Why Top Accounting Firms Automate Accounts Payable with MakersHub

Why You Should Rethink Accounts Payable

Most firms still treat Accounts Payable like a client-side chore. Something the client should handle, not the accountant.

But that mindset is outdated—and expensive.

Accounting firms that offer AP services are building better margins, creating stickier revenue, and attracting higher-tier clients who expect more from their financial partners.

And they’re doing it without adding overhead.

Let’s get into how.

1. Traditional services aren’t cutting it anymore

Margins are tightening across the industry.

Tax season is still crunch time, but the payoff isn’t what it used to be. Bookkeeping has become a race to the bottom, with clients constantly comparing prices. Meanwhile, they still want ongoing support—just not at higher costs.

That leaves your firm stuck.

You’re doing more work, but not bringing in more money. The way out isn’t working longer hours. It’s offering something clients actually need, are willing to pay for, and don’t want to manage on their own.

That’s where Accounts Payable comes in.

2. Most firms ignore AP. That’s your advantage.

Let’s be honest. Vendor bills are messy.

Approvals fall through the cracks. Payments get missed. It’s manual. It’s chaotic. And most accounting firms don’t want to touch it.

But your clients?

They’re drowning in it.

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They’re struggling with:

• Confusing approval chains
  
  
• Duplicate payments and vendor errors
  
  
• Missed due dates and early-pay discounts
  
  
• Lack of visibility into who owes what, when
  
  
• Constant back-and-forth over email
  
  

They’re buried under invoices and chasing signatures. They’re reacting instead of planning. And they’re wasting real money.

They don’t want an app. They want someone to take it off their plate. If that someone is you, you stop being a cost center and become an operator they rely on.

3. This isn’t low-margin work—it’s the opposite

Here’s the big misconception: AP is grunt work.

That’s only true if you’re handling it manually. But with the right tools and process, it becomes one of your most efficient, profitable offerings.

Let’s break it down:

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When you use a platform like MakersHub, your team can process hundreds of vendor bills in a fraction of the time. You skip the manual entry. You build a system once and run it again and again.

And you still deliver premium service—clean data, organized approvals, consistent communication, and timely payments.

4. Sophisticated clients expect this

The clients who care about process will care that you offer AP.

These are the businesses you want to work with:

• Multi-location operators
  
  
• Fast-growing startups
  
  
• Law firms, dental offices, construction businesses
  
  
• Anyone already using QuickBooks Online, NetSuite, or Xero
  
  

They’re used to software. They know what automation looks like. What they don’t have is time to configure it, run it, and chase people for approvals.

They want clarity. They want accountability. They want a finance partner who handles the moving parts.

When you step into that role, you become the indispensable piece they’ve been missing.

5. You don’t need to overhaul your entire firm

You’re not building a new service line from scratch. You’re just plugging a gap your clients already feel.

Here’s how to start:

• Pick the right tool. Use a platform like MakersHub that connects to your clients’ GL and simplifies the AP process from intake to payment.
  
  
• Standardize your process. Create a workflow that covers invoice capture, smart approvals, scheduled payments, and a clean sync to the general ledger.
  
  
• Make it part of your monthly package. Don’t bill by the hour. Roll AP into your flat monthly fee for better predictability and stronger margins.
  
  
• Train once, use it across clients. With the right setup, you can onboard a new AP client in under a week and run everything through one process.
  
  

This is about creating leverage. You build the system once, then scale it without reinventing the wheel every time.

6. One client is all it takes

You don’t need ten AP clients to make this worth it. You just need one to prove the model.

Start by identifying a current client who:

• Has 20 or more vendor bills each month
  
  
• Complaints about internal approvals
  
  
• Misses payment deadlines or early-pay discounts
  
  
• Is open to trying something new
  
  

Offer to take AP off their plate for 60 days. Don’t overpromise. Just show them the time it saves, the stress it removes, and the clarity it brings.

Track the results. Quantify the hours saved and errors avoided.

That story becomes your case study. And your sales pitch to the next client.

What you actually gain by offering AP

If you want to grow, you need services that scale without burning out your team.

AP fits the bill. Done right, it gives your firm:

• Reliable recurring revenue
  
  
• Less dependence on seasonal work
  
  
• Stronger, more strategic client relationships
  
  
• A service that competitors aren’t offering at your level
  
  

And you don’t need to wait around for better clients to find you. The ones you already have are probably overwhelmed by AP and ready for help.

You just need to offer it.

Curious how MakersHub helps?

We built MakersHub specifically for firms like yours. It handles every part of the AP process—intake, approvals, payments, GL sync—without all the back-and-forth.

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