Documentation/ Consolidation/ How the matching works
How delivery notes and invoices are matched
Matching happens at two levels: which delivery notes are put forward for an invoice, and which delivery note line goes with which invoice line. Every proposal says which criterion put it there, and that is what tells you how far to trust it.
On this page
The two levels
| Level | What it matches | Where you see it |
|---|---|---|
| Document | Which delivery notes might belong to this invoice. | The suggested delivery notes list, with its criterion and score. |
| Line | Which delivery note line goes with each invoice line. | The item comparison, with its criterion and percentage. |
The matching criteria
| Criterion | What it goes on |
|---|---|
| Exact reference | The invoice quotes the delivery note number, or both carry the same reference. |
| Supplier and date | The same supplier, with delivery and invoice dates that fit together. |
| Product code | On lines: the item reference matches. |
| Exact description | On lines: the item text matches word for word. |
| AI | On accounts with consolidation with AI switched on: it picks delivery notes by amount and date when there is no exact reference, and matches the lines none of the criteria above settled. |
| Manual | A person made the link, not the system. |
| No match | Nothing was found to go with it. |
On accounts with the AI proposal, the matches that came from it are marked as such, with their confidence, both in the delivery notes list and in the line comparison. Exactly how it picks and how it matches is set out in Consolidation with AI.
How far to trust each one
| Criterion | How reliable | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Exact reference | Very high | Nothing: the document itself makes the link. |
| Product code | High | Check the quantity and the price. |
| Exact description | Middling | Watch for items described the same way in different sizes. |
| Supplier and date | Middling | It is a rule about proximity, not identity. Look before confirming. |
| AI | Varies, and carries its own confidence | Read that confidence and, if the total does not agree, the delivery notes proposed, before confirming. |
| Manual | As good as the judgement of whoever did it | — |
Scores and percentages
Every suggested delivery note carries a score, and that orders the list: the higher up, the more likely it belongs to this invoice.
In the line comparison, each match carries its match percentage. A high one says the item, the quantity and the price all agree; a low one says something differs even though the item is the same.
Neither figure replaces checking: they are an order to work in, not a verdict.
Lines with no match
The comparison separates out the invoice lines no delivery note supports. That is the list to look at, because every line on it is one of four things:
- The delivery note behind it has not been uploaded.
- The item is described differently on the delivery note, and the system could not match it.
- It is a charge with no delivery: carriage, surcharges, services.
- You are being billed for something that never arrived.
The first three get sorted out; the fourth is exactly what consolidation exists to find.
How to make the matching better
- Upload the delivery notes before the invoice. If they come afterwards, the invoice sits as pending until somebody goes back to it.
- Put the supplier right when it has been read wrongly: with the wrong supplier there are no candidates at all.
- Set the ERP item on the lines, which gets you matching by code instead of by description.
- Merge split delivery notes before consolidating, so the note's amount is the real one.