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Accounting Automation

How Growing Businesses Can Automate and Protect Payments

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For finance teams, finding the right bill pay solution can feel like Goldilocks searching for the perfect porridge—many options are either too basic for complex operations or too sophisticated and expensive for mid-market needs. 

At a recent Earmark Expo webinar, hosts Blake Oliver and David Leary invited Omri Mor from Routable to demonstrate how their platform fills this critical gap in the accounts payable market.

“Either the bill pay app is too big for your client, or it’s too small for your client. Sometimes it’s just never the right size,” explained David when introducing the session. “That’s the struggle we have as accountants—getting the right bill pay app for clients.”

When It’s Time to Graduate from Basic Bill Pay

Routable positions itself as the logical next step for businesses that have outgrown basic bill pay solutions but aren’t ready for complex enterprise systems. According to Omri, the platform serves businesses processing anywhere from 100 to over 100,000 payments per month.

“We typically recommend considering a graduation from Bill.com at about 100 to 250 bill payments per month,”  explained. He outlined seven indications that it’s time to upgrade:

  1. Transaction volume exceeding 100 monthly payments
  2. Need for better ERP synchronization (Routable boasts a 99.8% sync success rate)
  3. Multi-entity support requirements (from 2 to 85+ entities)
  4. Complex approval rules based on different business dimensions
  5. Delegation requirements across growing finance teams
  6. Subsidiary management complexity
  7. Improved data integrity needs

Perhaps most importantly, Routable doesn’t require businesses to replace their existing accounting systems. As David highlighted during the demo, “If you’re on QuickBooks or Xero, that’s your GL, and you grow to a point, you can just add on Routable. You don’t have to go get a whole new ERP and replace your whole system.”

Powerful Features That Grow With Your Business

The demonstration showcased several standout features that address common pain points for growing businesses:

Seamless Vendor Management

Routable offers a branded vendor portal that doesn’t confuse vendors with third-party interfaces. “We don’t want to hijack your vendor. We don’t want to market to your vendor. We don’t want to confuse your vendor,” Omri emphasized.

The custom-branded portal allows vendors to self-onboard by providing contact information, completing tax forms electronically, and securely connecting bank accounts. The platform also includes built-in 1099 management, eliminating the need for separate tax filing software.

Deep ERP Integration

One of Routable’s most impressive capabilities is its real-time integration with accounting systems such as Oracle NetSuite and Sage Intacct. The platform automatically pulls all fields from your ERP—including custom fields—without additional setup.

“Let’s say you remove class, we’ll remove class. Let’s say you add a new field called ‘David’s favorite ice cream.’ we load ‘David’s favorite ice cream,'” Omri explained. This adaptability ensures the system always reflects your current accounting structure.

Flexible Approval Workflows

The platform allows highly customized, multi-level approval rules based on any field in your ERP system. You can nest rules within other rules for maximum flexibility, and approvers can respond directly via email without logging in.

“Choose your own adventure. It’s one of the most important things we’ve found in accounting and finance,” Omri noted.

Advanced Purchase Order Matching

For inventory-backed businesses, Routable offers sophisticated two-way and three-way matching capabilities. The system supports up to three million SKUs and can process thousands of invoices with detailed line items within seconds.

“This process would take 25 to 30 minutes for a human to do. We’re doing this within split seconds, and we’re coding it for you,” Omri highlighted.

Fighting Fraud with AI

Perhaps the most forward-thinking aspect of Routable’s platform is its upcoming AI-powered fraud detection system. This feature addresses a critical problem: mid-market companies lose an average of $280,000 annually to invoice fraud.

“Not only is faking invoices and receipts here, but faking phone calls is here,” Omri explained. “I can build an agent that sounds exactly like a human today and confirm [incorrect banking details]. So our old methods are not enough… we want to fight AI with AI.”

The system automatically flags suspicious elements in invoices, paired with confidence scoring, including:

  • Modified text in vendor names, dates, and amounts
  • Address changes from previous invoices
  • Duplicate invoice numbers
  • New or changed bank account details
  • Mismatches between stated banks and routing numbers

Omri shared a real-world example where Routable helped prevent a sophisticated $1 million fraud attempt: “Our customer said, ‘Hey, we think this is fake.’ We said, ‘You’re confirmed. Here’s the 17 things that were doctored on this invoice.'”

Simplified Pricing for Growing Teams

Unlike many software solutions that use per-seat pricing models, Routable offers unlimited users with pricing based on payment volume. The platform starts at $599 per month and scales based on throughput rather than user count.

“Typically, you give two to five people access to your bank, and you give maybe five or seven people access to your ERP, but your operations team might need access to ‘did this get paid?'” Omri explained. “There’s essentially an onion: finance, then fin-ops, then ops, then maybe customer success.”

This approach allows businesses to distribute access across departments without additional costs, fostering collaboration between finance and operational teams.

A Strategic Investment in Financial Operations

For finance leaders and accounting professionals, Routable is more than just a bill pay solution; it’s a strategic investment that transforms accounts payable from a transaction-processing burden into a business advantage.

Blake summarized, “The way you’ve built the sync to the ERP system or QuickBooks is so rock solid. Being able to pull everything in… it’s a dream as an accountant.”

When considering the return on investment, Omri offered a compelling perspective: “I’ve never met a CFO or director of accounting, or a head of a CPA firm who has enough budget. What if you could say, ‘Hey, if we catch fraud, we get that budget back?’”

Whether you’re managing finance for a growing business or advising clients navigating these challenges, exploring modern accounts payable solutions like Routable could transform what has traditionally been a back-office function into a strategic enabler for business growth.

To learn more about how Routable can help your business or clients transform their accounts payable processes, watch the full Earmark Expo webinar.

AI’s Game-Changing Impact on B2B Revenue Management

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Technology has made many tasks like paying employees, managing bills, and handling expenses much more manageable in business finance. However, tracking revenue—essential for any company’s success—has mostly relied on old tools like spreadsheets and emails, leading to a lot of manual work and confusion. Fortunately, that situation is starting to improve. 

In a recent Earmark Expo webinar, Blake Oliver, CPA, and David Leary explored how Tabs, a new AI-powered platform, transforms B2B revenue management by bringing invoicing, usage-based billing, and revenue recognition under one roof.

Why Revenue Management Has Lagged Behind

Even though significant improvements have been made in automating accounts payable and payroll processes, managing revenue still requires a lot of manual effort. David pointed out that the accounting department is responsible for handling payroll and paying bills, but revenue management often gets divided among different teams, including marketing, sales, and finance.

According to Ali Hussain, CEO and founder of Tabs, “Revenue is just a very complex discipline from a data standpoint.” Each contract can carry unique terms, amendments, and usage triggers. Until recently, this complexity kept automation efforts at bay.

In 2023, artificial intelligence advanced enough to tackle complicated business contracts, even those tucked away in emails or side agreements. Taking a cue from how today’s accounting and payroll systems have combined various tools into a single platform, Tabs offers an all-in-one solution for managing the entire revenue process. This means businesses no longer have to search through multiple spreadsheets, contract systems, and scattered documents to close the books.

From Contract Ingestion to Collections and Revenue reporting: A Look Inside Tabs

During the demo, Caitlin Lu, Head of Partnerships, showcased how Tabs centralizes every step of the revenue cycle:

  1. Contract Ingestion
  • Forward a contract (formal MSA, email agreement, renewal, side letter—English language only) to Tabs’ secure email.
  • Tabs automatically scans the document, extracting billing terms, pricing details, renewal dates, payment schedules, and usage allowances.
  1. Billing and Invoicing
  • Tabs auto-generates invoices based on the extracted terms.
  • Users can edit or confirm billing frequency or payment terms before sending.
  • Integration with QuickBooks or NetSuite is bidirectional: once sent, the invoice syncs to the general ledger, and any subsequent changes in QuickBooks or NetSuite flow back into Tabs.
  1. Usage-Based Billing
  • For companies charging by hourly rates, seat licenses, tiered usage, or any variable consumption model, Tabs removes the need for manual calculations.
  • To share usage data, simply upload CSV files or integrate a BI tool. Tabs then apply the contract’s negotiated rates.
  1. Revenue Recognition
  • Tabs automatically computes deferred, unbilled, and recognized revenue aligned with GAAP requirements.
  • It generates corresponding journal entries for each period, which are ready for import into the GL.
  • For audits, every revenue schedule is tied to the original contract, creating a clear paper trail.
  1. Collections and Renewals
  • A live collections dashboard highlights overdue invoices, pending invoices, and upcoming renewals.
  • Automated reminders can be sent to customers.
  • Renewal information, including price escalators or extended terms, surfaces well ahead of contract end dates, mitigating revenue leakage.
  1. Customer Payment Portal
  • Each invoice includes a secure payment link where customers can pay by ACH, credit card, wire, or check.
  • ACH, checks, and wires incur no additional fees in Tabs; credit card fees depend on the Stripe terms negotiated by the merchant.
  • Tabs applies payments and reconciles amounts automatically, marking invoices paid in both Tabs and your accounting system.

Implementation and Pricing

Unlike traditional billing systems that can take six to nine months to set up, Tabs is designed to help finance teams get started in just one billing cycle. There’s no need for costly technical projects; many companies can simply export their usage data from their product team using a spreadsheet. Tabs takes care of everything else from there.

Tabs offers a straightforward pricing plan with a fixed fee, meaning there are no extra charges based on how much you use the service. They collaborate with Stripe to handle credit card payments, but you can choose any payment processor.

Transforming the Role of Finance

The Tabs approach offers a refreshing solution for accountants who often find themselves overwhelmed by complicated revenue models, spreadsheets, or the hassle of tracking down missing contract updates. Instead of getting bogged down with tedious data entry and reconciliations, finance teams can focus on more valuable tasks. This includes providing insights on pricing strategies or analyzing how profitable different customers are. Plus, the system helps ensure everything is ready for audits and automatically handles journal entries, which helps to minimize mistakes and keeps financial records tidy.

“This is your chance to do more with less,” says Ali. By centralizing contracts, usage, billing, and revenue recognition, Tabs enables finance professionals to be proactive rather than reactive—whether at a large firm managing hundreds of contracts or at a growing SaaS startup looking to modernize its revenue processes.

Ready to Learn More?

If you’re ready to see how Tabs can help, or if you’re an accountant interested in rolling this out to clients, visit tabs.inc and explore the “Partners” section or schedule a demo.

You can also earn free CPE by watching the webinar’s replay and completing a short quiz in the Earmark app. With AI now able to tackle the messy reality of B2B revenue, it’s time to shed that manual work and step into the future of revenue management.

Beat Spreadsheet Chaos and Improve Audit Efficiency  

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If you’re running an accounting firm, one statistic should be on your radar: 30% of audit engagements fail to stay on time and within budget. In an era of talent shortages and rising client expectations, this isn’t just a scheduling issue—it threatens profitability and long-term client relationships.

The Frustrations of Manual Approaches

Anyone who has worked in public accounting knows how messy things can get trying to manage work with Excel spreadsheets, SharePoint folders, and long email threads. You may try to keep everything in one email, but it often becomes too cluttered. If you create several threads for each request, you can easily lose track of them. This confusion can lead to clients forgetting which documents they have sent, and the audit team spends too much time trying to find out what is still missing.

Many firms face challenges with low realization rates and delayed projects, largely due to cumbersome manual workflows. As a result, client experience can also suffer. Keep in mind that your client contact has a full-time job, and sifting through emails to locate the correct request only adds to their frustration.

Enter Suralink: Reinventing the PBC Process

In a recent Earmark Expo, Ryan Smith showcased Suralink, describing it as the industry’s leading “Provided by Client” (PBC) solution, serving over 1,100 CPA firms and 6,500 client users, including 60% of the top 200 CPA firms. Suralink was born from a CPA’s firsthand frustration with spreadsheets and email threads. The goal? Streamline client collaboration so that everything—document requests, file uploads, comments, and status updates—happens in one secure portal.

Key Features for Modern Audit Workflows

Here’s how Suralink helps to address the challenges of manual processes and reimagine client engagement for faster and more profitable audits:

  1. Single Source of Truth
  • All request items are tracked within one platform—no more scouring inboxes, no more juggling Excel checklists.
  • Color-coded statuses (Outstanding, Fulfilled, Returned, Accepted) make it easy for clients to see what’s pending. Turning “boxes” yellow or green creates a sense of progress and gamification.
  1. Assignment and Permissions
  • Each request can be assigned to a firm user or a specific client contact. Users see only the items relevant to them, reducing confusion.
  • Sensitive requests (e.g., payroll data) can be “locked,” so only designated individuals see those documents. Clients appreciate the added confidentiality.
  1. Consolidated Communication
  • Instead of cluttered email threads, each request includes its own dedicated comment section. Conversations stay in context; everyone can refer to them as needed.
  • Daily digest notifications keep the engagement team updated on new uploads or comments, while an “escalate” feature sends real-time alerts for mission-critical deadlines.
  1. Roll-Forward Simplicity
  • For recurring engagements—like annual audits—Suralink’s roll-forward function saves last year’s request structure and assignments. When the new cycle begins, your client can see what was provided before, drastically reducing guesswork and set-up time.
  1. Secure File Sharing and eSignature
  • Documents are uploaded directly into a secure portal, eliminating the need for unencrypted email attachments.
  • A built-in eSignature feature allows firms to send engagement letters, Form 8879, or other documents for electronic signatures. Clients receive an automated prompt and can sign right into the platform.
  1. Dashboard and Visibility
  • Partners and managers get an at-a-glance view of every active engagement. They can filter by department, office, or individual staff member to see where bottlenecks occur.
  • A complete audit trail logs every upload, download, comment, and status change, ensuring full transparency.

Efficiency, ROI, and Client Satisfaction

When CPA firms switch to Suralink they see up to 40% time savings in managing document requests alone. Instead of struggling through manual checklists and email clutter, engagement teams focus on higher-value tasks—like analyzing data and advising clients.

Clients also notice a major improvement in service quality. Everything is in one place, and they can easily upload or view what’s needed. Ryan Smith mentioned that some clients have explicitly told their CPA firms, “If you ever leave Suralink, I’ll find another firm that uses it.” That’s a telling endorsement for any technology investment.

Laying the Groundwork for an AI-Driven Future

The future of audit and assurance services will undoubtedly involve artificial intelligence. Suralink is already preparing to add document preview and AI-driven checks—so the platform can verify whether clients have uploaded the correct file or automatically flag mismatched data.

Behind the scenes, an extensive API allows firms to integrate Suralink with other core systems, from CRM platforms that create new engagements automatically to document storage solutions for archiving. This open architecture paves the way for AI tools that handle basic document verification, sampling, and initial quality checks. Think of it as building a modern foundation that supports the next wave of innovation in accounting tech.

Fast Implementation and Transparent Pricing

Beyond the technology itself, Suralink stands out for its rapid onboarding:

  • Implementation: Firms with hundreds of users have gone live in about a week or two.
  • Training: Options range from weekly webinar sessions to dedicated Customer Success Managers under the Professional plan.
  • Pricing: Typically per firm user (around $29 per month under the Standard plan). All clients, engagements, and storage are included, so there’s no added cost per client or per project.

Why Now Is the Time to Innovate

With talent shortages squeezing firms, rising client demands for better digital experiences, and a 30% risk of engagements blowing past budgets, now is the moment to rethink your PBC process. Modern collaboration tools like Suralink eliminate inefficient back-and-forth, keep data secure, and free your team to focus on what really matters—delivering high-quality audit and advisory services.

And this is just the beginning. As AI capabilities expand, the right platform will let you tap into automated reviews, faster document verification, and other efficiencies we’re only starting to imagine. By choosing a solution designed for the future, you’ll protect the investment you make today and position your firm for years of innovation and growth.

To learn more about how Suralink can transform your engagements and improve client collaboration, check out the Earmark Expo. Whether you’re a solo practitioner or part of a top 25 firm, it’s time to break free from the old way of doing things—and close the door on that 30% problem for good.

The Future of Financial Reporting Is Already Here – And It’s Automated

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If you’re like most accountants, you spend countless hours updating spreadsheets, reconciling data between systems, and generating financial statements. Month-end close often involves manual data entry, copying and pasting, and time-consuming validation checks. However, recent advancements in automation tools mean those days may be numbered.

During a recent Earmark Expo webinar, G-Accon showcased how its Google Sheets add-on integrates seamlessly with cloud accounting platforms like QuickBooks Online, Xero, FreshBooks, and Sage. The demo highlighted a new era of accounting workflows—one in which real-time synchronization, automated data processing, and detailed reporting can dramatically reduce manual effort and give accountants more time for higher-value advisory work.

Below are the biggest insights from the live demonstration—and how they could reshape your month-end process.

Automated Reporting & Dynamic Templates

One of the standout features is how G-Accon handles financial reporting without storing any data on its own servers. Each time you refresh a report, G-Accon reaches directly into your accounting platform to pull in current numbers. By relying on live data, accountants always see the most up-to-date figures.

But the real magic lies in the template-based system. Rather than manually reconfiguring date ranges or reapplying custom formulas each time, you can define a structure once and let G-Accon handle the rest. Need to show net profit margin or custom KPIs on the P&L? No problem. Create the formula once, and it stays anchored even when new rows (like newly created accounts) appear.

“You don’t have to open each and every template,” explained G-Accon Chief Operating Officer Yelena Tretyakova. “You come here, change your formula in one place, and it updates everywhere.”

This means you can manage multiple sets of financial statements—like P&Ls, balance sheets, and cash flow statements—in a fraction of the time. Dynamic date ranges, color-coded negatives, and company logos can be baked right into your templates, giving clients professional-looking reports with zero repetitive effort.

Bulk Data Upload & Validation

Another common pain point is manual transaction entry. Whether you’re reclassifying expenses, correcting chart-of-accounts mappings, or posting large journal entries, uploading changes line by line is error-prone and labor-intensive.

G-Accon tackles this by allowing bulk uploads from Google Sheets to be directly uploaded to QuickBooks or other platforms. With one click, you can push thousands of lines—bills, invoices, journal entries, time activities—while G-Accon enforces validation rules. If the system detects an unbalanced journal entry, for instance, it flags the row and prevents erroneous data from ever reaching your GL.

You can also automate modifications in bulk. For example, if multiple transactions need a new class or department code, simply download them to a sheet, change the class code, and push them back. Each row’s status is tracked in real-time so you can see exactly which transactions were posted successfully.

“If you have errors because your debits and credits don’t balance, you’ll see that directly from QuickBooks,” Yelena noted. “You can go back, fix the row, and re-upload.”

Multi-Entity Consolidation & Intercompany Eliminations

For firms managing multiple clients—or businesses with multiple subsidiaries—the ability to consolidate is critical. G-Accon supports multi-entity consolidation by pulling data from all connected organizations, unifying it in Google Sheets, and even converting foreign currency amounts where needed.

Crucially, it also supports intercompany eliminations and grouping of accounts. If entities use different account names or numbering conventions, G-Accon lets you create elimination rules and group accounts under a shared heading (e.g., “Operating Expenses”). You can then generate consolidated P&Ls, balance sheets, and cash flow statements that neatly combine or exclude specific line items across multiple organizations.

“If you create new account codes in your chart of accounts, G-Accon picks that up automatically,” Yelena explained. “For multi-entity consolidation, you can map or group different accounts and then eliminate intercompany transactions.”

This streamlined approach removes a huge source of manual reconciliation and ensures you always have an accurate, real-time view of your organization as a whole.

Pre-Built KPI Dashboards

G-Accon also comes bundled with a set of pre-built KPI dashboards. With just a few clicks, you can stand up a visual snapshot of a company’s financial health, showing revenue, expenses, margins, and more. The underlying data is continuously refreshed from QuickBooks or other accounting systems, so these dashboards always display the latest numbers.

Best of all, these templates are fully customizable. You can add or edit charts, incorporate industry-specific metrics, or layer in additional Google Sheets formulas. Because everything lives in Sheets, you have the flexibility to adapt each dashboard to perfectly match client needs.

Workflow Automation & Detailed Logs

While automated reporting and bulk data uploads are huge time-savers, the workflow automation component ties it all together:

  • Scheduling: Set daily or hourly refresh intervals for reports.
  • Alerts: Configure custom triggers (e.g., email stakeholders if monthly expenses surpass $10,000).
  • Report Distribution: Automatically email dashboards or PDF statements to management or clients.
  • Backups: Generate snapshot backups of your Google Sheets file to preserve historical data.
  • Webhooks: If you want to connect with other applications or processes, G-Accon supports inbound/outbound hooks.

What’s more, G-Accon provides a detailed operations log showing every automated action taken. This means you can skip the frantic spreadsheet checks—simply look for “Success” or “Error” in the log to verify your tasks completed correctly.

“If you have 200 different reports, you’re not going to check each tab,” said Yelena. “You come here and see all actions in the log file.”

Real-World Use Cases & Pricing

Accountants use G-Accon for a wide variety of tasks, from month-end close to budgeting and forecasting. Franchise owners leverage multi-entity consolidation to handle dozens of stores; nonprofits integrate with QuickBooks to create advanced dashboards for board members; and businesses that run large volumes of transactions can bulk upload journal entries for year-end cleanups.

All features are included at every plan level. Pricing scales based on how many companies (entities) and users you need, so smaller firms can start affordably and expand without losing any functionality as they grow.

Move Beyond Manual Processes

Interested in exploring these automation capabilities further? Watch the entire Earmark Expo for a deep dive into G-Accon. You’ll see how easily you can move past traditional spreadsheet drudgery and deliver truly value-added advisory services to your clients.