The short answer
Accounts payable outsourcing is not one number. Three published shapes: a staffed seat ($3,000/person/month all-in at Exordiom), a managed AP function (from $12,000/month), and software you still run. BILL publishes tens of dollars per user. A loaded US AP hire is $136,320. Software when the gap is a tool; a pod when the gap is people.
Key takeaways
- Three shapes: a staffed seat, a managed AP function, and AP software you run yourself. Name which one you are looking at before comparing headlines.
- Exordiom publishes $3,000 per person per month all-in for a seat, and from $12,000 a month for managed AP. Replacement is inside the seat; the lead and automation pass are inside managed.
- A US AP hire, fully loaded, is $136,320 a year ($11,360 a month) — the homepage published figure. That is the comparator for one seat, not a ten-person AP team.
- BILL at $49–$89 per user is cheaper than any seat we publish. Buy it when the gap is invoicing and payments tooling.
- A pod is the buy when invoices sit because nobody is coding or matching them in the ERP you intend to keep. Payment authority stays with you.
What are the three ways accounts payable outsourcing is priced?
The quote you get will almost always be one of three shapes. They are not interchangeable. The general models — per seat, per transaction or hour, managed by function — live in how much outsourced accounting costs. This page is the AP-specific commercial version: invoices, matching, vendors and payment runs.
| Shape | How it is charged | Published example | What you still do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staffed AP seat | Flat monthly fee for a dedicated person | Exordiom $3,000 per person, per month, all-in | Direct the person; keep approvals and payment release |
| Managed AP function | Monthly fee scoped to invoice volume | Exordiom from $12,000 per month, including the delivery lead and an automation pass | Set policy, approve spend, release payment |
| AP software you run | Per user and/or platform fee, plus payment fees | BILL Essentials $49 / Team $65 / Corporate $89 per user per month; Tipalti AP from $99/month; Melio from $0 | Process invoices, chase exceptions, own the AP desk |
A fourth shape exists — a per-invoice rate — but almost no specialist AP outsourcer publishes the unit on their own site. We cover the model later without filling in a fake dollar figure.
Most AP BPO shops do not publish an AP-specific rate card. Personiv does not publish pricing. AvidXchange has no public pricing page; /pricing/ returns 404. Invensis publishes monthly finance-and-accounting packages that include invoice processing, from $250 (Basic) through $850 (Elite, described as full-cycle P2P / AP). That is a bookkeeping package, not a specialist AP pod in your ERP.
What does a US AP hire actually cost?
The honest comparator for a staffed seat is not salary. It is fully loaded cost. Exordiom’s published homepage figure for one US hire, fully loaded, is $136,320 a year, or $11,360 a month ($136,320 ÷ 12).
The homepage illustration is a ten-person blended AP, AR and close team ($1,363,200 in house versus $360,000 with Exordiom). A ten-person AP-only desk is not a typical mid-market shape, so the comparison here is one AP hire, same unit economics.
| One US AP hire, fully loaded | One Exordiom AP seat | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual cost | $136,320 | $36,000 |
| Per month | $11,360 | $3,000 |
| Basis | Published fully loaded US hire | $3,000 per person, all-in |
| Difference, per year | — | $100,320 |
Two AP seats, same arithmetic: $272,640 in house versus $72,000. Cost is not the only variable — time zone, who manages the person, and whether the process is documented belong in the same decision. Broader in-house versus offshore questions sit in offshore accounting vs hiring in house.
What is included in each price — and what is not?
The gap between quotes is rarely the headline. It is what sits outside it.
- Staffed AP seat, $3,000 per person per month all-in. Recruitment, employment, HR, payroll, unlimited free replacements and hypercare are inside the fee. You interview and direct the person. Your ERP licences stay yours.
- Managed AP, from $12,000 a month. The named delivery lead, a team sized to volume, an automation pass, a scorecard and a weekly review are inside the fee. Payment authority is not. Accounting judgment is not. Exordiom does not sign statements.
- AP software. Capture, workflow, payment rails — not an AP clerk. BILL at $49–$89 per user is a licence plus ACH $0.59 (sender and receiver) and card at 2.9%. Tipalti at $99 starting is a platform fee; per-invoice and per-payment fees are charged on top and not published. Melio at $0–$80 is a subscription; ACH after the free allotment is $0.50, card is 2.9%. None of those prices includes someone to resolve a match exception or chase a missing receipt.
None of the three prices includes approving spend, resolving a genuine exception, or releasing payment. Those stay with you. See published pricing.
When is BILL, Tipalti or Melio the cheaper — and right — buy?
When the gap is invoicing and payments tooling, not headcount. BILL at $49, $65 or $89 per user per month is cheaper than any staffed seat we publish, and we will not pretend otherwise. A controller who already runs AP in QuickBooks Online or Xero, and who needs a bills inbox, approvals and ACH, should buy BILL. Five Corporate users at $89 is $445 a month — not in the same category as a $3,000 seat.
Melio is cheaper still for a smaller bill-pay desk. Go is $0, one user, five free ACH transfers a month. Core is $25 plus $10 per extra user; Boost $55 plus $10; Unlimited $80 with unlimited seats. If that covers the work, a pod is the wrong buy.
Tipalti is the software buy when you need a supplier portal, unlimited users (no per-seat fee) and global payments, and you will take a custom quote for the transaction layer. AP plans start at $99 a month; Mass Payments at $249 — still cheaper than a seat. Unpublished per-invoice and per-payment fees make the total a conversation. AvidXchange does not publish a price.
None of these platforms is a person. If invoices sit because nobody is coding or matching them, software will not close the gap. The mechanical steps inside the ERP you already run are in how to automate accounts payable.
When is a staffed seat or managed AP the right buy?
When the gap is people-plus-process inside the ERP you intend to keep. Typical signals: an AP backlog, first-pass match low because receipts are missing, the controller as the only person who can answer a vendor, coverage collapsing at month-end. That is not a missing BILL feature. It is a staffing and process problem.
A dedicated AP seat at $3,000 a month is usually the right first buy when there is roughly one full-time equivalent of AP work and someone who can direct it. You interview the person; they work your hours in your stack; replacement is included.
Managed AP from $12,000 a month is the buy when you want an outcome — invoices processed to cycle time, payment runs prepared to the last mile, statements reconciled — and you do not want to manage the individuals. The lead and the automation pass are inside the fee. Who manages the team is the actual fork; see managed accounting versus staff augmentation.
Do not buy a pod to replace a $49 user licence. Do not buy a user licence to replace a missing AP clerk.
Why is there no honest per-invoice average?
Because the vendors who use that model almost never publish the unit rate. Tipalti says transaction pricing is charged per invoice and per payment, then asks for a quote. AvidXchange quotes against volume. Specialist AP BPO shops quote after seeing your invoice mix. Third-party blogs that print “$X per invoice” are synthesising, not citing a live rate card.
The model itself is real: you pay per document, sometimes more for exceptions. It also pays the provider more in your busiest month — the opposite incentive you want from anyone who might automate. We do not publish a per-invoice rate, and we will not invent an average to fill the cell.
If a quote arrives per invoice, convert it at your peak month, not your average, and ask what happens when volume falls 20 percent or rises 50 percent. That method is in the general cost piece.
Who holds payment authority?
You do. In a staffed or managed engagement, the team prepares the payment run to the last mile. Your approvers release it. Software does not change that: BILL, Tipalti and Melio still sit behind your approval matrix if you configure them that way. Approving spend, resolving a genuine exception, and releasing payment are controls. The rest of procure-to-pay — capture, coding, matching, scheduling, statement reconciliation — is the work that transfers.
This is not accounting, tax or audit advice. Exordiom does not sign, certify or take responsibility for financial statements. Your licensed professionals keep that judgment.
Frequently asked questions
How much does accounts payable outsourcing cost per month?
A dedicated AP seat at Exordiom is $3,000 per person per month all-in. Managed AP starts at $12,000 a month, including the lead and the automation pass. AP software is cheaper: BILL publishes $49 / $65 / $89 per user; Tipalti AP from $99 with unpublished transaction fees; Melio from $0.
Is AP outsourcing cheaper than hiring an AP clerk in house?
On direct cost, an Exordiom AP seat is $36,000 a year against $136,320 for one US hire fully loaded — the homepage published figure. AP software at tens of dollars per user is cheaper still, and is the right buy when the gap is a tool rather than a missing person.
How much does BILL cost for accounts payable?
As of 27 August 2026: Essentials $49, Team $65, Corporate $89 per user per month; Enterprise custom. Sender ACH $0.59; check $1.99; card 2.9%. Receivers pay $0.59 ACH and 2.9% card. That is a licence plus rails, not an AP clerk.
Do Tipalti, Melio and AvidXchange publish AP pricing?
Tipalti publishes AP from $99/month (unlimited users) and Mass Payments from $249; transaction fees are unpublished. Melio publishes Go $0, Core $25 plus $10/user, Boost $55 plus $10, Unlimited $80, Platinum custom. AvidXchange does not publish a price; /pricing/ 404s.
When should I buy AP software instead of outsourcing AP?
When the gap is invoicing and payments tooling, not headcount. A controller already running AP in QuickBooks or Xero who needs a bills inbox and ACH should buy BILL or Melio. A pod is the buy when nobody is coding, matching or chasing receipts inside the ERP you intend to keep.