19 June 2024
How to create the perfect AP Solution for your business with Xero apps
Xero has 170+ AP or billing apps available in the Xero app store.
It's great, because it gives you choice. 👏
But with so many apps, how do you combine them to create the perfect AP automation for your business?
We'll share the apps our clients have used in conjunction with Parakeet to create the perfect AP solution for them.
💡 Good to know: We’ve included free Xero features as alternatives to paid apps, perfect for businesses with simpler needs.
Build your AP Solution, One App at a Time
Parakeet serves as the final step in your AP process, working seamlessly with upstream apps to create an end-to-end solution. The best part?
You can implement this gradually—start small and scale as your business grows.
(Please note all trademarks belong to their respective owners and are used here for informational purposes only. Parakeet is not affiliated with these companies.)
Upstream billing processes you can automate
Coding bills & invoices
Validate Supplier bank & Bpay details
Approving bills & invoices
Paying the bill/invoice
Note - all apps listed below are available on the Xero app store.
Step 1 - Automate Coding of Bills and Invoices
Accurate coding is the foundation of AP automation. Here are the apps our clients use:
Dext
Hubdoc (comes standard with Xero)
Prospend
Lightyear
datamolino
Bluesheet
AutoEntry
EzzyBills
💡 Already using one of these apps? You’re on the right track to fully automating your AP processes!
Step 2 - Validate bank & BPAY Details
Fraud prevention is critical in AP processes. Protect your payments with these tools:
Bank account details validation - "Eftsure" is a popular choice amongst larger payers.
Real-time Bpay validation - "Parakeet" is the popular choice for real time validation with Bpay.
💡 Prefer a free option? Xero restricts access to updating bank details and sends auto-notifications for changes.
Step 3 - Approve Bills and Invoices
Streamline approval workflows using these tools:
Approval Max
Worfklow Max
Prospend
Lightyear
Xero's built in approval tool with 'Planned date' (powered by Parakeet)
These tools allows you to set up approval routing rules for businesses that requires sophisticated or multiple approval workflows.
💡 For businesses with simple workflows (1–2 approvers), Xero’s built-in tool may suffice.
Step 4 - Automate Supplier and BPAY payments
Parakeet simplifies payment execution by eliminating the need for ABA or BPAY file uploads. It works as a standalone app or integrates seamlessly with the apps above.
Endless Combinations to Suit Your Needs
Here are some of the combinations we’ve seen work for clients:
Hubdoc > Approval max > Parakeet
Parakeet > Eftsure > Dext
Prospend > Parakeet
Dext > Approval Max > EftSure > Parakeet
Xero Planned date approval > Parakeet only
Eftsure > Xero Planned date approval > Parakeet
💡 Start small and build the AP automation system that works for your business!
Questions?
Not sure if your current app stack works with Parakeet?
Discuss with us first or learn more about it here.
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About Parakeet:
Parakeet is a certified financial services app in the Xero app store that automates bill payments (BPAY & EFT) out of Xero and removes the need for manual uploading of ABA files or BPAY batch files into internet banking.
See Parakeet's Xero App Store listing here.
Learn about Parakeet's automated BPAY Bills payment automation (AP) here
For more information, contact: media@helloparakeet.com
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