AI agent · Logistics & ports · Match & reconcile
Delivery note matching
Checking delivery notes against invoices is work where most lines agree and the few that do not are the only ones that matter. The agent compares every line and puts only the mismatches in front of a person, with what differs and the evidence.
Typical volumes for this process, not a client figure.
200 notes checked against invoices; 4 turn out to be wrong.
The software checks all 200 and puts the 4 in front of a person.
Where the time goes today
Delivery notes come back from drivers, depots and receiving docks as scans or photographs, often signed, stamped and annotated by hand: a quantity crossed out, a pallet marked damaged, a line refused, a waiting time noted. Invoices arrive separately, from the carrier, the supplier or your own billing system. Someone compares the two, line by line, to confirm that what was invoiced is what was actually delivered and accepted.
Most lines match, which is exactly why the work is hard to do well. Attention drops after the first few dozen notes, and the discrepancies worth finding are the ones written by hand in a margin. References differ between documents, units differ (cases against pieces, pallets against kilograms), and one invoice may cover several deliveries.
When a discrepancy is missed, you pay for goods not received or a surcharge not owed. When it is found weeks later, the evidence is harder to produce and the supplier or carrier is less willing to issue a credit.
How the agent works
- Read the notesThe agent reads each delivery note, including handwritten annotations, and extracts the reference, date, delivery site, lines, quantities, units, and any marks for shortage, damage or refusal.
- Pair the documentsIt finds the matching invoice and order using references, dates, sites and amounts, including cases where one invoice covers several notes.
- Compare each lineIt compares item, quantity delivered and accepted, unit and charges, converting units with your product data and applying the tolerances you set.
- Explain mismatchesEach mismatch is described in one sentence, such as 'Invoiced 40 cases; note shows 36 received and 4 refused as damaged', with the note image and invoice line attached.
- Route the resultMatched pairs go forward to your payment approval step. Mismatches go to the person responsible, with a draft query or credit request to the supplier or carrier.
What stays with a person
A person decides what to do with each mismatch: accept it, query it, request a credit note or hold payment. Those decisions depend on the relationship with the supplier or carrier, the size of the difference and what the contract says about claims. Handwritten annotations the agent cannot read with confidence also go to a person, with the image, rather than being guessed.
Your team sets the tolerances that let small differences pass, and reviews them. A tolerance that is too generous quietly moves money; one that is too tight sends people back to checking everything by hand.
What it reads, what it produces
| It reads | It produces |
|---|---|
| Signed delivery notes and proofs of delivery, scanned or photographed | A matched or mismatched status for each note and invoice pair |
| Supplier and carrier invoices | A plain-language explanation of each mismatch, with the evidence attached |
| Purchase orders or transport orders | Draft queries or credit requests to suppliers and carriers |
| Product data with unit conversions | A list of notes that could not be read or paired, for a person |
| Contract terms for surcharges, waiting time and claims | A daily summary of mismatches by supplier, carrier and reason |
Controls that come with it
- Quantity and price tolerances are set by your team and recorded against every decision they affect.
- Annotations read with low confidence go to a person with the image.
- A person checks a daily sample of matched pairs against the original documents.
- The agent passes matched pairs to your approval step; it does not pay invoices.
- Every decision keeps the note image, invoice line and rule applied, and a match can be reopened before payment runs.
How you know it works
- Mismatches found by the agent against those found by the manual check, on past notes
- Share of notes read and paired without a person
- Credits obtained from mismatches, tracked separately
- Time from delivery to matched status
Is your process ready?
- Written rules: tolerances, unit conversions and what counts as a claimable difference are written down.
- Systems: invoices and orders can be read from your finance or transport system, and notes are scanned to a place the agent can reach.
- Cheap check: a person can confirm a mismatch in seconds by looking at the note image beside the invoice line.
- Volume: hundreds of notes a day repays the build; a few a week does not.
- Consistent process: depots and finance agree on how shortages and refusals are marked on the note.
The five candidacy checks are explained, with an exam, in the free Module 01.
What goes wrong
- Poor scans and photographs taken in cabs and on docks, which need a minimum quality standard at the point of capture.
- Delivery notes with no reference linking them to an order, which turn pairing into a guess.
- Unit conversions missing from product data, which turn correct deliveries into false mismatches.
- Tolerances set once at go-live and never reviewed.
Questions we get
Can it read handwriting on delivery notes?
It reads most handwritten quantities, ticks and short remarks, but not all, and accuracy depends on the quality of the scan. During the build it is tested on your past notes, including the messiest ones. Where it cannot read an annotation with confidence, it sends the note to a person with the relevant area highlighted, rather than guessing.
What if one invoice covers many deliveries?
The agent groups notes by order, site and period, matches the group against the invoice, then checks each line within it. If the group and the invoice cannot be reconciled, for example because one note is missing, it reports which delivery is unaccounted for instead of forcing a match.
Does it replace three-way matching in our finance system?
It complements it. Many finance systems match invoices to orders and goods receipts, but the goods receipt is often keyed from the delivery note by hand, and handwritten refusals or damage notes are lost at that step. The agent reads the note itself, so the receipt reflects what actually arrived and what was accepted.
Can it send claims to carriers automatically?
It drafts them, with the evidence attached and the contract clause if you provide one. Whether a claim is sent without review depends on the rules you set: some teams allow automatic queries below a value and review everything above it. Anything that could affect a commercial relationship goes through a person first.
- Retail & e-commerceSupplier invoice matching
- Logistics & portsCustoms file assembly
- Finance & accountingSupplier statement reconciliation
- Sector noteLogistics & ports: where the money actually is
- Training · freeIs this process a candidate? The five checks
- All agentsEvery process we have written up, by sector
Want this agent on your process?
Tell us about your version of this process — volumes, systems, what goes wrong. A person answers with an approach and a price, usually within two working days, or tells you it is the wrong project.