# 3-way matching in Exact Online: order, receipt and invoice | Glimps > How to link purchase order, goods receipt and purchase invoice in Exact Online, what Exact checks itself, and the mistakes that make matching fail. Source: https://useglimps.com/en/blog/3-way-matching-uitgelegd | Language: en | Updated: 2026-09-24 This Markdown file is the plain-text twin of the page above, generated at build time from the same render. --- Wouter MurmansFounder of Glimps 8 April 2026 9 min read 3-way matching means you only post a purchase invoice once three documents agree: the purchase order (what you ordered), the goods receipt (what arrived) and the invoice (what the supplier charges). In Exact Online you link the three through the Purchase menu: you register the receipt against the order, then create the purchase invoice from the Invoices to be received page. What sits in between, such as price differences and partial deliveries, you check yourself or let a tool do. This guide walks through the steps in Exact Online itself, using the menu paths from Exact's own help articles (checked on 24 September 2026). We quote the menu names as they appear in the Dutch interface, with an English gloss. Then the mistakes we see most, and briefly how Glimps does it. Want the product straight away? That is on [the order matching page](https://useglimps.com/en/matching). ## What is 3-way matching? You compare three documents, ideally line by line: 1. **The purchase order.** Which items, how many, at what price. 2. **The goods receipt.** Which items, and how many, actually arrived. 3. **The invoice.** What the supplier is charging. Do they agree within the margins you agreed on? Then the invoice can go through. If something is off, a person looks at it. With 2-way matching you leave out the receipt and only compare invoice and purchase order. That is fine for services, where nothing physical arrives. | | 2-way matching | 3-way matching | | --- | --- | --- | | What you compare | Invoice and purchase order | Invoice, purchase order and goods receipt | | Question it answers | Did we order this, at this price? | Did we order this, and has it arrived? | | When to use it | Services, subscriptions, work without a delivery | Goods, materials, stock items | | Partial deliveries visible | No, you only see what was ordered | Yes, you see what was received | | What you need in Exact Online | Purchase orders | Purchase orders and registered receipts | ## 3-way matching in Exact Online, step by step ### Which Exact Online edition has purchase orders? In the Dutch interface of Exact Online, purchase orders are called "bestellingen". The help article on purchase orders describes the steps for Exact Online Wholesale (Handel) and Manufacturing (Productie), with a separate variant for Exact Online Projects (Projecten). For Projects, Exact says the purchase function is only available on a Plus, Professional or Premium subscription, and that stock administration is not supported there. Not sure what your subscription includes? Check whether the Purchase (Inkoop) menu shows Purchase orders (Bestellingen) and Receipts and returns (Ontvangsten en retouren). ### Step 1: create the purchase order Go to **Inkoop > Bestellingen > Bestellingen > Aanmaken** (Purchase > Purchase orders > Create). Choose the supplier and, in Wholesale and Manufacturing, the warehouse. Add items and enter the quantity. Price agreements, volume discounts and price lists linked to the supplier are applied to the order straight away. Save, then email or print the order to your supplier. Tip: put the order number on the order you send and ask the supplier to put that number on the invoice. More on that under mistakes. Bestellingen > Bestellingen > Aanmaken, with a filled-in order for Voorbeeldleverancier BV (supplier, warehouse, two item lines) --> ### Step 2: register the goods receipt Goods arrived? Go to **Inkoop > Ontvangsten en retouren > Goederenontvangsten > Aanmaken** (Purchase > Receipts and returns > Goods receipts > Create). Enter your search criteria, click Refresh (Vernieuwen), select the order and click Receive (Ontvangen). Enter the received quantity per line and click Process (Verwerken). Two things Exact does here by itself: - **Partial delivery.** If only part arrived, the order gets the status Partial (Gedeeltelijk) and stays on the new goods receipt page until the rest comes in. - **Interim account.** On receipt, stock goes up. Exact creates a provisional purchase value based on the cost price and posts it to an interim account: goods/invoices to be received (Te ontvangen goederen/facturen). Will the supplier never deliver the rest? Select the order on the same page and click Complete (Afhandelen). To reverse a receipt or send goods back, you create a purchase return. ### Step 3: link the purchase invoice to order and receipt Exact gives you two routes. **Route A, from Invoices to be received.** Go to **Inkoop > Facturen > Inkoopfacturen > Te ontvangen facturen** (Purchase > Invoices > Purchase invoices > Invoices to be received). Select the order and click Create purchase invoice. Choose the purchase journal and the invoice date. For the lines, the Invoice field lets you choose between _Quantity ordered_ (Aantal besteld) and _Quantity received_ (Aantal ontvangen). In practice that is your choice between 2-way and 3-way: do you invoice on what was ordered, or on what arrived? Click Create, then Save. **Route B, from a new purchase invoice.** Go to **Inkoop > Facturen > Inkoopfacturen > Aanmaken** (Purchase > Invoices > Purchase invoices > Create), choose the supplier and enter the invoice amount. Use the magnifier in the order line column (Bst.regel) to add a purchase order line. Save, and Process creates the entries. No Process button? Then you are missing the user right to process and reopen entries. Do you use Exact's scan service? Then opening the booking proposal also shows the Invoices to be received window, where you select the orders that belong to the scanned invoice. ### What does "invoices to be received" mean? It is two things at once. It is the page listing orders for which no invoice has been entered yet. And it is the general ledger account goods/invoices to be received, the interim account the receipt lands on and that is cleared to Accounts payable when the invoice is posted. According to Exact, a balance on that account means something was received but not yet invoiced, or the other way round. Want to know which? Open the ledger account and group by journal. You then see straight away which amounts come from receipts and which from invoices. Handy at month end. Never expecting an invoice for an order? You can select it on the Invoices to be received page and click Complete. Note: this cannot be undone. Facturen > Inkoopfacturen > Te ontvangen facturen, list with two open orders --> ### What Exact Online checks by itself Exact sorts purchase invoices into three types: a cost invoice (on a general ledger account), an item invoice (on items and a purchase order) and a direct item invoice (on items, without a purchase order). Only the item invoice is tied to an order, so that is the only type you can match. Since February 2026, Exact also compares the price on each order line with the price on the e-invoice that belongs to that order. If the price differs, the booking proposal gets a yellow Attention required icon and the Net price field turns yellow. This only works with the Automatic invoice processing module, and only for e-invoices. ## Common mistakes ### 1. Price differences without an agreement The supplier charges 25 euro per unit, the order says 24. Small difference, big volume. Agree with purchasing up front which difference you accept, in euro and in percent, and what happens above that line. Without an agreement every cent becomes a debate, or nobody's problem. ### 2. Invoicing partial deliveries on the ordered quantity 96 of the 100 units arrived, but the invoice is for 100. Create the invoice with Quantity ordered and you pay for 4 units that are not there. Choose Quantity received, or hold the invoice until the rest arrives. ### 3. Invoice arrives before the goods This happens more often than you think, especially when the warehouse enters all receipts in one go on Friday. The invoice then has no receipt to match against. The fix is not in finance but in the warehouse: register the receipt on the day the goods arrive. ### 4. No purchase order number on the invoice Without an order number, someone has to hunt for the order that belongs to the invoice. With one supplier and ten open orders, that is guesswork. Ask suppliers to put the number on the invoice, and send back invoices without one or let a tool compare the lines itself. ### 5. Forgetting freight and surcharges Freight is often on the invoice but not on the order. Exact advises creating such costs as an item, linking it to the supplier and adding it as a separate line. Otherwise your match never adds up exactly. ## How Glimps does it Glimps only works with Exact Online. PO matching is an add-on of 149 euro per month on the Professional and Business plans. It takes your purchase orders and receipts straight from Exact Online and compares them with the invoice, line by line: - **Line level.** Not just the total, but every line, every quantity and every unit price. - **Tolerances.** You set margins, in euro and in percent (for example 5 euro or 1 percent). Small differences go through, larger ones do not. - **Partial deliveries.** Glimps matches the invoice against the received quantity. The order stays open for the rest. - **Several orders on one invoice.** Glimps links each line to the right order. - **Different descriptions.** Glimps recognises "Laptop Stand" on the invoice and "Notebook Riser" on the order as the same thing. - **2-way where it fits.** For services without a receipt, Glimps matches invoice against order. Does an invoice fully match the order, within your tolerances? That is one of the routes by which Glimps posts the invoice in Exact Online by itself. The spend was already approved when the order was placed, so it does not have to wait. Eight checks stop a posting, such as a possible duplicate invoice or a different bank account than usual. And Glimps never pays: paying stays with you. For the rest of the process, read [posting invoices automatically in Exact Online](https://useglimps.com/en/blog/facturen-automatisch-inboeken-exact-online) and [approving invoices in Exact Online](https://useglimps.com/en/blog/facturen-fiatteren-exact-online). For wholesale and manufacturing, the approach is on [PO matching for Exact Online](https://useglimps.com/en/solutions/po-matching-exact-online). ## How to start 1. Make sure purchase orders live in Exact Online, not in an email. 2. Have the warehouse register receipts the same day. 3. Agree tolerances with purchasing, in euro and in percent. 4. Ask suppliers for the order number on the invoice. 5. Connect Exact Online to Glimps. You do that yourself, your first invoice is there within minutes, and you try it free for 14 days. See the [pricing](https://useglimps.com/en/pricing), read more about [order matching in Glimps](https://useglimps.com/en/matching) or [get started](https://useglimps.com/en/demo). ### Wouter Murmans Founder of Glimps Wouter Murmans is the founder of Glimps. He builds Glimps for finance teams that process their purchase invoices in Exact Online, and writes about what goes wrong there in practice and how to fix it. ## Frequently asked questions Short answers to what people ask most. Questions about your situation? ### What is 3-way matching? 3-way matching is the check that three documents agree before you post a purchase invoice: the purchase order, the goods receipt and the invoice. If quantities and prices agree within your agreed margins, the invoice can go through. If not, a person reviews the difference. ### What is the difference between 2-way and 3-way matching? With 2-way matching you only compare the invoice with the purchase order. With 3-way matching you add the goods receipt, so you also check that what you pay for has actually arrived. 2-way fits services and subscriptions, 3-way fits goods and stock items. ### How do I link a purchase invoice to a purchase order in Exact Online? Go to Inkoop > Facturen > Inkoopfacturen > Te ontvangen facturen (Purchase > Invoices > Purchase invoices > Invoices to be received), select the order and click Create purchase invoice. Then choose whether you invoice on the quantity ordered or the quantity received. You can also create a new purchase invoice and add a purchase order line with the magnifier in the order line column. ### Which Exact Online edition has purchase orders and receipts? Exact describes purchase orders and goods receipts for Exact Online Wholesale and Manufacturing. Exact Online Projects also has purchase orders, receipts and purchase invoices, but according to Exact only on a Plus, Professional or Premium subscription and without stock administration. ### What does a balance on goods/invoices to be received mean? It means goods were received whose invoice has not been posted yet, or an invoice was posted while the receipt has not been registered. Open the ledger account and group by journal to see which amounts come from receipts and which from invoices. ### How do I handle a partial delivery? In Exact Online, register only the quantity that actually arrived. The order then gets the status Partial and stays open. Create the invoice on the quantity received, and if the rest never comes, complete the order. In Glimps the invoice is matched against the received quantity and the order stays open for the rest. ### Does Exact Online check price differences itself? Since February 2026, Exact compares the price per order line with the price on the matching e-invoice and flags the booking proposal with Attention required when they differ. This only works with the Automatic invoice processing module and only for e-invoices. ### What does PO matching cost in Glimps? PO matching is an add-on of 149 euro per month on the Professional and Business plans. You connect Exact Online yourself, your first invoice is there within minutes and you can try Glimps free for 14 days. **Sources and method · checked on 24 September 2026** [Exact Support: Bestellingen (bestellingen aanmaken in Handel, Productie en Projecten)](https://support.exactonline.com/community/s/knowledge-base#All-All-HNO-Video-wholesale-wd-crtsendorderv)[Exact Support: Goederenontvangsten aanmaken en opsplitsen](https://support.exactonline.com/community/s/knowledge-base#All-All-HNO-Task-wholesale-wd-crtgoodsrcptt)[Exact Support: Inkoopfacturen aanmaken en verwerken](https://support.exactonline.com/community/s/knowledge-base#All-All-HNO-Task-purchase-invoices-purch-crtpurchinvt)[Exact Support: Saldi voor te ontvangen goederen en facturen controleren](https://support.exactonline.com/community/s/article/All-All-HNO-Concept-endofyear-wdfinyend-balancetoreceivec?language=nl_NL)[Exact Support: Inkoopfacturen efficiënt verwerken in Exact Online](https://support.exactonline.com/community/s/article/All-All-HNO-Concept-purchase-purch-efcntprcspurinvc?language=nl_NL)[Exact Support: Hoe Exact Online boekingsvoorstellen genereert](https://support.exactonline.com/community/s/knowledge-base#All-All-HNO-Concept-financial-entries-fin-ent-procentpropc)[Exact Support: Automatische markering van prijsverschillen tussen bestellingen en e-facturen (februari 2026)](https://support.exactonline.com/community/s/knowledge-base#All-All-HNO-ReleaseNote-rn-wdmfg-2602-rn-wdmfg-autoflageinvoice)[Exact Support: Projecten | Inkooporders en bonnen registreren en inkoopfacturen aanmaken](https://support.exactonline.com/community/s/article/All-All-HNO-Task-psa-purchase-psapurch-crtpurorderst?language=nl_NL)Spot an outdated or inaccurate claim about your product? [Let us know](https://useglimps.com/en/contact) and we will fix it. ## Related articles ### Automatically posting invoices in Exact Online: how to set it up safely How to post purchase invoices automatically in Exact Online: the automatic invoice processing settings with menu paths, the mistakes to avoid and where a tool takes over the work. ### Invoice authorization in Exact Online: setting up approval flows What is fiatteren, and how do you approve purchase invoices in Exact Online? Which edition you need, how to set up an approval flow, what happens to payment and which mistakes to avoid. ### How does scan and recognize work for invoices in Exact Online? Scan and recognize extracts invoice data, while automated invoice processing goes further. Learn how OCR, AI, UBL, Peppol and Exact Online fit together.