Recommended best practices for your procurement process

IRIS Invoice Matcher automates the process of posting a purchase order invoice. When a supplier emails a purchase order invoice to the dedicated email account, IRIS Invoice Matcher validates the document against your purchase orders and attempts to find a match.

If the purchase order invoice does not pass validation, an applicable finance user needs to manually verify the invoice in IRIS Invoice Matcher. When the verification is complete, the purchase order invoice and POIN document are automatically posted.

It is important that the information you enter on purchase orders and GRN's is accurate. This means there is a greater chance of the invoice being automatically matched to the purchase order.

Entering purchase orders

For a full overview of entering a purchase order, refer to Raising a purchase order. This section focuses on the key areas relating to the automatic matching in IRIS Invoice Matcher.

Unit price

Check the unit price with your supplier before finalising the purchase order. If the item's unit price is different on the purchase order invoice, you will need to verify it in IRIS Invoice Matcher.

VAT rate

Double-check the VAT rate for the item before finalising the order. If you enter an incorrect VAT rate, you will need to verify the purchase order invoice in IRIS Invoice Matcher. If you are not sure of the correct VAT rate, check with the supplier or your Finance team.

Processing GRN's

You must record the goods or services you receive against purchase orders. The remaining order quantities are shown, so you can see what is left to be received. For a full overview of entering a purchase order, refer to Processing Goods Received.

Make sure you process your GRN's as soon as possible after goods arrive. If you receive an invoice before you process the GRN, the document does not automatically match to the purchase invoice.

When recording a GRN, make sure you only process the quantity or value (depending on the type of order) that is received. If the quantity or value received is different to the purchase order invoice, it will need to be verified in IRIS Invoice Matcher.

Dealing with missing or damaged items

If you are missing items on your deliver or some items are damaged, make sure you only process items that are acceptable. Any damaged or missing items must be reported to the supplier so they can be dealt with promptly. For more information, refer to Dealing with missing or damaged items.

Writing off or cancelling documents

Purchase order documents are not regarded as completed whilst there are outstanding items waiting to be delivered because a commitment to the spend still exists in the system. Appropriate action needs to be taken to correctly remove the commitment.

It is important to use the write off and cancel functions correctly as it affects the quantity and value of the order that is left to receive. For more information, refer to Writing off or cancelling documents.