SoftCo Alternatives: 8 AP Automation Platforms Compared

If you are evaluating SoftCo, or already run it and are wondering what else is out there, this page compares the eight strongest SoftCo alternatives for accounts payable automation. It covers what each one is genuinely good at, where it falls down, and how to work out which fits your ERP, your invoice mix and your team.

We build one of them. That is disclosed up front, and the sections below say clearly where Kefron AP is not the right choice.

The strongest SoftCo alternatives for mid-market and enterprise finance teams are Kefron AP (managed AP automation, strongest for teams with limited internal IT), Medius (AI-heavy AP and spend suite), Basware (large-enterprise e-invoicing scale), Yooz (fast deployment, mid-market), Rillion (Nordic-rooted, ERP-focused invoice automation), Tipalti (global mass payments), Stampli (approval collaboration, US-heavy) and Esker (broad document-process automation).

The right answer depends on three things: which ERP you run, how much of your invoice volume is non-PO, and whether you want a self-serve platform or a managed service. Those three questions eliminate most of the list before you sit through a single demo.

SoftCo Alternative: Comparison table

G2 figures retrieved 31 August 2026 from public G2 comparison pages. 

Why finance teams look at SoftCo alternatives

Three patterns show up in the public evidence.

Implementation effort. Ease of setup is SoftCo’s lowest-scoring metric on G2 at 7.5, well below its ease-of-use score of 8.4. That gap is the signature of a platform that works well once configured but takes real effort to get there. Third-party software directories describe SoftCo implementations as requiring significant configuration and longer deployment timelines than simpler cloud-native tools. If you have limited internal IT capacity, that is worth testing hard in the sales process.

A thin and ageing review base. SoftCo’s independent review base is small relative to the larger platforms in the category, and several of the most-surfaced third-party reviews date back several years. That is not evidence of a bad product. It does mean you have less current, independent material to read than you would for a widely reviewed platform, so you have to lean harder on reference calls and insist on customers who went live recently.

Suite breadth you may not need. SoftCo sells a full procure-to-pay suite. If your problem is specifically invoice processing, and you have no appetite to replace procurement, you may be buying and paying for scope you will not use. That is a fit question, not a quality question.

None of these disqualify SoftCo. They are the three things to press on if you are evaluating it, and the three reasons people end up on a page like this one.

8 SoftCo alternatives

1. Kefron AP

What it is: AI-driven invoice automation delivered as a managed platform, built for mid-market and enterprise finance teams in Ireland, the UK and North America.

Best for: Mid-market and enterprise finance teams who want a high touchless rate without dedicating internal headcount to running the system, including multi-entity groups and organisations growing by acquisition.

What stands out. Kefron AP pairs AI extraction with a specialist data team, which is the design choice that separates it from self-serve platforms. Instead of your AP team correcting extraction errors to train the model, that work sits with Kefron AP. The result is 99%+ post-validation accuracy on captured data. On G2 it rates 4.5, with ease of setup at 8.8 and product direction at 9.5 — 0.9 and 0.4 points ahead of SoftCo respectively.

Line-level two- and three-way matching, AI-driven GL coding, duplicate detection and configurable approval routing are covered in the full AP automation feature set.

Integration is ERP-agnostic and delivered through API, Kefron Konnect (a secure low-code SFTP route) or flat file exchange in XML and CSV. Verified connections include NetSuite and NetSuite OneWorld, Microsoft Dynamics 365, SAP, Oracle, Sage (50, 200, 1000, Intacct and X3), Infor (Syteline, M3 Cloud, SunSystems), Unit4 and Agresso, and AccountsIQ. See the ERP integration detail.

Pricing runs on invoice volume, with no per-user, per-supplier or per-entity charges and a one-off setup fee based on ERP complexity. For organisations with high invoice volume relative to headcount, that model is usually materially cheaper than per-seat licensing.

Extraction handles 100+ languages, and the platform includes a licence-free purchase order module and supplier statement reconciliation. Named customers include Impellam Group, Kingspan, McCarthy Stone, Applegreen, Allego and Gold Care Homes, with published results in the customer case studies. Security is built on Microsoft Azure with Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation.

Where it is not the answer. Kefron AP does not integrate with QuickBooks or Xero. If you run either, stop here and look at platforms built for that end of the market. It is also invoice automation rather than a full procure-to-pay suite, so if you need sourcing, contract management and procurement in the same platform, Basware, Medius or Coupa are the better shortlist. And it is not a global mass-payments platform — Tipalti does that job better.

Start here: Kefron AP automation · why finance teams choose it

2. Medius

What it is: A cloud AP automation and spend management suite with heavy emphasis on AI-driven touchless processing.

Best for: Mid-market and enterprise teams with high invoice volumes across multiple ERPs who want AI assistance beyond core capture.

What stands out. Medius rates 4.3 on G2, marginally ahead of SoftCo on ease of use (8.5 against 8.4) and level on quality of support (8.3). It has invested visibly in AI assistants that handle approver questions and routine supplier queries, and it supports multi-currency and evolving e-invoicing mandates.

Trade-offs. Ease of setup sits at 7.4, below SoftCo’s 7.5 and among the lowest in this comparison, so it is not the answer if implementation speed is your main concern. Reviewers have raised limits on report customisation and workflow change visibility, which matters for audit. A meaningful share of its public reviews are more than two years old.

3. Basware

What it is: One of the longest-established enterprise AP automation and e-invoicing networks.

Best for: Very large, multinational organisations with high invoice volumes and complex compliance obligations across many countries.

What stands out. Genuine enterprise scale and e-invoicing network reach. G2 reviews skew heavily enterprise, which tells you exactly who it is built for. If you are processing millions of invoices across dozens of jurisdictions, Basware belongs on the list.

Trade-offs. It carries the lowest G2 rating in this comparison at 4.1, with quality of support at 7.3 and product direction at 7.7 — the weakest scores in the set on both. Ease of setup is 7.5, level with SoftCo. Reviewers cite slow loading, complexity and high implementation costs. For a mid-market team, it will likely be heavier and more expensive than the problem requires.

4. Yooz

What it is: Cloud AP automation positioned around speed of deployment and ease of use.

Best for: Mid-market teams who want to be live quickly without a long configuration project.

What stands out. The setup and admin scores are the story: ease of setup 8.6 and ease of admin 8.6 against SoftCo’s 7.5 and 7.9, on a far larger review base. Ease of use is 9.0 and quality of support 9.0. If implementation risk is what is driving you away from SoftCo, Yooz addresses it directly.

Trade-offs. Lighter than SoftCo on procure-to-pay depth and enterprise-grade configurability. Strongest presence in France and the US, with less depth in the Nordics and Irish public sector.

5. Rillion

What it is: AP automation focused specifically on invoice capture, approval workflow and PO matching, with Nordic origins and 30 years in the category.

Best for: Mid-sized multi-entity organisations where invoice capture and three-way matching are the specific pain.

What stands out. A deliberately narrow product. AI-native capture using large language models, complex three-way PO matching, and integrations with Dynamics 365, Sage, NetSuite and SAP Business One. Unlimited users, approvers and entities are included in subscription pricing, which removes a common source of cost creep. On G2 it rates 4.2, ahead of SoftCo on ease of setup (8.0) and ease of admin (8.3).

Trade-offs. Ease of use is 8.1 and product direction 8.0, both at the bottom of this comparison, so push hard on the roadmap in evaluation. It is also not a procure-to-pay suite. If you need procurement, sourcing or contract management, this is not the platform.

6. Tipalti

What it is: A finance operations platform spanning AP, global mass payments, supplier onboarding, procurement and expenses.

Best for: Companies paying large numbers of suppliers or partners across many countries and currencies.

What stands out. 4.5 on G2, on one of the largest review bases in the category. Ease of setup is 8.1, ease of admin 8.6 and product direction 9.2, all ahead of SoftCo. Genuinely strong on cross-border payments, supplier onboarding and tax form collection — the parts of AP that involve moving money internationally rather than processing invoices.

Trade-offs. The payments strength is also the constraint. It is a strong payments platform with AP attached, rather than an invoice-processing platform first. Public reviews frequently mention onboarding length, workflow flexibility limits and cost escalation as modules stack. If your problem is invoice throughput rather than global payouts, the fit is imperfect.

7. Stampli

What it is: AP automation built around collaboration, with approval conversations attached directly to each invoice.

Best for: US mid-market teams where approval chasing across the business is the bottleneck.

What stands out. The strongest satisfaction scores in this comparison by a clear margin: 4.6 overall, with ease of setup 9.2, ease of admin 9.3, ease of use 9.3 and quality of support 9.5. Those are exceptional numbers on a very large review base, and they deserve to be taken seriously.

Trade-offs. Heavily US-weighted in customer base, payment rails and compliance coverage, and its review base skews to small business and mid-market rather than enterprise. For an Irish or UK organisation with European e-invoicing obligations and non-US ERP estates, that regional and segment fit is the thing to test first, not the satisfaction scores.

8. Esker

What it is: A broad document-process automation suite covering AP, accounts receivable, order management and customer service.

Best for: Organisations that want to automate several document-heavy processes on one platform, not just AP.

What stands out. Genuine breadth across the order-to-cash side as well as procure-to-pay, and a long-established global enterprise presence. On G2 it rates 4.2, with strong scores for ease of admin (8.5) and product direction (9.1).

Trade-offs. Ease of setup is 6.9, the lowest of any platform in this comparison and 0.6 points below SoftCo. If implementation effort is the reason you are looking, Esker is the wrong direction. Its breadth also means AP is one module among many rather than the whole product, and it is typically sold and priced at enterprise scale.

Also worth a look, depending on your situation: Coupa and SAP Concur if you are running a wider spend or SAP estate, and AvidXchange if you are US-based in a sector it specialises in.

How to choose an alternative: six questions that actually decide it

Feature checklists have stopped being useful in this category. Every credible platform in 2026 does AI capture, configurable approval routing, two- and three-way matching and ERP posting. Comparing feature grids will tell you almost nothing.

These six questions will.

1. What touchless processing rate can you realistically reach?

Touchless processing rate is the percentage of invoices that go from arrival to posting with no human touching them. It is the one number that determines whether automation pays for itself, because it converts directly into hours removed and cost per invoice.

It is also the number vendors define most loosely. Ask every shortlisted vendor:

• How do you handle ERP version upgrades? Who tests the connector, who pays, and what happens if the upgrade breaks the integration mid-quarter?
• How do you handle custom fields and user-defined fields? Most real ERP estates have them. Some connectors cannot map them without development work.

A vendor who answers with caveats and ranges is more trustworthy than one who quotes a single headline percentage. If you take one thing from this page, make it this: run every vendor conversation through touchless rate rather than feature count.

Our breakdown of what touchless invoice processing actually requires sets out the three conditions that have to be true before a high rate is achievable, and why capture accuracy alone does not get you there.

2. How deep is the ERP integration, really?

A logo on an integrations page means nothing. Ask which ERP version, what the integration method is, which fields sync in each direction, and which named customers run that exact combination today.

Two follow-ups separate serious vendors from the rest, and they are the questions finance teams most often forget to ask:

Our guide to ERP integration in AP automation sets out eight questions to put to any vendor, and there is a broader piece on how ERP integration fits into financial management. For a sense of what platform-specific depth looks like in practice rather than as a logo, see how Kefron AP integrates with Sage.

3. What proportion of your invoices are non-PO?

This is the question that quietly decides the outcome. PO-backed invoices automate easily. Non-PO invoices — utilities, professional fees, one-off purchases, anything without a matching document — need coding intelligence and routing rules, and that is where platforms differ most.

Pull your last twelve months of invoice data and work out the split before you talk to anyone. If 40% of your volume is non-PO, a platform optimised for PO matching will underdeliver on its touchless rate promise and you will not find out until month three.

Our guide to AP automation features for mid-market and enterprise finance teams covers what to insist on for mixed PO and non-PO environments, and what you can safely deprioritise.

4. Self-serve platform or managed service?

This is the axis most comparison pages ignore, and it matters more than almost anything on a feature grid.

A self-serve platform gives you the software and expects your team to configure workflows, tune extraction, manage exceptions and onboard suppliers. It suits organisations with capacity and a systems-minded person in finance.

A managed service puts a vendor team alongside yours, handling configuration, extraction quality and ongoing changes. It costs more in service and less in your own people’s time.

Neither is better. But buying a self-serve platform when nobody in your finance team has ten hours a week to run it is one of the most common ways AP automation projects stall.

5. What is the pricing model, and what does it do at your volume?

Headline prices are meaningless across different models. The common ones are per-invoice fees, volume bands, per-user licences, and hybrids with separate implementation and support charges.

Ask every vendor for a three-year total based on your actual annual invoice volume, including implementation, integration, support, and any charge for adding users, entities, suppliers or workflows. That last part is where costs quietly escalate. Our AP automation pricing page explains how the five common models compare.

6. Where do you need e-invoicing compliance?

Structured e-invoicing obligations are expanding across EU member states and mandates vary by country. Ask each vendor which jurisdictions they support today, what is on the roadmap, and whether compliance is included or priced as a module. Confirm current mandate timelines yourself during evaluation — they have moved before.

AP Automation: Choosing by scenario

You run NetSuite, Dynamics, Sage, SAP, Oracle, Infor or Unit4 and want a high touchless rate without hiring for it. Kefron AP is built for exactly this, with a managed model that keeps the tuning work off your team.

You run QuickBooks or Xero. Kefron AP is not a fit. Look at platforms built for smaller finance stacks.

Implementation risk is the reason you are leaving SoftCo. Stampli (9.2), Yooz (8.6) and Kefron AP (8.4) have the strongest ease-of-setup scores in this set. Avoid Esker (6.9) and Medius (7.4), both of which score at or below SoftCo.

You need the full procure-to-pay chain. Basware, Medius and Coupa. Staying with SoftCo may also be the right call.

Your real problem is paying suppliers in twenty countries. Tipalti.

Approval chasing is your bottleneck and you are US-based. Stampli.

You are a large multinational with e-invoicing obligations across many jurisdictions. Basware, then Medius.

Your invoice volume is low. Be honest about whether automation pays back at all. Under roughly 1,000 invoices a year, the business case is often weak, and any vendor telling you otherwise is selling rather than advising.

If you do switch: what actually goes wrong

Replacing a live AP system is more disruptive than a first implementation, because you are migrating history as well as configuring a new platform.

Map your current workflows before you talk to anyone. Not the workflows in the original design document. The ones people actually use, including the workarounds. Those workarounds exist for reasons, and they will resurface.

Agree what happens to invoice history. Whether you migrate archived invoices, keep the old system in read-only mode, or export to a separate archive, decide it before contract signature. It is expensive to solve afterwards.

Clean your supplier master data first. Duplicate and inconsistent supplier records are the single most common cause of touchless rates coming in below forecast. This is work you can start now, independently of any vendor decision.

Do not switch across month-end or year-end. Obvious, and still regularly ignored.

Run parallel for one cycle. Expensive and irritating, and far cheaper than discovering a posting error in week three of live running.

Re-onboard your approvers properly. Occasional approvers outside finance drive your touchless rate more than the AP team does. If they find the new approval flow awkward, invoices sit, and your business case erodes quietly.

If you are moving from paper or partly manual processes rather than another platform, our guide to a paperless AP workflow covers the sequencing.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best alternatives to SoftCo? The strongest alternatives for mid-market and enterprise finance teams are Kefron AP, Medius, Basware, Yooz, Rillion, Tipalti, Stampli and Esker. Kefron AP is the closest direct alternative for teams in Ireland, the UK and North America who want AP automation delivered as a managed service. Medius and Basware suit organisations needing full procure-to-pay breadth. Tipalti suits global payment volume. Stampli suits US teams whose bottleneck is approval collaboration.

Who are SoftCo’s competitors? SoftCo competes with Kefron AP, Medius, Basware, Yooz, Rillion, Esker, Coupa and SAP Concur in procure-to-pay and AP automation, and with Tipalti, Stampli and AvidXchange in the broader accounts payable software category. Its closest competitive overlap is with European vendors serving upper mid-market and enterprise finance teams.

Is SoftCo good software? Yes. SoftCo holds a 4.3 out of 5 rating on G2, with strong scores for meeting requirements (8.6) and partnership (9.0). Reviewers praise ease of use, ERP integration and support responsiveness. Its weakest published metric is ease of setup at 7.5, and third-party directories note that implementations tend to require significant configuration. It is a credible platform whose main question is fit rather than quality.

How do I choose AP automation software for my business? Answer six questions before looking at any feature grid. What touchless processing rate is realistic for your invoice mix? How deep is the ERP integration, including custom fields and version upgrades? What share of your invoices are non-PO? Do you want a self-serve platform or a managed service? What does the pricing model total over three years at your volume? Which e-invoicing jurisdictions do you need covered? Those six eliminate most vendors before demo stage.

What’s the top rated accounts payable automation software? On G2 satisfaction scores, Stampli rates highest among the platforms compared here at 4.6, followed by Tipalti and Kefron AP at 4.5 and Yooz at 4.4. SoftCo and Medius sit at 4.3, Rillion and Esker at 4.2. Rating alone is a poor selection criterion, because review bases differ enormously in size, segment and regional make-up — the highest-rated platforms here draw most of their reviews from small business and mid-market customers in the US. Ease of setup is often the more predictive single metric: Stampli scores 9.2, Yooz 8.6, Kefron AP 8.4, Tipalti 8.1, Rillion 8.0, SoftCo and Basware 7.5, Medius 7.4 and Esker 6.9.

How much does AP automation cost? Most vendors charge either a per-invoice fee, often low single digits per invoice at scale, or a subscription based on volume bands. Nearly all add a one-off implementation and integration fee, usually starting in the low thousands and rising with ERP complexity, number of entities and workflow design. Some also charge per user, per supplier or per entity, which is where budgets quietly overrun. Kefron AP prices on invoice volume with no per-user, per-supplier or per-entity charges.

Which ERP systems does Kefron AP integrate with? Kefron AP is ERP-agnostic and connects via API, secure SFTP through Kefron Konnect, or flat file exchange. Verified integrations include NetSuite and NetSuite OneWorld, Microsoft Dynamics 365, SAP, Oracle, Sage (50, 200, 1000, Intacct, X3), Infor (Syteline, M3 Cloud, SunSystems), Unit4 and Agresso, and AccountsIQ. It does not integrate with QuickBooks or Xero.

How do AP automation platforms handle ERP version upgrades and custom fields? This varies more than vendors admit and should be asked directly. The questions that matter are who tests the connector after an ERP upgrade, who pays for remediation, and whether custom or user-defined fields can be mapped in configuration or need development work. Get the answers in writing during evaluation rather than discovering them during your next upgrade cycle.

What is a good touchless processing rate? Touchless processing rate is the share of invoices that go from arrival to posting without human intervention. Achievable rates vary widely by invoice mix, since PO-backed invoices automate far more readily than non-PO, and by how clean your supplier and coding data is. Rather than chasing a headline benchmark, ask each vendor what rate customers with your invoice profile and ERP achieve, exactly how it is calculated, and how long after go-live they reached it.

How long does it take to switch AP automation platforms? It depends on invoice volume, number of entities, ERP complexity and how many approval workflows need rebuilding. Migrating from a live platform typically takes longer than a first implementation, because invoice history and archive requirements have to be resolved as well. Ask any vendor for a timeline commitment, what they need from your team to hit it, and what has caused delays for comparable customers.

Is AP automation worth it compared with manual processing? For most organisations processing meaningful invoice volume, yes, though the case rests on your specific numbers rather than a general claim. Automation removes manual data entry, compresses approval cycles from over a week to days, reduces duplicate payments, and makes invoice status visible for cash forecasting. Build the case on your own cost per invoice, current cycle time and error rate. If your annual volume is low, the payback period may not justify it, and that is worth establishing before you start evaluating vendors.

The bottom line

SoftCo is a capable procure-to-pay platform with real strengths in Nordic and public sector environments. If your requirement genuinely spans procurement through payments, it deserves a place on your shortlist.

If what you actually need is invoice automation that reaches a high touchless rate without consuming your finance team’s capacity, the shortlist looks different. The decision comes down to ERP depth, non-PO handling, and whether you want to run the platform yourself or have someone run it with you.

Next step: work out what touchless processing rate is realistic for your invoice profile and ERP. Talk to Kefron AP about a volume-based proposal, or read more about our approach to finance automation.