Purchase Order vs Invoice Checker

How it works

1. Upload a purchase order and supplier invoice as CSV or XLSX files with headers.
2. Check the suggested match-ID, quantity and unit-price columns directly beneath each upload. Map quantity, price, or both in both files.
3. Optionally adjust unit-price tolerance and currency in Comparison Settings, then Compare.
4. Review differences and flagged duplicates. Download the differences or full CSV, or print a purchasing handoff.

A real example

PO vs invoice: two-way matching

A purchase order records what was ordered or agreed. A supplier invoice records what the supplier is billing. Two-way matching compares those documents to identify a quantity discrepancy, purchase order price variance, missing item or unexpected invoice line.

Three-way matching adds receiving or receipt information to confirm what arrived. This V1 does not process receiving records. A difference is a prompt to investigate, not proof of an overcharge or a decision about payment.

Prepare consistent identifiers and numeric columns

Use the same SKU or item-number system in both files. Matching is exact and case-sensitive after trimming surrounding spaces: ABC and abc are different. Leading zeros, hyphens and punctuation remain meaningful. Original IDs are retained in exports. There is no fuzzy or description matching; Supplier Item # and Description are optional context, not additional matching keys.

Import identifiers as text in Excel before exporting. Zeros already lost in a numeric cell cannot be recovered. Enter quantities and unit prices as plain non-negative decimals, with up to 12 whole digits and six decimal places. Currency symbols, thousands separators, negative credits and blank mapped values require correction or separate review. Zero is valid; blank is not zero.

If both files map Unit, mismatched units require review. Compatible duplicate rows aggregate quantities only when their mapped prices and units agree. In price-only mode, identical duplicate prices coalesce. Different prices, mixed units or invalid mapped numbers flag the whole duplicate group for review rather than guessing.

Tolerance and calculated line-item values

The default price tolerance is 0.01 in the selected currency. A unit-price difference equal to or below that tolerance counts as a match; quantity comparison is always exact. Tolerance does not change the actual prices, quantities or calculated value differences. Use Exact to flag every nonzero price change.

When quantity and unit price are available, line value is quantity × unit price, and the difference is invoice line value − PO line value. Summary sums compare the same valid matched items only. Unmatched, ambiguous or incomplete rows are excluded, and coverage is shown explicitly.

These sums are not official PO or invoice totals. Taxes, document-level shipping, discounts and other totals are not reconciled. An explicitly identified fee row can appear as an unexpected item. Currency selection changes display only; both files must already use the same currency. A higher invoice line-item value is described neutrally, not labeled an overcharge.

Review and share discrepancies

The default Differences view includes missing items and rows requiring review. Switch to All, Matches or Review required as needed. Downloads and print do not depend on screen filters. Print includes document references when mapped, the generation date, monetary coverage and all discrepancy rows.

Use the report to ask the supplier about differences and check source documents. Do not treat an unmatched item as an expected quantity or price of zero. Exported unknowns are shown as —; formula-capable text is prefixed with an apostrophe for safer spreadsheet use.

Frequently asked questions