Ramp vs MakersHub: When You Outgrow Card-Centric Workflows

If you searched for a Ramp alternative, you are likely feeling the limits of card-centric workflows for accounts payable. Ramp is strong for corporate cards, reimbursements, and software-driven limits. When vendor bills, purchase orders, job costing, and multi-entity control become the main show, an AP-first platform like MakersHub is built for that depth. Many finance teams use Ramp for cards and MakersHub for AP. This guide helps you decide when to add or switch to purpose-built AP automation.

Quick Take: Spend Management vs AP Automation

• Ramp focuses on spend management. Corporate cards, reimbursements, and controls tied to card usage.
• MakersHub focuses on AP automation. Vendor bills from any source, line-item extraction, PO and receipt matching, contextual approvals, and audit-ready records.
• Teams often use both. Ramp for cards. MakersHub for payables. Clean separation of duties with shared visibility.

Who Should Consider a Ramp Alternative

Choose an AP-first approach when you have at least three of the following:

• Hundreds or thousands of vendor bills per month.
• Line-item detail required for job costing or cost of goods.
• Purchase orders with price and quantity controls.
• Multi-entity or multi-location structure with separate books.
• Approvals that depend on vendor, GL, project, or threshold.
• Tight audit needs and grant or board approval requirements.
• Recurring non-card invoices for inventory, freight, utilities, and contractors.

MakersHub for AP Automation: The Clean Data Advantage

MakersHub solves the clean data problem so AP can run on rails:

• Full line-item extraction from any bill or receipt, including scans.
• Auto-coding to chart of accounts, classes, locations, jobs, and items.
• Three-way matching between bill, PO, and receipt to prevent overpay.
• Contextual approvals by vendor, amount, project, GL, or entity.
• Two-way sync with accounting so records stay accurate and auditable.
• Payments with auto-pay on due date and discount capture notifications.
• Audit trails with a complete history of actions and documents.

Ramp’s Strengths and Where It Fits

Ramp is excellent for managing card-based spend:

• Issue and control corporate cards with limits and policies.
• Centralize reimbursements and software subscriptions.
• Gain analytics over card activity and merchant usage.

Many teams keep Ramp for cards, but layer MakersHub for AP depth. You do not need to choose one or the other. You can pair them.

Side-By-Side Comparison

Known Limitations When AP Is Your Bottleneck

From teams that graduate beyond card-centric workflows:

• Not purpose-built for AP.
• Shallow PO and procurement support with limited line-item depth.
• Multi-page bills can be brittle without robust ingestion.
• Rigid expense approval models for AP-heavy environments.
• Reporting emphasizes card spend over AP analytics.
• Support gaps reported by users for some issues.
• Fraud support concerns reported by some users.
• Limited international or multi-currency capabilities for AP.
• Onboarding bottlenecks with limited 1:1 implementation for AP use cases.
• Credit dependency where incentives tilt toward card usage.
• OCR technology is outsourced rather than purpose-built for AP.

How MakersHub Wins for AP

Ramp manages spend. MakersHub manages payables. The two can be complementary.

• True line-item precision with AI-powered extraction that keeps every item separate.
• Advanced PO management with configurable approvals, three-way matching, and job costing.
• Multi-step contextual approvals tailored to vendors, projects, or spend thresholds.
• ERP-grade integrations with two-way sync for QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, Sage Intacct, and Netsuite. Custom advanced integrations are also available. 
• Transparent pricing so you pay for value, not card usage.
• Exceptional support with responsive, human onboarding and assistance.
• Purpose fit for complex industries such as construction, trades, manufacturing, real estate, nonprofits, retail, logistics, health and wellness, hospitality, and more: where every line item and every location has to tie out.
• Data integrity and ownership with no credit dependencies or card lock-in.

Real-World Scenarios

Construction and Field Services

• High volume of vendor bills for materials and subcontractors.
• Job costing requires item-level detail.
• Project managers approve in the field.
• Result with MakersHub: Bills captured with line items, PO matched, routed by project and threshold, and paid on time with full audit trails.

Advanced Manufacturing

• Multiple POs per build with price and quantity variance.
• Receipt matching is mandatory before payment.
• Result with MakersHub: Automated three-way match and exception handling. Fewer disputes and cleaner month-end.

Multi-Entity Real Estate or Hospitality

• Separate entities, properties, and cost centers.
• Approvals by property and GL.
• Result with MakersHub: Entity-aware coding and approvals, consolidated visibility, and faster close.

Implementation Notes

• You can run Ramp for cards and MakersHub for AP side by side.
• Use MakersHub’s AP inbox for bills, then flow data to accounting.
• Keep Ramp card policies for travel, SaaS, and incidentals.
• Maintain clean separation of duties: AP approvals and payment authorization in MakersHub, card controls in Ramp.

Pricing Snapshot

• MakersHub Bills Starter at $99 per month for teams where bill entry is eating hours.
• MakersHub AP Scaling at $249 per month for teams moving to partial or full payments automation.
• MakersHub Business Master with tailored pricing for high volume and complex approvals. See the full details on the Pricing page.

Ready to add AP depth next to your card program? See how MakersHub automates vendor bills, POs, and approvals while keeping your accounting clean. Book a Demo or start with the Free Trial.

FAQ

Is MakersHub a Ramp alternative or a complement to Ramp?
Both. Many teams keep Ramp for cards and use MakersHub for AP. MakersHub is an AP-first system for vendor bills, line-item data, POs, and multi-entity approvals.

Can MakersHub replace Ramp Bill Pay?
If your primary need is AP depth, yes. MakersHub is built for vendor bills, PO and receipt matching, and contextual approvals. You can still keep Ramp for cards.

Does MakersHub support multi-entity and multi-location accounting?
Yes. MakersHub codes by entity, location, class, project, and more, with approvals and reporting aligned to your structure.

How does MakersHub handle three-way matching?
MakersHub cross-checks bill, PO, and item receipt to prevent overpayments and catch price drift. Exceptions route to the right approver automatically.

What does implementation look like?
Hands-on onboarding focused on your AP workflows. Two-way accounting sync, inbox setup, approval rules, and PO matching are configured with your team.

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