $10,000 comes out of your bank account. However, some vendors are probably receiving a check in the mail. That check isn’t actually getting cashed until sometimes days later, regardless of the fact that BILL takes 100% of the money out of your account immediately . They have a clearing account, and that’s how it operates.
Ottimate and MarginEdge don’t operate that way. If vendors use ACH (which enables electronic transfers between bank accounts), that money comes out of your bank account the next day.
If a vendor is getting paid with a check in the mail, that check doesn’t come out of your bank account until that check is cashed. There are pros and cons to this: Checks help restaurants with cash flow. Because the payment doesn’t leave your bank account for 7-10 days, you have that money to work with in the meantime. On the flip side, when you have checks outstanding, you have to be aware of that.
If you’re a restaurant that doesn’t have a ton of working capital, it’s tough to use BILL or Craftable. Craftable also takes 100% of the funds out of your bank account, even though the funds won’t actually hit the vendor’s bank account until 7-10 days later.
PRICING
Accounts Payable automation services generally charge around $150 – $200 per month, per location. If you want inventory, it’s an extra $150 – $200.
SPEED
How fast do they process invoices? Is it 6 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours?
Another factor in AP automation is how platforms pay your vendors. How quickly do checks get there? Do they have an ability to do overnight check delivery? Do they have ACH payments?
ACCURACY AND EFFICIENCY
They’re all going to say it’s 100% automated. How much manual adjusting does each platform actually require?
MarginEdge and Ottimate both have a fair amount of human oversight behind the scenes to help smooth out data inconsistencies.
Craftable does everything that I described, but it’s an expensive product. A lot of their focus is on fine dining establishments in New York City. It’s too expensive for mom and pops and fast casual restaurants.
MarketMan, Craftable, and xtraCHEF have inventory built-in as well. xtraCHEF technology is, in our opinion, far behind the others in terms of processing invoices and the actual automation.
OUR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACCOUNTS PAYABLE AUTOMATION
MarginEdge and Ottimate are the two platforms I would recommend for AP automation.
MarginEdge Pros:
- Better for restaurant operators.
- They designed their dashboard specifically for restaurants.
- Their dashboard also incorporates your POS sales.
- You can track your Cost Of Goods Sold.
- The user interface notifies clients when your prices have gone up.
Con: With MarginEdge, you have to go in and out of each individual location in the dashboard.
Ottimate Pros:
- Better for larger restaurant groups.
- Their user interface allows for you to manage a lot of locations at once .
- Their dashboard is good at processing invoices and paying vendors.
Con: Ottimate doesn’t have a dashboard for operators to get information on a daily basis.
Our AP Automation Pick:
We’re forming a good relationship with MarginEdge, which is a great platform for restaurants. They’re also fully invested in trying to help empower restaurant operators to succeed by providing the right information in a timely manner. Given that, MarginEdge is the AP automation service that FIXE now includes in our tech stack for clients.
