Stampli Review
AP automation built around the conversation on the invoice, not a workflow diagram nobody maintains.
Stampli's differentiator is that every invoice carries its own conversation thread, so approval chasing happens on the document instead of in email. It layers on top of your existing ERP rather than replacing it, which makes implementation unusually fast for this category. Pricing is quote-only. The trade-off: it is AP-centric, so it will not cover procurement end to end.
Accounts payable software mostly automates the same three things: capture the invoice, route it for approval, pay it. Where implementations fail is the human part, the week an invoice sits because someone needs to ask the requester what the charge was for and that question happens in email where nobody can see it.
Stampli's whole design starts from that observation. This review covers whether the communication-first approach earns its place and where the product stops.
What is Stampli?
Stampli is an AP automation platform founded in 2015 that centralises invoice capture, coding, approval and payment.
Its structure differs from rivals in one important way: each invoice has a communication hub attached, a threaded conversation where approvers, requesters and the AP team discuss that specific document, with the full history preserved on the invoice itself.
An AI layer called Billy the Bot learns your coding patterns and approver routing over time. It integrates with major ERPs including NetSuite, Sage Intacct, QuickBooks and Microsoft Dynamics.
How Stampli works
Invoices arrive by email, upload or direct vendor submission, and OCR extracts the header and line data. Billy the Bot suggests general ledger coding and the approval path based on prior invoices, improving as it sees more of your patterns.
Approvers receive the invoice with its conversation attached and can ask questions in place. Once approved, payment executes through Stampli Direct Pay (ACH, cheque, card) or hands off to your ERP.
Crucially, Stampli sits on top of your ERP rather than replacing it, syncing rather than demanding you re-implement your general ledger, which is why deployments are measured in weeks rather than quarters.
Stampli key features
Stampli pricing
Stampli does not publish pricing. The pricing page describes the model as simple and directs you to request a quote, with no published rate card, plan tiers or per-invoice pricing.
Practically, AP automation in this segment is usually priced on a combination of invoice volume, user count and which modules you enable (core AP, payments, cards), with an implementation fee at the start.
Expect a mid-market annual contract rather than a self-serve subscription, and expect the quote to move meaningfully depending on whether you take payments as well as approvals.
Two things to do before the call: count your monthly invoice volume accurately, and decide whether you want Stampli to execute payments or just approve them, because that single choice changes the quote more than anything else. Get a written quote and compare it against Tipalti, Bill and Airbase on the same volume assumptions.
Stampli pros and cons
What we like
- The communication hub genuinely solves the approval-chasing problem that email cannot
- Overlays your existing ERP, so implementation is weeks rather than a finance-system migration
- Billy the Bot's coding suggestions get measurably better with use
- Consistently strong user reviews for support and onboarding
- Audit trail is complete by construction, not by discipline
What could be better
- No published pricing, so comparison requires sales conversations with every vendor
- AP-focused: no purchase requisitions or sourcing, so it is not source-to-pay
- International payment capability is narrower than Tipalti's
- Quote-based model makes it heavy for very small businesses
Who Stampli is for
Stampli fits mid-market companies, roughly 50 to 1,000 employees, whose AP pain is approval chasing rather than procurement policy. It is particularly strong for organisations with an ERP they are happy with and no appetite for a finance-system replacement, and for AP teams handling a few hundred to a few thousand invoices a month across many approvers.
It is a weaker fit for companies wanting full source-to-pay with purchase requisitions and sourcing (Coupa territory), for those needing heavy global mass-payout capability (Tipalti's strength), and for very small businesses where the quote-based model will feel heavy against simpler self-serve tools.
Best Stampli alternatives
If Stampli is not the right fit, these are the closest options.
| Tool | Best for | Starts at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stampli | Mid-market AP teams whose bottleneck is approval chasing | Quote-based, no published rates | Visit → |
| Bill | Small and lower-mid-market businesses wanting published pricing | Published per-user monthly subscription tiers | Visit → |
| Tipalti | Global mass payouts and supplier onboarding at scale | Quote-based with a platform fee plus payment costs | Visit → |
| Airbase | Teams wanting AP, corporate cards and expenses in one system | Quote-based tiers covering AP, cards and expenses | Visit → |
| Coupa | Enterprises needing full source-to-pay | Enterprise quote-based | Visit → |
The bottom line
Stampli is the right pick when your AP problem is human rather than structural. If invoices sit because questions get lost in email, the communication hub fixes exactly that, and the ERP overlay approach means you can be live in weeks without touching your general ledger.
Ask for a written quote against your real invoice volume and compare it with Bill and Tipalti on identical assumptions, since Stampli publishes nothing. Choose Tipalti instead if you pay many international suppliers, Airbase if you want cards and expenses in the same policy, and Coupa only if you genuinely need procurement rather than payables.
Frequently asked questions
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