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Invoice Reconciliation Lab

This is an Instructor-Led Lab

This lab is designed for in-person workshop events led by a Boomi instructor. Participants must be provisioned with access to a dedicated Boomi platform account during the workshop. This lab is not intended for self-led learning.

Looking for Self-led learning?

For self-paced learning, check out the Customer Support Triage (Extended) Lab.

Business Situation​

Global-Corp Manufacturing, a mid-sized industrial parts manufacturer, processes thousands of invoices each month. Matching invoices against purchase orders (POs) and goods receipts (GRNs) is critical for maintaining supplier trust and financial accuracy. However, their current invoice reconciliation process is entirely manual and creating major operational bottlenecks.

When an invoice arrives from a supplier, an AP clerk must manually hunt for the corresponding Purchase Order from the ERP system and the Goods Received Note from the warehouse's digital records. They then visually compare all three documents line-by-line in spreadsheets to check for discrepancies in item codes, quantities, and prices. This tedious, time-consuming three-way match process is highly prone to human error, leading to delayed payments that strain supplier relationships and occasional overpayments that hurt the company's bottom line.

Challenges​

  • Manual 3-way matching is error-prone and time-consuming: AP clerks spend hours hunting through files, emails, and drives to locate Purchase Orders, manually comparing spreadsheets line by line, and dealing with the "Paper Chase" of tracking down delivery documents from the warehouse.
  • Delays in detecting mismatches cause payment delays and strain supplier relationships: The slow manual process creates an "Email Maze" of routing approvals through email chains, leading to late payments that damage vendor trust and reliability.
  • High workload delays monthly closing process: The sheer volume of invoices creates "Excel Chaos" where discrepancies are logged in endless email trails, and the "Data Entry" burden of manual ERP entry and double-checking slows down the entire accounts payable workflow. This "Exception Crisis" requires emergency calls and vendor escalations that disrupt operations.
  • File Burden and audit trail maintenance: The need to organize documents and maintain comprehensive audit trails adds to the administrative overhead and complexity of the manual process.

Solution​

An Invoice Reconciliation Agent automates the complete three-way match process by intelligently collecting and validating Purchase Orders, Goods Received Notes, and Invoices. The agent systematically compares PO quantities against GRN quantities and Invoice quantities, confirms unit prices match across all documents, aligns delivery dates and item codes, and automatically approves or flags discrepancies for review. By directly posting clean data into ERP/AP systems, the agent eliminates manual data entry and accelerates the entire payment processing cycle.

Use Case​

In this lab, you will build a sophisticated AI agent on the Boomi platform to automate the complex business process of three-way invoice matching. The agent will:

  1. Collect procurement documents: Automatically retrieve Purchase Orders, Goods Received Notes, and Invoices using custom-built API tools that query data from various systems
  2. Validate document details: Systematically analyze quantities, pricing, dates, and reference numbers across all three documents
  3. Identify discrepancies: Flag any mismatches or inconsistencies and provide detailed analysis
  4. Generate reconciliation reports: Create comprehensive matching reports with recommendations for the procurement and accounting teams
  5. Take automated action: Update invoice status in the ERP system and notify stakeholders via email

This end-to-end solution significantly enhances operational efficiency, reduces the potential for manual error, and accelerates the payment processing cycle.

Business Outcomes​

  • Operational Continuity: Ensures timely, accurate payments to suppliers, preventing production delays and disruptions to the supply chain
  • Control & Compliance: Enforces 3-way match to detect invoice errors, prevent fraud, and curb unauthorized spending
  • Supplier Confidence: Strengthens trust and reliability with suppliers, reducing churn and delivery risks

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)​

  • Invoice Processing Time: Measure the time from invoice receipt to payment approval, directly affecting cash flow and supplier satisfaction
  • PO Compliance Rate: Track the percentage of purchases made through approved POs to reduce rogue spend and improve financial controls
  • Early Payment Discounts Captured: Monitor the percentage of eligible discounts successfully realized through faster, more accurate invoice processing

Lab Structure​

This hands-on workshop guides you through creating an intelligent Invoice Reconciliation Agent from the ground up.

Part 1: Create Agent Profile and Tasks​

Build the foundation of your agent by defining its core purpose, tasks, instructions, and safety guardrails. You'll create four key tasks that guide the agent through document collection, validation, discrepancy identification, and report generation.

Part 2: Create and Attach Tools​

Give your agent the ability to interact with data by creating API tools that retrieve Invoice, Purchase Order, and GRN information from backend systems. You'll learn how to build secure, reusable tools and attach them to specific agent tasks.

Part 3: Allow Agent to Take Action​

Complete the automation loop by enabling your agent to update invoice status in the ERP system and send email notifications to stakeholders. This transforms your agent from an analytical tool into a true end-to-end business process automation solution.

Ready to Get Started?

Let's build your Invoice Reconciliation Agent! Click Next below to begin with the prerequisites.