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Check supplier invoices against purchase orders before paying
Get a quick table showing which invoices match their orders and which have wrong prices, quantities or missing order numbers.
When to use it
Before each supplier payment run
Step by step
Gather the week's invoices
Collect the invoices due for payment, either as PDFs from your inbox or as a list exported from your accounting software. A Gmail label or Outlook folder for supplier invoices keeps them together.
Export the matching orders
Export open purchase orders from your purchasing system or the sheet you keep them in, with order number, supplier, items, quantities and agreed prices.
Ask the AI to compare them
Attach the invoices and the order list to your AI assistant and paste this prompt.
Prompt to copyI'm checking supplier invoices before payment. Attached are [number] invoices and our purchase order list. For each invoice, find the matching order by order number (or by supplier and items if the number is missing). Give me a table with: Invoice number | Supplier | Order number | Invoice total | Order total | Difference | Status (Match / Price differs / Quantity differs / No order found / Possible duplicate) | Note. Then list only the problem invoices with a one-line explanation of what to query. Don't assume anything is approved; just report what you see.Review the exceptions
Open each problem invoice and check it against the order and delivery note yourself. Only you or your approver decides what gets paid.
Record the outcome
Copy the table into your payment run sheet in Google Sheets with a column for 'Approved by' so there's a clear trail.
What you get
INV-5521 | Harbour Packaging | PO-1187 | £1,920.00 | £1,800.00 | +£120.00 | Price differs | Box price £4.80 vs agreed £4.50. INV-0093 | Greenline Office | none | £64.50 | - | - | No order found | Ask who ordered it.
Tips
- Ask the AI to also flag invoices with the same amount and supplier within a month, which can be duplicates.
- Don't paste client personal data, full account numbers or payroll details into a public AI tool unless your organisation allows it. Use your work-approved assistant if you have one.