What's Planergy?

Modern Spend Management and Accounts Payable software.

Helping organizations spend smarter and more efficiently by automating purchasing and invoice processing.

We saved more than $1 million on our spend in the first year and just recently identified an opportunity to save about $10,000 every month on recurring expenses with Planergy.

King Ocean Logo

Cristian Maradiaga

King Ocean

Download a free copy of "Preparing Your AP Department For The Future", to learn:

  • How to transition from paper and excel to eInvoicing.
  • How AP can improve relationships with your key suppliers.
  • How to capture early payment discounts and avoid late payment penalties.
  • How better management in AP can give you better flexibility for cash flow management.

2 Way Match Vs 3 Way Match Vs 4 Way Match In AP

The Differences Between 2 Way Matching, 3 Way Matching, and 4 Way Matching In AP

2-way, 3-way, and 4-way matching is a vital part of accounting when it comes to procurement and receiving. 

As one of the best internal controls to keep your business from paying for things you didn’t receive or overpaying for things you did, it is well worth the effort it takes.

The Differences Between 2 Way Matching and 3 Way Matching In AP

If you work in accounting, you’re probably already aware of the 2-way match vs 3-way match, but for those that aren’t, let’s take a closer look at each.

2-Way Matching

In 2-way matching, the purchase order and invoice information are verified to match within your tolerances as shown:

  • The quantity billed must be less than or equal to the quantity ordered
  • The invoice price must be less than or equal to the purchase order price

3-Way Matching

3-way matching, adds an additional criterion to verify that the receipt and invoice information match with the quantity tolerances you define.

The quantity billed must be less than or equal to the quantity received.

4-Way Matching

And 4-way matching adds yet another criterion to verify that acceptance documents and invoice match within your quantity tolerances.

The quantity billed must be less than or equal to the quantity accepted as of acceptable quality.

Tolerances

Setting your tolerance is also critical to determining your matching criteria. Sometimes companies consider quantities inside the tolerance limits as matched.

For instance:

If you order 100 items and have a 5% tolerance, and there is an invoice quantity of 103, this is within the tolerance and the matching system accepts it.

However, if you order 100 items with a 5% tolerance, and there is an invoice quantity of 115, this is outside the tolerance and the matching system will flag it for manual review.

Why PO-Matching Matters to Your Organization

If you’re not an accounting professional, this may seem overly complex. In reality, all you’re doing is ensuring you’re only being billed for the number of items you ordered at the price you were quoted and confirming that you did receive the quantity you ordered.

The allowance for less than or equal to means that a vendor shipping more than the quantity you agreed upon or charging less than you agreed to is acceptable. This setup only flags in situations where a vendor sends less or charges more than the agreed-upon amounts.

This setup places the responsibility of error in favor of the consumer onto the vendor and is found in delivery-based manufacturing more often than many many realize.

Without matching controls, the company could be purging money and not even realize it. Blindly paying invoices means you could be paying more than the agreed-upon price, paying for more than what you received, or paying for the same product multiple times. The matching process prevents paying fraudulent invoices.

How 2-Way, 3-Way, and 4-Way Matching is Done

In the past, this type of matching was done manually, which was time-consuming and left a lot of room for error. 

Traditional, the purchase order was filled out on paper and handed over to accounting. The vendor then invoiced the company and shipped out the product.

When the product was received, the receiving clerk would verify the quantity of product received, giving the packing slip to the accounting department. 

The accounting department would then compare the packing slip to the purchase order, then the purchase order to the invoice, and the invoice to the packing slip to make sure all the numbers lined up.

It was a lot of work for the accounts payable department and the receiving department. It all relied on the fact that a receiving clerk was indeed correctly verifying goods receipt and that the corresponding purchase order was readily available.

Now, thanks to AP automation, the accounts payable processes are streamlined. Two-way matching, three-way matching, and even four-way matching occur automatically once purchase orders, receiving reports, and invoices are all in the system.

If during the invoice matching process something doesn’t line up, it is flagged for review, someone can take a look at it and solve the issue before making payment.

If the matching process goes smoothly, the company can take advantage of early payment options during invoice processing. This keeps vendors happy and may even position the company in such a way that they can leverage discounts to save even more money on future orders.

When it comes to 2-way match vs. 3-way match, three-way is the better option because it compares the purchase order to the receipt of the goods to the invoice to make sure you’re only paying for goods you ordered and received.

Though accounting automation takes a bit of setup work to get started, it is well worth it in the end. Once in the system, everything will run through you’re pre-established routing and rules for approvals, matching, and verification to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the entire procure to pay process.

With Planergy, there are notifications to keep the involved parties informed when there is something that must be done or any document requires their attention.

This eliminates misplaced documents and waiting periods, and the back-and-forth conversation that has to occur between departments.

What’s your goal today?

1. Use Planergy to manage purchasing and accounts payable

We’ve helped save billions of dollars for our clients through better spend management, process automation in purchasing and finance, and reducing financial risks. To discover how we can help grow your business:

2. Download our guide “Preparing Your AP Department For The Future”

Download a free copy of our guide to future proofing your accounts payable department. You’ll also be subscribed to our email newsletter and notified about new articles or if have something interesting to share.

3. Learn best practices for purchasing, finance, and more

Browse hundreds of articles, containing an amazing number of useful tools, techniques, and best practices. Many readers tell us they would have paid consultants for the advice in these articles.

Business is Our Business

Stay up-to-date with news sent straight to your inbox

Sign up with your email to receive updates from our blog

This website uses cookies

We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you’ve provided to them or that they’ve collected from your use of their services.

Read our privacy statement here.