The language of accounts payable, explained without the fluff
Every term starts with a one-sentence definition, then what it means inside Exact Online, then where it goes wrong in practice. No sales talk in the explanation itself, because then a glossary is worth nothing.
3-way matching
3-way matching is the check that compares a purchase invoice against the purchase order and against the goods receipt, on both quantities and prices, before the invoice is approved for payment.
Read the explanationPrice variance and tolerance
A tolerance is the agreed margin within which a difference between invoice and purchase order is accepted automatically, expressed as an amount, a percentage, or both.
Read the explanationGRNI: goods received not invoiced
GRNI stands for goods received not invoiced: goods you have received and taken into stock, but for which the invoice has not yet arrived. The balance sits on a clearing account until the invoice arrives and the two cancel out.
Read the explanationGL coding
GL coding is assigning the right general ledger account, VAT code and optionally cost centre or cost unit to a purchase invoice or to an individual invoice line, so the cost lands in the right place in the accounts.
Read the explanationInvoice approval
Invoice approval, fiatteren in Dutch, is the formal sign-off of a purchase invoice by somebody authorised to give it, before the invoice is paid. It records who approved, for what and when.
Read the explanationPurchase invoice
A purchase invoice is an invoice you receive from a supplier for goods or services delivered. It enters accounts payable, is posted as cost or stock, and leads to a payment.
Read the explanationUBL invoice
A UBL invoice is an invoice in a standardised XML format, in which every detail has its own field. The receiver therefore has nothing to recognise: amounts, lines and VAT are present as data, not as text on an image.
Read the explanationPayment term and due date
The payment term is the agreement on when an invoice must be paid, for example thirty days from the invoice date. The due date is that agreement applied to the invoice date, and should be derived rather than copied off the document.
Read the explanationTouchless processing
Touchless processing means a purchase invoice is handled from arrival to posting without a human opening or changing it. The touchless rate is the share of invoices for which that works.
Read the explanation