What are the three documents?
- Purchase order (PO): the quantities and unit prices you agreed with the supplier.
- Receipt: the quantities your warehouse or 3PL actually received and accepted.
- Bill: the supplier invoice, entered in accounts payable.
A two-way match checks only the bill against the PO. Adding the receipt is what catches paying for goods that never arrived.
What does a three-way match check?
Line by line, it checks that the billed quantity does not exceed the received quantity, and that the billed unit price matches the PO price. Many teams allow a small tolerance, such as a few cents a unit or a percentage, so rounding does not block every bill.
What does an example look like?
A PO orders 500 units at $12.00, a total of $6,000. The warehouse receives 480 units. The supplier bills 500 units at $12.50, a total of $6,250. The match fails twice: 20 units were billed but not received, and the price is $0.50 above the PO. What you owe on the evidence is 480 units at $12.00, or $5,760. Paying the bill as sent would cost $490 more.
Why does it matter for a product brand?
Overbilling is rarely deliberate. Short shipments, price changes that never reached the PO and duplicate invoices are routine. Without a match, they get paid and show up later as inventory that does not tie to the books or margin that does not add up. A match also gives the supplier conversation a specific number to discuss.
How does SuppliFlex handle three-way match?
Purchasing in SuppliFlex covers suppliers, purchase orders, receiving with landed cost, bills and three-way match. Mismatches are discrepancies, and every discrepancy lands in the exception inbox with its cause. AP syncs to QuickBooks Online or Xero as the general ledger. See purchasing in SuppliFlex for the full flow.