Forwardly

Forwardly review

Payment automation for small and mid-size teams that want faster cash flow

By Ciroapp Editorial Team · Updated Oct 27, 2026
Forwardly homepage screenshot

At a glance

Quick overview for Forwardly: rating, pricing summary, key features, and highlights.
Vendor page checked Nov 5, 2026

Ciroapp score

4.0/ 5

Free AP and AR in one place

Forwardly puts accounts payable and receivable on a single dashboard and skips the monthly subscription, with AI bill capture, instant transfers, and syncs for seven accounting platforms. Faster transfers and card payments carry per-payment fees, and free transfers only work between businesses on its network. Overall, a strong pick for lean finance teams that want both sides of cash flow in one tool.

Pros

  • Accounts payable and receivable share one dashboard, so money in and money out stay visible together
  • No monthly subscription fee and no user limits, with a free trial to test the workflow
  • AI bill capture and a shared invoice inbox cut most manual invoice entry

Cons

  • Faster payments cost extra — next-day, same-day and instant transfers run 1% each (min $1), and card payments 2.99%
  • Zero-cost payments and automatic invoice matching only apply when both sides are on Forwardly
  • Approval workflows and roles need setup before your team can rely on them
Best for
  • Small and mid-size businesses that want AP and AR handled from one dashboard
  • Bookkeeping and accounting firms managing billing and bill payment for multiple clients
  • Teams paying a steady stream of vendor bills and chasing late customer invoices
Free trial
Yes
This section is a summary. Detailed sections about features, use cases, pricing, and reviews follow below.

What is Forwardly?

Forwardly is a payment automation platform that runs accounts payable and accounts receivable from a single dashboard. It's built for small and mid-size businesses, bookkeeping firms, and accounting teams that want faster payments without a monthly subscription. Bills arrive in a dedicated inbox, AI pulls out the key details, and payments go out as instant bank transfers, same-day ACH, or card.

It syncs with the major accounting platforms and sits inside the Forwardly Network, where invoices and payments match automatically between businesses on both sides.

Verdict

Best for Small and mid-size businesses, bookkeeping firms, and accounting teams that want AP and AR in one dashboard without a monthly subscription.

Forwardly is a solid fit for lean finance teams and accounting firms that want AP and AR handled together and would rather skip a monthly fee. The strongest gains show up when you connect your accounting platform and put approval roles in place. Test it on your own payment volume first, then decide.

Strengths

  • Accounts payable and receivable share one dashboard, so cash flow stays visible
  • No monthly subscription fee and no user limits, with a free start and a free trial
  • AI bill capture and a dedicated inbox remove most manual invoice entry

Watch-outs

  • Value depends on your accounting platform being on the supported sync list
  • Free transfers and automatic matching need both sides on the Forwardly Network
  • Approval workflows need configuring before your team can rely on them

Pricing trap for Forwardly: There's no monthly subscription, so the real cost lives in per-payment fees: 1% for next-day, same-day or instant transfers and 2.99% for cards. Run your own volume through the pricing page before assuming it beats a flat-fee rival.

Forwardly Key Features

📊 One Dashboard for Money In and Money Out

Everything you owe and everything you're owed sits on a single screen. Bills due in seven days, overdue invoices, and items awaiting approval each get their own count. You see your cash position without switching tabs, so decisions get made faster and surprises get smaller.

✨ AI Bill Capture and a Shared Inbox

Vendor bills land in a dedicated inbox, and the AI pulls out the key details for you. Amounts, due dates, and payee info arrive pre-filled, ready for approval. Your team stops retyping invoices and starts reviewing them.

Forwardly reports an average of 70+ hours saved each month through this automation.

✨ Approval Workflows with Roles and Permissions

More than one person can touch payments without anyone losing control. You assign roles like AP clerk, set up approval chains, and choose whether one person or several must sign off. Once configured, sensitive data stays protected and payments move only when the right people say so.

✨ Payment Speed and Timing on Your Terms

Choose how each payment travels: instant bank transfer, same-day ACH, next-day, standard, or card. An instant transfer takes about 60 seconds to send, weekends and holidays included. You can also schedule payments up to 90 days ahead, split a bill into partial payments, and earn rewards when you pay by credit card.

✨ Automatic Sync and the Forwardly Network

Connect QuickBooks Online, Xero, FreshBooks, Zoho Books, Sage Intacct, Oracle NetSuite, or Microsoft Dynamics, and invoices, bills, and payments update on their own. When a customer or vendor is also on the Forwardly Network, matching happens automatically. No PDFs, no OCR, no manual entry.

Use Cases

📥 Pay vendor bills without the typing

Bills land in a dedicated inbox, and AI fills in the key details. Your approvers sign off with set roles, then you send an instant transfer in about a minute. Expected outcome: fewer late fees and far less manual entry each week.

⚡ Stop chasing late customer invoices

Invoices sync from your accounting platform and reminders go out on their own, so you stop following up by hand. Forwardly reports customers paying about five days sooner. > Tip: when a regular customer is on the Forwardly Network too, invoices and payments match with no PDFs and no fee.

🧾 Run billing for a whole client list

Bookkeeping and accounting firms can handle billing and bill payment for many clients from one login. There's no monthly fee and no user limits, so your whole team works in the same place. Expected outcome: one workflow for every client, without per-seat costs.

📅 Steady the weeks when cash is tight

Some weeks are tighter than others. Schedule payments up to 90 days ahead, split a bill into partial payments, or put it on a card and earn rewards. Expected outcome: you time money out around the money coming in.

Forwardly pricing

  • 3 plans
  • Free plan available

Vendor page checked on Nov 5, 2026; confirm current prices on Forwardly's pricing page

Forwardly pricing page screenshotView pricing page screenshot
PlanBilled monthlyBilled annuallyIncludes
Free business account
Free
—
10 free standard ACH transfers a month (5 sent, 5 received)
  • 10 free standard ACH transfers a month (5 sent, 5 received)
  • Get paid by card or bank
  • No setup fee
  • Free bank payments between Forwardly-connected businesses
  • AI bill capture with a dedicated bill inbox
  • +3
Pay as you go
Most popular
Free
—
  • Everything in the free account
  • 30-day free trial for US businesses
  • Unlimited standard ACH
  • Next-day, same-day and instant transfers from $1 per payment (1%, capped at $10, $20 and $30)
  • Real-time sync with QuickBooks Online and Xero
  • +1
Custom
See vendor page
See vendor page
  • Volume discount pricing and embedded payments
  • White-glove onboarding and a dedicated account manager
  • API access for sending and receiving payments
  • Sync with Sage Intacct, Oracle NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics 365 and more
  • Phone, video and priority support

Price history

Tracking prices since Oct 27, 2026. No price change detected yet.

Pricing types: Free plan, Free trial, Usage-based pricing

Pricing notes

Forwardly has no monthly subscription. The free business account includes 10 standard ACH transfers a month, Pay as you go adds unlimited ACH and faster transfers from $1 per payment, and Custom pricing covers high volumes.

Forwardly charges no monthly subscription fee — you pay $0 per month to run accounts payable and accounts receivable from one dashboard, with no limit on users.

There are three tiers: a free business account, Pay as you go, and Custom for larger volumes.

Free business account

Price: $0 per month Best For: small and mid-size businesses that want AP and AR automation without a recurring bill Other Features:

  • 10 free standard ACH transfers a month (5 sent, 5 received)
  • AI bill capture with a dedicated inbox for vendor invoices
  • Approval workflows with roles and permissions
  • Automatic sync with QuickBooks Online, Xero, FreshBooks, Zoho Books, Sage Intacct, Oracle NetSuite, and Microsoft Dynamics
  • Schedule payments up to 90 days ahead and split bills into partial payments

Pick this if you want automation without adding another line to your software budget. There's no per-seat charge, so your bookkeeper, your AP clerk, and your approvers can all log in. Instant payments take about 60 seconds to send, even on weekends and holidays. Card payments earn rewards, and you can choose your delivery speed on each payment instead of defaulting to one rail.

The Forwardly Network is where the setup gets interesting. When you and your customer or vendor are both on it, invoices and payments sync on their own. No emailed PDFs, no scanning, no manual matching at month end. Payments between two businesses on the network cost nothing, either way. That's the part that quietly removes the reconciliation work most finance teams dread.

The dashboard keeps money-in and money-out side by side. Payments are matched and categorized automatically, and the platform reports an acceptance rate above 99% across thousands of monthly transactions. The money you actually spend is in per-payment fees, and Forwardly publishes them: Standard ACH is $0.50 per transfer after 5 free sent and 5 free received each month; next-day, same-day and instant bank transfers cost 1% (min $1, capped at $10, $20 and $30); card payments cost 2.99% plus a $0.25 batch fee.

Pay as you go

Price: $0 per month plus per-payment fees Best For: businesses that move more money or need faster transfers Other Features:

  • 30-day free trial for US businesses covering instant, same-day, next-day and standard ACH
  • Unlimited standard ACH
  • Fast and instant payments from $1 per payment
  • Real-time sync with QuickBooks Online and Xero

Custom

Price: contact sales Best For: enterprises and platforms that need volume discounts, embedded payments or API access

US businesses can try Forwardly free for 30 days before real fees kick in, so you can connect your accounting system and test the dashboard first.

How to pay less for Forwardly

  • Start on the free plan and upgrade only when you hit its limits.
  • A free trial is available: test it before you pay.
Start free trial

Email me when Forwardly changes price

One email when we detect a price change on the vendor's pricing page. No newsletter, no deals. Unsubscribe in one click.

User Reviews

No reviews yet.

Write a Review

Write a Review for Forwardly
0/100 characters
0/2000 characters

Why use Forwardly?

Most payment tools make you pick a side: money in or money out. Forwardly runs both from the same screen, and that's where the hours come back.

  • One view of your cash flow. Every payable and receivable sits on a single dashboard, so you can see what's due, what's overdue, and what still needs approval without switching tabs.
  • No monthly subscription and no user limits. You can start free and add teammates without the bill climbing, which matters for growing firms and lean finance teams.
  • Collections move faster. Invoices sync on their own, reminders go out without follow-ups, and Forwardly reports customers paying about five days sooner.
  • Payments take about a minute. Send an instant bank transfer in roughly 60 seconds, even on weekends and holidays, and schedule payments up to 90 days out when you need more room.
  • Network payments cost nothing either way. When a customer or vendor is also on Forwardly, invoices and payments sync with no PDFs, no OCR, and no fee between you.
  • Your books stay clean. Forwardly syncs with QuickBooks Online, Xero, FreshBooks, Zoho Books, Sage Intacct, Oracle NetSuite, and Microsoft Dynamics, and the company holds SOC 2 certification.

Forwardly alternatives

Other tools in the Accounts Payable category

View all Accounts Payable tools
Plooto

Plooto

Accounts Payable4.1/5

Plooto is an all-in-one software designed for accounts payable and receivable management. This powerful solution helps modern finance teams, growing businesses, and accounting firms take control of their cash flow. It eliminates manual payment and accounting tasks, freeing you to focus on growth potential. Plooto simplifies complex transactions, handling everything from international payments to EFT, all in one secure place.

Melio

Melio

Accounts Payable3.9/5

Melio is America’s fastest-growing bill pay and invoicing solution used by millions of businesses and their vendors, including banks, accounting firms, and SaaS platforms. It helps you create, track, and sync invoices, with a merchant account setup in under 2 minutes and digital payments via shareable links.

Quadient

Quadient

Accounts Payable3.8/5

Quadient is a business automation company with four focus areas: customer communications, finance automation (AP and AR), mail and shipping, and parcel delivery through Parcel Pending smart lockers. It serves regulated sectors like finance, healthcare, insurance, and utilities, plus education and retail. The company reports 300,000+ customers worldwide and 100+ years of experience.

Forwardly FAQ

Does Forwardly have a free plan?

Yes. Forwardly has a free plan (Free business account).

Does Forwardly offer a free trial or a money-back guarantee?

Forwardly offers a free trial.

Has Forwardly's price changed recently?

No. We have not detected a price change since we started tracking on Oct 27, 2026.

Do I pay per user, or per payment?

There are no per-seat fees or user limits, so your whole finance team can log in at no extra cost. The real cost sits in per-payment fees: Standard ACH is $0.50 per transfer after 5 free sent and 5 free received each month; next-day, same-day and instant bank transfers cost 1% (min $1, capped at $10, $20 and $30); card payments cost 2.99% plus a $0.25 batch fee. Payments between two businesses on the Forwardly Network are free.

Which accounting tools does Forwardly connect to?

Forwardly syncs with QuickBooks Online, Xero, FreshBooks, Zoho Books, Sage Intacct, Oracle NetSuite, and Microsoft Dynamics. If you run a niche or in-house system, confirm support before you invest time in setup.

How is my financial data protected?

Forwardly holds SOC 2 certification, and bill and invoice data sit in its dashboard instead of scattered email threads. Before you link bank accounts, ask the team about encryption, data retention, and access controls for approval roles.

What does onboarding involve, and how responsive is support?

Setup is mostly authorising your accounting sync and assigning approval roles, then sending one test payment. Accounting firms describe support as responsive, though no service-level agreement is published, so confirm response times if guarantees matter.

Ready to try Forwardly? Check out the official site or pricing.

Are you Forwardly? Claim this listing · Get the badge