Why MakersHub is the BILL Alternative for Complex AP Needs

When your business is growing, managing accounts payable (AP) gets increasingly complex. More invoices, more approvals, more vendors—and more risk of manual errors. You need an AP solution that not only keeps up but helps you thrive.

Many businesses start with BILL—and for good reason. It’s a well-known name with solid features for small companies. But as complexity grows, so do the frustrations. That’s where MakersHub steps in as the best BILL alternative, purpose-built for finance teams who need structured automation, real-time job costing, and seamless vendor payments.

In this comprehensive AP software comparison, we’ll dive deep into why businesses are making the switch to MakersHub, how it outperforms BILL in key areas, and why it’s the best BILL competitor for businesses with high-volume, complex AP needs.

Why Choose a BILL Alternative?

BILL is a proven solution for small businesses with straightforward AP needs. It offers a reliable way to digitize invoices, automate payments, and sync with accounting systems like QuickBooks and Xero. But as your business grows, so do your AP requirements:

• High-volume invoice processing: managing hundreds or even thousands of bills per month
• Multi-entity operations: different departments, job sites, or business units, each with their own workflows
• Complex approvals: layered, contextual, involving multiple stakeholders
• Accurate job costing: real-time visibility into project-level expenses
• Vendor payment experience: faster payments, transparency, and easy onboarding
  
  

BILL’s feature set often hits its limits here. Finance teams find themselves stuck with manual workarounds, rigid workflows, and unreliable integrations that slow them down. That’s why more companies are actively searching for the best BILL competitor—a solution that truly scales with their operations.

Meet MakersHub: The Purpose-Built BILL Alternative

MakersHub is designed from the ground up to handle the complexities of modern AP automation. We don’t just process payments—we give finance teams control, visibility, and automation across the entire AP lifecycle.

Let’s break down the key reasons why MakersHub is the top choice when evaluating a BILL alternative.

Built for Complexity—Not Just Simplicity

BILL was built for small businesses and straightforward AP needs. It handles digitizing bills, basic approvals, and payments—but struggles when complexity enters the picture.

Here’s where MakersHub shines:

• High-Volume Processing: MakersHub seamlessly handles hundreds to thousands of invoices each month, without performance issues or manual interventions.
• Layered Approvals: Configure structured approval workflows based on project, PO, customer, or cost code.
• Multi-Entity Support: Manage AP across departments, job sites, and business units—all from a single dashboard.

Why It Matters: As your business grows, AP complexity grows too. MakersHub ensures you scale efficiently, not manually.

True End-to-End AP Automation

Many finance teams assume all AP software is fully automated—but that’s rarely the case.

BILL focuses heavily on payments and basic approvals. It often requires manual invoice entry, limited auto-extraction, and disconnected workflows that cause delays and errors.

MakersHub, on the other hand, automates everything from invoice ingestion to payment reconciliation:

• AI-Driven Invoice Capture: Line-item extraction for detailed coding—no manual entry needed.
• Intelligent PO Matching: Auto-matches invoices to purchase orders, flagging discrepancies before payments go out.
• Automated Approvals: Custom workflows that adapt to your business structure, not one-size-fits-all.
• Frictionless Payments: Faster vendor payments with full transparency and reconciliation.

Why It Matters: End-to-end automation means less busywork, fewer errors, and more time for strategic financial management.

Real-Time Job Costing & Cost Visibility

Job costing isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity for industries like construction, field services, and any business managing projects.

BILL lacks native job costing. It forces finance teams to manually code expenses in external accounting software, delaying insights and increasing errors.

MakersHub makes job costing automatic. Every bill is tagged with job codes at the time of entry, giving you real-time visibility into project-level expenses and margins:

• Accurate Cost Allocation: Track costs at the project level as soon as bills are ingested.
• Margin Protection: Catch overspending early—before it hits your bottom line.
• Seamless Accounting Integration: Syncs cleanly with QuickBooks and other accounting systems for error-free reporting.

Why It Matters: Real-time job costing empowers finance teams to protect profits and manage budgets proactively.

A Better Vendor Payment Experience

Your vendors are crucial to your success. Slow or opaque payments can damage relationships, cause delays, and hurt your business.

BILL often frustrates vendors with 3–6 day ACH processing times, forced virtual card payments that some vendors reject, and lack of real-time payment tracking.

MakersHub prioritizes vendor relationships:

• Faster Payments: ACH, wires, and checks—all processed efficiently.
• Real-Time Tracking: Vendors see payment status at every step, reducing confusion and support calls.
• Frictionless Onboarding: No headaches—vendors onboard seamlessly and get paid faster.

Why It Matters: A smooth vendor experience means stronger partnerships, better pricing, and improved operational efficiency.

Predictable, Transparent Pricing

Nobody likes surprises—especially when it comes to costs.

BILL often starts at $45/user/month but quickly adds transaction fees, payment surcharges, and other costs that eat into your margins.

MakersHub offers a transparent, scalable pricing model:

• No Hidden Fees: What you see is what you get—no surprises.
• Value-Driven Pricing: Pay for automation that delivers ROI, not for transactions that slow you down.
• Scales with Your Business: Bring more users and more invoices onboard without worrying about exponential price jumps.

Why It Matters: Predictable pricing helps finance teams budget confidently and allocate resources effectively.

Seamless QuickBooks Integration (Without Headaches)

Your accounting system is the backbone of your financial operations. An AP solution that struggles to sync with it can cause headaches and hours of troubleshooting.

BILL uses third-party middleware for QuickBooks sync, often leading to duplicate entries, missing invoices, or delayed reconciliations.

MakersHub offers in-house QuickBooks integration that’s reliable and real-time:

• Direct Integration: No third-party middle layers to break.
• Real-Time Sync: When a bill is marked as paid in QuickBooks, it’s updated instantly in MakersHub.
• Support You Can Count On: Our in-house team ensures your integration runs smoothly.

Why It Matters: Accurate data, faster closes, and fewer errors keep your finance team—and your auditors—happy.

Advanced Data Extraction & PO Matching

Data extraction and PO matching are critical for businesses dealing with structured invoices and purchase orders.

BILL often requires manual input of invoice details and PO matching, leading to delays and errors.

MakersHub uses AI-driven extraction and PO matching:

• Line-Item Extraction: Capture detailed invoice data instantly.
• Automated PO Matching: Match invoices to purchase orders, flag discrepancies, and resolve issues before payment.
• Audit-Ready: Maintain a clean, accurate record of every transaction.

Why It Matters: Reducing manual work helps finance teams focus on strategy, not data entry.

Who Benefits Most from MakersHub?

MakersHub is the best BILL alternative for:

• Companies processing hundreds to thousands of invoices per month
• Businesses with multi-entity operations and complex approval workflows
• Finance teams that need real-time job costing and cost visibility
• Organizations prioritizing vendor relationships and on-time payments
• CFOs and controllers looking for predictable pricing and seamless accounting integrations
  

Why Businesses Are Making the Switch

Companies leaving BILL for MakersHub consistently cite:

✔️ Fully automated AP lifecycle—from bill ingestion to payments

✔️ Real-time cost tracking—project-level insights that protect margins

✔️ AI-powered PO matching—error prevention at every step

✔️ Scalability—handle growing volumes without growing headaches

✔️ Vendor-friendly payments—faster payments and happier partners

✔️ QuickBooks sync that just works—no more integration nightmares

Final Takeaway: Choose the Best BILL Alternative

BILL has helped many businesses start their AP automation journey. But as complexity grows, it often creates more friction than efficiency.

MakersHub was built for the modern AP team—offering the structured automation, real-time visibility, and seamless payments that growing businesses need. Whether you’re managing high invoice volumes, multi-entity operations, or complex job costing, MakersHub scales with you—without the pain points of BILL.

Ready to see how MakersHub can transform your AP process? Schedule a personalized demo today and experience the difference.