15% of invoices got checked against their purchase order. The rest got paid on trust.
The invoice comes in, the system looks up the purchase order and the delivery note in the ERP, compares price, quantity, terms and CUIT (tax ID), and approves what matches. What doesn't goes on a list for purchasing.
The context
Buenos Aires · 120 people · 1,800 supplier invoices a month · SAP Business One ERP.
Integrated withERP (SAP Business One) · email.
The capabilityInvoice-to-purchase-order reconciliation
01
What nobody knew
How much they were overpaying. Nobody had calculated it, because calculating it was the work that never got done.
What was looked at, and what wasn't
Invoices over ARS 2 million, and invoices from three suppliers who'd already caused problems. The other 1,500 a month, nobody.
02
What showed up when we looked
In the first month, with 100% cross-checked, 94 invoices came up with a discrepancy (5.2%), for ARS 11.8 million. Sixty-one with a price different from the order. Twenty-two with more quantity invoiced than the delivery note showed. Eleven invoiced twice, under different numbers.
03
What decision changed
Purchasing pushed back on 14 suppliers with the detail in hand. Two suppliers moved to pre-payment review. And it settled a years-old argument: the price gap wasn't “just the market,” it was a supplier billing off the old list whenever it suited them. Coverage: from 15% to 100%. Reconciliation time: from three days a month to four hours.
04
What we built
The invoice comes in, the system looks up the purchase order and the delivery note in the ERP, compares unit price, quantity, payment terms and CUIT, and approves what matches. What doesn't match goes on a list for purchasing, with the difference calculated and the source document. Purchasing decides whether to dispute it or accept it.
How it works
Comes in
Goes out
The supplier's invoice, by email
The purchase order and the delivery note, in the ERP
The system
Looks up, compares, approves
Looks up
Compares
Approves
Price, quantity, payment terms and CUIT, across the 1,800 a month.
Approved to pay, the ones that match
The list for purchasing, with the difference calculated
Purchasing decides whether to dispute or accept each difference.
05
How it's measured from here on
Differences a month in pesos and by supplier, % recovered. The purchasing manager looks at it.
