In most instances, 3-way matching is preferred to ensure the organization does not pay invoices until everything matches. The 3-way match saves companies from overspending, paying for something not received, and helping detect potential fraud. Cloud procure-to-pay automation handles matching quickly, efficiently, and without human intervention. AP professionals recognize the 3-way match and 2-way match are crucial to ensure accuracy in the purchase order invoice process. With that in mind, a 2-way match matches the invoice quantity and price to the purchase order and price.

Authorize accounts payable personnel to complete payments for invoices if the figures across the received invoice, purchase orders, and receiving report differ with a small margin of error. This way, when your documents have matching details with just a little difference in the figures, 3 way matching accounting your accounts payable team can proceed without escalating all the way through the entire organization. Manual processing requires hours of human labor, delaying invoice payments and financial reports. Plus, the AP team must perform endless tedious work, and mistakes are inevitable.

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Find out how you can streamline your accounting process with automation. This guide will walk you through exactly what three-way matching is, why it matters, how to improve https://www.bookstime.com/ it, and more. No more waiting, no more misplaced work, and no more strong-worded arguments that place blame between departments when some part of the matching goes awry.

Only if the details on the three documents are in agreement will the vendor’s invoice be entered as an account payable. With Kofax AP Automation solutions, you can not only fully automate the invoice capture process but also create custom validation rules and make matches smoothly up to a four-way match. The co-working unicorn WeWork faced significant challenges in streamlining ordering and payments across their 800 global office locations. By implementing an integrated ordering and payment system, the company increased visibility into its AP processes and eliminated maverick spending. Replacing their manual 3-way matching with an automated process allowed them to process millions of invoices with ease. This move brought the company better ordering continuity, improved leverage with suppliers, and considerable cost savings.

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In a manual invoice approval workflow, the invoice literally gets pushed from one desk to another until final approval. It is hard to keep track of which level of approval a document is currently stuck at, and who the approver is. If the 3 documents don’t match then the invoice is put on hold until the errors/issues are sorted. A 2 way match, in comparison, only compares the PO with the invoice. And the invoice price should match the price quoted in the purchase order. Managing three-way matching manually can be tiring—use an automated system.

• Today, an increasing number of business owners and departments in charge of finances are using three way match processing to mitigate risk and reign in company spending.
• For as useful as the matching process can be, it is a labor-intensive effort that is susceptible to human error—especially if your AP team must handle a significant number of invoices regularly.
• The 2-way/3-way matching depends significantly on the data quality of all documents.
• He or she looks at each line of each document to make sure they all match.
• Cross-referencing all three documents and their contents suddenly becomes an easier task that doesn’t take days to follow through to the end.

Recurring payments often mean that they have a contract in place with that supplier and that they’re also trusted resulting in less opportunity for fraud. Three-way matching is best left to the larger invoice amounts as well as suppliers that may only be used once and therefore have lower trust levels against them. All of the details from these three documents must match prior to a buyer completing payment. Item names, quantities, and unit costs must match line item costs and total cost. The buyer’s AP department will scrutinize these details and flag any discrepancies. Where discrepancies do occur, stakeholders are sought out for approval and, where necessary, updated or corrected documentation is requested from the supplier.

What is 3-way Matching in Accounts Payable?

By leveraging 3 way matching accounting departments can streamline payment processes, mitigate the risk of human error, and exchange business documents digitally. Before processing vendor payments, AP teams go over these 3 documents to verify that the product/service received by the company matches the details of what was initially ordered. The essence of three-way matching is to eliminate fraud, and to ensure all incoming invoices are properly vetted before making payments on them. Now, while that is an ideal course to pursue, an organization’s accounts payable team might encounter hitches that hinder them from doing their best work and making sure every supplier gets paid on time. The costs of manual three-way matching involve more than actual dollars. For the AP department, there’s real stress in having to chase down details generated by poor or misplaced documentation, as well as having to tackle a tall pile of invoices that grows bigger by the day. Human error is another “gotcha.” It’s not hard to imagine the foibles of human error cropping up among the dozens of small details that need to be tracked.

A 3-way match adds a goods receipt to ensure the company receives the same number ordered and invoiced. Consider the differences between a 2-way and 3-way match in accounts payable and how it impacts the bottom line. Even if the figures on the goods receipt and purchase order differ slightly, the accounts payable department may complete payments for invoices. To eliminate fraud, save money, and maintain adequate records for auditing, three-way matching involves matching purchase orders , goods receipt notes, and supplier invoices. In most cases, payment is issued to the supplier after a 3-way match has been made. For as useful as the matching process can be, it is a labor-intensive effort that is susceptible to human error—especially if your AP team must handle a significant number of invoices regularly.

Not only reduce late payments, but increase potential early pay discounts. Set your sights for MHC NorthStar and navigate your AP team to process nirvana. Though it’s a popular method, three-way matching isn’t the only way to cross-reference and check orders and invoices; there is also two-way and four-way matching. Let’s review both of these processes and how they differ from three-way matching.

For services, challenges tend to arrive when businesses are required to track services in a Service Entry Sheet , entirely separate from their purchases. This only adds to the steps required in the 3-way match process as goods and services must be viewed and validated separately. The process of 3-way matching in accounts payable protects your business against incorrect or fraudulent invoices. It mitigates risks in your company’s spending by making sure you don’t overpay for services or fall for counterfeit invoices.

And if you insist your figures must be identical every single time, this might hold up supplier payments and invoice settlements. It is very labor intensive, and it can be difficult to accumulate the required information, which can result in delayed payments while the accounts payable staff searches for missing information. Delays can annoy suppliers, and also prevent a company from taking early payment discounts.

• Keeping track of the inflow and outflow of cash from a business is a critical component of an audit trail.
• The invoice will include the quantity ordered as well as the cost per unit ($3) with the total cost owed ($3,000, plus any taxes or service charges).
• Two-way match is used to compare the invoice received from vendor with the Purchase Order.
• This indicates that goods were received by the business and an invoice was sent by the supplier.
• It makes it easy for businesses to view what goods and services they have received from their vendors’ and suppliers‘ and the payments they’ve received for them with three-way matching.
• This can severely affect visibility into payables and cause delays.

You will significantly reduce processing costs, and perhaps more importantly, be able to spend more time doing more valuable work. Ensures optimal vendor relationships – Professional vendors respect the importance of purchase orders, invoices, and receipts to the accounts payable process. Frequent mistakes on receipts and invoices can be a sign of a broader business issue, and may indicate that it’s time to begin shopping around. Keeping such close tabs on finances also helps decrease the possibility of fraud. The goal here is to ensure that financial details (order quantity, order amount, total amount, PO number etc.) match across all 3 documents.