Three-way match

Three-way match compares three documents: the expected cost (rate card / PO), the vendor's invoice, and the proof of service. Passing the match means the invoice is safe to pay.

The three "ways"

1. Expected cost — from the rate card applied at booking, or a PO if one exists. Provides the amount you should pay.
2. Vendor invoice — what the vendor is billing.
3. Proof of service — document proving the service was actually rendered: POD (road), MAWB + flight arrival (air), BL + vessel arrival (sea), customs entry (brokerage).

Match all three → pay. Break any → exception queue.

Tolerance

Match tolerance is configurable per vendor / per cost line type:

• Fuel pass-through: 0% tolerance (must match actuals).
• Ocean freight: 2% tolerance.
• Detention / waiting: 10% tolerance (often subject to recalc).
• Handling fees: fixed, 0% tolerance.

Tolerance is the difference between expected and vendor-invoiced amount. Beyond tolerance = exception.

Proof-of-service check

• Road — POD captured? If not, block payment until driver or sub submits.
• Air — flight actually arrived? MAWB tracking confirms. Block until ATA.
• Sea — vessel discharged? Container arrived? Tracking confirms.
• Customs brokerage — entry number provided? Status cleared?

Missing proof holds payment. Stops paying for services that didn't happen.

Exceptions

Exception queue at /app/finance/match-exceptions:

• Over-billed — raise a dispute to the vendor; withhold the difference.
• Duplicate — already paid; reject.
• No service — contact ops to find the proof, or query the vendor.
• Rate mismatch — rate card out of date; update retrospectively with finance approval.

Audit

Every match decision — auto-pass, auto-exception, manual override — writes an audit entry. Stops internal fraud (pay a vendor twice, pay a fake invoice).

Why it matters

Forwarders lose 1–3% of vendor spend to billing errors that a strong match process would catch. At scale that's material. Three-way match is the single highest-ROI AP control.