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What does it mean to 'short pay' or 'block' an invoice, and when is each used? What is a PO commitment and how does it aid budgeting? How are freight, duty, and miscellaneous charges handled in matching? What is evaluated receipt settlement (ERS) / pay-on-receipt? How do you reconcile and clear an aged GR/IR account? How does procure-to-pay automation reduce matching exceptions? How do matching controls support SOX/segregation of duties? How do you handle price variances between PO and invoice in inventory accounting?
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Accounts Payable & Receivable › Purchase Orders & 3-Way Matching

How does PO matching support period-end accruals?

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Answer

Because goods receipts post to GR/IR independently of invoices, the open GR/IR balance at period-end represents goods/services received but not yet invoiced—a real liability. Finance accrues this automatically from GR/IR rather than estimating, improving accuracy. Conversely, invoiced-but-not-received items are investigated as possible errors or early billing.
Period-end open GR/IR (received, not invoiced) = $32,000
  -> recognized as an accrued payable with no manual estimate.
Real-world example Month-end accruals are driven straight from the GR/IR report, cutting manual accrual journals and audit queries.

Common follow-ups: Why is GR/IR-based accrual more reliable than estimates? | What does an invoiced-not-received balance suggest?

Invoice Processing Reconciliations Aging Analysis
All 21 Purchase Orders & 3-Way Matching questions