How to Match an Invoice to a P.O.

The Matching Screen in DPO allows you to link an invoice item to an item from a Purchase Order. This ensures financial accuracy and helps track spend against approved budgets.

Steps to Link an Invoice to a P.O. and Send to Approval

The invoice process consists of four main steps:

Step 1 → Inbox – Validate the invoice in the Inbox
Step 2 → Invoices – The validated invoice now appears under the Invoices section
Step 3 → Matching – Link the invoice to a P.O. or select “No P.O.”
Step 4 → Approval - Once the matching is complete, the invoice automatically moves to the approval stage with the corresponding status

Video Tutorial

Prefer a visual walkthrough? Watch our video tutorial to learn how to match and link invoices with P.O.s in DPO.

Good to know

• DPO automatically suggests the most relevant purchase orders based on the available invoice information. You can always review and change these suggestions manually.
• Multiple invoice items can be linked to a single P.O. item, for example, when an order is invoiced in several stages.
• Before confirming a match, carefully review the net amount, account coding, and department assignment.
• If an invoice has been matched incorrectly, it can be unlinked from the P.O. again.

How DPO Suggests Matching P.O.s

DPO uses the available invoice information to suggest the most relevant P.O. matches, including:

• Supplier
• Net amount
• Description
• P.O. number, if one was entered during invoice validation

The suggested matches can always be reviewed before linking an invoice to a P.O.

How to link an invoice to a P.O.

1. Go to Matching and select the relevant invoice.
2. Click the link icon to start the matching process. Suggested P.O. matches will appear on the right.
3. Select the appropriate P.O. and the P.O. item you want to match. You can also select additional invoice line items if required.
4. Click “Link Invoice to Item.”

Matching Window (Step 2/2)

Before completing the match, you can review and adjust the information for the invoice item.

• Edit the item name
• Assign or confirm the department
• Review or update the Chart of Accounts
• Leave a comment

Apply Information to Multiple Items

If you are matching multiple invoice items, use the three-dot menu to apply the same information to all selected items.

You can choose:

• Apply Chart of Accounts to All
• Apply Department to All
• Apply Descriptions to All

This allows you to update multiple invoice items at once instead of editing each item individually.

Use P.O. Information or Enter New Information

For the Item Name, Department, and Chart of Accounts, you can select the corresponding information from the P.O.
Alternatively, select “New” to enter different information for the invoice item.

Complete the Match

To complete the match, choose one of the following options:

• “Link Invoice to Item” – Links the invoice while keeping the P.O. item open for additional invoices.
• “Link Invoice and Close P.O. Item” – Links the invoice and closes the P.O. item.

Use “Link Invoice and Close P.O. Item” when the invoice fully covers the P.O. item and no further invoices are expected for that item.

Approval Process

Once an invoice is fully matched, it can be sent into the configured approval workflow.

Depending on your DPO settings, this happens automatically or manually.

Automatic Approval

When automatic approval submission is enabled, fully matched invoices are automatically transferred into the approval workflow. No additional action is required.

To enable this option:

1. Go to Settings → Invoices.
2. Enable “Auto send fully matched invoices for approval.”
3. Click “Save.”

Manual Approval

If automatic submission is not enabled:

1. Use the filters to display fully matched invoices.
2. Open the relevant invoice.
3. Click “Send for Approval.”

The invoice will then enter the configured approval workflow and follow the defined approval chain.

Removing a Match

If an invoice has been linked to the wrong P.O. item, you can remove the match using Match Mode.

1. Open the relevant Invoice
2. Click “Match Mode.”
3. Select the link icon on the Invoice item, followed by the link icon for the linked P.O.
4. Confirm the action by clicking “Yes, unlink item.”

The invoice and P.O. item will then be unlinked.

Questions or need help?
Our customer support is always available to help with any questions or setup assistance

Contact us
Email: support@digitalpurchaseorder.com
Support: +1 888 DPO 7254
Support Int'l: +44 20 331 88 338
Berlin Office: +49 (0)30 55 572 5956

Or book a personalized support call
We look forward to hearing from you.

Updated on: 20/08/2026