3-Way Match Automation
Automated 3‑Way Matching for AP
Automate 3‑way match: extract invoices from PDFs/emails, match to POs and receipts, flag variances, and trigger approvals & exceptions—complete audit trail included.
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3‑Way Match Automation — without manual checks
3‑way matching is essential for AP control, but it’s still painful in reality: invoices arrive as PDFs or emails, POs live in your ERP, receipts are inconsistent, and exceptions turn into long email threads.
Cloudsquid automates 3‑way match end-to-end:
Extract invoice data from PDFs, email bodies, scans, Excel/CSV
Structure it into tables (header + line items)
Match invoices to POs and goods receipts / GRNs using an AI agent
Flag exceptions with a reasoning trail (what matched, what didn’t, why)
Route items into review mode and trigger workflows for approvals and follow-ups
What 3‑way match should catch (the real exceptions)
Cloudsquid helps identify and route:
- Price variance (unit price differs vs PO)
- Quantity variance (billed > received, or billed > PO)
- Partial receipts / partial invoices
- Over‑billing and duplicate lines
- Missing receipt (GRN not posted yet)
- Missing PO / incorrect PO references
- Tax, freight, and fee differences
- Mismatched UOM or item descriptions
- Invoice date vs receiving cut‑off issues
Every exception can be explained, reviewed, and actioned.
How Cloudsquid works
1) Invoices → structured tables (even when messy)
Invoices arrive in many formats and layouts. Cloudsquid extracts consistent fields such as:
- Vendor, invoice number, invoice date, currency
- Total, tax, freight/fees (if present)
- Line items: item/service description, quantity, unit price, line total
- PO reference(s) when included
2) Bring your PO + receipt data (uploaded or connected)
POs and receipts can be imported as ERP exports (CSV/Excel) or supplied via workflows/integrations.
Cloudsquid treats them as “uploaded tables” used for matching.
3) Reconciliation tables perform the 3‑way match
A reconciliation table uses an AI agent to match across Invoice lines ↔ PO lines, Invoice lines ↔ Receipt/GRN lines and Header-level validation (vendor, totals, dates, references)
When data is incomplete, the agent can still make a qualified suggestion and show reasoning.
4) Review mode with audit trail (built for AP controls)
AP teams can Approve match, Reject match, Mark as exception/dispute and add comments and keep an audit history
This turns tribal knowledge into a repeatable, reviewable process.
5) Take action with workflows and table actions
When something fails 3‑way match, you shouldn’t manually coordinate across inboxes.
Use table actions to trigger workflows such as:
- Route to approver based on cost center/vendor/category
- Request receiving confirmation or missing GRN
- Request corrected invoice from vendor
- Create a case/ticket and assign ownership
- Re-run match automatically after new data arrives
Why finance teams choose this approach
Faster cycle times: fewer approvals stuck in exceptions
Stronger controls: consistent enforcement of PO/receipt policy
Fewer overpayments: catch duplicates and over-billing early
Less manual effort: remove spreadsheet reconciliation loops
More confidence: AI suggestions + human review + reasoning trail
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Use Cases
3‑Way Match Automation Use Cases
Extract invoice header + line items and match them to PO and receipt lines to approve clean invoices automatically and route exceptions into review.
Handle real-world scenarios where goods arrive in multiple deliveries or invoices are split. Match what’s received, flag what’s missing, and keep the reconciliation traceable.
Automatically detect variances (unit price, quantity, totals) and trigger the right workflow—approve within tolerance, route for approval outside tolerance, or request corrections.
When the invoice arrives before the receipt is posted, route a workflow to receiving for confirmation or to post the GRN—then re-run the match when data is updated.
Identify duplicates and suspicious repeats across invoices and PO lines. Route exceptions for review before payment is released and preserve an audit trail for controls.
"We tackled a massive document backlog of over 50,000 PDFs in minutes. After cloudsquid we verify new customers in 1 hour instead of 1 day"
Noa
Finance & Data Analyst

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Unlock hundreds of hours
Without cloudsquid
View and understand thousands of files
Manual entry and work in spreadsheets and systems
Multiple days of work and dropped files
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Flexibly extract any file type, format, or edge case without custom code
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Capabilities
Automate any Finance & Operations work
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Frequently Asked Questions
3‑way match verifies that an invoice aligns with the purchase order and proof of receipt (GRN/receiving data). It helps prevent overpayment and enforces procurement controls.
Invoices can be PDFs, scans, email bodies, or spreadsheets. PO and receipt data can be uploaded exports or pulled through workflows/integrations into matching tables.
Cloudsquid supports structured extraction of invoice line items and can match at line level where data is available—while still providing header-level checks and reasoning for exceptions.
Exceptions (missing PO/receipt, variances, duplicates) are flagged with a clear explanation. Your team can approve/reject in review mode and trigger workflows for follow-up or approvals.
Yes. You can implement tolerance and routing logic in workflows (e.g., approve under threshold, escalate above threshold) and attach actions directly to rows via table actions.