Buying under control.
WHAT THE PROCESS TYPICALLY IS
A requisition raised Approval obtained A purchase order issued Goods received and recorded An invoice matched Payment made
WHAT MATCHING MEANS
Comparing the order, the receipt and the invoice.
WHY IT MATTERS
It prevents paying for what was not ordered or not received.
WHAT DISCREPANCIES INDICATE
Errors, disputes, or fraud.
WHAT TO CONFIGURE
Tolerance within which differences are accepted automatically.
WHAT APPROVAL RULES SHOULD ENFORCE
Authority by amount Separation between requesting and approving Budget checking
WHY SEPARATION MATTERS
It prevents a single person committing the organisation's money.
WHAT SUPPLIER RECORDS SHOULD HOLD
Terms Contacts Tax details Performance history
WHY PERFORMANCE HISTORY MATTERS
Late or unreliable suppliers cost more than their prices suggest.
WHAT TO TRACK
Delivery against promise Quality issues Price changes
WHAT THREE-WAY MATCHING PREVENTS
Duplicate and fraudulent invoices.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Suppliers added without verification Bank details changed without confirmation
WHY THAT SECOND POINT
Diverted payment fraud depends on it, and it succeeds frequently.
WHAT TO REQUIRE
Verification through a known channel before changing any payment detail.