The process can require a great deal of manual effort, particularly if the invoiced items have to be matched at the line level.
Once an invoice is entered into an ERP it is assigned a “match/no match” status. If, for any reason, there are price differences or problems with the goods receipt, the invoice cannot be processed by the ERP. Users or knowledge workers typically have to cancel the transaction, and then perform time-consuming manual work to clear the exception. This usually involves the purchaser, the receiver and sometimes the vendor.
ERPs do not have an automated way of handling these exceptions and in many cases companies may spend days trying to clear up the differences between purchase orders and invoices.
Procurement software companies claim they can “automatically match” these documents – but what makes that possible? Accounts payable three-way match.