Running a business means making wise financial choices, including managing money, goods, and services. But keeping track of purchase orders, invoices, and spending can quickly become a headache, especially as your business grows.
That’s where QuickBooks procurement software comes in. But here’s the catch. QuickBooks doesn’t offer a dedicated procurement tool. Instead, it integrates with third-party solutions that enhance your purchasing processes. These add-ons help automate and streamline procurement, reducing manual data entry, minimizing errors, and keeping your QuickBooks data in perfect sync.
In this post, we dive into the top purchasing software options.
- What is QuickBooks procurement software?
- Benefits of using purchasing software
- Key features of top QuickBooks procurement software
- Best QuickBooks procurement software for SMBs
- How to evaluate procurement software for your needs
What is QuickBooks procurement software?
Essentially, QuickBooks procurement software helps you manage the entire purchasing lifecycle, from creating purchase requisitions and purchase orders to receiving goods, approving invoices, and making payments while keeping your QuickBooks data perfectly in sync. From creating purchase orders to processing invoices and tracking expenses, these solutions give you better control over your budget and ultimately, boost your bottom line.
Benefits of using purchasing software
Managing purchase orders manually—or relying solely on QuickBooks—can lead to approval bottlenecks, overspending, and a lack of real-time visibility into company spending.
Purchasing software eliminates these issues by automating approvals, enforcing budgets before purchases happen, and giving finance teams complete control over procurement.
With the right purchasing tool, you can cut down on unauthorized spending, reduce errors from manual entry, and speed up the entire procurement process.
Instead of chasing approvals over email or dealing with last-minute budget surprises, teams can track every purchase in one place, ensuring compliance and accountability. The result? Less friction, more efficiency, and better financial oversight.
Key features of top QuickBooks procurement software
If you’re managing purchasing in QuickBooks, the right procurement software can save you time, prevent overspending, and keep everything running smoothly. But not all tools are created equal.
Here’s what actually matters when choosing a solution that integrates with QuickBooks.
- Automation that eliminates busywork. Repetitive tasks like creating purchase orders, chasing approvals, and matching invoices to POs shouldn’t be manual. Good procurement software automates these steps, freeing up your team to focus on more important things like controlling costs instead of just tracking them.
- Purchase order management that doesn’t slow you down. Creating and approving purchase orders should be quick and painless. Look for software that lets you generate POs easily, track order statuses in real time, and send everything digitally to vendors. Bonus points for automated PO numbering, version control, and built-in approval workflows.
- Invoice matching that prevents errors. No one has time to manually match invoices to purchase orders and receipts. A solid procurement system should automate this process, using OCR or electronic uploads to capture data and flag discrepancies before they become problems. This ensures you’re only paying for what you actually received.
- Spending controls that actually work. Most businesses don’t get into trouble because they spend too much. It’s because they don’t have visibility into their spending. Look for budgeting tools, real-time spend tracking, and approval workflows that keep purchases in check before they happen. Budget alerts and reporting tools make it easy to avoid surprises.
- Vendor management that keeps everything in one place. Tracking vendor details across spreadsheets and emails is a mess. Good procurement software centralizes vendor info, tracks performance, and helps manage contracts—all in one dashboard. Some tools even offer automated vendor onboarding and communication tools to streamline the process.
- Seamless QuickBooks integration. If it doesn’t sync properly with QuickBooks, it’s not worth your time. The best procurement software automatically updates your accounting records, eliminates manual data entry, and reduces errors. Make sure it supports your specific QuickBooks version and offers real-time syncing.
- Reporting that helps you make smarter decisions. You can’t fix what you don’t measure. Look for software with real-time reporting on purchase orders, vendor performance, and overall spending. A good dashboard should give you instant insights, not make you dig through endless spreadsheets.
At the end of the day, the right procurement software should make purchasing easier, faster, and more transparent.
Best QuickBooks procurement software for SMBs
Each of these tools tackles a different aspect of purchasing and expense management, so the best choice depends on your business needs.
ProcurementExpress.com
If your business is juggling a high volume of purchases, standard accounting software won’t cut it. You don’t just need financial statements. You need real-time visibility into spending, approvals, and budgets before the money is gone. That’s where ProcurementExpress.com comes in.
Designed for finance teams that want control without the manual hassle, ProcurementExpress.com makes purchasing simple. Employees can submit purchase requests in minutes, managers can approve with a click, and invoices get scanned and matched automatically. No more chasing down rogue expenses, no more spreadsheet chaos. Just a streamlined, automated process that keeps budgets up to date in real time.
Beyond approvals, it gives you clarity on spending with real-time budget tracking, custom dashboards, and detailed reports. See exactly where company money is going, manage multi-currency purchases, and switch between company accounts effortlessly. Every purchase is logged, categorized, and reported, so closing the books is faster—and smarter decisions are easier.
ProcurementExpress.com also includes role-based access, single sign-on (SSO), and supplier management tools to keep everything compliant and protected.
Ramp
Ramp is a finance automation platform designed to help businesses manage expenses with corporate cards, built-in spend controls, and real-time tracking. Unlike traditional procurement tools, Ramp focuses on expense management, cost reduction, and automation.
A key benefit of Ramp is its AI-powered insights, which help businesses identify wasteful spending, redundant software subscriptions, and cost-saving opportunities. The platform also automates expense approvals.
While it doesn’t handle purchase orders or vendor procurement directly, Ramp is a powerful tool for businesses that need a modern approach to spend management with deep QuickBooks integration.
Bill
Bill is a leading AP automation solution that simplifies how businesses receive, approve, and pay invoices. It’s ideal for finance teams that need to streamline vendor payments and cash flow management while keeping everything synced with QuickBooks. Instead of manually processing invoices and cutting checks, Bill automates approval workflows, payment scheduling, and reconciliation.
One of Bill’s biggest strengths is its customizable approval rules, which allow businesses to set multi-level approval chains based on dollar amounts, departments, or vendor relationships. This helps finance teams maintain strong internal controls while reducing payment delays. While it doesn’t replace a full procurement system, Bill is perfect for businesses that need seamless AP automation with real-time QuickBooks syncing.
Expensify
Expensify started as a travel and expense management platform, but it has since expanded into bill pay, corporate card management, and reimbursement tracking. It’s designed for companies that want a streamlined way to manage employee expenses without the hassle of manual receipt tracking and reimbursements. Expensify integrates with QuickBooks to ensure that all expenses are properly categorized.
One of Expensify’s standout features is its automatic receipt scanning and expense matching. Employees can simply snap a photo of a receipt, and Expensify will automatically categorize the expense, flag any policy violations, and submit it for approval. Businesses can also use Expensify’s Smart Limits feature to set spending policies and enforce budgets automatically. While it doesn’t offer procurement tools like purchase order management, it’s an excellent choice for companies looking for expense automation and compliance enforcement with QuickBooks integration.
How to evaluate procurement software for your needs
Finding the right procurement software is about choosing a solution that actually makes your purchasing process smoother, more efficient, and fully integrated with QuickBooks.
Here’s how to evaluate your options:
- Define your needs. Identify pain points, automation priorities, and budget constraints to narrow down your options.
- Identify key features. Focus on must-have functionalities like automation, vendor tracking, or purchase order management.
- Research and shortlist solutions. Look for software that integrates with QuickBooks, read reviews, and compare feature sets.
- Request demos and trials. Test the software in real-world scenarios to see if it fits your workflow.
- Evaluate QuickBooks integration. Ensure the software syncs seamlessly with your version of QuickBooks without manual workarounds.
- Consider scalability. Choose a solution that can handle growth, increasing transaction volumes, and additional users.
- Assess vendor support. Prioritize software with strong customer service, onboarding resources, and ongoing support.
- Compare pricing. Weigh costs, including subscription fees, implementation, and support, against the software’s value.
- Read reviews and testimonials. Learn from other businesses’ experiences to spot potential issues before committing.
- Make your decision. Choose the best solution for your needs to streamline procurement, improve spend control, and scale efficiently.
Wrap-up
QuickBooks is great for accounting, but when it comes to purchase orders, approvals, and spend control, it has its limits. The right procurement software fills those gaps, automating workflows, improving visibility, and making purchasing easier for finance teams and employees alike.
By evaluating your needs, prioritizing key features, and choosing a tool that integrates seamlessly with QuickBooks, you can eliminate bottlenecks, prevent unnecessary spending, and keep your purchasing process efficient as your business grows. Whether you need automated approvals, real-time budget tracking, or vendor management tools, a well-chosen procurement system will save time, reduce errors, and give you better financial oversight.
If QuickBooks alone isn’t cutting it, now’s the time to find a procurement solution that works for you.
