A three-way match checks that a supplier bill asks you to pay only for goods you ordered and actually received. In xMatix you do this check yourself, line by line, using the quantity counters that the purchase order, the goods receipt and the bill keep up to date for each other. It sits between receiving the goods (goods receipts) and posting and paying the supplier's invoice (supplier bills).
Overview
Three documents take part:
- the purchase order line says what you agreed to buy and at what cost;
- the goods receipt line says what arrived, what the supplier claimed to send and what was damaged;
- the bill line says what the supplier charges you for.
xMatix links these lines when one document is released from another, and every link keeps a counter on the source line: how much has been placed on a receipt, how much has been billed, and what is still pending. Reading those counters side by side is the match.
xMatix has no screen, report or button that runs a three-way match for you. It does not flag variances, hold a bill or block payment because quantities or prices disagree. The checks in this page are the ones you make before you post a bill.
When to use it
- Before posting a bill that came from a purchase order or a goods receipt, to confirm that every billed quantity was received.
- When a supplier invoice arrives for a partial delivery, to bill only what has arrived.
- At month end, to find receipts that have not been billed yet, and bills whose value differs from what was received.
- When a counter looks wrong, for example an order line that still shows quantity to bill although the supplier's invoice has been entered.
How xMatix handles it
What each line counts
| Line | Counter | Where the figure comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase order line | Receipt Quantity | The Ordered Quantity of every goods-receipt line released from this order line. It tells you how much has been placed on receipts, not how much was counted in. |
| Purchase order line | Pending Quantity | Quantity − Receipt Quantity − Cancelled Quantity: still to be released for receipt. |
| Purchase order line | Invoice Quantity | The Quantity of every bill line that carries a link to this order line. |
| Purchase order line | Pending Invoice Quantity | Quantity − Invoice Quantity − Cancelled Quantity: still to be billed against the order. |
| Goods receipt line | Received Quantity | What you counted. This is the figure to match the bill against. |
| Goods receipt line | Invoice Quantity | The Quantity of every bill line that carries a link to this receipt line. |
| Goods receipt line | Pending Invoice Quantity | Received Quantity − Invoice Quantity: received but not billed yet. |
The counters update whenever a bill line is added, its quantity is changed or it is deleted, so a deleted bill line gives its quantity back to the order and the receipt.
Which links a bill line gets
A bill line counts against an order line or a receipt line only if it carries a link to it. The link depends on how the bill was made:
| How the bill was made | Order-line link | Receipt-line link |
|---|---|---|
| Release Invoice or Selective Release Invoice on the purchase order, for an order line whose receipt lines still have quantity to bill | Yes | Yes — one bill line per receipt line, for its pending invoice quantity |
| Release Invoice or Selective Release Invoice on the purchase order, for an order line with nothing left to bill on its receipts | Yes | No — one bill line for the order line's pending invoice quantity |
| Release Bill on the goods receipt | No | Yes |
| New on the Bills list (a bill keyed in by hand) | No | No |
So a bill released from the purchase order after the goods have been received is the only kind that is tied to both the order and the receipt. A bill released from the receipt moves the receipt's counters but not the order's: the order line keeps showing the quantity as still to bill.
How the accounts show the match
When GL posting is in use, posting a goods receipt debits inventory and credits the Unbilled Receipt account at the receipt's value. Posting a bill line that is linked to a receipt line debits the Unbilled Receipt account instead of inventory, so the bill clears what the receipt raised. A bill line with no receipt link debits inventory or expense instead (see what posting does). A line's own GL account or a matching posting definition takes precedence over all of these.
xMatix posts no separate price-variance entry. When a bill's value differs from the receipt's value, the difference stays on the Unbilled Receipt account. Its balance therefore shows both receipts that are not billed yet and value differences between receipts and bills.
What is not automated
- No variance status, tolerance or approval step is attached to a bill because of a quantity or price difference.
- A bill is not stopped from posting or being paid when it bills more than was received.
- Bill item lines are priced from the bill's own price list when they are created, not copied from the order or the receipt. Matching the price is a manual check.
- The one automatic limit on quantities is on receiving: the supplier quantity received against an order line cannot exceed the ordered quantity less the cancelled quantity (see goods receipts).
Prerequisites
- A purchase order that has been released to goods receipts, and goods receipts with Received Quantity entered on their lines.
- Permission to run Release Invoice or Selective Release Invoice on purchase orders (see Permissions).
- For the accounting check: GL posting enabled for the company and an account of type Unbilled Receipt in its chart of accounts (see chart of accounts).
Procedure
Step 1 — Receive the goods first
Release the goods receipt from the purchase order, enter Received Quantity on each line and complete it as described in goods receipts. On each receipt line, Pending Invoice Quantity now equals what you counted in.
Step 2 — Release the bill from the purchase order
- In the Procurement app, open Purchase Orders and open the order.
- Choose Release Invoice to bill every line that has quantity to bill, or Selective Release Invoice to tick lines and enter the quantity to bill for each, no larger than its Pending Invoice Quantity.
- Open the new bill from the order's Related tab. It is at Status Draft.
For each order line with received quantity still to bill, the bill has one line per receipt line, for that receipt line's pending invoice quantity. Those bill lines are linked to both the order line and the receipt line. Do not also run Release Bill on the receipt for the same goods (see Common problems).
Step 3 — Compare the order line with the receipts
Open each order line from the order's Lines tab and read Quantity Details:
- Quantity against the total Received Quantity of its receipt lines (on the line's Related tab). A difference means a short or excess delivery.
- Invoice Quantity against the received total. More billed than received means the bill charges for goods you have not counted in.
- Pending Invoice Quantity shows what is still open to bill.
Remember that the order line's Receipt Quantity is what was placed on receipts. Use Received Quantity on the receipt lines for what actually arrived.
Step 4 — Compare the bill lines with the supplier's invoice
On the bill's Lines tab, check each line's quantity and unit cost against the supplier's paper or electronic invoice and against the order. Correct a line with Edit on its row before posting. Changing a bill line's quantity updates the invoice counters on the order line and the receipt line it is linked to.
Step 5 — Post the bill and check what is still unbilled
- On the bill, choose Post General Ledger (see supplier bills). Status becomes Posted.
- Open each receipt line from the order line's Related tab. Pending Invoice Quantity should be zero on every line you meant to bill.
- At month end, read the Unbilled Receipt account in the GL Account Ledger statement (see GL accounts). A receipt that has been billed in full at the receipt's value leaves nothing behind on it.
Step 6 — Resolve a difference
- Supplier billed less than received: leave the rest pending and release another bill from the order when the next invoice arrives.
- Supplier billed more than received: reduce the bill line's quantity to the received quantity before posting, and ask the supplier for a corrected invoice.
- Price differs from the order: correct the line's unit cost if the supplier is wrong, or post it and record a debit note when you agree the difference later. Any difference you accept stays on the Unbilled Receipt account until a journal moves it.
- Goods short or damaged: record it on the receipt line (Supplier Quantity, Received Quantity, Damaged Quantity) so the received figure is right before you bill.
Fields
| Field | What it means | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Quantity (order line) | What you ordered. | Cannot drop below received plus returned quantity. |
| Cancelled Quantity (order line) | Quantity you no longer expect. | Reduces Pending Quantity and Pending Invoice Quantity. Not on the shipped line forms; an administrator can add it. |
| Receipt Quantity (order line) | Quantity placed on goods-receipt lines released from this order line. | Maintained by the system. Not proof of arrival. |
| Pending Quantity (order line) | Still to be released for receipt. | Calculated. |
| Invoice Quantity (order line) | Billed against this order line so far. | Maintained by the system from bill lines linked to the order line. |
| Pending Invoice Quantity (order line) | Still to be billed against the order. | Calculated. Release Invoice bills from it. |
| Ordered Quantity (receipt line) | Quantity released onto this receipt line from the order. | Feeds the order line's Receipt Quantity. |
| Supplier Quantity (receipt line) | What the supplier says it sent. | Drives Shortage Quantity and Excess Quantity. |
| Received Quantity (receipt line) | What you counted. | The figure to match the bill against. |
| Invoice Quantity (receipt line) | Billed against this receipt line so far. | Maintained by the system from bill lines linked to the receipt line. |
| Pending Invoice Quantity (receipt line) | Received but not billed. | Calculated. Release Bill and Release Invoice bill from it. |
| Purchase Order Line (bill line) | The order line this bill line is billed against. | Set by Release Invoice. Empty on bills released from a receipt or keyed in by hand. |
| Goods Receipt Line (bill line) | The receipt line this bill line is billed against. | Set by Release Bill, and by Release Invoice when receipts exist. Decides whether posting clears the Unbilled Receipt account. |
| Quantity (bill line) | What the supplier charges for. | Every change updates the linked lines' invoice counters. |
Business rules
- Counters follow bill lines. Adding a bill line, changing its quantity or deleting it recalculates Invoice Quantity on the order line and the receipt line it is linked to. A bill line with no link changes no counter.
- Order-side release bills receipts first. For each order line, Release Invoice bills the pending invoice quantity of its receipt lines. Only when no receipt line has anything left to bill does it bill the order line's own pending invoice quantity, without a receipt link.
- Selective release is capped. Selective Release Invoice refuses a requested quantity larger than the line's Pending Invoice Quantity. With receipts, the requested quantity is spread over the receipt lines in turn.
- Release needs something to bill. Release Invoice refuses an order on which no line has pending invoice quantity. Release Bill refuses a receipt on which no item line has pending invoice quantity.
- Receipt-side release does not touch the order. A bill released from a goods receipt reduces the receipt's pending invoice quantity but not the order's.
- No over-receipt. Receipts against one order line cannot add up to more supplier quantity than ordered less cancelled.
- Posting clears the accrual by link. A bill line linked to a receipt line posts to the Unbilled Receipt account unless its own GL account or a posting definition says otherwise. No price-variance entry is posted.
Example
You order 100 cartons from Lakeview Packaging at 40.00 each. The first delivery brings 60 cartons; you count 58 good ones and enter Supplier Quantity 60 and Received Quantity 58 on the receipt line.
The supplier invoices 60 cartons. You open the purchase order and choose Selective Release Invoice, tick the carton line and enter 60. That is within the order line's Pending Invoice Quantity of 100, but the bill is built from the receipt line, whose pending invoice quantity is 58: the bill line comes out at 58, linked to both the order line and the receipt line. Because the bill line is priced from the bill's price list, you check the unit cost and correct it to 40.00.
You post the bill for 58 × 40.00 = 2,320.00. The receipt line's Pending Invoice Quantity is now 0. The order line shows Invoice Quantity 58 and Pending Invoice Quantity 42. You ask the supplier for a credit for the 2 cartons it charged but you did not receive.
Training
Practice exercise
In a sandbox company with GL posting enabled:
- Create a purchase order for 10 units of one stocked item and release a goods receipt for all 10.
- On the receipt line, enter Received Quantity 8 and receive it.
- On the order, choose Release Invoice and open the new bill.
Expected result: the bill has one line for 8 units, with both Purchase Order Line and Goods Receipt Line filled. After saving it, the receipt line shows Pending Invoice Quantity 0 and the order line shows Invoice Quantity 8 and Pending Invoice Quantity 2. Running Release Invoice again bills the remaining 2 units straight from the order line, with no receipt link, because nothing received is left to bill.
Quick reference
- Receive first, then bill from the purchase order.
- Release Invoice on the order links both the order line and the receipt line.
- Release Bill on a receipt links only the receipt line; the order still shows the quantity as unbilled.
- Never bill the same goods from both the receipt and the order.
- Match the bill against Received Quantity, not the order's Receipt Quantity.
- Bill prices come from the bill's price list: check every unit cost.
- Nothing holds a bill for a mismatch; the check is yours.
- The Unbilled Receipt account holds unbilled receipts and value differences.
Permissions
| Task | Needs |
|---|---|
| Open and read orders, receipts and bills | Read access to Purchase Order, Goods Receipt and Bill in your security profile. |
| Release Invoice, Selective Release Invoice | The action granted on Purchase Order. The shipped System Admin, Sales Manager and Standard User profiles have it. |
| Release Bill | The action granted on Goods Receipt, in the same shipped profiles. |
| Edit a bill line | Edit access to Bill Line. |
| Post General Ledger on a bill | The action granted on Bill (see supplier bills). |
A user without the grant cannot run that action. To remove the risk of billing the same goods twice, an administrator can withdraw Release Bill from the profiles of users who bill against purchase orders. See security profiles.
Configuration
| Setting | Where | What it affects |
|---|---|---|
| Unbilled Receipt account | Finance app → GL Accounts, or a posting definition in the Finance app's settings | Where receipts credit and linked bill lines debit. See chart of accounts. |
| Release actions on the record pages | The purchase order and goods receipt View layouts in Design Studio | Whether Release Invoice, Selective Release Invoice and Release Bill appear in the page header. See design a form layout. |
| Action grants | Security profiles | Who can run each release action (see Permissions). |
| Cancelled Quantity on order lines | Purchase order line layouts in Design Studio | Add the field if buyers need to close a line short; it reduces pending and pending invoice quantity. |
| Bill price list | The bill's Price List | Decides the unit cost bill lines get when they are created. See supplier bills. |
There is no tolerance, variance or match-status setting to configure.
Common problems
"No pending quantities found in order lines to create purchase invoice."
Every order line (or every ticked line, for Selective Release Invoice) has Pending Invoice Quantity of zero or less: it has been billed in full or cancelled. Open the bills on the order's Related tab to see what was billed.
"No Goods Receipt Lines found to Release Bill."
No item line on the receipt has Pending Invoice Quantity above zero. Either everything received has been billed, or Received Quantity was never entered. Enter Received Quantity before billing.
The same goods were billed twice
Release Bill was run on the receipt, and later Release Invoice on the order. The receipt-side bill did not reduce the order's Pending Invoice Quantity, so the order released the same quantity again, from the order line and without a receipt link. Delete the duplicate bill before it is posted; a posted bill cannot be deleted, so correct its lines as described in supplier bills. From then on, bill from the order only.
Clone on a bill causes the same effect: the copy keeps every line's order-line and receipt-line links, so its quantities count as billed a second time.
The order still shows quantity to bill after the supplier's invoice was entered
The bill was released from the goods receipt or keyed in by hand, so its lines have no link to the order line. Check the Purchase Order Line field on the bill lines. The order's counter cannot be corrected from the bill; avoid releasing another bill from the order for the same goods.
The order shows everything received, but the goods have not all arrived
Receipt Quantity on the order line counts what was placed on goods receipts, not what was counted. Check Received Quantity on the receipt lines.
The Unbilled Receipt account does not clear
A bill line clears it only when it is linked to a receipt line and has no GL account or posting definition of its own. Bills keyed in by hand, or released from an order before anything was received, debit inventory or expense instead. Value differences between the receipt and the bill also stay on the account.
Common questions
Does xMatix block a bill that does not match the order or the receipt?
No. There is no automatic match, variance status or payment hold. A bill posts and can be paid whatever its quantities and prices are. The order and receipt counters, and the bill lines' links back to them, are what you use to check a bill before posting it.
Which way should I bill: from the receipt or from the order?
From the purchase order, after the goods have been received. That path links each bill line to both the order line and the receipt line, so both sets of counters move and posting clears the Unbilled Receipt account. Billing from the receipt moves only the receipt's counters, and billing the same goods later from the order would bill them twice.
Can I bill before the goods arrive?
Yes. Release Invoice on an order line with nothing received bills the order line's pending invoice quantity, linked to the order line only. That bill line posts to inventory or expense rather than clearing the Unbilled Receipt account. When the goods then arrive, their receipt still shows the full quantity as pending to bill, so do not release another bill from the receipt.
Why does the bill's unit cost differ from the order's?
Bill item lines are priced from the bill's own price list when they are created; the order's unit cost is not copied. Check each line against the supplier's invoice and correct it before posting. Description-only lines, such as freight typed on the order, keep the order's cost.