Payhawk vs QAD Adaptive ERP (2026): Pricing, Features & Verdict
Payhawk is our pick, scoring 7.1/10 against 6.1/10 for QAD Adaptive ERP on our Finance Software criteria. Its biggest advantage: higher Ease of Use score (8/10 vs 4/10). Neither Payhawk nor QAD Adaptive ERP lists a free plan.
Last updated: November 2026
Payhawk
7.1/10
Payhawk is a modular spend management platform combining Visa corporate cards, expense claims, accounts payable, procurement and travel booking for mid-sized and multi-entity companies.
QAD Adaptive ERP
6.1/10
Cloud-first ERP for mid-sized and large manufacturers. It combines financials, manufacturing, supply chain, quality and EDI, with Champion AI agents built in.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 7.1/10 | 6.1/10 |
| Scalability | 8/10 | 8/10 |
| Analytics | 5/10 | 5/10 |
| Compliance | 8/10 | 9/10 |
| Integration | 9/10 | 7/10 |
| Security | 8/10 | 8/10 |
| Support | 5/10 | 5/10 |
| Cost | 4/10 | 3/10 |
| Customization | 7/10 | 5/10 |
| Ease of Use | 8/10 | 4/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | £149/mo Growth programme (UK/EEA) | Contact for pricing |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | £149/mo Growth programme (UK/EEA) | Contact for pricing |
| Features | ||
| Accounts Payable | ||
| Multi-currency | ||
| Multi-entity Consolidation | ||
| Tax Compliance | ||
| Accountant Access | Not listed | |
| Audit Trail | Not listed | |
| Bank Reconciliation | Not listed | |
| Budgeting and Forecasting | Not listed | |
| Corporate Cards | Not listed | |
| Expense Management | Not listed | |
| Financial Reporting | Not listed | |
| General Ledger | Not listed | |
| Inventory Accounting | Not listed | |
| Payroll | ||
Payhawk vs QAD Adaptive ERP cost by team size
| Team size | Payhawk | QAD Adaptive ERP |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | £149/moGrowth programme (UK/EEA) | Contact for pricing |
| 5 users | £149/moGrowth programme (UK/EEA) | Contact for pricing |
| 10 users | £149/moGrowth programme (UK/EEA) | Contact for pricing |
| 25 users | $299/moTravel | Contact for pricing |
| 50 users | $299/moTravel | Contact for pricing |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Who Payhawk and QAD Adaptive ERP suit
Payhawk fits finance teams, mid-market and small business better than QAD Adaptive ERP.
| Audience | Payhawk | QAD Adaptive ERP |
|---|---|---|
| Finance Teams | 9/10It is built for controllers and CFO teams that need card controls, AP approvals and ERP sync in one place. | 6/10Finance teams at manufacturers get strong GL, AP, AR and tax tools, but the finance module is not sold as a standalone finance product. |
| Mid-Market | 9/10Module pricing from several hundred dollars a month, plus multi-entity add-ons, targets companies that have outgrown simple expense apps. | 7/10Reviewers place its core market at manufacturers with roughly 200 to 5,000 employees, though total cost of ownership is high. |
| Small Business | 4/10There is a discounted Growth programme for UK and EEA firms under 10 staff, but it is capped and reviewers say the cost is high for small companies. | 2/10Independent reviews say it is too feature-heavy and costly for small single-site companies. |
| Enterprise | 7/10It offers SAP, Oracle and Workday connectors, SSO, and PO matching, but very large enterprises may still need deeper procurement suites. | 8/10It supports multi-site, multi-country operations and holds SOC 1, SOC 2, ISO 27001 and TISAX attestations, and global manufacturers such as Tenneco have used it to replace SAP ECC. |
| Logistics | Not rated | 5/10It covers distribution and has an embedded WMS and multi-carrier shipping, but one reviewer criticized its warehouse and transport tools. |
| Manufacturing | Not rated | 10/10QAD built the product for discrete and process manufacturers, with industry templates for automotive, life sciences and food and beverage. |
| Startups | 5/10The Growth plan and unlimited employee seats help, but annual contracts and the price floor are less startup-friendly than freemium rivals. | Not rated |
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Payhawk
- Higher Ease of Use score (8/10 vs 4/10)
- Higher Integration score (9/10 vs 7/10)
- Better fit for finance teams (9/10 vs 6/10)
- Better fit for small business (4/10 vs 2/10)
Why choose QAD Adaptive ERP
- Higher Compliance score (9/10 vs 8/10)
Pros & Cons
Payhawk
Pros
- Unlimited employee seats, card transactions and document processing in every module, so costs do not scale per employee.
- Very broad native integration list, covering NetSuite, Sage Intacct, SAP, Dynamics, Xero, QuickBooks, DATEV and 30+ HR systems, plus a partner API and MCP connector.
- Strong for multi-entity European groups, with regulated card issuing entities in the EEA, UK and US and balances in six currencies.
- AP module includes 2- and 3-way PO matching, segregation-of-duties controls, and e-invoicing support for Peppol, KSeF, SDI and Finvoice.
- Reviewers often say employees find receipt capture and expense submission in the mobile app quick and easy.
Cons
- Trustpilot (2.8/5) and some G2 reviews describe mid-contract price increases, automatic renewals and difficult cancellations.
- Several reviewers report slow or AI-first support, with replies taking days or weeks.
- Annual pricing, unit fees for admin seats and cards, and add-on prices are not published, so you have to get a quote.
- Initial setup of workflows, custom fields and integrations is described as complex, and some reviewers note sync errors with Xero and with foreign currency refunds.
- It is not a general ledger or payroll system, so it needs a separate ERP or accounting package.
QAD Adaptive ERP
Pros
- Deep manufacturing finance features, such as automotive self-billing and retro-billing, evaluated receipts settlement, and three-way matching inside AP
- Strong compliance coverage: SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, CSA STAR, TISAX and FDA 21 CFR Part 11, plus tax compliance in more than 60 countries through AvaTax
- Built-in EDI and a Boomi-based integration platform with standard APIs for linking shop floor and third-party systems
- Choice of public cloud, private cloud or on-premise deployment, with twice-yearly updates on the cloud release
- Champion AI agents for accounts payable, procurement, sourcing and trade compliance came with the November 2025 release
Cons
- Reviewers on Capterra and TrustRadius call the interface dated and say the many functions overwhelm new users
- No public pricing, and independent reviews describe total cost of ownership as high, with implementations often run through partners
- Standard reporting often needs custom work, and one PeerSpot reviewer was charged extra for some KPI reports
- Payroll and broad HR are not part of the suite, and CRM is basic
- Not suited to small companies, engineer-to-order manufacturers or non-manufacturing businesses
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Payhawk scores higher on our Finance Software criteria: 7.1/10 against 6.1/10 for QAD Adaptive ERP. The largest gap is in Ease of Use: 8/10 for Payhawk and 4/10 for QAD Adaptive ERP.
No, neither Payhawk nor QAD Adaptive ERP lists a free plan.
Payhawk is the better fit for finance teams: we rate it 9/10 for them, against 6/10 for QAD Adaptive ERP.
