If your accounts payable (AP) process still lives in spreadsheets, scattered inboxes, or one overwhelmed employee’s head… you’re not alone.
In many growing companies I’ve worked with, AP tends to get deprioritized, until something breaks. A missed payment. A vendor relationship strained. An audit that uncovers preventable errors.
Manual AP processes drain time, introduce risk, and make it harder to scale. According to a 2023 report by Ardent Partners, 61% of AP teams still struggle with too much paper and manual data entry. That’s not just inefficient — it’s expensive.
Outsourcing AP services has become a smart move for lean finance teams who want to reduce errors, cut costs, and refocus on strategic growth. But not all providers are created equal.
In this guide, we’ll walk through six key things you should consider when choosing accounts payable services , especially if you’re hiring offshore or building a remote-first finance team.
Because getting this right isn’t just about who pays the bills. It’s about keeping your business agile, compliant, and built for scale.
What Should You Consider When Choosing Accounts Payable Services
1. Integration Capabilities with Existing Systems
When you’re choosing accounts payable services, integration is always a dealbreaker.
The best AP providers plug directly into the tools your team already uses. That means your ERP, accounting software, procurement system, or even expense management tools.
If you’re using QuickBooks, NetSuite, Xero, SAP, or Oracle, the AP solution should talk to it -cleanly and in real time.
One offshore finance lead I worked with had this exact issue: Their AP vendor couldn’t sync with their NetSuite setup. Every invoice required manual input, which killed the time savings they were paying for. Once they switched to a partner with native integration, approvals sped up by 40%, and error rates dropped to nearly zero.
Look for AP services that:
- Integrate natively or via API with your ERP or finance tools
- Offer real-time syncing (not just batch updates once a day)
- Provide two-way visibility so finance teams can track status without asking
2. Level of Automation and Technology Stack
If your AP process still involves printing invoices, manually chasing approvals, or keying in payments one by one, you’re bleeding time.
Modern accounts payable services should automate 80–90% of this. That means:
- AI-powered invoice capture (no more typos or lost PDFs)
- Rule-based approval routing
- Scheduled, error-free payments
A great AP provider will use tools that flag duplicates, prevent overpayments, and enforce your workflows, without constant oversight.
Ask this upfront: What parts of the AP process are automated? What still needs manual input?
Bonus: If they use AI or machine learning, even better. These tools improve accuracy over time by learning from patterns—like spotting vendor mismatches or approval delays before they escalate.
3. Scalability and Flexibility of Services
Your payment volume won’t look the same every month and your AP provider should be built for that.
Maybe you’re preparing for a product launch, or you’re on-boarding five new suppliers in one quarter. A rigid AP service will slow you down.
Instead, look for providers who offer:
- Flexible service packages (not one-size-fits-all)
- The ability to scale agents or tools up/down fast
- Multi-entity or multi-currency support if you’re growing globally
One ecommerce client we worked with scaled their offshore AP team 2x in Q4 without hiring delays or retraining. Their provider had a bench of trained finance professionals ready to plug in, no scramble required.
4. Compliance, Security, and Risk Management
AP touches every dollar going out of your business. So, trust matters — a lot.
A credible provider will meet compliance benchmarks like:
- SOC 2 (security controls)
- GDPR (data privacy)
- HIPAA (if applicable in healthcare)
But that’s just table stakes. What you really want is a provider who treats fraud prevention and audit readiness as core services.
Look for:
- Role-based access controls
- Encrypted data transfers
- Regular audits and transparent governance
Ask about their disaster recovery plan too. A solid AP partner should make you more secure, not more exposed.
5. Reporting and Analytics Capabilities
You can’t improve what you don’t measure. If your current AP setup only shows you “what got paid,” you’re missing the big picture.
Top-tier providers will give you dashboards with:
- Real-time visibility into invoice status and aging
- Vendor performance (how fast are they billing you?)
- Payment trends by department or geography
That kind of insight helps you spot early payment discounts, avoid late fees, and make smarter cash flow decisions.
Look for exportable reports, custom filters, and API access so you’re not locked into clunky spreadsheets.
6. Quality of Customer Support and SLAs
When something breaks or you have a time-sensitive payment stuck in review, quality support is everything.
Ask the provider:
- Who handles support — a dedicated team or a shared inbox?
- What’s their average response time?
- Are SLAs documented and enforced?
Good providers will include clear performance guarantees in their contract. Great ones will actually exceed them.
And if you’re managing offshore talent through Talent Hackers, make sure your AP partner understands time zone alignment and async support protocols. It’ll save you hours of back-and-forth.
Conclusion
Choosing the right accounts payable service provider isn’t just about cutting costs. It’s about building a smarter, more agile financial backbone for your business.
And if your current AP setup is holding you back, whether through delays, errors, or burnout, it might be time to rethink things. And if you’re considering hiring offshore talent? Even better. The right partner can plug into your operations fast and start delivering real results without the long onboarding curve.
You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. But you do need a better one.
If you’re ready to take a fresh look at your AP operations, let’s talk.
At Talent Hackers, we connect fast-moving businesses with experienced offshore accounts payable professionals — people who know how to streamline processes, catch errors before they cost you, and keep the numbers moving without the bottlenecks.
Want a quick, honest take on where your AP systems stand and how you can improve them?
👇 Book a free strategy session here and let’s find your best next step.
