how to handle partial shipments and partial invoices
Matches partial shipments and partial invoices against POs line by line. Use when deliveries and invoices split across multiple documents. Not for single complete deliveries.
TL;DR
Partial fulfillment is normal: track PO lines by remaining open quantity, match each partial invoice against cumulative receipts, and close PO lines only when fully received and billed. Keep a running ledger per PO line so the fifth partial invoice still matches correctly.
Steps
- Maintain open quantity per PO line: ordered minus received.
Expected: A live ledger.
- Match each partial invoice against cumulative receipts for its lines.
Expected: Correct partial matching.
- Update open quantities after each match.
Expected: The ledger stays current.
- Close PO lines when received and billed quantities agree.
Expected: Clean PO hygiene.
- Flag invoices that exceed remaining open quantity.
Expected: Overbilling caught on partials too.
When to use
- Split deliveries
- Progress billing
- Blanket order releases
When not to use
- Single complete shipments
- Service contracts
- Non-PO invoices
Compatibility
ERP-agnostic.
Variant phrasings
partial invoice PO matching
split shipment invoice
progress billing AP
Root cause
POs describe a total commitment fulfilled over time. Matching must be cumulative and line-level, or later partials match against already-consumed quantities.
Edge cases
- Final partials often include adjustments; expect variance on the last one
- Substitutions across lines need buyer approval before matching
- Retainage on progress billing is a separate hold, not a mismatch
Provenance
Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_f4Eltyn6SQb79yS7XH7Ofg
Maintainer review
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