A nonprofit’s guide to adopting AP automation software

Nonprofit finance teams juggle vendor payments, audit prep, and documentation requirements while trying to focus on their mission. Most operate with small teams and tight budgets, which makes manual accounts payable (AP) processes especially tough to manage.

That's why many nonprofits are turning to AP automation software. Instead of manually entering invoices and chasing down approvals, the software captures invoice data automatically and routes bills to the right people. You spend less time on paperwork and can see exactly where money's going.

This guide walks through how to choose the right AP automation software for your nonprofit. We'll also show you how Ramp Bill Pay can cut down your invoice processing time.

What AP automation actually does for nonprofits

For nonprofits, operational efficiency is crucial. Finance teams are often asked to do more with less: small teams, large responsibilities, and strict oversight from donors, boards, and regulators. Manual accounts payable processes create avoidable friction and increase financial risk.

AP automation helps here. It takes the manual work out of paying bills, keeps a clear paper trail, and makes it easier to show donors and auditors exactly where money went.

Key benefits of AP automation for nonprofits include:

• Lower processing costs. Automating invoice intake, approvals, and payments reduces manual data entry and paperwork. That means your finance team spends less time on admin and more budget goes to programs.
• Improved accuracy and audit readiness. Automation reduces the likelihood of errors or duplicate payments while maintaining a clean audit trail. This is especially critical when managing grant funding, donor-restricted gifts, or federal reimbursement programs.
• Greater compliance and financial control. AP automation systems enforce role-based approvals and spending limits, reducing the risk of unauthorized payments. This helps ensure organizations stay aligned with internal policies and external grantor or IRS requirements.
• Real-time visibility into spend. Dashboards show you spending by program, department, or funding source in real time. If a program is trending over budget mid-quarter, you'll see it early enough to adjust. This supports budget management, financial planning, and board-level reporting.
• Staff efficiency and better resource use. By eliminating low-value tasks, finance staff can focus on strategic work like fund forecasting, internal controls, and financial storytelling.
• Improved vendor relationships. More timely and predictable payments help strengthen relationships with community partners, service providers, and contractors. Many of them operate on thin margins and depend on reliable cash flow.
• Support for grant management workflows. Some AP tools allow nonprofits to tag or categorize spend by grant or funding source, making it easier to track allocations and generate reports that align with program budgets and grantor requirements.

What usually goes wrong when nonprofits try to automate AP

Nonprofits face some unique hurdles when adopting AP automation. Here's what comes up most often:

• Budget constraints and limited IT support. Many nonprofits operate with lean tech budgets and may not have in-house teams to lead implementation. Look for solutions with low setup costs and vendors who offer hands-on support during rollout.
• High staff turnover and limited training time. Frequent transitions in finance roles can leave gaps in system knowledge. Choose AP automation that's intuitive for non-accountants and has clear documentation you can reference later.
• Informal or undocumented AP processes. Without clear rules or defined workflows, migrating to automation gets messy fast. Plan time upfront to formalize policies around invoice approvals, expense coding, and vendor payments before you switch systems.
• Need for integration with existing tools. Nonprofits often rely on accounting systems like QuickBooks, Sage Intacct, or fund accounting software. Make sure your AP platform syncs cleanly with what you already use to avoid duplicate data entry.

The right AP software should address these challenges directly. Focus on ease of use, strong vendor support, and clean integrations with your existing accounting stack.

How to pick AP software that fits your nonprofit

Not all AP tools are designed with nonprofit needs in mind. While many platforms offer basic invoice automation, nonprofit finance teams often need extra capabilities to manage restricted funds, maintain compliance, and coordinate with multiple stakeholders.

Here are some features to prioritize when evaluating AP software for nonprofit organizations:

• Customizable approval workflows. Look for multi-tiered approvals that route based on department, program, amount, or grant. Role-based routing helps you enforce oversight and maintain internal controls, even if your team is small.
• Expense tagging by program or funding source. To stay compliant with grants or donor restrictions, you need to track expenses at the program or project level. For example, if you're running a youth program funded by a specific grant, you need to tag every expense to that program for your grant report. Look for platforms that support custom fields or tags mapped to GL codes.
• Real-time reporting and dashboards. When you can see spend broken down by department, program, or funding source, it's easier to forecast budgets, report to donors, and prepare board updates.
• Grant and fund tracking support. Even if it's not a full fund accounting tool, your AP software should let you associate expenses with grants or restricted funds and export reports for audits or grantor reports.
• Document management for compliance. Invoices, approvals, and W-9s should be easy to store and retrieve for audits, board review, or financial reporting.
• Audit trails and change tracking. A complete record of approvals, edits, and actions makes audits easier and keeps you compliant with year-end reviews or federal funding requirements.
• Integration with nonprofit accounting systems. Direct integration with QuickBooks, Sage Intacct, or your accounting platform keeps your financial data accurate and cuts down on duplicate entry or reconciliation.
• Flexible payment methods and scheduling. ACH, check, and virtual card support, plus payment scheduling based on due dates or funding timing, helps you control cash flow across cycles.

Every nonprofit has different workflows, but the core needs are the same: accuracy, control, efficiency, and compliance.

How Ramp Bill Pay handles AP for nonprofit finance teams

Ramp Bill Pay handles your accounts payable process from start to finish. It captures invoices, routes them for approval, processes payments, and syncs everything with your accounting system.

While Ramp is known for corporate cards and expense management, Bill Pay extends into AP automation. You get OCR-based invoice capture, two-way matching, customizable approval flows, and scheduled payments by ACH, check, or card. It syncs directly with your ERP and accounting platforms.

Here's a breakdown of Ramp Bill Pay features that can benefit nonprofits.

Integrations with nonprofit management systems

Ramp integrates with whichever accounting system your nonprofit uses—so you can reconcile your books without friction. We offer direct integrations with over 200+ ssystems, including leading ERPs and nonprofit platforms like NetSuite, QuickBooks Online, Sage Intacct, and Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT, 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—like Aplos non-profit accounting software—Ramp 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.

Invoice routing runs on autopilot

Ramp Bill Pay lets you set up invoice routing based on amount, department, location, or vendor. Automated reminders help you avoid payment delays and late fees.

This is especially helpful during staff transitions. If someone leaves, invoices still get routed to the right approver without you having to manually redirect everything.

Spend tracking and allocation

You can set up rules so invoices and card charges automatically get assigned to the right fund, department, or project. This works if your accounting system is set up to track these categories.

Ramp also lets you categorize expenses and track budgets using custom fields. You'll get alerts when spending approaches a limit, so you can catch issues before they become problems.

Track spending across multiple entities in one place

If your nonprofit operates in multiple states or runs several programs as separate legal entities, you can track spending for each one separately while still seeing everything in one dashboard. The reporting and permissions tools let you control who sees what.

Audit-ready documentation

Ramp logs every invoice and payment automatically. The reporting features let you create custom views, allowing you to save the ones you use regularly so you're not rebuilding reports from scratch each time.

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*.

AI agents for accounts payable

Ramp is also introducing AI agents for AP—autonomous systems built into Ramp that go beyond workflow automation. These agents understand invoice context and take action on behalf of your team. They code line items based on historical data, flag potential fraud, suggest the appropriate approver, and submit card payments when applicable.

Three nonprofits that cut AP processing time with Ramp Bill Pay

1. Crossings Community Church: From 40 hours to 15 hours per week on invoices

Crossings Community Church previously relied on Concur for AP, but struggled with limited payment options and manual workflows that slowed down reporting and audit prep. Staff had to cut hundreds of checks manually, reconcile purchase orders by hand, and navigate a rigid coding system that offered little flexibility for nonprofit reporting needs.

With Ramp Bill Pay, the church automated check payments, streamlined invoice approvals, and centralized procurement and vendor documentation—all while maintaining transparency required for audits. The finance team now processes 80–100 invoices per week in half the time and no longer spends hours tracking down vendor questions or late-stage approvals.

By replacing manual check runs and disconnected workflows, the team saved 15–25 hours a week and gained real-time visibility into cash flow and budget status across departments.

“Me specifically? I am saving so much time. I worked 40 hours a week just on these tasks before Ramp, and now I only spend 10 to 15 hours on these tasks. It’s opened time for more projects.” — Mandy Mobley, Finance Invoice & Expense Coordinator at Crossings Community Church

2. First Tee: 75% less time on bookkeeping, 70 days faster reporting

Before Ramp, First Tee chapters were juggling multiple banks and lacked access to traditional credit tools. Bookkeeping and payment processing were slow, fragmented, and heavily manual—often handled directly by nonprofit leaders and stretched finance teams.

Working with PwC’s Bookkeeping Connect and Ramp, First Tee centralized its AP process and automated key tasks like coding, reconciliation, and payment approvals. Ramp’s integration with QuickBooks and real-time transaction visibility gave both internal teams and PwC more control over spend and fewer delays in reporting.

Instead of hours spent managing payments and reconciling bills, First Tee now processes transactions in minutes. Bookkeeping time has dropped by 75%, and monthly reporting timelines have improved by over 70 days—allowing the organization to maintain compliance, deliver donor-ready reports, and redirect time to mission-critical work.

“Instead of every hour I would have had to spend on bookkeeping, I’m probably having to spend maybe 10 or 15 minutes.” — Dan Burke, CEO at First Tee San Francisco

3. The Joffrey Ballet: 15 hours saved weekly, reconciliation done in 5 days

Before Ramp, The Joffrey Ballet’s AP process was bogged down by manual check runs, scattered spreadsheets, and inefficient reimbursement workflows. Cutting 30–50 checks each week consumed a full workday for their AP coordinator, and department-level spend visibility lagged behind by weeks—making real-time budget oversight nearly impossible.

With Ramp Bill Pay, Joffrey replaced time-consuming check processes with automated payments by ACH, card, and international wire—all from one central system. The team now tracks spend by project code, enabling real-time visibility across departments without waiting for month-end close.

By consolidating bill payments, credit cards, reimbursements, and reporting into one platform, Joffrey has saved over 15 hours per week and now completes AP reconciliation within the first 5 days of the month—supporting more agile, informed financial decisions.

“Ramp has allowed us to consolidate credit cards, ACH payments, check payments, and reimbursements into one place and give us a full picture for insights.” — Gee Hoon Lim, Director of Finance at The Joffrey Ballet

When nonprofits should move from spreadsheets to AP software

Managing accounts payable manually can slow down your team, complicate grant reporting, and increase the risk of compliance gaps. You can track everything in spreadsheets, but once you're processing dozens of invoices across multiple programs, it gets messy fast.

That's where AP software helps. Instead of chasing down approvals over email or digging through folders for receipts during an audit, everything lives in one place. You can see who approved what, when payments went out, and which expenses tie to which grants.

Ramp Bill Pay handles the full AP workflow and keeps your documentation audit-ready. If you're looking to move away from manual processes, get started with Ramp Bill Pay.

*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.