AP & AR
Three-way match
Purchase orders, receiving records and vendor invoices from suppliers across the EU are checked against each other line by line before a bill is approved, catching a price or quantity error, or a missing intra-EU VAT treatment, before money moves out of your account.
Aged receivables
Illustrative client · August 2026
EUR
| 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.
Three documents, one bill
A vendor bill is only as reliable as the purchase order and receiving record behind it. We compare the three line by line: what was ordered, what actually arrived, and what the supplier invoiced for, before a bill goes anywhere near approval. A quantity that does not match, or a price that has drifted from the order, gets flagged rather than paid.
Where a cross-border purchase adds a check
A vendor bill from a supplier in another member state carries its own risk beyond price and quantity: whether the reverse charge or local VAT was applied correctly on the invoice. We check that the VAT treatment on the bill matches what the purchase type and supplier location call for, alongside the standard three-way match, so a coding error does not sit quietly in your ledger until a VAT review finds it.
Exceptions, not silent fixes
Bills are held for your review when no matching purchase order exists, and a short exceptions list covers anything that did not match cleanly, whether that is a quantity variance, a price difference or a VAT treatment that looks wrong for the purchase. Matched bills move straight into your normal bill pay approval flow.
Where this sits
Three-way match runs alongside bill pay for larger purchases; smaller recurring bills can skip straight to approval if you prefer. See pricing for how it is scoped into a plan.
Questions
Frequently asked questions: Three-way match
Do you check VAT treatment as part of the match, not just price and quantity?
Yes, for cross-border EU purchases we check that the VAT treatment on the bill fits the purchase type and supplier location, alongside the standard price and quantity comparison.
What happens when there is no purchase order for a bill?
The bill is held for your review rather than pushed through, since there is nothing to match it against.
Does every vendor bill go through three-way match?
Only the ones you scope it for, typically larger purchases. Smaller recurring bills can go straight to your normal approval flow.
What happens when the quantity received differs from the quantity billed?
The mismatch is flagged before payment, with the difference routed back to whoever raised the purchase order to confirm whether it is a short delivery, a pricing error or a legitimate partial shipment before anything is paid out.
Do you set up the three-way match rules, or just run them?
We configure the matching tolerances and workflow inside your accounting or procurement software against rules you agree, then run the match against every bill going forward, adjusting the tolerance if it proves too tight or too loose.
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.