What is 2-way matching?
2-way matching is the check that compares a purchase invoice with the purchase order only, on price and quantity, without checking whether the goods have been received.
Also known as: two-way matching, two-way match, invoice-to-order check
Two documents, one question: did the supplier invoice what you ordered, at the price you agreed? The order is the agreement, the invoice is the bill. If the invoice agrees with the order line by line, within a tolerance set in advance, there is no reason to review it by hand.
The difference with 3-way matching is the goods receipt. 3-way also checks that what you pay for actually arrived. 2-way skips that step. That is fine for services, subscriptions and anything where nothing physical arrives. For goods it means you pay for what was ordered, even when the box is still on its way.
In practice 2-way is often the first step. You start with invoice against order, and once the warehouse books receipts properly and on time, you add the receipt.
In Exact Online
In Exact Online purchase orders live in the Trade or Production modules. You can link a purchase invoice to an order, but an automatic comparison per invoice line, with tolerances, is not part of standard invoice entry. With the Glimps PO matching add-on every invoice line is matched against the purchase orders in Exact Online, with a tolerance in amount, in percentage or both. Partial deliveries can be matched too. Switch on "Only match after receipt" and it becomes 3-way: Glimps then only matches once Exact Online shows the goods were received.
When 2-way is enough
The question each time is: is there anything arriving that can be counted? If not, a receipt adds little and still costs time.
- Services and hours: nothing arrives to count.
- Subscriptions and fixed instalments that sit on an order.
- Organizations where the warehouse books receipts in Exact Online late or not at all.
What 2-way does not see
2-way catches a wrong price, a quantity above what was ordered, and a line that is not on the order. What it does not catch is a delivery that never came or only half came. With a partial delivery, 2-way only shows that the invoiced quantity fits within the order, not that it was delivered.
Several invoices on one order
An order is often invoiced in parts. The matching then has to track what earlier invoices already put against the same order line, otherwise you pay for the same line twice. Even without a receipt, that remains the main reason not to match on the total.
Where it usually goes wrong
- 1Using 2-way for goods and assuming the delivery is checked. You check the agreement, not the box.
- 2Comparing the total only. An overpriced line and a missing line then cancel out neatly.
- 3Setting no tolerance. Then every rounding of a few cents blocks and your team learns to click everything away.
- 4Creating an order after the fact so the invoice matches. Then you check the invoice against itself.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about 2-way matching.
Questions about your situation?
Open the demo2-way compares the invoice with the purchase order, on price and quantity. 3-way adds the goods receipt, so you also check that what you pay for actually arrived. For services 2-way is usually enough, for goods 3-way is the safer choice.
Yes. PO matching matches the invoice lines against the purchase orders in Exact Online. Switch on "Only match after receipt" and Glimps only matches once Exact Online shows the goods were received, which makes it 3-way. PO matching is an add-on.
That is what the tolerance is for. You set a limit as an amount, a percentage or both. If the difference falls inside it, the line counts as matched. If it falls outside, somebody should look at it before the invoice moves on.
Yes, as long as the matching tracks what has already been invoiced on each order line. In Glimps partial deliveries can be matched. If you want to be sure the invoiced part was also delivered, you need the receipt, and so 3-way.