The acquisition will expand Basware’s market offering, bringing accurate financial data and increased cost savings to the entire invoice processing cycle. It will go beyond traditional AP (accounts payable) automation and solve a critical pain point for finance and accounting teams: ensuring the accuracy of financial records through automated statement reconciliation.

Based in the UK, AP Matching (formerly Statement Matching) is a provider of cloud-based solutions for managing invoices and reconciling statements. Its platform reconciles buyer and supplier statements and delivers matched invoices to customers’ Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) or Source to Pay (S2P) systems, requiring minimal input from the AP team.

Statement Reconciliation

The role of statement reconciliation in financial management is critical. Research with Ardent Partners recently found that a lack of visibility into invoice and payment data was the biggest AP hurdle for 1 in 5 (21% of) finance departments, working with unstructured or incorrect data. As a result, improving reporting and data analytics was the top priority selected by 53% of all AP leaders.

Statement reconciliation allows CFOs to accurately compare two sets of financial statements to ensure they match, such as a supplier invoice and the buyer’s company records. Ensuring supplier invoices match and the data is accurate allows payments to be made on time, guarantees payments are processed correctly and improves cashflow forecasting.

However, up to 59% of a financial department’s resources are allocated to managing transaction-intensive processes, emphasising the need for more efficient and accurate approaches, such as automated reconciliation software.

The integration of Basware and AP Matching will provide solutions to harmonise financial statements, reduce the risk of erroneous payments and increase the integrity of CFOs’ financial data.

Unifying AP automation

For nearly 40 years, Basware has helped enterprises worldwide navigate the complexities of the invoice processing cycle. Powered by AI, Basware’s platform automates the entire accounts payable journey - from receipt and matching through to approval and payment - reducing manual effort and ensuring regulatory compliance. Backed by Accel-KKR, Basware automates over 220 million invoices and $900bn in spend annually for thousands of customers.

Jason Kurtz, CEO of Basware, commented on the acquisition:

"CFOs often struggle to oversee the complexities of invoicing processes end-to-end, which can lead to erroneous payments slipping through the gaps. The repercussions of failure in statement reconciliation is money lost from a company’s P&L (profit and loss statement). But it can be fixed and automated. We’re excited to combine forces with AP Matching, so that CFOs can enhance their AP automation processes and increase the accuracy of financial recording. We’re on a mission to unlock the future of finance and provide the best end-to-end technology to drive value for our customers. With AP Matching, we will do just that."

Managed Services Integration

Headquartered in the UK, AP Matching has been serving large enterprises since 2005, focused on the UK and US markets.

Through the acquisition, Basware will also integrate AP Matching’s Managed Services division. The managed services team specialises in automated invoice processing and managed data capture services, specifically for SAP customers. Its solution eliminates the data capture process for customers, ensuring they receive 100% electronic data from invoices in their ERP systems, regardless of how suppliers submit invoices (e-invoicing, email or paper).

By integrating AP Matching’s managed services and SAP capabilities, Basware will further strengthen its solution for invoice capture, validation, and integration with existing ERP systems.

Daniel Kimpton, Cofounder and Director at AP Matching, also commented:

"We’re thrilled to join forces with Basware and offer a comprehensive solution that will improve the entire invoice processing cycle for enterprises worldwide. The acquisition will supercharge our growth and enable us to provide unmatched value to customers, as we combine our expertise in statement reconciliation with Basware’s AP automation capabilities. Together, we will empower CFOs with a powerful end-to-end technology solution that ensures accuracy and efficiency in financial recording."

The announcement follows Basware’s acquisition of Glantus in October 2023, a company that specialises in invoice analysis to prevent overpayment and fraud.