Cleo Pay

Cleo Pay is accounts-payable software for small and mid-sized businesses, with tools for invoice capture, approvals, vendor onboarding, ACH payments, W-9 collection, 1099 compliance, and QuickBooks Online sync. Users can email invoices or upload photos; AI extracts vendor, amount, and line-item details and maps expenses to QuickBooks accounts. Approval chains can be set by amount, GL code, or vendor, and approvers can act by email or mobile. Businesses can schedule ACH payments and follow transfer status. Vendors can submit W-9 information and connect a bank through Plaid using a web link, without an app or account fees. A two-way QuickBooks Online connection syncs vendor records, invoices, bills, payments, and chart-of-accounts data. Cleo Pay says bank connections use OAuth and sensitive data is encrypted; onboarding includes TIN verification and payment workflows have audit trails. Plans include a free option for incoming payments only and paid plans from $99/mo, each with a monthly payment allowance and additional-payment charges above it. Apps and access are available on Android, iOS, web, and API.

Cleo Pay brings invoice handling, approvals, vendor onboarding, and payments together with QuickBooks Online syncing. Compare each plan’s payment allowance and additional-payment charge with your expected volume.

Cleo Pay is aimed at hospitality and service businesses such as restaurants, hotels, and event production companies. Its web-link vendor onboarding may suit businesses paying vendors who do not want to download an app.

Overview

Cleo Pay is accounts-payable software for small and mid-sized businesses, with a particularly clear fit for hospitality and service operators handling recurring vendor bills. It is strongest when invoice processing, approvals, ACH payments, and QuickBooks Online already belong in the same workflow; businesses needing substantial outbound payment volume should weigh its monthly caps and per-payment charges carefully.

Vendors can onboard and receive payments through a web link without downloading an app or paying account fees. Cleo Pay also offers a REST API covering payables, contacts, bank accounts, and payments. Founded in 2025, the company is headquartered in New York.

Key features

Invoice intake and QuickBooks Online

Invoices can come in by email forwarding or photo upload. AI extracts vendor, amount, and line-item details and maps expenses to QuickBooks accounts, connecting invoice intake with accounting categorization. Its two-way QuickBooks Online sync covers vendor records, invoices, bills, payments, and chart-of-accounts data. That makes the product more persuasive for businesses already using QuickBooks Online than for those seeking an accounting system-agnostic workflow.

Vendor onboarding and compliance

Businesses invite vendors by link; vendors provide W-9 information and connect a bank account through Plaid to receive ACH payments. Cleo Pay says onboarding includes TIN verification, and vendors can complete the process and receive payment without an app download or account fee. That reduces friction for a business paying many outside vendors, though the benefit is less central for teams that do not need vendor self-service.

Approvals and payments

Approval chains can be set by amount, GL code, or vendor, with approvals available from email or mobile. Businesses can pay vendors by ACH, schedule future payments, and follow each transfer through scheduled, processing, paid, or error status. Those controls help teams route bills and monitor payment progress, but plan limits make payment volume a direct pricing consideration.

Security and support

Cleo Pay says Plaid bank connections use OAuth, bank credentials do not touch Cleo Pay servers, and sensitive data is encrypted in transit and at rest. It also says its payment workflow includes audit trails. Support is by email, with a personalized 15-minute onboarding call for setup help and payment issues; Pro adds dedicated support.

Pricing

Cleo Pay has a free plan and paid plans from $99/mo. The key distinction is not only the monthly price: the free plan has no outbound payments, while paid plans cap monthly payments and charge for each one above the allowance.

Get Paid is useful for the receiving side of the workflow, not for a business that needs to send vendor payments. Basic is the least expensive outbound option, but its 15-payment allowance and single seat suit a small operation better than a growing team. Plus raises both capacity and seats; Pro offers the largest allowance and lowest additional-payment charge, but its higher base cost only makes sense when the extra volume, seats, or dedicated support matter. All paid plans can incur added charges above their monthly allowance, so a high-volume business should compare its expected payments against both the cap and overage rate.

Platforms

Cleo Pay is available on Android, iOS, and web, and provides an API. Mobile approvals support approvers away from a desk, while the web-link vendor flow avoids requiring vendors to install an app. Payment coverage is single-country.

Who it's for

Cleo Pay is a strong candidate for restaurants, hotels, event production companies, and other hospitality or service businesses that want invoice capture, vendor onboarding, approval routing, and ACH payment tracking tied to QuickBooks Online. Its paid tiers suit operators whose monthly payment volume fits a defined allowance. It is a weaker fit for a business seeking free outbound payments, expecting payment counts well beyond the plan caps, or not using QuickBooks Online.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Email and photo invoice intake, AI extraction, expense mapping, and two-way QuickBooks Online sync connect several accounts-payable steps.
• Pro: Vendor link onboarding combines W-9 collection, Plaid bank connection, and stated TIN verification without requiring vendors to pay or download an app.
• Pro: Approval rules by amount, GL code, or vendor and transfer status tracking give businesses control over routing and payment follow-through.
• Con: The free plan supports incoming payments only, so businesses must pay to send vendors money.
• Con: Paid plans limit monthly payments and charge for additional ones, which can make costs rise with volume.
• Con: Basic has one user seat, and even Pro is capped at 10; teams needing broader access may find those limits restrictive.
• Con: QuickBooks Online is the supported accounting integration described, limiting its appeal to businesses using a different accounting platform.

Alternatives

For a broader contractor-payment comparison, see Contractor Payment Software.

Zoho Payroll is worth comparing for payroll rather than accounts-payable workflows; its free plan covers up to 10 employees and basic payroll, with email support, and it also has a paid Standard plan. PayWow is a more focused contractor-payroll option, with a free Basic plan for unlimited contractors, limited reports, and check payment, plus a $9 a month Pro plan.

Gusto is a paid payroll alternative with a Simple plan at $49 a month plus $6/mo per person, including basic payroll in one state, unlimited payrolls, and tax filings and payments. QuickBooks Contractor Payments may suit a contractor-payments workflow instead: its plan costs $12.50 a month and includes 20 contractors, with an added charge per additional contractor.

Qurbie is another paid option for businesses making large payments, with plans described by monthly payment ranges and per-payment percentage fees capped at set amounts. OnPay is a payroll alternative with a $49 base fee per month plus $6 per worker per month; its plan includes unlimited pay runs and schedules and year-end tax filings. Deel is a paid workforce-management alternative, with Core at $5 a month and features including worker profiles, workflows, approvals, and people analytics. Papaya Global is a paid global-payroll alternative whose Payroll Plus plan includes managed global payroll and centralized workforce data.

Verdict

Choose Cleo Pay if your hospitality or service business uses QuickBooks Online and wants a connected way to capture invoices, manage vendor onboarding and approvals, and make tracked ACH payments. Its strongest case is the end-to-end accounts-payable workflow, including vendor self-service; the main reason to look elsewhere is its paid-plan payment caps and added per-payment costs, especially if your volume is high or QuickBooks Online is not your accounting system.