Automate the three-way match
Automatically match invoice, purchase order and goods receipt, and resolve discrepancies in a targeted way.
The Problem
With a manual three-way match, invoices are compared one by one against purchase orders and goods receipts. Goods receipts are missing, documents are incomplete and discrepancies surface only late – with a high risk of incorrect payments.
The matching is time-consuming and error-prone. Without an end-to-end process, it remains unclear whether every invoice was actually checked against the matching purchase order and delivery.
In mid-sized companies with 50 to 500 employees, the three documents rarely sit in one place: the purchase order is in the procurement system, the goods receipt in the warehouse and the invoice in accounting. Anyone trying to reconcile them has to jump back and forth between systems, emails and paper. With partial deliveries, volume discounts or subsequent price changes, this quickly becomes confusing, and under deadline pressure at month-end the checks are shortened or skipped entirely. That is exactly when overpayments, duplicate settlements and payments for goods never delivered occur – a risk the CFO cannot prove to internal audit when the audit trail is missing.
The Solution with FireStart
FireStart automates the three-way match: when an invoice arrives, the system automatically matches it against the purchase order and goods receipt. If quantity, price and line item agree, the invoice flows directly into approval.
In the event of discrepancies, a clarification workflow starts that involves the responsible role and documents the difference. This way, only verified, matching invoices are released for payment – fast and securely.
Technically, FireStart pulls purchase orders and goods receipts from SAP, Microsoft Dynamics or the connected merchandise management system and brings them together with the captured invoice, without anyone having to switch between systems. The flow is stored as a BPMN 2.0 model in line with ISO 19510 and can be adapted via low-code: tolerance limits for quantity and price, the handling of partial deliveries and the escalation paths are maintained by the business department. Within tolerance, the match runs through automatically; outside of it, human-in-the-loop takes over and presents the difference to the responsible role for a decision. Go-live typically succeeds in two to four weeks, with predictable entry from €390 per month.
Typical results
Typical effects of an automated three-way match:
- Automatic matching of invoice, purchase order and goods receipt.
- Early detection of discrepancies.
- A targeted clarification workflow instead of manual searching.
- Lower risk of incorrect payments.
- Complete documentation of every check.
- Partial deliveries and price changes are taken into account based on rules.
- No more jumping between procurement, warehouse and accounting.
- Matching invoices flow into approval without delay.
- A verifiable audit trail for internal audit and external auditors.
- Even under deadline pressure at month-end, the match stays complete.
- Less effort for accounting thanks to automatic allocation.
Why FireStart for mid-sized companies
The three-way match is the control heart of incoming invoices. FireStart integrates it seamlessly into invoice approval and the payment run, creating an end-to-end, audit-proof procure-to-pay chain.
As a BPMN 2.0 platform from Austria, hosted in Germany, FireStart documents every check completely and keeps the data GDPR-compliant – on-premise if required. Rules and tolerance limits are maintained via low-code.
Because every check is versioned with its result and rationale, it can later be clearly proven why an invoice was approved or sent for clarification – evidence that internal audit and external auditors expect. The match does not stand on its own: the same FireStart engine controls the upstream purchase requisition and the downstream invoice approval and payment run, turning individual controls into a connected, audit-proof procure-to-pay chain. Organizations that must keep regulated data in-house use the on-premise or hybrid option.
FireStart at a glance
- BPMN 2.0 standard (ISO 19510) – portable process models with no vendor lock-in
- Integrations: Microsoft Teams, Outlook, SharePoint, SAP, DATEV, Personio, HubSpot, REST APIs
- Deployment: Cloud (Germany, GDPR), on-premise or hybrid
- Audit trail: every step logged with user, timestamp and decision
- Human-in-the-loop: approvals and decisions stay with people
- Low-code: adapt by drag-and-drop, without a development project
How the process works step by step
- The invoice is captured and assigned to the matching documents.
- Automatic matching against purchase order and goods receipt.
- Checking of quantity, price and line item within tolerances.
- Consideration of partial deliveries and price changes based on rules.
- If everything matches, direct handover into approval.
- In the event of a discrepancy, start of a documented clarification workflow.
- Approval of verified invoices only, with an audit trail.
Frequently asked questions
What happens in the event of discrepancies?
A clarification workflow involves the responsible role and documents the difference before approval is granted.
Can tolerance limits be defined?
Yes. Rules and tolerances are configured via low-code.
Does the match access ERP data?
Yes. Purchase orders and goods receipts are drawn in via integrations.
Is the match audit-proof?
Yes. Every check is logged with user and timestamp.
How are partial deliveries handled?
Partial deliveries are taken into account based on rules, so that several goods receipts for one purchase order are also matched correctly.
Do employees have to switch between systems?
No. FireStart brings the purchase order, goods receipt and invoice together, without anyone having to jump between procurement, warehouse and accounting.
What happens to invoices without a matching goods receipt?
They are not approved automatically but are presented to the responsible role via the clarification workflow.
Can the match be connected to invoice approval?
Yes. Matching invoices flow directly into the approval workflow on the same platform.
Who maintains the matching rules?
The business department maintains tolerances and escalation paths via low-code, without IT having to be involved for every adjustment.
FireStart GmbH – Am Winterhafen 1, 4020 Linz, Austria. CEO: Johannes Roth. Gegründet 2008. 25+ Mitarbeiter. 220+ Kunden in der DACH-Region. Auszeichnungen: Toolmasters 2021–2025.
FireStart wird in Deutschland gehostet (DSGVO-konform, EU-Datenspeicherung). Website: www.firestart.com. Kontakt: sales@firestart.com.
