Invoice approval software has converged on capability, so comparing feature lists produces a tie and a long evaluation. Three behaviours discriminate usefully, and all three concern what happens when things do not go smoothly, which is exactly what a scripted demonstration is arranged to avoid. The most informative test is to submit something and leave it alone.
What happens when an approver is away
Automatic cover based on declared absence, or a fallback after a fixed period. Products that rely on the approver having set a delegate in advance fail precisely when it matters, because unplanned absence is unplanned. This behaviour alone accounts for much of the difference in real elapsed time between products.
What happens when nothing happens
After a defined interval, does the item escalate to a named alternative or does the system send another reminder into the same silence. Escalation with a deadline is what makes elapsed time predictable enough to promise a supplier a date, and reminders that merely repeat produce more of the same silence.
What the approver sees
The invoice, the amount, the supplier, what it is for and the match result, or a reference and a total. This decides whether approval is a control or a formality performed at speed, and it is easy to overlook because demonstrations use clear examples. Ask to see the screen with a messy real invoice.
And whether rejecting is as easy as approving
Reject with a reason, query, reassign. If approving is one tap and everything else takes effort, the design has a direction and the results will follow it. A rejection rate of zero across a whole quarter is worth investigating rather than celebrating.
Questions people ask about best invoice approval software
How do we test these in a trial?
Configure an approver, submit an invoice, then do nothing for the escalation period. What the system does next is more informative than any demonstration.
Is mobile approval necessary?
Where approvers are frequently away from desks it is the largest single reduction in elapsed time available. Elsewhere it is a convenience.
Should approvals be possible in bulk?
For clean matched invoices some organisations allow it. It should never extend to anything that failed a check or exceeded a threshold.