Accounts payable · Production

Zola automates 600,000+ annual invoices with Tipalti, running AP with 2 people instead of 10

The problem

Zola's finance team processed more than 600,000 invoices annually through manual approval and payment workflows that were unsustainable at scale, and the company's previous Bill.com system still consumed significant time each week as payment volumes doubled.

First attempt

Bill.com was Zola's original tool to streamline operations but could not keep pace as payment volumes doubled, leaving invoice approvals and payment processing still consuming significant time each week.

Workflow diagram · grounded in source
1
Vendor self-onboarding
Trigger
Vendors onboard seamlessly and choose their preferred payment methods through Tipalti.
▾ source quote
“Vendors now onboard seamlessly, choose their payment methods, and benefit from more transparent financial operations”
2
OCR invoice extraction
Ai action
Tipalti's OCR technology automatically extracts and codes invoice data.
▾ source quote
“Tipalti's OCR technology automatically extracts and codes invoice data”
3
EDI batch processing
Integration
EDI submissions containing hundreds or thousands of invoices are processed instantly.
▾ source quote
“EDI submissions containing hundreds or thousands of invoices are processed instantly”
4
ERP reconciliation
Integration
Tipalti's reconciliation reporting integrates directly with Intacct.
▾ source quote
“Tipalti's reconciliation reporting, which integrates directly with Intacct”
5
Accelerated month-end close
Output
The AP function closes the books by the second day of the month.
▾ source quote
“we can still close on the second day of the month”
Reported outcome

Zola now processes over 600,000 invoices annually through automation with just two AP staff instead of ten, and still closes the books by the second day of the month.

Reported metrics
Invoices processed annuallymore than 600,000
AP headcount without Tipalti10 people
AP headcount with Tipaltitwo people
Month-end close dateclose on the second day of the month
Show all 5 reported metrics
invoices processed annuallymore than 600,000
AP headcount without Tipalti10 people
AP headcount with Tipaltitwo people
month-end close dateclose on the second day of the month
payment volume growthpayments doubling
Reported stack
TipaltiOCREDIIntacct
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Source
https://tipalti.com/resources/customer-stories/zola/
Read source ↗

Frequently asked questions

What did this team achieve with this AI workflow?

Zola now processes over 600,000 invoices annually through automation with just two AP staff instead of ten, and still closes the books by the second day of the month.

What tools did this team use?

Tipalti, OCR, EDI, Intacct.

What results were reported?

Invoices processed annually: more than 600,000; AP headcount without Tipalti: 10 people; AP headcount with Tipalti: two people; Month-end close date: close on the second day of the month (source-reported, not independently verified).

What failed first in this deployment?

Bill.com was Zola's original tool to streamline operations but could not keep pace as payment volumes doubled, leaving invoice approvals and payment processing still consuming significant time each week.

How is this accounts payable AI workflow structured?

Vendor self-onboarding → OCR invoice extraction → EDI batch processing → ERP reconciliation → Accelerated month-end close.

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