AP & AR
Three-way match
Purchase orders, receiving records and vendor invoices are compared line by line before a bill is approved for payment, so a price or quantity error is caught before money moves and before an input tax credit is claimed on the wrong amount.
Aged receivables
Illustrative client · August 2026
CAD
| Customer | Current | 1-30 | 61+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer A | 18,400 | - | - | - |
| Customer B | 9,250 | 4,100 | - | - |
| Customer C | - | 6,780 | 2,200 | - |
| Customer D | 12,600 | - | - | - |
| Customer E | - | - | - | 1,450 |
| Total | 40,250 | 10,880 | 2,200 | 1,450 |
Illustrative. An example of the document, not a client's figures.
Why the match matters
A vendor invoice that does not match what was ordered or received is the most common way a business overpays without noticing. A three way match compares the purchase order, the receiving record and the vendor invoice line by line before a bill goes anywhere near approval, catching a wrong price, a wrong quantity, or a bill for goods that never arrived.
Where GST/HST comes in
The match also checks that GST or HST charged on the bill lines up with what should apply, so the input tax credit claimed against your GST/HST account reflects the actual eligible amount rather than whatever figure a vendor's invoice happened to print.
When there is no clean match
Bills are held for your review when no matching purchase order exists, rather than approved on trust that the spend was authorized. A short exceptions list covers anything that did not match cleanly, so you see the handful of bills that need a decision instead of scanning every invoice yourself.
Getting started without formal POs
A formal purchase order process helps but is not required to start. Where you do not have one yet, we can help set up a simple version scaled to how your business actually buys, so the match has something real to compare against from day one.
Once it clears
A matched bill moves straight into the normal bill pay approval flow, coded and ready for your sign off, with the variance check already done, so nothing you approve is waiting on a second look you would otherwise have to do yourself.
Questions
Frequently asked questions: Three-way match
Do we need formal purchase orders already in place?
It helps, but is not required to start. We can help set up a simple purchase order process if you do not have one yet.
Which documents do you match for a three-way check?
The purchase order, the receiving record and the vendor invoice, so a bill is checked against what was ordered and what actually arrived.
Does the match check GST or HST as well as price?
Yes. The tax charged on the bill is checked against what should apply, so the input tax credit claimed reflects the actual eligible amount.
What exactly is included in three-way match?
Purchase order, receiving record and vendor invoice compared line by line, and quantity and price variances flagged before a bill is approved. This work runs inside QuickBooks Online or Xero, whichever your business already has in place, and it rolls into your regular monthly close rather than sitting off to the side as a separate, unreconciled process.
What happens to our three-way match records if we switch providers?
Everything stays inside your own QuickBooks Online or Xero account, so the full history transfers with the subscription, not with Finbryn. You can hand three-way match to another provider or bring it in-house at any point without losing a reconciliation or having to rebuild the file first.
Do we need formal purchase orders already in place for this to work?
It helps, but is not required to start. We can help set up a simple purchase order process if you do not have one yet.
What counts as a variance worth flagging?
We agree a threshold with you during onboarding, such as any price or quantity difference over a set amount or percentage, so small rounding differences do not trigger unnecessary reviews.
How is three-way match priced?
Pricing for three-way match depends on your transaction volume, the software you use, and how much cleanup is needed before ongoing work starts. Current ranges are published on the pricing page, and your exact fee is confirmed in writing before anything begins.
What software works with three-way match?
Three-way match runs inside QuickBooks Online or Xero, whichever you already use. If you are not yet set up in either, we can configure a file in your name so you keep ownership of it once the engagement is under way.
Next step
Talk to the team that would run your books
A short call covers your setup, your software and what a first month would look like. You get a written scope and price after it.