What is intake-to-pay (I2P)? Definition, benefits, & process

If your procurement process feels fragmented, slowed by lengthy approvals, poor visibility into requests, and an ever-growing supplier list, you’re not alone. Many organizations face these same challenges. The solution gaining traction across industries is intake-to-pay (I2P).

Intake-to-pay is a holistic procurement approach that spans the full lifecycle, from identifying a business need to making the final payment to a supplier.

By prioritizing user experience, early spend visibility, and seamless stakeholder collaboration, I2P delivers a unified, transparent procurement process. In this guide, we’ll cover how intake-to-pay differs from procure-to-pay, the benefits of I2P, why organizations are making the switch, and what to look for in intake-to-pay software.

What is intake-to-pay?

Intake-to-pay is a procurement framework that manages every stage of the purchasing lifecycle—from the moment a request is submitted to the final supplier payment.

Unlike traditional procure-to-pay systems, which often focus only on purchasing and payment, intake-to-pay emphasizes the front-end intake process, early spend visibility, and coordination across all stakeholders.

Intake-to-pay was designed to solve common procurement pain points: slow and confusing approvals, limited visibility before spend commitments, and inefficiencies from siloed tools or manual workflows. By unifying request intake, approvals, purchasing, and payment in one streamlined process, intake-to-pay eliminates gaps left by legacy systems, helping teams work faster, improve compliance, and maintain control over spend. Learn more in our procurement management guide.

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The intake-to-pay process

The intake-to-pay process streamlines procurement from the first request to the final payment. While workflows may differ across organizations, a well-structured I2P process ensures visibility, compliance, and efficiency at every stage. A clear understanding of the accounts payable process helps unlock the full downstream benefits.

1. Requisition and assessment

The process starts when an employee submits a purchase request for goods or services. Procurement teams validate the request’s need, priority, and policy alignment. This early review prevents unnecessary spend, improves decision-making, and reduces cycle times. Learn more in our requisition process guide.

2. Budget and compliance

Validated requests are reviewed against budgets and compliance requirements. This ensures financial feasibility, adherence to internal policies, and alignment with regulatory or contractual obligations, avoiding costly rework later in the process.

3. Procurement process

Once approved, the procurement process begins, which includes key processes like:

• Supplier selection and vetting
• Purchase order (PO) creation and approval
• Goods or services receipt

A structured process ensures quality, strengthens supplier relationships, and speeds up delivery. For a more in depth look, check out our procurement cycle guide.

4. Invoice processing

After goods or services are delivered, the supplier submits an invoice. Accounts payable verifies that it matches the PO and delivery records, then routes it for approval. Accurate invoice processing prevents payment delays and supplier disputes.

5. Payment processing

Approved invoices move to payment. Timely, accurate payments maintain supplier trust, avoid late fees, and support preferred vendor relationships. Payment methods often include ACH, wire transfer, or checks (though checks seem to be a thing of the past these days, unless of course your landlord is extremely old-fashioned).

6. Record keeping and analysis

All procurement and payment records are stored in a centralized system for audit readiness, spend visibility, and process optimization. Detailed records enable data-driven analysis to improve procurement strategies.

Intake-to-pay vs. procure-to-pay: What’s the difference?

Procure-to-pay focuses primarily on transactional purchasing after a need has been approved, starting with the PO and ending with payment.

Intake-to-pay, by contrast, covers the entire procurement lifecycle, from initial request and approval through supplier payment, ensuring visibility, compliance, and collaboration from the start. This approach captures early-stage data, improves the user experience, and supports strategic spend management.

Why organizations are choosing intake-to-pay

Companies are increasingly replacing procure-to-pay systems with intake-to-pay to overcome P2P’s limitations and realize benefits like greater visibility, compliance, efficiency, and cost control.

Let’s take a look at some of the specific challenges of P2P, along with some of the benefits of intake-to-pay.

The challenges of procure-to-pay

• Lack of transparency: Limited insight into pre-PO stages can cause budget overruns and poor spend tracking.
• Manual processes: Error-prone data entry slows processing and reduces accuracy.
• Cumbersome approvals: Multi-level approval chains create delays and frustration.
• Department silos: Poor cross-team communication leads to duplicated efforts and inefficiency.
  

On the contrary, there are many downstream benefits to starting this process at a single-front-door intake management solution, like the one offered by Zip.

The benefits of intake-to-pay

Intake-to-pay addresses the challenges of P2P and addresses them at their root cause: the lack of visibility and friction that causes stakeholders to remain disconnected, and employees to go around the system and spend outside of the necessary workflows.

1. Comprehensive spend visibility

• Captures all spend requests from the outset
• Identifies budget risks and policy violations early
• Improves forecasting and planning accuracy
  

2. Stronger control and compliance

• Standardized workflows enforce policy adherence
• Automated approvals speed routing and reduce bottlenecks
• Clear audit trails reduce fraud risk
  

3. Increased efficiency and productivity

• Automated tasks free employees for strategic work
• Faster processing from request to payment
• Reduced manual errors and improved data quality
  

4. Better collaboration and communication

• Centralized platform for requesters and approvers
• Real-time status updates reduce follow-up requests
• Enhanced supplier collaboration and coordination
  

5. Optimized supplier management

• Early supplier involvement improves planning
• Standardized onboarding ensures compliance
• Continuous performance tracking identifies improvement opportunities
  

6. Smarter decision-making

• Comprehensive data capture informs strategy
• Advanced analytics reveal spend trends
• Custom reporting supports leadership insights
  

What to look for in intake-to-pay software

When evaluating intake-to-pay solutions, look for features that deliver both immediate process improvements and long-term scalability:

• Unified request portal: A single entry point for all purchase requests, eliminating manual routing and ensuring accurate capture.
• Adaptable request forms:  Customizable fields and workflows for different purchase types.
• Automated need validation: Checks requests against budgets, supplier lists, and policies before approval.
• Configurable approval chains: Tailored approval routing based on spend, category, or risk level.
• Automated routing and notifications: Keeps processes moving and stakeholders informed.
• Automatic purchase order creation: Generates POs upon approval to reduce errors and save time.
• Pre-populated purchase orders: Auto-fills details to streamline PO creation.
  

With agentic AI integration, intake-to-pay systems can further automate decision-making, surface insights, and accelerate end-to-end procurement orchestration.

Upgrade your outdated P2P system with Zip intake-to-pay

Zip’s AI-powered intake-to-pay platform is the global standard for next-generation procurement orchestration. It features a unified intake portal, automated approvals, vendor management, PO creation, AP automation, and AI-powered insights, all integrated with your tech stack.

By addressing P2P’s weaknesses and leveraging I2P’s benefits, Zip delivers a complete, efficient, and user-friendly procurement solution.Request a demo to see how Zip can accelerate and optimize your procurement process.