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What are common causes of a three-way match failure? How are partial deliveries and partial invoices matched against a PO? What is a blanket (standing) purchase order? What is the accounting flow across PO, goods receipt, and invoice? 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 does PO matching support period-end accruals? How do you reconcile and clear an aged GR/IR account? How does procure-to-pay automation reduce matching exceptions?
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Accounts Payable & Receivable › Purchase Orders & 3-Way Matching

What does it mean to 'short pay' or 'block' an invoice, and when is each used?

Intermediate

Answer

Short paying means paying less than the invoiced amount—used when part of the delivery is missing, damaged, or overcharged and a credit is expected. Blocking (holding) stops the entire invoice from paying until an exception is resolved. Short pay keeps the supplier partly paid; blocking is used when the whole invoice is in dispute.
Real-world example An invoice billing 100 units when only 90 arrived is short-paid to 90 units, with the balance pending a credit note.

Common follow-ups: What are the risks of short paying? | How is a blocked invoice released?

Payment Runs Collections & Bad Debts Purchase Orders & 3-Way Matching
All 21 Purchase Orders & 3-Way Matching questions