How to match delivery notes and invoices without losing hours

In a company that buys materials, matching delivery notes against invoices is the most time-consuming task in accounts payable. It is not difficult, but it is slow, repetitive and full of small differences that force people to stop and ask.

The typical manual process

1. Download the invoice from email.
2. Find the purchase order it belongs to.
3. Locate the delivery notes, sometimes several, sometimes on paper.
4. Compare quantities and prices line by line.
5. Resolve differences with purchasing or the warehouse.
6. Record the invoice in the ERP.

Where the time goes

• Delivery notes on paper or in the warehouse system, far from accounting.
• Invoices that group several delivery notes, or delivery notes split across invoices.
• Small differences that force you to stop and ask.
• Suppliers that change format, name or numbering series.

Best practices that work

• Digitise the delivery note at the moment of receipt, with a photo or by loading it from the warehouse.
• Ask suppliers to include the purchase order number on both delivery note and invoice.
• Set tolerances by purchase type so you do not block over cents.
• Centralise invoice intake in a single inbox.
• Record the reason for every exception to spot which suppliers cause the most issues.

Automating it

With automatic data extraction, documents are read by themselves, delivery notes are linked to their invoices and orders, and matching is done by rules. The team stops matching and only reviews the differences, which is where it truly adds value.