Supplier invoice automation
PO to invoice matching, done for you
Stop entering the same information twice. When a supplier invoice arrives, BayAutomate reads every line and matches it to the purchase order you raised and the delivery you received. Quantities, part numbers, pack sizes, prices and GST are checked, totals must reconcile to the cent, duplicates are blocked and price rises wait for approval. Clean bills become drafts, or are finalised by autopilot within the limits you set. Real costs flow to stock and to the job.
Early access: BayAutomate is onboarding Australian workshops now. Anything marked Coming soon or Planned isn't available yet. Everything else is included on every plan.
How the three-way match works
- Purchase order: approved quote lines reserve stock and draft purchase orders for shortfalls, grouped by supplier.
- Delivery: the goods-receiving step records what actually arrived, including part deliveries and backorders.
- Supplier invoice: each line is matched to the PO and delivery lines using the supplier, PO reference, part numbers (including alternate and OE numbers if you allow it) and descriptions. When more than one PO could fit, the best candidates are ranked by evidence and a person chooses. A match is never guessed.
- Checks: quantity invoiced vs received, price vs the supplier's last verified cost (or the PO price), GST per line, and the invoice total to the cent.
- Result: a draft bill linked to every PO it covers, or an exception with the reason shown.
Real situations it handles
- Part deliveries and backorders: the bill is matched to what arrived. The rest stays on order.
- Bill before the goods: held by default, or allowed and costed at the bill price when the delivery is received.
- One invoice, several POs: every PO is linked and gets a copy of the PDF.
- Packs and drums: 1 × PACK OF 20 becomes 20 units; 205 L drums become litres.
- Over-invoicing: more billed than ordered or received is flagged.
- Credit notes: linked to the original bill and the return.
- Re-sent or re-scanned invoices: caught as duplicates and shown next to the original.
- 4-decimal unit prices and GST-inclusive layouts: read as the supplier printed them, without double-counting GST.
Every setting you control
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Automation level | Review everything · Automatic drafts · Autopilot | Review everything |
| Pause all automation | One switch stops all reading and matching instantly | Off |
| Automatic PO matching | Match each invoice line to open purchase-order and delivery lines | On |
| Alternate / OE part numbers | Also match on alternate and OE numbers saved on the product | Off |
| Minimum AI confidence | Below this, the line is held for a person | 85% |
| Backorders and part deliveries | Match bills to what actually arrived, the rest stays on order | On |
| Bill arrives before the goods | Hold the bill, or allow it and cost the delivery at the bill price when it arrives | Hold |
| Pack splitting | e.g. 1 × PACK OF 20 becomes 20 units at the per-unit cost, with an Undo per line | Apply |
| Bulk oil to litres | 205 L drums converted to litres so stock and job costs are right | On |
| Duplicate policy | Block re-sent or re-scanned invoices (file fingerprint, supplier + invoice number, email identity) | Block |
| Attach PDF to bill and PO | The original document stays with the bill and every matched purchase order | On |
| Supplier notes to PO | Genuine supplier notes copied to the purchase order | On |
| Pages per AI pass | Long statements are read in passes | 15 |
| Default expense account | Used for lines that aren't stock, overridable per supplier | Purchases (300) |
| Price tolerance (% and $) | Small differences you accept automatically (always recorded) | 0 (every difference needs approval) |
| Price-change alert | Big rises against the last verified cost: hold or flag | 25%, hold |
| Update cost from bill | Write the new verified cost to the product | Off |
| Sell price policy | Keep, markup %, margin % or RRP, with rounding | Keep |
| Autopilot: largest bill | Bills above this always wait for a person | $1,500 |
| Autopilot: every line matched to a delivery | No delivery, no automatic finalising | On |
| Autopilot: trusted suppliers only | Mark suppliers trusted one by one | On |
| Autopilot: credit notes | Allow credit notes to finalise automatically | Off |
| Create suppliers / products automatically | Off by default so nothing appears in your lists without a person | Off |
| Per-supplier overrides | Mode, trusted, PO matching, pack rules, expense account, backorders, pause | None |
| Supplier aliases | How a supplier appears on documents (name, ABN, account) mapped to one supplier | Learned as you confirm |
| Monthly AI budget | Alert at a percentage, with an optional hard stop | $50, alert at 80% |
| Notifications | Needs review, failed, duplicate, price alert, usage | On (in app) |
Owners change settings. Advisers can view them. Every change is kept in the settings history with who and when.
What stays with your team
- Price rises above your alert, unmatched or not-received lines, unclear PO matches, totals that don't reconcile, missing invoice numbers and possible duplicates always stop for a person.
- Stock is never received from an invoice.
- Every reading, correction, rule decision and approval is in the document history.
What it replaces
Ticking each invoice line against the docket, finding the PO, re-keying the bill, chasing price differences and guessing the job cost. Estimate the time in your own workshop with the admin savings calculator.
Status of what's on this page
| Capability | Status |
|---|---|
| Supplier invoice automation Bills and credit notes read by AI, matched to purchase orders and deliveries, duplicates blocked, price changes held. Review, automatic-draft or autopilot mode. | Included |
| Parts reservations and purchase-order drafts Approved work reserves stock and drafts purchase orders for shortfalls. Partial receipts and backorders tracked. | Included |
| Stock control FIFO cost layers, locations, stocktakes, quarantine for faulty returns, movement history. | Included |
| Actual job costing and profit Quoted vs committed vs actual cost per job, using real receipt costs and each technician's loaded labour rate. | Included |
Checked 8 November 2026.
Questions
Does BayAutomate match invoices to purchase orders automatically?
Yes. Every line is matched to purchase-order and delivery lines using the supplier, PO reference and the parts themselves, and totals must reconcile to the cent.
What if the price on the invoice is different from the PO?
It is compared with the supplier's last verified cost, else the PO price. Differences outside your tolerance (0 by default) need approval, and rises above your alert (25% by default) are held.
What if only part of the order arrived?
The bill is matched to what was received. Backordered lines stay on the PO, and over-invoiced quantities are flagged.
Can it finalise bills on its own?
Only in autopilot, switched on by the owner, and only when every rule passes. Anything uncertain is held.