Two-way approval verifies that purchase order and invoice information match within your tolerances as follows:
Quantity billed on the purchase order shipment is less than or equal to Quantity ordered on the purchase order shipment.
Invoice price on the purchase order shipment is less than or equal to Purchase order price on the purchase order shipment.
Three-way approval adds a third criterion to verify that receipt and invoice information match with the quantity tolerances you define:
Quantity billed on the purchase order shipment is less than or equal to Quantity received on the purchase order shipment.
Four-way approval adds a fourth criterion to verify that acceptance documents and invoice information match within the quantity tolerances you define:
Quantity billed on the purchase order shipment is less than or equal to Quantity accepted on the purchase order shipment.
When you match to a purchase order, Payables automatically performs two-way approval. In the Purchasing Options window you can choose to additionally use three-way or four-way approval. You can change the Match Approval Level option at the supplier and purchase order shipment levels.
If the invoice and purchase order do not match within the tolerances you define for quantity and price, Invoice Validation places a matching hold on the invoice. You must release the hold before you can pay the invoice.