Enterprise: ERP, CRM and SAP · Enterprise scenario · Proposed architecture
Investigating invoice mismatches (Three-Way Match)
An incoming invoice is split into fields, duplicate risk is checked, and lines are matched against purchase orders and receipt documents. Differences go to the responsible party, the document is checked again after the fix, and it is posted after authorized approval.
Who it is for: Companies working with many suppliers and invoices
Systems: Document inbox and supplier portal, OCR, SAP procurement processes, SAP accounting data
Problem
An accountant matches every invoice against the order and receipt document by hand. When one invoice covers several orders and one order has several receipts, the difference is found late, mismatches get lost in email threads, and the same invoice can be posted twice.
How it works today
The invoice arrives by email and its fields are copied into the ERP by hand. A separate message goes to procurement about a price difference and to the warehouse about a missing receipt, and the invoice sits on the desk until a reply comes. There is no single place to see which invoice is waiting with whom.
What this scenario changes
The invoice enters the process from the document inbox, and OCR and AI extract the fields. Supplier and duplicate risk are checked, and invoice lines can be linked to several orders and receipt documents. Quantity, price, currency and tax are compared in parallel, a difference is routed to the responsible party, and the comparison runs again after the fix. After authorized approval, the invoice is posted in the ERP with an idempotent write.
The integration method is chosen based on the SAP version and the available interfaces.
Process stages
- Invoice intake: Turn the invoice into readable fields. Result: Supplier, number, date, lines, tax
- Supplier and duplicates: Make sure the invoice belongs to the right supplier and is not a repeat. Result: Checked, non-duplicate invoice. Approval: Accounts payable accountant (for a possible duplicate)
- Order and receipt link: Link lines to one or more orders and receipts. Result: An order and receipt pair for each invoice line
- Line-level comparison: Quantity, price, currency and tax are checked at the same time. Result: Lines within tolerance or with differences
- Resolving the mismatch: Route the difference to the responsible party and get a fix. Result: A fix or justification, then a new check. Approval: Procurement, warehouse or accounting
- Review and approval: Accountant review and authorized approval. Result: Approval for a specific invoice version. Approval: Financial controller
- Posting and status: Post the invoice in the ERP exactly once. Result: Supplier Invoice in the ERP, status visible to the supplier
Participants
- Document inbox and portal
- OCR and integration layer
- ERP / SAP
- Accounting
- Procurement
- Warehouse and service owner
- Authorized approver
The role of AI
Helps link invoice lines to order and receipt lines and explains the cause of a mismatch in plain language for the responsible party. It does not post the invoice or release it for payment.
Rule-based automation
Duplicate risk, quantity, price, currency and tax are checked with approved tolerance rules. After a fix, the comparison runs again. The posting write is idempotent through an operation ID, and on a timeout the ERP is checked first.
Human approval and exceptions
An accountant reviews a possible duplicate. Procurement resolves a price difference, the warehouse or service owner resolves a missing receipt, and accounting resolves tax details. An authorized person approves before posting and release for payment.
Frequently asked questions
Do you have a ready-made SAP integration?
This page shows the proposed architecture and a synthetic demo. The integration method is chosen in the project based on the SAP version, the active procurement and accounting processes, and the available interfaces.
What happens if one invoice covers several orders?
Invoice lines are linked to order lines one by one, and several receipt records for one order are summed. The comparison runs at line level, and a difference goes to the responsible party only for the line it belongs to.
Does AI release the invoice for payment?
No. AI helps link the lines and explains the difference. Tolerance rules check the match, an accountant reviews a possible duplicate, and posting and payment release happen with authorized approval.