PO Matching for Xero & MYOB
Invoices checked against what was ordered - before you pay.
2-way matching
Invoices are automatically compared against approved purchase orders.
Variance detection
Pricing, quantity, and total differences are caught before posting.
Handles partial deliveries
Split invoices and staged deliveries are matched correctly against a single PO.
How it works
Invoice linked to PO
Incoming invoices are matched to their corresponding purchase order automatically.
Line-by-line comparison
Quantities, unit prices, and totals are compared against each line of the PO.
Variances assessed
Differences within tolerance pass. Genuine mismatches are flagged for review.
Built for real purchasing complexity
Why header-level matching isn't enough
Two invoices can have the same total and still be completely different at the line level. A PO raised for 50 units of material A and 20 units of material B gets invoiced for 70 units of material A and nothing for B. The totals match. The delivery doesn't. Header-level matching - comparing invoice total against PO total - passes this without a flag. Line-level matching catches it.
For construction businesses, where a single PO might cover multiple material types across multiple deliveries over weeks, line-level matching is the only kind that's meaningful. An invoice for partial delivery on a AU$180,000 framing materials PO needs to be matched against the specific line items delivered, not just checked for whether the total is within tolerance of the PO total.
What discrepancies look like in practice
The most common PO mismatches in Australian construction and distribution AP aren't fraud - they're pricing drift and unit-of-measure errors. A supplier quoted AU$4.20 per unit at PO time and invoiced at AU$4.65 because their price list changed between order and delivery. A PO raised in tonnes gets invoiced in kilograms, creating a 1,000x apparent variance that needs manual resolution before it can be approved.
Discovering these discrepancies at the approval stage - after the AP officer has already entered the invoice and coded it - means rework. Discovering them at intake, as part of an automated matching check, means the AP officer can resolve the variance with the supplier before it touches the ledger or wastes an approver's time.
The tolerance configuration matters here. A strict zero-tolerance match will flag every rounding difference and pricing update, generating exception volume that undermines the benefit. A reasonable tolerance - typically 1 to 3% depending on industry - passes normal variation while still flagging the discrepancies worth reviewing. Getting the tolerance right requires knowing your supplier mix, not using a default.
Partial deliveries and staged invoicing
Most real purchasing doesn't happen in a single delivery against a single invoice. A PO for AU$50,000 in equipment might be fulfilled across three deliveries with three separate invoices, each for a different subset of the line items. Matching needs to track what's already been invoiced against the PO and what remains outstanding - otherwise the third invoice looks like a variance against the full PO value rather than a partial fulfilment against what's left. For wholesale distributors managing ongoing supplier accounts with rolling POs, getting this right is the difference between a useful matching system and one that generates so many false exceptions it gets turned off.
Frequently asked questions
Currently 2-way (invoice to PO). Validation checks provide additional controls - catching GST discrepancies, totals, and supplier anomalies - beyond the PO match.
The invoice is flagged with the specific variance highlighted so your team can resolve it quickly without cross-referencing documents manually.
Yes. Staged deliveries and split invoices against a single PO are fully supported.
Related articles
Purchase Order Software for Australian SMBs: What It Actually Does and When You Need It
Australian businesses in construction, wholesale, and trades often manage purchase orders through spreadsheets or Xero's basic PO module - until invoice matching starts to break. This guide explains what PO software actually does, where the matching step fails, and what to look for as a Xero or MYOB user.
PO MatchingWhy PO Matching Fails in Construction and What to Do Instead
Purchase order matching breaks down in construction environments because invoices rarely arrive clean. Here's why it happens and how project-based businesses can make PO matching work reliably.
PO MatchingPurchase Order Matching in Accounts Payable: The Complete Guide for Australian Businesses
How to implement PO matching in your AP workflow — covering two-way and three-way matching, header vs line-level comparison, tolerance configuration, and where matching breaks in construction, wholesale, and manufacturing environments.