Precoro's growth from a straightforward purchase order tool into a full procure-to-pay platform shows how mid-market software companies are changing the way businesses handle procurement. The company started in 2015 by simplifying core purchasing tasks, helping organizations digitize purchase requests and automate approval flows. Since then, Precoro has steadily added key features like invoice matching, budget controls, inventory management, and supplier oversight to meet the needs of more complex operations.
Early Focus on Purchase Requests and Orders
In the beginning, Precoro focused on helping employees create purchase requests and turning approved requests into purchase orders with clear formats and approved supplier lists. This replaced outdated processes that relied on emails and spreadsheets with automated routing and spend controls, allowing managers to approve spending within set limits and finance teams to track commitments centrally. For companies with multiple departments or locations buying independently, this brought a clearer understanding of who was buying what and at what cost.
This initial step set the foundation for future developments. After digitizing requests and orders, clients wanted better links between procurement and finance systems. Procurement teams needed to avoid duplicate data entry, while finance leaders needed real-time visibility into budgets versus spending. These evolving requirements helped shape Precoro's move toward a more comprehensive procure-to-pay approach.
Introducing Three-Way Matching and Budgets
A major advance came with three-way matching, a process that automatically compares purchase orders, goods receipts, and supplier invoices before payment is made. This feature helps prevent common problems like paying for incorrect quantities, overbilling, or goods never received. Precoro's system centralizes these documents and flags discrepancies for review, reducing manual checks and errors.
Alongside this, Precoro added budget management tools. Organizations can now allocate spending by department, project, or location, and monitor how much budget remains in real time. Employees creating purchase requests or orders see available funds and receive alerts if they exceed limits. These features combine to provide both front-end control for requestors and back-end assurance through automated invoice matching.
Expanding Inventory and Supplier Management
As clients' needs grew, Precoro added inventory management capabilities to link procurement to stock levels. The software tracks inventory on hand, alerts users when supplies are low, and ties receipts to both inventory and financial records. This helps avoid duplicated orders, emergency purchases, and stock shortages, especially for companies managing multiple warehouses.
Supplier management is another key area. Precoro's tools store vendor details, contracts, tax information, and product catalogs centrally. Vendors can update information through a self-service portal, speeding onboarding and keeping data current. These features reduce invoice errors and make collaboration on purchase orders and invoices smoother.
Listening to Customers
Customer feedback has played a big role in shaping Precoro's product roadmap. Early users wanted to replace disconnected systems—spreadsheets for budgets, separate inventory tools, email approvals—with one integrated workflow covering purchase requests all the way to payment. This pushed Precoro to deepen its integration across procurement processes rather than just automating purchase orders.
Particularly for mid-sized and multi-entity organizations, users asked for customizable approval levels, entity-specific settings, and role-based access that reflect real-world organizational structures. Precoro had to balance offering flexibility with keeping the software easy to use for non-expert users. Independent analysts have noted that Precoro's strength lies in making purchase workflows simple yet configurable, a testament to its focus on customer-driven improvements.
Integrations with Accounting Systems
As Precoro's features grew, connecting procurement with financial systems became crucial. The company built native integrations with QuickBooks Online, Xero, and NetSuite, and provides an API for other platforms. These connections allow purchase orders, invoices, supplier data, and financial categories to sync automatically, cutting down on duplicate data entry and reconciliation.
For example, invoices created in Precoro can be sent directly to QuickBooks with all necessary fields pre-filled, and payment statuses update back in Precoro for reporting. Likewise, Xero users benefit from real-time synchronization of purchase documents and contacts. This extensive integration helps position Precoro as a smooth front end for mainstream accounting platforms.
Adding Automation and Mobile Access
More recently, Precoro has focused on automating accounts payable tasks. By using optical character recognition (OCR) powered by Google AI, the software scans and extracts invoice information, feeding it into the three-way matching system. This reduces manual data entry and speeds up invoice processing, while still alerting human reviewers to any discrepancies.
The company has also enhanced mobile access, allowing managers and team members to review and approve purchase requests and invoices from smartphones. This flexibility is important for teams working remotely or in the field. Users praise these mobile features for reducing delays in approvals and keeping procurement moving smoothly.
Behind the Scenes: Iterative Development
Precoro's product managers describe their approach as a balance between quickly rolling out new features and ensuring platform stability for customers who rely on it daily. Each new functionality—like inventory management or supplier portals—affects multiple parts of the system, requiring coordination across development, support, and integration teams. Independent reviews have recognized Precoro's steady progress toward delivering full procure-to-pay capabilities while keeping the software approachable for growing businesses.
Technology partnerships also influence the product path. Precoro leverages cloud services and external providers for OCR and AI capabilities, and follows customer adoption patterns to prioritize integrations with leading accounting software. This approach allows Precoro to innovate efficiently in a crowded market.
A Reflection of the Market's Move
Precoro's development journey mirrors a broader transformation in procurement software. What began as simple tools to digitize purchasing now aims to connect intake, approvals, ordering, receiving, invoicing, and analytics across various departments and legal entities. Today's vendors face pressure to provide both fine-grained control—such as budgets tied to organizational units and three-way invoice matching—and user experiences simple enough for widespread adoption.
In this context, Precoro's growth from a basic purchase order system to a full-featured procure-to-pay platform shows how younger SaaS providers can step in by solving specific operational challenges and expanding outward. Its emphasis on listening to customers, connecting with established financial software, and automating manual tasks places it among the newer generation of cloud tools, making procurement smarter and more transparent. For companies still relying on emails, spreadsheets, and manual processes, Precoro's evolution points to a future where the line between procurement and finance is increasingly seamless.
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