How to Set Up Auto-Approval for 3-Way Match

Go to Settings → Automations to open the Automation Center.

There are three tolerance levels you can configure. You can hover over the ⓘ icon next to each one for a quick description.

The difference between the quantity received and the quantity invoiced.

The difference between the unit price on the purchase order and the unit price on the supplier invoice.

The maximum dollar amount an individual line item can reach and still be auto-approved.

You don't have to use all three tolerances, you can leave any of them off if they don't apply to your workflow.

Once your tolerances are set, toggle on the auto-approval process. From there, head to your 3-Way Match to see it in action.

Auto-approval tolerances only kick in once all three documents (PO, invoice, and receipt) are present for comparison. If an invoice comes in and matches to a PO, but a receipt hasn't been logged yet (materials haven't arrived or been marked received), Ply holds that invoice, it won't auto-approve or silently pass through. You'll see it clearly flagged as waiting on delivery confirmation rather than having it slip through unmatched.

✅ Start with tighter tolerances, then loosen them once you trust the data.

It's much easier to widen a percentage after a few weeks of clean matches than to tighten it after too many discrepancies were auto-approved without review.

✅ Use Line Value Threshold as a safety net, even with generous percentage tolerances.

A small percentage variance on a very large-dollar line item can still be a meaningful amount — the line value threshold catches that even if the percentage alone wouldn't.

✅ Revisit your tolerances periodically, especially after a pricing conversation with a supplier or a change in order volume — what made sense when you set it up may need adjusting as your business changes.

✅ If you're not ready to auto-approve anything yet, that's fine.

Leaving all three tolerances off just means every match goes through manual review — a reasonable starting point while your team gets familiar with the feature.

"None of my matches are getting auto-approved, even ones that look like an exact match."

Double-check that the auto-approval toggle itself is turned on (separate from just having tolerance numbers entered) and that all three documents — PO, invoice, and receipt — are actually present for that match. A match with a missing receipt will always be held for review regardless of your tolerance settings, since there's nothing to compare against yet on that third document.

"A small price difference I'd expect to be auto-approved is showing up for manual review."

Check whether the variance is being measured in a way you didn't expect — Price discrepancy compares the PO's unit price to the invoice's unit price specifically, not the total line value. Also check your Line Value Threshold — even a tiny percentage variance can trip this if the line item's dollar amount is high.

"Are approved invoices automatically synced to my accounting software once matched?"

This is being actively worked on — check with your CSM or our support team for the latest status on your account, since this is evolving and we want to make sure you get accurate, current information rather than outdated guidance.

Do I have to set all three tolerance types?

No — each one is independent. Turn on only the ones relevant to your workflow.

What happens to a match that falls outside my tolerance?

It's flagged for manual review instead of being auto-approved. See How to Create and Review a 3-Way Match for how to review and resolve it.

Can I set different tolerances per supplier?

The tolerances configured here apply account-wide. If you need to treat a specific supplier differently, reach out to support to confirm what's currently possible for your setup.