Melio

Melio is one of the rare business tools that delivers genuine value at zero cost for its core use case. For small businesses that pay vendors by bank transfer, Melio is completely free with no monthly fees, no per-transaction charges, and no hidden costs. This alone makes it worth trying for any business that still writes physical checks or manually processes vendor payments. The platform's killer feature is the ability to pay check-only vendors digitally. You pay through Melio by bank transfer or card, and Melio sends the vendor a physical check on your behalf. This bridges the gap between businesses that want to go paperless and vendors that have not yet adopted digital payments. For a small business paying 10 to 20 vendors monthly, this eliminates hours of check writing, stamping, and mailing. Scheduled payments and approval workflows add a layer of financial control that is typically found only in more expensive AP automation tools. The ability to schedule payments around cash flow needs, combined with multi-person approval requirements, makes Melio suitable for growing businesses that need basic financial controls without enterprise-grade complexity. Integration with QuickBooks and Xero ensures payments are automatically reconciled, reducing bookkeeping overhead. The card payment option at 2.9 percent is an interesting strategic choice. While the fee sounds high, businesses earning 2 percent or more in credit card rewards effectively pay only 0.9 percent for the convenience of paying vendors by card. For businesses optimizing cash flow by delaying payments to credit card billing cycles, this can be a net positive. The limitations are straightforward. Bank transfers take 3 to 5 business days, so Melio is not suitable for urgent payments without paying the 20 dollar expedited fee. International payment support is limited, making it primarily a domestic US solution. Melio also does not replace accounting software; it complements it. For US-based small businesses looking to modernize their accounts payable process without spending a dollar on software, Melio is an easy recommendation. The free pricing and genuine time savings make the adoption decision almost risk-free.