# Purchase orders and three-way match

> Order, receive, then bill — and the system refuses to let the three disagree quietly.

Section: Purchases and payables · Canonical: https://intubu.intuitivecapital-dai.com/docs/purchase-orders

Purchases → Purchase orders.

A PO commits you to buy but posts nothing. The ledger moves when goods arrive and when the bill arrives.

**The three-way match** compares:
1. **The purchase order** — what you agreed to buy and at what price.
2. **The receipt** — what actually turned up.
3. **The bill** — what the vendor is charging.

When all three agree the bill posts without ceremony. When they do not, the bill is held with the variance named: a **quantity variance** (billed for more than was received) or a **price variance** (charged more than the agreed price). Tolerances are yours to set — a few cents of rounding should not stop a payment.

**Partial receipts** are normal: receive what came, and the PO stays open for the rest.

**Related:** [Purchase requisitions](https://intubu.intuitivecapital-dai.com/docs/requisitions) for the approval that happens before a PO exists, and [Bill approval workflows](https://intubu.intuitivecapital-dai.com/docs/bill-approvals) for approving the bill itself.