Postver / Procurement guide
Procurement guide
What is three-way
invoice matching?
Three-way invoice matching compares a supplier invoice with the purchase order and the receipt record. It checks that the invoice agrees with what was ordered and what was received before it moves through your approval policy.
Which three records are compared?
The purchase order records the authorised purchase: the supplier, items, quantities and agreed prices.
The receipt records what arrived. For a partial delivery, received quantity can be lower than ordered quantity.
The invoice records what the supplier is asking to be paid. The review compares its lines with the order and receipt, rather than relying only on a matching grand total.
Oracle describes the same three-record check in its NetSuite three-way match workflow documentation. The exact checks and approval rules depend on the system and policy you configure.
What happens when only part of an order arrives?
Consider a purchase order for 100 units with 75 units received. An invoice for 70 units fits within the received quantity, subject to the other checks. An invoice for 80 units includes five units without receipt evidence.
The five-unit difference should stay visible to the reviewer with the document and receiving context. A matching order total does not resolve a missing receipt. Investigate the difference and apply your published approval policy.
This is an illustrative workflow example, not a customer result. See how Postver connects invoice matching to Coupa purchase orders.
Does a match mean the invoice is approved or paid?
No. A match is evidence for the decision. Approval follows the people and rules in your policy. Posting requires confirmation from the ERP. Payment requires the payment evidence recorded there.
Postver keeps reviewed, approved, posted and paid as separate states. If a published exact-match rule allows an invoice to pass without a person, the record identifies the rule and its version. An AI suggestion is presented for review.
Postver prepares the payment file; your bank moves the money. Downloading a file does not mark an invoice paid. Read the NetSuite posting and payment workflow.
What should a reviewer be able to see?
- The original invoice and the source of extracted fields.
- The purchase order and relevant receipt evidence.
- Differences in quantity or value, next to the decision.
- The person or published rule responsible for approval.
- Separate ERP confirmations for posting and payment.
For a walkthrough, bring an order, its receipt and an invoice with a difference your team needs to resolve. Use your own approval policy to decide what should happen next.
Invoice matching questions
Can Coupa and NetSuite both be involved?
Yes. Coupa can provide purchase orders while NetSuite remains the ERP for bill posting and payment evidence. Postver connects the invoice workflow between them.
Can AI approve an invoice?
Postver’s AI suggests; a person decides, or a published, versioned rule makes the decision. The record identifies the rule rather than calling the decision AI approved.
What if an ERP request times out?
Postver keeps the outcome unknown while reconciliation runs. It does not treat a missing response as proof that nothing posted or blindly resubmit the invoice.
Follow the evidence from order to payment
Bring an order, a receipt and an invoice to a Postver walkthrough.