Glossary · Invoices and billing
Three-way match
A three-way match is an accounts-payable check that pays an invoice only when it agrees with the purchase order and the record of what was received.
In a three-way match, the buyer’s accounts-payable team or software compares three documents: the purchase order, the receiving record or service confirmation, and the supplier’s invoice. If quantity, price and PO number agree within tolerance, the invoice is approved for payment.
For suppliers, the consequence is that small mismatches stop payment silently. A different unit price, an extra line or an invoice addressed to the wrong legal entity can leave the invoice in an exceptions queue well past its due date.
When an invoice to a large customer is overdue with no reply, ask whether it is stuck in matching before assuming the customer is avoiding payment. Reissuing it with the right PO often beats weeks of reminders.
Example
A PO lists 20 training days at €900. The supplier invoices 22 days. The two extra days fail the match, so the whole €19,800 invoice waits for manual approval.