3-Way Match with Ramp Procurement

Overview

Available on Ramp Plus. See Ramp Plus overview for plan details.

3-way match allows you to match bills in Ramp Bill Pay with purchase orders and item receipts. This allows you to get ultimate control over your AP process and ensure that you're not paying for goods that weren't received.

Bill with 3-way match flag indicating overbilling on matched PO

How 3-way match works

Receiving

There are three different ways to 3-way match in Ramp, outlined below. All Ramp customers can create item receipts in Ramp to match against Ramp POs and bills once 3WM is enabled. Customers using NetSuite can also import POs and item receipts from NetSuite to 3-way match against bills in Ramp.

Once an item receipt is attached to a Purchase order in Ramp, you will see this "Receiving" table with the PO's Receiving status.

Purchase orders Receiving table showing fully billed and not received statuses

Receiving statuses:

Not received: No item receipt exists for the PO
Partially received: There are item receipt(s) for the PO but not every line item has been fully received yet
- Note: You can only configure the quantity for Inventory line items (line items with the Inventory Item accounting fields coded) and must be using NetSuite or QBO. Otherwise, the line item type will be treated as an Expense line item which can only be marked as Received or Not Received.

Item receipt showing partial receiving with inventory quantity details

Fully received: There are item receipt(s) for the PO and every line item has been fully received

3-way matched bills

Once a bill is matched to a PO with an item receipt(s), you will see the receiving status directly on the bill's line items. If the billed units have been received, you'll see a green alert giving you peace of mind:

Bill line items showing green alert that all invoiced units have been received

How to 3-way match with Ramp bills, NetSuite POs, and NetSuite item receipts

With 3-way match enabled, once you match a bill to an imported PO from NetSuite, Ramp will automatically fetch related item receipts from NetSuite for the PO line items. We'll show an alert if the billed units haven't been received. Follow the steps below to set it up.

Enable 3-way match in Bill Pay settings

Enable 3-way match in Bill Pay settings, and Ramp will start to pull in item receipts from NetSuite.

Navigate to Bill Pay > Bills > Settings > Importing.

Bill Pay settings with 3-way match enabled for importing purchase orders

Match bills in Ramp to POs in NetSuite

When you pay bills with Ramp Bill Pay, match bills to purchase orders in NetSuite. Once a PO is selected, Ramp will automatically match the bill line items with PO line items and then pull in item receipts. You can view which billed line items haven't been received and open existing item receipts in NetSuite.

Bill matched to PO showing warning that 39 invoiced units have not been received

We cannot sync item receipt statuses on POs that have been closed in NetSuite.

How to 3-way match with Ramp bills, Ramp POs, and NetSuite item receipts

If you prefer to receive in NetSuite, Ramp can import NetSuite Item Receipts and 3-way match to Ramp purchase orders and bills.

Note: You must ensure the role that was used to set up integration between Ramp and NetSuite has Item Receipt FULL permission. You can confirm this using the following steps:

Setup > User/Roles > Manage Roles
Edit Role used to integrate between NS and RAMP
Permission > Transactions tab
Item Receipt > FULL

After you verify the role has the proper permissions, follow the instructions below to continue setting it up.

Enable 3-way match for a specific Spend Program(s)

Edit the Spend Program and select 3-way match for invoice matching in Procurement controls.

Spend Program settings with 3-way match selected for invoice matching

Sync a PO to NetSuite

Once a request is approved, you'll see "Not received" for the receiving status. To receive against a PO, fill out the accounting fields on the "Accounting" tab of the PO then sync the PO over to NetSuite.

Create an item receipt in NetSuite to sync to Ramp

After the PO has been synced to NetSuite, you can receive in NetSuite. Create and save an item receipt and it will sync over to Ramp. The receiving status on the PO will update accordingly.

Match bills in Ramp to POs in NetSuite

When you pay bills with Ramp Bill Pay, make sure the correct Ramp PO is matched. Once a PO is selected, Ramp will automatically match the bill line items with PO line items and then pull in NetSuite item receipts. You can view which billed line items haven't been received and open existing item receipts in NetSuite.

Bill matched to Ramp PO with NetSuite item receipts and receiving status

How to 3-way match with Ramp bills, Ramp POs, and Ramp item receipts

If you create POs in Ramp, you can create Item Receipts directly in Ramp to mark a PO as received (you do not need to have a direct ERP integration to do this, but note that uCSV is not yet supported for partial receiving). We will update the Received status on a PO accordingly. Follow the steps below to set it up.

Creating an item receipt in Ramp and viewing receiving status on a bill

Enable 3-way match for a specific Spend Program(s)

Edit the Spend Program and select 3-way match for invoice matching in Procurement controls. This is a pre-requisite for you to be able to generate Item Receipts for any PO's generated in this program.

Spend Program settings with 3-way match selected for invoice matching

Create an item receipt for a PO

Once 3WM is enabled in the Spend Program, you will see the "Receive" button at the bottom of the Overview tab on approved POs. Click Receive to generate a new item receipt. Admin, Accounting, Accounts Payable roles, and the requester can create item receipts. Item receipts will show up in the PO's "Documents". Once it's filled out, the POs receiving status will update accordingly.

PO action bar with Upload invoice, Receive, and Comment buttons

New item receipt form with date, receipt number, and received items checklist

View item receipts in Ramp bills

Once a bill is created for a PO, the PO will be automatically matched and you can see if billed items have been received or not directly within the bill. You can also open the item receipt directly from the bill.

Bill showing 25 billed units have not been received with item receipt details

Note: The receiving status is derived from the item receipt's association to a given PO. Item receipts created in Ramp cannot be synced to NetSuite. If you're creating item receipts in Ramp, the only way to have the receiving status reflected in NetSuite is to manually create those item receipts in NetSuite for the PO.

The receiving status is derived from the ItemReceipts associated to a given PO
Since we don't supporting syncing IRs from Ramp -> NetSuite, if they're creating IRs in Ramp the only way to get it to be reflected in NetSuite is if they also manually created those IRs in NetSuite for the PO

Use cases and examples

Great for companies issuing purchase orders in NetSuite and creating item receipts.
Companies using accounting providers that don't support item receipts (i.e. QuickBooks) can now use Ramp to create those item receipts and still perform 3-way match.
Customers who do not have a direct ERP integration.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to enable 3-way match?

If you are importing item receipts from NetSuite, it can take up to an hour to pull in the initial set of receipts depending on how many there are.

How frequently does Ramp import item receipts from NetSuite?

New item receipts are imported daily at midnight, and automatically once you open the Bill Pay or Procurement screens.

Can I use 3-way match if I use QBO?

Yes, if you use QBO you will need to use the3rd option. You cannot 3-way match with imported POs from QBO, you will need to do everything in Ramp.

Can I mark items as received in Ramp for imported POs?

You cannot receive in Ramp against an imported PO. The receipt status in Ramp will update based on the status in NetSuite.

If I update my Spend Program from 2-way match to 3-way match, will this apply to Purchase Orders already created?

Yes, you will be able to create item receipts for existing Purchase Orders in that Spend Program.

Can I sync item receipts created in Ramp to my ERP?

No, you cannot sync item receipted created in Ramp outside of Ramp.

How can a PO be marked as partially received?

Admins must enable the Inventory Item fields in Accounting settings. Then, employees can code line items with the Inventory item accounting field. This will allow you to edit the number of items received on an item receipt.

If you are having trouble seeing item receipts populated in Ramp (image attached below), then ensure to check if the "Item Receipts: Full" permission has been granted to the Ramp Accountant user.

Steps to resolve:

Click "Setup" at the top
Select "Users/Roles" from the drop-down menu
Select "Manage Roles"
Click "Ramp Accountant"
Look for "Item Receipt" in the Permission column