**Open the payment and read its remittance detail.** In Tipalti, open the payment record and check the remittance fields the payee received. Expected: the purchase order reference field is blank or holds a different value than the purchase order number.

**Check the invoice the payment was made against.** Open the source invoice and confirm the purchase order number recorded on it. Expected: either the invoice carries the right number (the drop happened later) or it is blank (the drop happened at intake).

**Fix the reference at the drop point.** If the invoice is blank, add the purchase order number to the invoice record; if the invoice is correct, check the payment approval step for a reference override or truncation. Expected: invoice, payment, and purchase order now show the same reference.

**Match the stuck payment manually.** Use the manual match action to link this payment to the correct purchase order, recording why automatic matching failed. Expected: the purchase order balance reduces by the payment amount.

**Send corrected remittance detail to the payee.** Reissue the remittance advice so the payee can reconcile on their side. Success check: the payment shows matched, the purchase order no longer lists the amount as outstanding, and the payee confirms the reference.