Cleo Pay

Cleo Pay is accounts-payable software for small and mid-sized businesses, particularly hospitality and service operators. It is best suited to teams that want invoice processing, vendor approvals, ACH payments, and QuickBooks Online working together; vendors can onboard and receive payments without downloading an app.

Overview

The workflow covers invoice intake through payment tracking: businesses can collect invoices, route them for approval, onboard vendors, and pay by ACH. That breadth is useful for operators managing recurring vendor bills, but the product’s accounting connection is specifically to QuickBooks Online, so it is a narrower fit for businesses using other accounting systems.

Vendors complete onboarding and receive payments through a web link without account fees. For businesses that need to connect their own systems, Cleo Pay also provides a REST API covering payables, contacts, bank accounts, and payments. The company was founded in 2025 and is headquartered in New York.

Key features

Invoice capture and QuickBooks sync

Invoices can be forwarded by email or submitted as a photo. AI extracts vendor, amount, and line-item details and maps expenses to QuickBooks accounts, reducing manual handling between receipt and coding. The two-way QuickBooks Online connection syncs vendor records, invoices, bills, payments, and chart-of-accounts data, which makes Cleo Pay most useful to businesses already using QuickBooks Online.

Vendor onboarding and approvals

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. Approval chains can be set by amount, GL code, or vendor, and approvers can respond from email or mobile. Those routing options suit businesses with different approval rules for different bills, though the number of seats in each plan will matter as the team grows.

Payments and safeguards

Businesses can pay vendors by ACH, schedule future payments, and follow transfers through scheduled, processing, paid, or error statuses. Cleo Pay says Plaid connections use OAuth, bank credentials do not touch its servers, and sensitive data is encrypted at rest and in transit. Audit trails add a record of payment activity. Support is by email, with a personalized 15-minute onboarding call for setup help and payment issues.

Pricing

The free Get Paid plan costs nothing and is for vendors and contractors. It includes one user seat and unlimited incoming payments, but no outbound payments. It is useful for receiving funds, not for a business that needs to pay its own vendors.

Basic costs $99 a month, billed $99/mo, and is aimed at independent business operators. It includes one user seat and 15 payments per month; each additional payment costs $3. This is the entry point for businesses paying vendors, but the single seat and low allowance can become restrictive as payment volume or team involvement increases.

Venues & Promoters Plus costs $199 a month, billed $199/mo. It includes three seats and 50 payments monthly, with additional payments at $2.50 each. Its higher allowance and shared access make it a more natural fit for venues and promotion companies handling more bills than Basic can cover.

Pro costs $299 a month, billed $299/mo. It raises the allowance to 100 payments, includes 10 seats, charges $2 for each additional payment, and adds dedicated support. It is the strongest fit for larger teams with higher payment volume; users should still compare the allowance and overage charge with their expected monthly total.

Platforms

Cleo Pay supports Android, iOS, web, and API access. Its payout coverage is single-country, so businesses needing payouts across multiple countries should look elsewhere.

Who it's for

Cleo Pay is aimed at small and mid-sized hospitality and service businesses, including restaurants, hotels, and event production companies. It suits teams that use QuickBooks Online, need configurable invoice approvals, and want vendors to submit tax and bank details through self-service onboarding. It is less suitable for organizations needing multiple-country payouts, a different accounting integration, or outbound payments at no monthly cost.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Invoice capture, approval routing, vendor onboarding, ACH payments, and two-way QuickBooks Online sync sit in one workflow.
• Pros: Vendors can onboard and receive payments through a web link without an app download or account fee.
• Pros: Approval rules can vary by amount, GL code, or vendor, with approvals available by email or mobile.
• Cons: The free plan excludes outbound payments, so businesses must take a paid plan to pay vendors.
• Cons: Paid plans cap monthly payments and charge for each payment above the allowance.
• Cons: Basic has only one seat, and payout coverage is limited to a single country.

Alternatives

For a broader set of contractor payment software options, compare tools by their payment and workforce needs. PayWow is worth considering when unlimited contractors and check payments matter; its free Basic plan has limited reports, while Pro costs $9 a month. Zoho Payroll may suit teams seeking payroll software, with a free tier for up to 10 employees and basic payroll at no cost. Plane Contractor Management is an option when hiring, onboarding, contractor and employee records, custom reports, holidays, and time tracking are the priority. Lano Contractor Management may fit businesses needing compliant contracts across 170+ countries; its contractor plan costs €19 a month per contractor. YunoJuno Contractor Payments is another contractor-network option, with custom pricing. IRIS Practice Engine, Petl Pay, and BuildFair are also alternatives to compare.

Verdict

Cleo Pay is a strong fit for a QuickBooks Online business that wants to connect invoice handling, approvals, vendor compliance, and ACH payments. Its clearest advantages are the linked workflow and vendor self-service; the main reasons to look elsewhere are the single-country payout scope, lack of free outbound payments, and paid-plan limits with per-payment overages.