What is touchless invoice processing?
Touchless invoice processing is the handling of a supplier invoice from receipt to approval for payment without anyone in accounts payable touching it: data is captured, the invoice is matched or coded, checks pass and approval rules are met automatically. The touchless rate, the share of invoices processed this way, is a common accounts payable benchmark.
Also calledstraight-through processingno-touch invoice processingtouchless rate
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- Measured as
- Share of invoices with no touch
- Raised by
- POs, e-invoices, clean supplier data
- Category
- AP, AR and payments
How the touchless rate is measured
Divide the invoices that passed from receipt to approved-for-payment with no manual step by all invoices processed in the period. What counts as a touch varies, so comparisons need the same definition: some count an approver's click as a touch, most count only work by the AP team, such as correcting captured data, recoding or resolving a match exception. The rate rises with clean supplier data, purchase orders on recurring spend, e-invoices instead of PDFs, and tolerances that let small differences through. It falls with many one-off suppliers and invoices without purchase orders. AP platforms such as Tipalti, BILL and Coupa report the measure, and capture tools such as Dext reduce the corrections that break it.
Common questions
What is a good touchless invoice processing rate?+
It depends on the invoice mix. Companies with most spend on purchase orders and e-invoices reach far higher rates than those with many one-off suppliers sending PDFs, so the trend within one company says more than a comparison with another.
Is touchless processing the same as straight-through processing?+
In accounts payable, yes: both mean an invoice passes every step without manual handling. In banking and trading, straight-through processing applies the same idea to payments and trades.
Does touchless processing remove approval?+
No. Invoices still need approval under the company's rules; touchless means the rule was met automatically, for example by a purchase order match within tolerance, or that approvers acted without the AP team stepping in.
Software used for touchless invoice processing
TipaltiGlobal payables with supplier onboarding, tax and mass payouts.Profile →
BILLAP and AR automation with approvals, payments and accounting sync.Profile →
CoupaEnterprise spend management across procurement, invoicing and payments.Profile →
DextReceipt and invoice capture coded into your accounting software.Profile →Part of Accountio’s accounting technology coverage · Glossary
