Esker vs Airbase vs Vic.ai for AP Automation

For a 6-location services company running Microsoft Azure AD as its corporate identity provider, Esker on Demand supports SAML 2.0/WS-Federation-based SSO at the tenant level. Esker operates its own ADFS-protocol authentication endpoint (sso.esker.com/adfs/ls/) and publishes a Federation Metadata URL that Azure AD can consume to establish trust automatically, eliminating manual certificate management over time. An IT administrator exchanges federation metadata between Azure AD (acting as IdP) and Esker on Demand (acting as SP): the Azure AD app federation metadata URL is provided to Esker during configuration, and Esker's federation metadata URL is imported into the Azure AD enterprise application registration. Once trust is established, your AP team's 3 processors and all invoice approvers across the 6 locations log into Esker using their existing Microsoft corporate credentials with no separate Esker password required. The Okta integration listing for Esker also confirms SAML and SCIM as supported integration types, meaning automated user provisioning and deprovisioning from Azure AD (either directly or via an intermediary like Okta) is achievable alongside the SSO federation.

For a $120M multi-location services company running Sage Intacct with an Azure AD identity infrastructure, Airbase delivers SAML 2.0 federation with Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) as the identity provider. Airbase supports both SP and IDP initiated single sign-on, meaning users can launch the login flow directly from the Airbase sign-on URL or be pushed from the Microsoft Entra My Apps portal. The configuration path runs through Entra ID > Enterprise Apps > Airbase > Single sign-on, where the admin selects SAML as the authentication method. To complete the SAML connection, the admin sends the App Federation Metadata URL to the Airbase support team, who set the SAML SSO connection on the Airbase side. For automated user lifecycle management, a separate provisioning integration is available: the admin logs into the Airbase portal, navigates to Users, selects Sync with HRIS, and chooses Microsoft Entra ID from the HRIS list to retrieve the Base URL and API Token used to configure SCIM-based provisioning in Azure. Once configured, Airbase supports session control via Microsoft Entra Conditional Access, protecting data exfiltration and infiltration in real time. The Airbase help center also documents a dedicated Microsoft Office 365 SSO article alongside Okta and OneLogin, confirming the Microsoft identity ecosystem is a first-class supported path.

For a 200-employee, 6-location services company running on Microsoft Azure AD, Vic.ai's SSO implementation works through Auth0 as the identity broker. Vic.ai's Trust and Security page confirms that single sign-on and MFA are both supported, with SSO delivered via Auth0. Auth0 is an enterprise-grade identity platform with a native Microsoft Azure AD connection type that federates authentication using OIDC. Auth0 can be integrated with Microsoft Azure Active Directory (now known as Microsoft Entra ID) with the Microsoft Azure AD connection type, which uses the OpenID Connect (OIDC) protocol for user authentication. In practice, your IT admin registers a Vic.ai enterprise application in the Azure AD portal, configures the Auth0-to-Azure-AD OIDC connection, and users authenticate to Vic.ai using their existing Azure AD credentials. MFA is supported when enabled through the customer's identity provider, which means any Azure AD Conditional Access policies or MFA requirements your company already enforces are honored without separate configuration in Vic.ai. This covers pre-processing journey stage 0: access governance, ensuring only authorized personnel can reach the invoice workflow before any invoice-level action occurs.

For a 3-person AP team at a $120M multi-location services company processing 1,800 invoices monthly, Airbase's 1099 workflow covers two of the three components the buyer requires and leaves the third as a manual handoff. On vendor classification: users must manually tick a '1099 Vendor' option at the time of vendor setup; there is no automated classification derived from W-9 entity type or payment category. On threshold tracking: Airbase generates a comprehensive vendor details report that includes all 1099 vendors and contractors, as well as any vendors who have received a payment of over $600. The export filters by bill payments across ACH, check, and virtual card totals, and the downloaded file includes a '1099 Vendor' column with relevant vendors marked Yes; Airbase recommends selecting the 1099 Vendor option when adding vendor details to ensure report accuracy. W-9 storage is supported: the vendor report includes a W-9 URL field pointing to any W-9 file uploaded in Airbase. On electronic filing: Airbase does not file the 1099 report on your behalf. The workflow terminates at a CSV or Excel export, which must then be manually imported into a third-party filing service. Paylocity for Finance and Avalara have introduced automation tools to ease W-9 collection, tax ID verification, reporting, and tax filing, indicating a partner path through Avalara/Track1099, but this is a separately purchased subscription with per-form fees, not a native capability. Vendors submit W-9s through a portal, TINs are validated, and 1099-eligible vendors can be tagged and payments exported for filing via a partner like Avalara/Track1099.

For a $120M services company with a 3-person AP team processing 1,800 invoices monthly across subcontractors and professional services vendors, 1099 preparation is a high-stakes year-round obligation: W-9 collection at onboarding, automated classification (1099-NEC vs. 1099-MISC by vendor type and GL), running payment threshold accumulation, and IRS e-filing. Esker's AP and Supplier Management modules contain no documented mechanism for any of these steps. A third-party AP automation review explicitly identifies Esker's limitations in this area, noting that "1099 support is limited rather than native" with "No TIN match" and onboarding not centered on tax forms. Searches of Esker's own help center and product pages return zero results for "1099," W-9 collection, threshold tracking, or IRS e-filing. Esker's Supplier Management module is documented as a tool to "centralize supplier data and simplify supplier onboarding, while effectively managing compliance and risk," but that compliance framing covers ESG, performance ratings, and supplier risk: not US tax classification or TIN validation. The practical path for this buyer would be to rely on Sage Intacct's native 1099 module for classification and threshold tracking, supplemented by a third-party e-filing service such as Tax1099 (which lists Sage Intacct as a supported integration). However, this means the 1099 data layer sits entirely outside Esker, and any classification flags or 1099-type assignments must be managed inside Sage Intacct rather than at the point of invoice entry or vendor onboarding in Esker: reintroducing the manual reconciliation burden the buyer is trying to eliminate.

For this $120M services company with 55% PO-based spend across subcontractors, utilities, and professional services, 1099 compliance is a year-round data problem: every payment to a non-corporate vendor accumulates toward the IRS filing threshold, and that accumulation must be classified, tracked, and filed. Vic.ai's platform covers invoice capture, AI-driven GL coding, PO matching, approval routing, and payments via VicPay, but none of these modules includes 1099 type classification (1099-NEC vs. 1099-MISC), year-to-date threshold accumulation per vendor, W-9 collection and TIN validation, or IRS electronic filing. The Vendor Portal, launched in Q2 2025, handles vendor onboarding through Plaid-powered bank verification and KYB/KYC identity checks, but collects payment preferences and business details for disbursement purposes, not tax document purposes. The vendor management page references that Vic.ai 'continuously verifies vendor details, tax information, and payment terms,' however no mechanism in the product documentation connects this to 1099 classification logic or IRS filing. The buyer's 3-person AP team would remain fully dependent on Sage Intacct's native 1099 module to classify vendors, accumulate thresholds, and file, reintroducing the manual reconciliation gap this evaluation is meant to eliminate.

For a 3-person AP team at a 6-location services company routing invoices across two Sage Intacct entities, Esker's mobile approval module, Esker Anywhere, addresses the approval stage (pre-processing step 5: authorization by budget owners) directly on mobile devices. Available 24/7 from Apple or Android devices, Esker's mobile invoice approval application equips users with on-the-go approval capabilities to view invoice lists, view invoice images, instantly access key data, review coding before approving, and approve, hold, or send back. Esker Anywhere delivers instant visibility into pending supplier invoices awaiting approval, enabling approvers to view images of the invoice to approve, hold, or return to the requester, and receive notifications instantly on incoming new approval requests. Approvers can instantly access key invoice data such as supplier name and total amount, as well as comments from previous approvers, then approve, put on hold, or return an invoice to the previous approver or the accountant, with the option of leaving a comment at each step. The notification-to-decision flow is: push notification arrives, approver taps through to the full invoice image with coded fields visible, and takes action in a single tap, which is architecturally compatible with the buyer's sub-30-second requirement. The app is free with no additional sign-up and is available on both iOS and Android.

For a multi-location services company whose site leaders and managers need to approve invoices without being tethered to a desktop, Vic.ai operates a native iOS (and Android) mobile app purpose-built for the approval step of the pre-processing journey. The flow works as follows: once AP staff validates AI-extracted predictions in the web platform, the invoice enters the approval workflow and a push notification is sent whenever it is the approver's turn in an approval process. The approver taps the notification, opens the app, and selecting 'View' at the top of the invoice provides the full PDF as well as a list of invoice dimensions, which are editable on that same screen; the approver can also add line items and compare the invoice to previous documents from the same vendor without leaving the mobile view. Approvers can approve invoices in-office or in the field with the Vic.ai mobile app, and out-of-office handling seamlessly redirects approvals to alternate approvers when the primary approver is unavailable, with configurable notifications for key approval milestones. The App Store release history confirms the ability to view and compare documents in fullscreen and payment approval history plus approver out-of-office functionality as shipped features. This covers stage 5 (legitimacy and cost allocation confirmation by the budget owner) of the pre-processing journey; the same app also surfaces PO mismatch alerts, supporting stage 2.

For a multi-location services company routing 1,800 invoices per month through a 3-person AP team, Airbase offers mobile approval through three channels: the native iOS/Android app ('Airbase: Procure, Pay, Close'), email notifications, and Slack. The platform's Advanced Approvals product sheet explicitly commits to 'rapid approvals through Slack, mobile and web options,' and third-party evaluators confirm that approvers receive push notifications and 'can approve with a single click' from any of these channels. The bill creation workflow (documented in the Airbase help center) attaches the invoice document to the bill record before routing to approvers, so the document exists in the system. However, no Airbase documentation — including the App Store changelog, product sheets, or help center articles — explicitly confirms that the full invoice PDF renders inline within the native mobile approver view for bills, as opposed to key metadata fields only. The mobile app's documented strengths are receipt capture for card transactions and expense report submission; the AP bill approver path on mobile is confirmed for one-tap action but not confirmed for full-document inline rendering.