Documents and AI
The same value appearing twice differently
The invoice says one thing and the delivery note another. Which wins and what to do with the gap.
When two documents about the same matter say different things, the problem is not reading: both were read correctly and they disagree with each other. It is a real discrepancy, and the only change is that you now see it the same day instead of at month end.
Why they differ, by frequency
| Cause | How to recognise it | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| What was delivered differs from what was ordered | The delivery note matches what arrived, not the order | Accept or claim, but decide |
| A handwritten correction on the paper | A crossed-out figure with another beside it | The corrected one stands, and gets typed |
| Documents from different dates | One partial delivery and a later one | Not a discrepancy: two separate facts |
| An error by the issuer | The other values do not fit either | Ask for a corrected document |
Important
The third row generates false alarms and wastes the most time. Before claiming anything, check the dates: two documents that disagree because they describe different moments are not an error, they are the normal story of a split delivery.
Which document wins
- 1
For what was delivered, the signed delivery note
It records what actually arrived and who received it.
- 2
For what was ordered, the order
The gap between the two is exactly what needs clarifying.
- 3
For what is charged, the invoice
And it should match the delivery note, not the order.
- 4
And if there is a contract, the contract wins
Prices, terms and agreed tolerances live there, not in delivery notes.
Watch out
The nuance you only learn by living it: **the extracted value does not replace the document**. If you are going to claim over a difference, the claim rests on the image of the delivery note with its number and signature, not on the figure in a listing. The listing is for spotting the difference in the moment; the evidence is still the document.
How to catch it before paying
That last point saves more arguments than any tool: accounts sees paper and the warehouse saw the goods. When the doubt is settled by asking whoever unloaded, it closes in a minute.
Worth knowing
Cross-checking values between two documents is an AI action and consumes, like any other. It pays where there is money or risk — goods-in, large invoices, critical batches — rather than across the whole flow as a matter of course.
›Can I correct the extracted value by hand?
Yes, and it helps: there is then a record that someone reviewed it.
›What if the supplier does not accept the difference?
That is where the signed delivery note earns its keep.
›Can it alert automatically when they disagree?
Yes, and it is among the highest-yield rules if you give it a sensible tolerance.
A real case
The situation
Accounts finds at month end that three invoices do not match their delivery notes.
What you do
- Cross-checks note and invoice on receipt, with an agreed tolerance
- Asks whoever unloaded before claiming
What you get
Differences get resolved the same day and stop turning up at closing.
The situation
The same figure appears with two values in two documents.
What you do
- Checks which document each came from
What you get
You know what backs each value.
The situation
One of the two is chosen with no record.
What you do
- Records which is taken and why
What you get
The decision is explicable.
The situation
One document is more recent than the other.
What you do
- Compares both dates
What you get
The criterion stops being a hunch.
The situation
The misread value is corrected in the wrong place.
What you do
- Corrects it in the document it came from
What you get
Source and figure match again.
The situation
A report uses the wrong value.
What you do
- Checks where it takes the figure from
What you get
The report rests on the right one.
This article answers
- invoice and delivery note do not match
- conflicting data between documents
- which document wins when they differ
- reconciling quantities across documents