Automate Your Accounts Payable with Custom AI
Syntora is an AI automation agency that specializes in accounts payable for small businesses. Syntora builds custom systems to parse invoices, manage approvals, and process payments automatically.
Key Takeaways
- Syntora is an AI automation agency specializing in accounts payable for SMBs.
- The agency builds custom systems to automate invoice parsing, approval routing, and payment processing.
- Custom AP systems integrate with your bank via Plaid and existing accounting software.
- A typical invoice is parsed and categorized in under 5 seconds.
Syntora specializes in accounts payable automation for SMBs. Syntora built a financial automation system using Plaid, Stripe, and PostgreSQL that processes bank syncs in under 3 seconds. The custom AP system extends this to parse invoices with 99% accuracy and automate payment workflows.
The complexity depends on your invoice volume and existing accounting software. Syntora has built financial automation connecting Plaid, Stripe, and a PostgreSQL ledger, processing bank syncs in under 3 seconds. This foundation is extended to handle specific accounts payable workflows like multi-step approvals and vendor-specific payment rules.
Why Does Manual Accounts Payable Persist in Finance Teams?
SMBs often use QuickBooks Online or Bill.com for accounts payable. These tools work for standard invoices but fail with variance. Bill.com's OCR struggles with line items from non-templated PDFs, forcing manual data entry. QuickBooks requires manual coding for expenses that don't fit pre-set rules, turning a 2-minute task into a 15-minute investigation for every ambiguous vendor.
Consider a 20-person marketing agency paying 50 freelance creators per month. Each freelancer submits a slightly different invoice format as a PDF via email. The operations manager spends 10 hours a month opening emails, manually entering the invoice date, amount, and service description into QuickBooks, and then scheduling a payment via the bank's portal. A single typo in a bank account number can delay payment by a week and damage a creator relationship.
The structural problem is that off-the-shelf AP tools are built for uniformity. They assume all invoices look similar and follow a single, linear approval path. Their architecture cannot support dynamic logic, such as routing an invoice over $5,000 to the CEO while routing a software subscription under $500 directly to finance. They are data buckets with basic workflow features, not programmable systems that adapt to how your business actually operates.
How Syntora Builds a Custom Accounts Payable Automation System
The engagement begins with a mapping of your current AP process. Syntora audits every step, from how invoices arrive to your approval hierarchy and payment methods. This audit produces a system blueprint that details every data source, business rule, and integration point. You approve this plan before any code is written.
Syntora built its own financial ledger on PostgreSQL with Plaid and Stripe integrations for real-time transaction processing. For an AP system, this core is extended. A FastAPI service acts as the central hub. When an invoice arrives, a Python script running on AWS Lambda uses the Claude API to parse the PDF, extracting vendor, amount, and line items with over 99% accuracy. This structured data is stored in a Supabase database.
The final system presents a simple dashboard for your finance team to review and approve payments. Approved invoices trigger automated payments via your bank's API or a service like Stripe. All data syncs to your existing accounting software, creating journal entries automatically. You receive the full Python source code, a runbook for maintenance, and direct access to the engineer who built it.
| Manual AP Process | Syntora's Automated System |
|---|---|
| 10-15 minutes per invoice for manual entry and coding | Under 5 seconds for AI parsing and categorization |
| Error rates up to 5% from manual data entry | Error rate under 0.1% for parsed data |
| 20+ hours per month spent on AP for 100 invoices | 2-3 hours per month for review and exceptions |
What Are the Key Benefits?
Direct Access to Your Engineer
The founder who scopes your project is the same engineer who writes every line of code. No project managers, no communication gaps, no offshore teams.
You Own All the Code
The complete Python source code and infrastructure configuration are delivered to your GitHub. There is no vendor lock-in. You can bring the system in-house anytime.
A 4-Week Build Cycle
A typical accounts payable system is scoped, built, and deployed in four weeks. The initial audit determines the exact timeline, which is fixed before the project starts.
Transparent Post-Launch Support
After deployment, Syntora offers a flat-rate monthly retainer for monitoring, updates, and on-call support. You get predictable costs and direct access when you need it.
Finance-Specific Engineering
Syntora has direct experience building financial systems, including a PostgreSQL ledger and integrations with Plaid and Stripe. This expertise translates to a deeper understanding of your accounting needs.
What Does the Process Look Like?
AP Process Discovery
A 60-minute call to map your entire accounts payable workflow. You'll receive a detailed scope document within 48 hours outlining the technical approach, a fixed timeline, and a price for the build.
Architecture & Approval
Syntora presents the complete system architecture, including data models and integration points. You approve the final blueprint before any development work begins, ensuring the solution aligns with your needs.
Build & Weekly Demos
You receive access to a staging environment and see progress through weekly live demos. Your feedback is incorporated throughout the 4-week build cycle, so there are no surprises at launch.
Handoff & Documentation
You get the full source code in your repository, a deployment runbook, and system documentation. Syntora provides 4 weeks of post-launch monitoring and support, with an option for ongoing maintenance.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What determines the cost of a custom AP system?
- The price depends on three main factors: the number of invoice sources (e.g., email inboxes, vendor portals), the complexity of your approval rules, and the specific accounting software we need to integrate with. A single approval path and a QuickBooks Online integration is a smaller scope than a multi-level approval hierarchy with a legacy ERP system.
- How long does it take to build and deploy?
- A standard AP automation project takes 4 weeks from kickoff to deployment. This can be faster if you have well-documented processes and API access ready. Delays typically arise from needing to secure access to third-party systems or defining complex, undocumented business rules. The timeline is fixed after the initial discovery.
- What happens if the system breaks after handoff?
- You own the code and the deployment runbook, which covers common troubleshooting. For guaranteed support, Syntora offers a flat monthly retainer that includes system monitoring, bug fixes, and handling changes to third-party APIs (like a vendor updating their invoice format). This provides peace of mind and predictable maintenance costs.
- Our invoices are all different formats. Can AI handle that?
- Yes, this is a core strength of using a large language model like Claude for parsing. Unlike template-based OCR, the AI understands the context of an invoice (identifying 'Total Due' vs. 'Subtotal'). It reliably extracts data from varied PDF and image formats, achieving over 99% accuracy after being trained on a small sample of your specific vendor invoices.
- Why not hire a larger agency or a freelancer?
- Large agencies add overhead with project managers, and you rarely speak directly to the developer. A freelancer might be great at coding but lack experience in production deployment and financial systems. Syntora is a single senior engineer who manages the entire process, combining deep technical skill with the direct communication of a freelancer.
- What do we need to provide to get started?
- To start, you need a 60-minute discovery call to map your process. For the build, we'll need a point of contact for weekly check-ins, API keys or read-access to your accounting software, and a sample of about 20-30 recent invoices to train the parsing model. Syntora handles all the technical implementation.
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