Totes, delivery notes and a statement nobody reads
Two or three deliveries a day, from more than one wholesaler. Each tote comes with a delivery note, and the invoice follows electronically or on paper. At the end of the month a statement arrives listing everything, including credits for returns you sent back weeks ago, or not including them.
In theory someone checks each invoice against the order and the delivery. In practice the dispensary is busy, the delivery gets put away, and the invoice is filed. The statement is paid because checking it line by line would take a day.
Why errors slip through
The checking is hard because the information is in three places at three different times. The order was placed yesterday in a portal. The delivery arrived this morning in a tote. The invoice appears later, sometimes in a different format from the delivery note. Returns are sent back with a form and the credit may arrive in a later month.
Matching those by hand means holding a lot in your head. When a line was short-delivered but still invoiced, or a price moved since you last looked, or a return was never credited, it is easy to miss.
What unchecked invoices cost
| Missed item | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Short deliveries invoiced in full | You pay for stock you never received |
| Price changes | A line quietly costs more and nobody notices |
| Returns not credited | Credits for damaged or wrong items never arrive |
| Duplicate invoices | The same delivery billed twice across files |
| Wrong discounts | Agreed terms not applied to the account |
None of these is likely to be large on its own. Across several suppliers and hundreds of lines a month, they add up to a figure worth knowing.
Automatic matching with a short exceptions list
- Invoice capture from each wholesaler's electronic file or email, and from scanned paper invoices where a supplier still sends them, with the lines extracted into a standard format.
- Order matching against your order history, so each invoice line is paired with what was actually ordered.
- Delivery confirmation. A quick scan or tick-off when the tote is put away records what actually arrived, so short deliveries stand out.
- Price checks against the last price paid for each line and any agreed terms you give us, flagging changes above a threshold you choose.
- A returns tracker. Every return you send is logged, and the matching credit is expected. Anything uncredited after a set time appears on the list.
- An exceptions list, short and dated, with only the lines that need a phone call or email to the supplier. Your accounts system, whether Xero, QuickBooks, Sage or your accountant's, receives the checked invoices.
Month end without the guesswork
Most invoices match and need nothing. The few that do not are on a list with the reason: short, price change, duplicate, missing credit. Someone spends a short while chasing them rather than an afternoon searching. When the statement arrives, you already know which lines you disagree with.
The price history also becomes useful in its own right. You can see which lines have crept up and which supplier is cheaper for what.
Are your invoices getting checked?
- Invoices from wholesalers are filed without being checked line by line
- You are not sure every return has been credited
- Short deliveries are noticed only when someone goes looking for the item
- Price changes appear on invoices without anyone spotting them
- Month-end statements are paid as they come