3-way match explained: PO, GRN and invoice
What a 3-way match checks, why invoices fail it, what to do with the ones that do, and how AI invoice capture changes the work for finance teams.
A 3-way match is a check that the invoice agrees with the purchase order and the goods receipt before it is paid. Three documents, one question: did we order it, did we receive it, and is this what we agreed to pay?
The three documents
- Purchase order: what was ordered, at what price, from whom.
- Goods receipt (GRN): what arrived, in what quantity, when.
- Invoice: what the supplier is charging.
Why invoices fail the match
Most mismatches are ordinary: a price changed after the PO was raised, a partial delivery invoiced in full, a unit of measure that differs between the supplier’s invoice and your PO, freight or tax on the invoice but not on the PO, or the same invoice submitted twice.
What to do with a failed match
Hold it, and show why. An invoice held with “quantity on invoice exceeds quantity received” is a five-minute conversation. An invoice held with no reason is a week of email.
Where AI changes the work
Reading the invoice used to be the slow part. AI invoice capture reads the invoice so the match can run on every invoice, not a sample. Finance then handles only the exceptions, with the reason shown.
How SupplierX does it
Suppliers submit invoices on the portal, or your team uploads them. AI capture reads the invoice. SupplierX matches it to the PO and GRN. Invoices that do not match are held, with the reason shown. Duplicate invoices are blocked, and TDS and freight are captured for SAP. Payments are executed in your ERP; SupplierX does not move money.
Related: 3-way match, MIRO controls for SAP.
See it on your process
Book a 30-minute demo on demo data, set up around your ERP landscape.
SupplierX is an independent source-to-pay platform. Its deepest native connectivity is with SAP ECC, SAP S/4HANA Private Cloud and SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud, and it connects to any other ERP.