ApprovalMax
ApprovalMax provides approval workflow automation and accounts payable controls for finance teams and accountants using Xero, QuickBooks Online, or NetSuite. Its platform combines multi-level approvals, OCR invoice capture, and open banking payments, serving 20,000+ businesses globally.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What ApprovalMax does
ApprovalMax is a London-headquartered, remote-first SaaS company founded in 2018 that provides approval workflow automation and accounts payable/receivable controls for finance teams, accountants, and bookkeepers. Rather than displacing the underlying general ledger, the product layers a configurable multi-level approval engine on top of Xero, QuickBooks Online, and NetSuite, handling purchase orders, vendor approvals, invoices, credit notes, expenses, and custom workflows with built-in financial controls including bill-to-PO matching, segregation of duties, duplicate detection, and budget threshold checking. The platform is ISO 27001 certified and operates an open API plus a Model Context Protocol (MCP) endpoint for external integrations and LLM connectivity.
The product portfolio has expanded from the core approval engine to an integrated Money Out stack: ApprovalMax Capture (OCR-driven invoice data extraction from PDFs, scans, and photos), ApprovalMax Pay (open banking payments processed through Yapily with funds safeguarded by FCA-regulated Currencycloud), a mobile app for approvers, a dedicated accounts receivable automation module, and platform-specific variants for each accounting integration. AI capabilities — including process automation, anomaly detection, generative coding suggestions, and routing recommendations — are deployed under a human-in-the-loop design philosophy.
ApprovalMax generates revenue through subscription SaaS contracts on both monthly and annual billing cycles, using a hybrid model that combines a fixed subscription fee with usage-based charges measured in documents, approvers, or transactions; overage charges apply with a stop-loss provision. Go-to-market is primarily product-led, anchored by a 14-day free trial and prominent marketplace listings on the Xero App Store (top-rated in Australia and the UK) and the Intuit App Store, supplemented by an accountant/bookkeeper partner program and direct sales for enterprise accounts. The company reports a customer base of 20,000+ businesses, with 17.1M+ bills, 3.3M+ purchase orders, and 617K sales invoices processed through the platform, and raised a £10M (~$12.87M) growth investment in late 2024 to fund the next stage of expansion.
ApprovalMax firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ApprovalMax
- Legal name
- ApprovalMax Limited
- Website
- https://approvalmax.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- ApprovalMax provides approval workflow automation and accounts payable controls for finance teams and accountants using Xero, QuickBooks Online, or NetSuite. Its platform combines multi-level approvals, OCR invoice capture, and open banking payments, serving 20,000+ businesses globally.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
ApprovalMax industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Accounts Payable Automation
- NAICS
- Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- A2A Checkout & Merchant Acceptance Solutions (FSAMAFAF)
Keywords
Where ApprovalMax is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
ApprovalMax business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Subscription SaaS: SaaS subscription model with two pricing structures: Subscription Pricing Model (fixed fee per billing cycle) and Tier Usage-based Pricing Model (consumption-based measured by defined Usage Units). Available on monthly or annual billing cycles. Usage Units may include documents, approvers, transactions, or other metrics.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Hybrid | Monthly | Tiered subscription with usage-based consumption model |
| Subscription | Annual | Annual subscription option |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
ApprovalMax product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ApprovalMax is a cloud-based SaaS platform that automates approval workflows and financial controls for accounts payable and accounts receivable. It adds an upstream approval governance layer that connects natively to Xero, QuickBooks Online, and NetSuite, covering the full "Money Out" lifecycle from purchase orders and vendor bills through multi-level approvals to payment execution. The platform is sold via subscription with usage-based components and is targeted at finance teams, outsourced accountants, and finance leaders.
Product overview
ApprovalMax is a cloud-based approval workflow and financial controls platform designed for accounts payable and receivable automation. The core platform integrates natively with Xero, QuickBooks Online, and NetSuite to provide multi-level approval workflows, financial controls, and audit readiness. The product portfolio includes the core ApprovalMax platform, two add-on modules (ApprovalMax Capture for OCR invoice data extraction and ApprovalMax Pay for open banking payments), platform-specific variants for each accounting software, a mobile app for iOS and Android, and dedicated accounts receivable automation. ApprovalMax is trusted by 20,000+ businesses and has processed over 17.1 million bills, 3.3 million purchase orders, and 617,000 sales invoices. The company raised a £10M growth investment and was featured in Xero's 2024 Top App Lists.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- ApprovalMax Cloud-based approval workflow and accounts payable automation platform that provides multi-level approvals, financial controls, and audit readiness for finance teams using Xero, QuickBooks Online, or NetSuite.
- ApprovalMax Capture OCR-powered invoice data capture add-on that automatically scans and imports bills from PDFs, photos, or scans into the approval workflow, extracting vendor details, invoice numbers, dates, line items, and totals.
- ApprovalMax Pay Payment processing add-on using open banking technology (via Yapily) that enables secure bill payments directly from ApprovalMax after approval workflows are completed, with full reconciliation and batch payment capabilities.
- ApprovalMax for Xero Integration variant of ApprovalMax designed for Xero users, offering native two-way sync for accounts payable and receivable automation with Xero.
- ApprovalMax for QuickBooks Online Integration variant of ApprovalMax designed for QuickBooks Online users, offering native integration for invoice approval workflows and financial controls.
- ApprovalMax for NetSuite Integration variant of ApprovalMax designed for Oracle NetSuite users, providing approval workflows and financial controls for NetSuite ERP data.
- ApprovalMax Mobile App iOS and Android mobile application enabling approvers to review and approve bills from anywhere, receive real-time updates on approval status, and manage workflows remotely.
- ApprovalMax Accounts Receivable Accounts receivable automation module covering quote creation and approval, sales invoice preparation with internal approval, and payment reconciliation for getting paid promptly.
Quantifiable outcome
- 25% of bills approved within 2 hours, 50% within 1 day
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use ApprovalMax
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
ApprovalMax technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
AI capability9 records
Feature8 records
ApprovalMax partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- XerocoreNative integration partner. ApprovalMax is a top-rated Xero app in Australia and UK, featured in Xero's 2024 Top App List. The integration allows users to manage approval workflows directly connected to Xero accounting data.
- QuickBooks OnlinecoreNative integration partner. ApprovalMax is listed on Intuit App Store for QuickBooks Online users, enabling approval workflows connected to QuickBooks accounting data.
- NetSuitecoreNative integration partner with dedicated ApprovalMax for NetSuite product page and demo. Connects approval workflows to NetSuite ERP data.
- CurrencycloudcoreElectronic Money Institution partner providing payment services for ApprovalMax Pay. Safeguards customer funds under FCA regulations. Handles collection of funds and delivery of outbound payments as separate processes.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights6 records
ApprovalMax competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Xero: Dominant SMB cloud accounting platform and core integration partner for ApprovalMax. Represents both the largest distribution channel and the most significant platform-partner risk, as Xero's own approval features could compete with ApprovalMax.
- Ramp: Broader spend management platform that bundles corporate cards, bill pay, approval workflows, and procurement. Represents the bundled-incumbent threat — ApprovalMax competes against Ramp's approval workflow features within a much wider product suite.
- Brex: Corporate card and spend management platform with embedded bill pay and approval workflows. Competes indirectly through bundled approvals rather than a stand-alone approval workflow product.
Direct peers
- Bill.com: Leading AP/AR automation platform serving SMB and mid-market customers with approval workflows, bill pay, and integrated payments. Public-market benchmark for the AP automation category in which ApprovalMax competes.
- MineralTree: AP automation platform (now part of Global Payments) targeting mid-market customers with bill capture, approval workflows, and payment execution. Comparable positioning to ApprovalMax with a similar mid-market focus.
- AvidXchange: AP automation specialist serving mid-market and enterprise customers with invoice capture, approval routing, and payment processing. Highly comparable in workflow-centric AP automation and target customer profile.
- Airbase: AP automation and spend management platform with bill capture, approval workflows, and corporate card products. Competes head-to-head with ApprovalMax on approval workflow automation for finance teams, particularly in the mid-market segment.
- Tipalti: End-to-end accounts payable automation platform covering bill capture, multi-level approvals, global payments, and reconciliation. Overlaps directly with ApprovalMax on approval workflows and payment execution, especially for mid-market and enterprise customers.
- Datamolino: OCR-driven data capture and AP automation tool that integrates with Xero and QuickBooks Online. Directly overlaps with ApprovalMax's Capture module and Xero-centric customer base.
- Stampli: Direct competitor focused on accounts payable approval workflows that integrate with accounting platforms like NetSuite, QuickBooks, and Sage. Closest comparable on the core approval-workflow value proposition ApprovalMax sells to mid-market finance teams.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
ApprovalMax social profiles
Digital presenceApprovalMax compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
ApprovalMax financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ApprovalMax leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
ApprovalMax funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ApprovalMax M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about ApprovalMax
What does ApprovalMax do?
ApprovalMax is a cloud-based SaaS platform that automates approval workflows and financial controls for accounts payable and accounts receivable. It adds an upstream approval governance layer that connects natively to Xero, QuickBooks Online, and NetSuite, covering the full "Money Out" lifecycle from purchase orders and vendor bills through multi-level approvals to payment execution. The platform is sold via subscription with usage-based components and is targeted at finance teams, outsourced accountants, and finance leaders.
Is ApprovalMax a public or private company?
ApprovalMax is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was ApprovalMax founded?
ApprovalMax was founded in 2018. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is ApprovalMax based?
ApprovalMax is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does ApprovalMax make money?
One revenue line is on record: subscription SaaS.
Who are ApprovalMax's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Xero, Ramp and Brex. Direct peers are Bill.com, MineralTree, AvidXchange, Airbase, Tipalti, Datamolino and Stampli.
Does ApprovalMax have an API?
Yes. The ApprovalMax API allows customers to connect the software to third-party applications for data analysis (pulling data into Business Intelligence tools), commercial use (developing integrations), and internal development (creating personal services or applications). Authentication uses client ID and client secret to obtain access and refresh tokens. The API is subject to usage limits set by ApprovalMax. The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is also available, enabling customers to transmit selected data to external large language model (LLM) providers. Developer documentation is at Not specified.
What industry is ApprovalMax in?
ApprovalMax's product category is Accounts Payable Automation. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAMAFAF, A2A Checkout & Merchant Acceptance Solutions. Its NAICS code is 522320 and its SIC code is 7372.