Hundreds of invoices, checked by nobody
Your accounts payable inbox receives distributor invoices every day. Some are for one line, some for hundreds, including monthly cloud bills. They are approved and paid because they come from a trusted supplier and nobody has time to check them against the orders. Occasionally someone notices a problem: a quantity of fifty where the order said fifteen, a thirty-six month term invoiced where twelve was ordered, a price above the special bid, a line for a customer you do not recognise.
Most problems are never noticed at all.
Why invoice checking gets skipped
Checking a distributor invoice properly means finding the order it relates to, then the quote, then any bid or promotion, then comparing each line. The invoice uses the distributor's product descriptions and SKUs, which do not always match your quote. Order references may be missing or in a different format. Credits and rebills arrive separately and refer back to earlier invoices.
The volume is the real reason. When a small finance team faces this every day, the practical choice is to trust the supplier.
| Check | Common error found |
|---|---|
| Price per unit | Standard price instead of bid or promotion |
| Quantity | Typo on the order or the distributor side |
| Term | Wrong term length or billing frequency |
| Customer | Line belongs to another reseller's customer |
| Duplicate | Same order invoiced twice |
What unchecked invoices cost
Every overcharge that is not spotted is money you lose. Every quantity or term error that is not spotted may also be a licence the customer did not want, which surfaces later as a dispute. Credits are much easier to obtain when an error is raised promptly with evidence than months later.
The time cost is lower than it looks right now only because the checking is not being done.
Month end makes it harder still. Cloud bills, renewals and quarter-end orders all land in the same fortnight, so the invoices that most need a careful look arrive when finance has the least time to give them. Errors from that fortnight tend to be the largest, because that is when the biggest orders are placed in a hurry.
The invoice matching we build
- Invoice intake: distributor invoices are collected by API, EDI or from the accounts payable inbox, and each line is read into order reference, SKU, description, quantity, term, unit price and end customer.
- Order and quote match: each line is matched to your distributor order and the quote behind it, using references where they exist and product, customer and value where they do not.
- Checks: price is checked against the quote, bid or promotion; quantity and term against the order; end customer against your records; and every invoice against earlier ones for duplicates.
- Tolerance rules: small differences, such as rounding or known currency adjustments, are accepted within limits your finance team sets.
- Exceptions: lines that fail a check go to a queue with the invoice, order and quote side by side, and a credit request email can be drafted to the distributor with the evidence attached.
- Posting: matched invoices are posted to Xero, QuickBooks, Sage or your accounts package, coded to the right customer or deal, ready for approval.
What accounts payable looks like after
The finance team approves matched invoices in batches and spends its time on a short exception list. Credit requests go out with evidence while the order is fresh. Recurring issues, such as one product always invoiced at the wrong term, become visible and can be fixed at source with the distributor.
Would checking catch errors in your invoices?
- Distributor invoices are approved without matching to orders.
- You have found overcharges only by chance.
- Special bid prices are not checked on invoices.
- Credit requests are raised months after the invoice.
- Invoice lines are not coded to the customer or deal.