Why is 3-Way Matching Important with AP Automation?

Why is 3-Way Matching Important with AP Automation?

You’ve heard the news! The DASH AP Robot™ is helping organizations across the world automate their accounts payable. To automate the information, it matches the data, so the right vendors get paid at the right time. In keeping with good accounting practices, most companies do some form of matching of vendor invoices to purchase orders and/or goods receipts. This is called a 3-way match. The process can require a great deal of manual effort, particularly if the invoiced items must be matched at the line level.

An important feature of an AP automation solution is the ability to match up information before payment.

Accounts Payable teams work hard to gather all the information and verify it before paying the bill. 3-way matching is the process of comparing documents to make sure the bill reflects the agreed price and only includes the products and services you received from that vendor.

Can you imagine the time savings if a robot could do this for you?

3 pieces of information we’re looking to match up:

1. Purchase Order
2. Receipt (GRN)
3. Invoice

I know! Dream world!

BUT IT’S TRUE!

DASH AP Robot™ has 3-way matching!

Before you pay an invoice, the AP Robot™ will verify and match the Invoice to both the PO & the Receipt. The Robot will make sure the total cost and quantities and individual items match the purchase order and goods received. Otherwise, you can end up paying hundreds to thousands of dollars that we neither requested nor delivered.

For example, if a vendor sent your company a bill for five new forklifts, you’d want to compare the models, line-item pricing, and total cost on the invoice to the details on the PO. If it all checked out, your team would then verify that all five forklifts were received by reviewing the receipt of goods. Assuming everything matched there as well, your team would then be free to pay the invoice.

So now with the AP Robot™, it’s possible to match our 3 documents up without manual data entry or tedious manual work. YAY!

Another benefit of 3-way matching is it is designed to protect your business and your bottom line. Don’t pay for products and services not received. The AP Robot™ will make it easier to pinpoint billing inaccuracies, get invoices processed and approved faster, and minimize fraud.

Without 3-way matching, businesses would be left guessing as to whether an invoice should be paid. They could wind up paying for goods and services that were not ordered or not properly documented and priced.

Here’s how automated 3-way invoice matching might look in action:

• Purchase Order is entered into your ERP
• GRN (receipt) is entered into your ERP
• The invoice is entered/scanned into the Dash AP Robot
• If there is a match, the invoice is automatically entered into your ERP system for recording and payment
• Exceptions are flagged, and the AP person can review and clear the issue or seek the advice of others to do so
• Once the exception is cleared the invoice is entered into your ERP system with the click of a button

Here’s an example workflow of the matching process:

Thankfully, you aren’t stuck matching dozens of invoice line items by hand. By integrating the DASH AP Robot™ solution with a partnered ERP system like SYSPRO, will automate the process, and a 3-way match can take place within minutes of receipt of the invoice. This cuts down on the time it takes to process and pay invoices and ensures greater accuracy.

With the AP Robot™, all the steps and details of the matching process are logged in a time-stamped audit trail to give your organization full transparency. Your invoice archive and logs are fully searchable.

This touchless process allows AP teams more time to spend on human-touch projects. Your staff can focus on more high-value tasks.

If your team would like to see the 3-way matching in action, let’s chat!

We can set up a demo and show you how it works LIVE in action!

About the Author:

Stephanie is the marketing guru at Dash. For over 20 years, DASH has been authoring, delivering, and supporting Dash DDX™, its ERP-integrated Document Automation software to small and mid-sized manufacturing and distribution companies throughout the USA and beyond.

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