AP automation software for consumer goods and services companies

Consumer brands—including retail, eCommerce, and packaged goods companies—often face intense operational complexity in accounts payable (AP). High invoice volumes, seasonal spikes, a wide vendor base, and multi-location teams can quickly overwhelm manual AP workflows.

For growing finance teams, AP automation software helps simplify invoice processing, enforce approvals, and unify spend visibility across distributed teams and channels. Tools that offer real-time data capture, flexible approvals, and seamless accounting syncs are particularly valuable in fast-moving consumer environments.

This guide explains how AP automation can help consumer goods and services organizations streamline their AP process—and how Ramp’s AP automation software can help.

The AP challenges for consumer goods and services companies

If you operate in retail or eCommerce, you're likely processing hundreds—or even thousands—of invoices each month. These invoices come from a wide mix of suppliers, each with different formats, terms, and payment schedules.

That scale creates several persistent pain points:

• Administrative burden: High volumes require dedicated headcount, especially during seasonal peaks
• Cash flow misalignment: Inventory needs spike before peak sales periods, but revenue comes later—putting pressure on working capital
• Manual risk: Paper-based approvals and email routing introduce errors, delays, and duplicate payments
• Supplier friction: Missed or late payments strain relationships and can affect inventory availability
• Lack of visibility: Disconnected systems across stores, warehouses, and online channels make it difficult to monitor spend across the organization

Many basic AP tools don’t offer the flexibility to accommodate seasonal spikes in invoice volume, seamless integration with commerce and inventory systems, or configurable approval chains for multi-site organizations. That’s why choosing a modern AP automation solution with well-designed automated workflows and accounting integrations helps businesses gain better visibility and control as they scale across stores, warehouses, and online operations.

Benefits of AP automation for consumer-facing businesses

Finding and implementing the right AP automation software can help consumer-facing businesses through the following benefits:

• Faster processing times: Automating invoice capture, routing, and matching reduces turnaround time and keeps operations moving, even during seasonal spikes or promotional periods
• More accurate financial records: Automated data extraction and validation reduce human error and ensure invoice details match purchase orders or receipts—improving financial reporting and audit accuracy
• Better cash flow visibility: Dashboards and reporting tools provide up-to-date insight into outstanding liabilities, helping teams forecast working capital needs and optimize payment timing
• Stronger supplier relationships: On-time payments and fewer processing delays improve vendor trust, reduce back-and-forth, and support better contract terms
• Scalability across growth phases: Cloud-based automation platforms can accommodate increased transaction volume without needing to grow AP headcount at the same rate
• Reduced fraud risk: Multi-level approvals, role-based access, and anomaly detection tools help prevent duplicate payments and detect unusual activity before funds go out the door.
• Cost savings: Lower labor costs, fewer payment errors, and opportunities to capture early payment discounts all contribute to a more cost-effective AP operation

Key AP automation features for consumer goods and services companies

To support fast-moving operations and vendor diversity, finance teams in consumer businesses should prioritize tools with the following features:

• Automated invoice capture and standardization: OCR and data extraction tools digitize invoices from different sources and formats, reducing manual entry and standardizing intake
• Data validation and matching logic: Invoices should be automatically cross-checked against purchase orders and/or receipts (two-way or three-way matching) to minimize exceptions and disputes
• Customizable approval routing: Invoices can be routed based on department, dollar value, SKU category, or location—supporting both centralized finance teams and distributed retail or ops teams
• Flexible payment scheduling and methods: The system should allow payments by ACH, check, virtual card, or wire—and let finance teams time disbursements according to terms, discount windows, or cash flow constraints
• Real-time reporting and spend visibility: Built-in dashboards and report builders help finance teams monitor spending by product line, supplier, or location and track performance over time
• ERP and accounting system integration: Seamless syncing with platforms like NetSuite, QuickBooks, or SAP helps ensure accurate financial reporting and eliminates double entry
• Audit logs and access controls: Role-based permissions and automatic audit trails make it easier to enforce policies, support compliance, and prepare for audits or board reviews

What to look for when choosing AP software

To ensure long-term fit and performance, consumer-focused businesses should ask:

• Will this software integrate with our accounting and inventory systems?
• Can it support multi-location or multi-brand structures?
• How customizable are the approval workflows?
• Does it support our preferred payment methods and currencies?
• Can it scale with increased invoice volume or geographic expansion?
• What controls and reporting capabilities are built in?

Choosing the right AP automation software is about more than features—it’s about alignment with the way your business actually runs.

Ramp AP automation software: What it is and how it streamlines AP for consumer-facing businesses

Ramp Bill Pay is Ramp’s software for automating accounts payable, designed to streamline the entire AP process—from invoice intake and approval routing to payment execution and ERP syncing. Although Ramp is best known for its corporate card and spend management products, Ramp Bill Pay broadens the platform’s functionality to include features like AI-assisted invoice capture, purchase order matching, configurable approval workflows, flexible payment options (ACH, check, or card), and real-time connections to leading accounting and ERP systems.

By centralizing these functions, Ramp Bill Pay gives finance teams a more comprehensive view of company spend—particularly valuable for consumer brands managing distributed operations and variable cash flows.

How does Ramp’s AP automation software work?

Ramp’s AP automation software works to reduce manual errors while maintaining strong control through a streamlined, automated workflow:

• Invoice ingestion: Automatically pulls invoices from email, CSV uploads, or direct uploads. It extracts vendor information, line items, amounts, and due dates, then routes invoices into the approval process to minimize manual data entry and free the team to focus on exceptions.
• Automated coding: Using AI, Ramp learns your organization’s coding patterns and applies the correct general ledger (GL) codes and departments based on historical data. This helps ensure consistent coding across multiple locations and reduces the workload on AP staff—especially during periods with intensified inventory purchasing.
• Approval routing: Invoices are routed to the right approvers based on configurable rules you set, such as store location, department, dollar amount, or vendor. Store managers can approve expenses specific to their location, while corporate teams oversee vendor payments. Escalation triggers help prevent delays by alerting relevant personnel when invoices approach due dates.
• Payment execution: Upon approval, the platform processes payments through the optimal method available—ACH, virtual card, check, or wire transfer. Payment timing can balance cash flow needs with early payment discount opportunities, assisting in managing seasonal fluctuations typical in consumer business cycles.

At every stage, real-time tracking transparency gives finance teams and department leaders clear insight into invoice status, helping identify and resolve bottlenecks before vendor relationships are impacted.

Key features of Ramp’s AP automation software that benefits consumer brands

Ramp’s AP automation tools are adaptable for the operational demands of consumer-facing businesses. Its features address common challenges faced by brands with distributed teams, complex supplier networks, and variable spend cycles.

Automated invoice capture and coding

Consumer brands often handle high volumes of invoices in categories like logistics, packaging, warehousing, and marketing—especially during product launches or seasonal peaks. Ramp's AP automation software automates invoice capture using OCR, extracting line items and vendor details to speed up processing and reduce manual entry. Invoices can be coded using configurable rules for department, location, or vendor, which reduces AP bottlenecks and improves accuracy.

Integrations with leading accounting platforms

Ramp integrates with whichever accounting system your business uses—so you can reconcile your books without friction. We offer direct integrations with leading ERPs and accounting platforms like NetSuite, QuickBooks Online, Sage Intacct, and Acumatica, enabling real-time sync of vendor bills, reimbursements, payments, and accounting fields. Select systems also support bi-directional sync for vendor bills and imported item receipts.

For platforms without native integrations, Ramp also provides Universal CSV (uCSV) exports that match your chart of accounts, tracking categories, and project codes for seamless reconciliation. Ramp also offers a robust API and trusted implementation partners to support custom integrations when needed.

Custom approval workflows

For organizations with multiple locations or departments—including retail stores, fulfillment centers, and marketing teams—Ramp Bill Pay enables configurable invoice approval workflows. Approvals can be routed by spend category, location, amount, or vendor, giving managers or department leads autonomy over day-to-day costs while maintaining centralized oversight for larger procurements or contracts.

Flexible payment scheduling

Ramp Bill Pay provides options for scheduling payments by due date, batching by vendor, or strategically timing payments based on payment terms. This helps consumer brands navigate seasonal spikes and align outflows with inventory cycles or forecasted revenue. Payment methods include ACH, check, virtual card, and domestic/international wire transfer.

Compliance and audit tools

Ramp Bill Pay tracks every vendor invoice and payment event in a persistent audit trail, retaining all supporting documentation and approval history. Role-based access control ensures that team members see only relevant financial data, helping protect sensitive information and maintain compliance standards for audits, co-op budgets, or cross-regional operations.

Low pricing and processing fees

Ramp offers a free plan that lets you manage spend, automate vendor payments, and speed up your month-end close. For organizations with more advanced needs, Ramp Plus is available at $15 per user per month, and custom Enterprise plans are also available upon request. Plus, you can handle all domestic and global vendor payments on a single platform—by check, card, ACH, or international wire with zero fees*.

The ROI and operational impact of AP automation

Ramp’s AP automation software improves both the cost structure and day-to-day efficiency of AP operations for various businesses, including consumer brands:

• Fewer payment errors: Automation reduces manual entry mistakes and prevents duplicate or misrouted payments—common issues when managing high invoice volume across suppliers and channels
• Significant time savings: Many finance teams typically reclaim 15–20 hours a month by automating invoice intake, coding, approvals, and payments—time that can be redirected toward cash flow planning or supplier analysis
• Shorter month-end close cycles: Real-time tracking and integrated reconciliation reduce the lag in financial reporting, helping you finalize books faster and improve budget visibility
• Improved supplier relationships: On-time, accurate payments build trust—leading to better terms, faster fulfillment, and more flexibility during high-demand periods

For direct-to-consumer brands scaling across channels or legacy retailers modernizing operations, adopting Ramp Bill Pay reduces friction, improves financial accuracy, and helps teams stay agile as the business grows.

AP automation success stories from consumer goods and services companies

Whether scaling across retail locations or managing supplier payments during seasonal spikes, these consumer-focused companies streamlined their AP operations with Ramp’s AP automation software—saving time, improving accuracy, and gaining better visibility into spend.

1. How MakeStickers saved 8–10 hours a week with Ramp Bill Pay

Before adopting Ramp Bill Pay, MakeStickers managed AP across multiple systems—including separate bank platforms, credit card providers, and accounting tools. Paying vendors meant juggling multi-step processes: manually entering bills, approving payments through a bank portal, and re-entering data for reconciliation. Each payment cycle cost the team 8–10 hours per week—and left their cash reserves idle in non-interest-bearing accounts.

With Ramp Bill Pay, MakeStickers consolidated bill payments, approvals, and reconciliation into one system. Payments now move directly from their Ramp Business Account via same-day ACH, with full visibility into status and timing. The team no longer needs to duplicate work or worry about fragmented systems.

Instead of navigating around limitations in their old banking tools, the accounting team now pays bills faster, earns a return on cash while maintaining liquidity, and frees up time for more strategic work.

“It allows me to spend more time on financial projects and less on the day-to-day… It also gives me peace of mind knowing that the internal controls within Ramp have my back, and our bills are getting paid.” — Mike Rizzo, Accounting Manager at MakeStickers

2. How The Second City cut bill processing time in half by switching to Ramp Bill Pay

The Second City’s previous AP automation tool was unreliable and expensive—it failed to accurately scan invoices, misidentified vendors, and couldn’t code line items properly. Bill payments required tedious manual corrections and offered little visibility into how money was being spent.

With Ramp Bill Pay, the accounting team now processes vendor payments quickly and accurately. OCR technology captures vendor and line-item details automatically, applies the right accounting rules, and eliminates the manual work that previously delayed approvals and disrupted reporting cycles.

As a result, the team has cut bill processing time in half, moved up month-end close deadlines, and eliminated the $40,000 cost of their old AP tool—all while gaining deeper reporting visibility and control.

“But Ramp’s OCR works seamlessly-- so it not only recognizes the vendor, but it reads each individual line item and adds individual items and uses accounting rules to code each line item correctly.” — Frank Byers, Controller at The Second City

3. How Pair Eyewear cut manual AP work with Ramp Bill Pay

Pair Eyewear managed accounts payable and expense processing through a tangle of disconnected tools. Bill payments required multiple steps across separate platforms, and the lack of integration with NetSuite created constant manual work for the finance team. Coding invoices, syncing records, and reconciling payments consumed hours each week.

With Ramp Bill Pay, Pair replaced three separate tools with a single, integrated platform. Automated invoice coding saves the team 10 hours each month, and AP tasks that once involved spreadsheets and browser-based bank portals are now completed in one place. Ramp’s deep NetSuite integration keeps records in sync and ensures every payment is coded correctly without re-entry.

Ramp also simplified the manager experience—enabling them to review and approve invoices, reimbursements, and card requests without bouncing between systems. For a growing consumer brand managing creative production and inventory spend, that efficiency and visibility have been key.

“In Ramp, managers can see reimbursements they need to review for employees, review and approve card requests, and even send and review invoices. I’ve received so many compliments on this system and its ease of use.” — Staci Robinson, AP Manager at Pair Eyewear

4. How Heyday Skincare gained entity-level control with Ramp Bill Pay

Managing accounts payable across 23 corporate-owned locations was a challenge for Heyday’s small finance team. With fragmented bill pay systems and no clear way to assign payments to the correct entities, the team frequently faced duplicated entries, manual corrections, and inefficiencies that slowed down reporting and reconciliation.

Ramp Bill Pay gave Heyday the structure it needed to simplify and scale its AP process. Payments are now tied directly to the business entity that incurred the expense—whether it’s rent for a specific shop or inventory orders linked to a particular location. That specificity helps the team maintain accurate books, reduce cross-entity errors, and manage cash flow more intentionally.

Ramp also introduced document matching, enabling Heyday to associate bills with POs and receipts from a central platform—eliminating a legacy issue of duplicated inventory records. With bill payments now centralized and automated, the finance team has gained back hours each month and significantly improved the accuracy of their multi-entity reporting.

“We immediately stopped bleeding by switching to Ramp. Ramp not only alleviated a duplicative inventory problem—it also gave us document matching, so we can now make sure our bills are properly associated with our POs and receipts.” — Shawn Gordon, Sr. Accounting Manager at Heyday Skincare

Why consumer-facing brands choose Ramp’s AP automation software

Consumer goods and services companies operate across fast-moving teams, multiple channels, and seasonal spend cycles—making accounts payable harder to manage with generic tools. Ramp’s AP automation software helps simplify invoice approvals, centralize vendor payments, and maintain visibility across locations, departments, and systems. It’s built to support the operational pace and structure of modern consumer-focused businesses.

For companies looking to scale without losing control of spend, Ramp delivers a foundation that lasts. Get started with Ramp Bill Pay.

Explore how Ramp Bill Pay supports AP automation across teams, company sizes, and industries

*Same-day ACH payments and International payments may incur a fee unless you are using a Ramp Business Account. Ramp Bill Pay is available on our free plan with no software or transaction fees. Note that certain ERP integrations require a Ramp Plus account, which includes a monthly fee.