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What is the best purchase-to-pay software for hospitality? 

The global hospitality procure-to-pay solutions market is estimated to reach $2.5 billion by 2030 and is growing at a steady 8.5% annually. With so many providers driving this expansion and offering a variety of features, how do you choose the right one for your business? 

6 mins

Written by Gosia Dudzik-Giannone.

At Access Hospitality, we already work with over 20,000 hospitality businesses, helping UK operators streamline their procurement and save time and money, so it’s fair to say that we have quite a bit of knowledge in this area.  

In this article, we’ll examine the various features available on the market and help you make a more informed decision. 

Included in this article

  1. What is purchase-to-pay software?
  2. Different types of purchase-to-pay software
  3. So, which is the best purchase-to-pay system for hospitality operators?
  4. Streamline hotel procurement with Access Procure Wizard
  5. Ready to optimise your procurement process?

What is purchase-to-pay software?

For hospitality businesses, operational efficiency is the key to controlling costs and delivering an exceptional guest experience. 

Beyond simply being a digital tool for order purchase and invoice payments, a purchase-to-pay (P2P) system plays a central role in: 

  • sourcing and purchasing goods and services (food, beverage, consumables, equipment) 

  • managing supplier relationships, invoices and payments 

  • integrating with inventory, menus and sales forecasting to avoid over-/under-ordering and optimise cost. 

What are the types of purchase-to-pay software?  

When considering implementing purchase-to-pay software, it’s key to evaluate the pros and cons outlined in the context of your organisation's specific needs and capabilities, to ensure you choose the right one.    

Here are the main types you’ll come across: 

Cloud-based solutions  

  • Hosted externally and accessed via web or mobile. 

  • Allow scalability (up or down) depending on demand. 

  • Back-ups, updates and data management are provider-handled. 

  • Consider data security, customisation flexibility and vendor lock-in options before choosing a provider. 

  • Invest in a software solution that is committed to protecting data and keeping tight control of costs. 

On-premises solutions 

  • Installed locally on your own hardware and infrastructure. 

  • Offers the peace of mind of knowing your data is located within your in-house servers 

  • Drawbacks: higher cost, maintenance burden, less agility for hospitality’s fluctuating needs. 

  • Small businesses with more limited resources would not necessarily benefit from these types of solutions, due to the significant investment required to develop in-house software. In these instances, seeking out a reliable third-party provider can be beneficial.    

Standalone procurement software 

  • Dedicated just to the procurement process: orders, invoices, supplier management. 

  • Often more advanced in that niche, but may lack deep integrations (inventory, POS, menus). 

  • Ensuring seamless data flow between these systems can be complex and may require additional time and resources for integration and maintenance.   

Integrated suites 

  • Combine procurement, inventory, invoicing, analytics, sometimes workforce or menu management in one platform. 

  • Having all your data housed in one system creates multiple benefits, including data consistency and accuracy, and improved security.    

  • Despite its ability to successfully streamline operations, integrated suites can be complex to implement and have a higher upfront cost. 

  • Less customisable in comparison to in-house solutions, but if you are looking for a more data-driven solution to streamline operations, you may not consider this as much of an issue. 

Industry-specific  

  • These systems offer features and functionalities designed to address industry-specific procurement processes, regulations, and standards.   

  • Due to their specialised features, industry-specific systems can be more expensive than more general software, but many suppliers of this software often offer specialised support and consultancy services, and assistance with optimisation and troubleshooting.   

 

What is the best purchase-to-pay software for hospitality?

What are the key features of P2P software for hospitality? 

When you’re weighing varying options of software, it’s important to identify the inefficiencies currently present across operations, so you can choose the software solution that is most likely to benefit the business overall.   

  • Cash flow forecasting & real-time reporting 
     – View spend, ordering, deliveries, stock and payments in real-time. 
     – Helps spot patterns, forecast demand and reduce unnecessary cost. 

  • Finance & accounts automation 
     – Invoice tracking, purchase-ledger automation, payment approvals, supplier credit reclamation. 
     – Especially valuable in multi-site operations with complex spend. 

  • Orders, deliveries & invoicing flow 
     – One system to create requisitions → purchase orders → goods receipt → invoice match → payment. 
     – Reduces errors, manual admins and mismatches. 

  • User-friendly interface 
     – Staff (kitchen, bar, procurement) should be able to use the system with minimal training. 
     – Good dashboards, mobile access for back-of-house operations. 

  • Seamless integration 
     – Link to POS, accounting system, inventory management, and menu engineering. 
     – Data flows matter: supplier orders, stock levels, menu performance. 

  • Supplier management 
     – Centralised supplier database, price comparisons, performance monitoring, contracts, delivery terms. 
     – Enables negotiation, switching suppliers, better cost control. 

  • Mobile accessibility 
     – Especially for venues where staff are on the move, in kitchens/pubs/outlets. 
     – Enables ordering, approvals, stock checks from tablets/phones. 

  • Customisation & scalability 
     – The system should match your current operation but be able to scale as you grow (new sites, new categories, more suppliers). 

  • Security & support 
     – Robust user roles, audit trails, data protection, regulatory compliance (particularly relevant in UK hospitality). 
     – Good vendor support (training, onboarding, upgrades). 

Which is the best purchase-to-pay system for hospitality operators? 

Each solution has its unique selling points, strengths and weaknesses. Which one you choose will depend on your needs.   

Access Procure Wizard 

Overview: Hospitality-specific P2P platform covering ordering, supplier management, invoice matching, budget tracking, and integrated stock/menu costing. Suited to single or multi-site operators.

 

Pros: 

  • End-to-end P2P with strong supplier catalogue control 

  • Deep hospitality features (recipes, menu costing, waste tracking) 

  • Robust reporting and approval workflows for multi-site governance 

 

Cons: 

  • Implementation and setup can take time for complex estates 

  • Smaller venues may not need every advanced module 

Results seen by operators: 

  • Automation of ~95% of invoice processing 

  • Recovery of missed credits worth ~£180k+ per year  

  • ~5,000 working hours saved where teams processed ~150k invoices annually 

Fourth Hospitality 

Overview: Broad operational suite spanning workforce management, inventory, and procurement, designed for large or complex hospitality groups. 

Pros: 

  • Unified platform across labour, inventory, and purchasing 

  • Good fit for centralised, multi-brand operations 

  • Mature enterprise feature set 

Cons: 

  • Heavier implementation/change management 

  • May exceed needs (and budget) of smaller single-site operators 

 

Click to see how Access Procure Wizard stacks up versus Forth in this comparison table.  

Apicbase 

Overview: Back-of-house control with emphasis on recipe management, menu engineering, and inventory; includes purchasing and forecasting. 

 

Pros: 

  • Good recipe/ingredient control and costing detail 

  • Strong multi-unit standardisation and analytics 

  • Useful compliance support (e.g., allergens/traceability) 

Cons: 

  • Procurement depth may trail dedicated P2P specialists 

  • Integration scope can add setup complexity 

 

See how Access Procure Wizard stacks up compared to ApicBase here. 

Marketman 

Overview: Cloud inventory and purchasing with POS/accounting integrations, geared to independents and mid-size venues. 

Pros: 

  • Quick to deploy; intuitive mobile and web workflows 

  • Solid vendor/invoice management and recipe costing 

  • Good fit for smaller teams needing control without heavy lift 

Cons: 

  • Lighter on enterprise-grade procurement automation 

  • May lack some advanced multi-site controls 

See the main Access Procure Wizard vs MarketMan functionalities here.  

Purchase Warrior

Overview: Newer, hospitality-focused procurement platform with a mobile-first, AI-assisted approach across P2P and stock/waste tracking. 

 

Pros: 

  • Fast, modern UX with guided ordering and alerts 

  • Real-time insight across spend, waste, and budget control 

  • Designed for agile multi-site operations 

Cons: 

  • Newer entrant: integrations/case studies still expanding 

  • May require validation for legacy/complex stacks 

 

Compare Access Procure Wizard with Purchase Warrior here. 

Ready to optimise your procurement process? 

In this article, we’ve looked at what makes the best purchase-to-pay system and the key features that help manage the daily operations of your business.   

Each solution has its strengths and weaknesses, and the best choice for you depends on the specific needs, size and budget of the hospitality business. 

Access Procure Wizard is a reliable and powerful hospitality procurement software, helping operators simplify purchasing, recover lost credits, and gain full visibility over spend.  

By automating up to 95% of invoice processing and reducing manual admin, it frees teams to focus on guests while protecting margins and improving control across every site. 

If you’d like to learn more about Procure Wizard, get in touch or watch the 7-min demo video. 

Learn how our Purchase to Pay solution can streamline your procurement process

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