Does CapturePoint 6 match purchase orders to invoices?

It captures what matching needs: the PO number, vendor, totals and line items from both documents, and it can check a PO number against a list of open purchase orders you import. The match itself, and the approval that follows, belongs in your ERP, accounting system or Content Central workflow.

Will it add up the lines and compare them with the total?

CapturePoint 6 checks each line: quantity times unit price against the amount, and it flags a line that does not add up, showing what the amount should have been. Comparing the sum of the lines with the subtotal, after tax and freight, is a check to run in the system that receives the data.

We receive customer POs and enter them as sales orders. Does this still apply?

Yes. The fields are the same; only the roles swap. The buyer is your customer and the vendor is you. Look the buyer up in your customer list and your item numbers in your item list, and the PO arrives ready for order entry.

Can it read handwritten changes on a PO?

Do not count on it. Handwritten quantities, initials and receiving notes should be checked by a person. If changes are common, ask for a revised PO instead of a marked-up copy.

Purchase Order Data Capture: A Practical Guide

Why purchase orders are worth capturing

A purchase order is a promise: this buyer will pay this vendor this price for these items, delivered by this date. Two kinds of teams spend their days typing them in.

Buyers' accounts payable teams who need the PO on file to check each invoice against it. Most POs live in the ERP, but paper and emailed POs from field offices, small sites and manual purchases still arrive and still need matching.
Sellers' order desks who receive customer POs by email, fax and mail and turn each one into a sales order. Every customer uses a different layout, and every typo ships the wrong thing.

Either way the pain is the same: a header that is easy to read but easy to misfile, and a table of lines that is slow to key and easy to get wrong by one digit.

The fields that matter

These are the fields the Purchase Order type reads in the accounts payable sample job that ships with CapturePoint 6, plus the ones most teams add.

FieldPO number: Where it usually isTop right, often repeated in a barcode; Why it mattersThe key for matching invoices, receipts and changes.
FieldBuyer: Where it usually isThe letterhead at the top; Why it mattersWho is ordering. On a PO the name at the top is the customer, not the vendor.
FieldVendor: Where it usually isA Vendor block on the left; Why it mattersWho will supply and invoice.
FieldOrder date: Where it usually isBeside the PO number; Why it mattersStarts the clock for delivery and terms.
FieldDelivery date: Where it usually isRequired by, Deliver by or Need date; Why it mattersDrives receiving and follow-up.
FieldRequested by: Where it usually isNear the delivery details; Why it mattersThe person to ask when an invoice does not match.
FieldOrder total: Where it usually isBottom right, after tax and freight; Why it mattersThe amount an invoice should not exceed.
FieldLine items: Where it usually isThe table: item, description, quantity, unit price, amount; Why it mattersWhat matching compares line by line.
FieldWorth adding: Where it usually isTerms, deliver-to address, tax, freight, currency; Why it mattersCommon reasons an invoice legitimately differs.

Field	Where it usually is	Why it matters
PO number	Top right, often repeated in a barcode	The key for matching invoices, receipts and changes.
Buyer	The letterhead at the top	Who is ordering. On a PO the name at the top is the customer, not the vendor.
Vendor	A Vendor block on the left	Who will supply and invoice.
Order date	Beside the PO number	Starts the clock for delivery and terms.
Delivery date	Required by, Deliver by or Need date	Drives receiving and follow-up.
Requested by	Near the delivery details	The person to ask when an invoice does not match.
Order total	Bottom right, after tax and freight	The amount an invoice should not exceed.
Line items	The table: item, description, quantity, unit price, amount	What matching compares line by line.
Worth adding	Terms, deliver-to address, tax, freight, currency	Common reasons an invoice legitimately differs.

BuyerThe company issuing the PO. On a PO, the letterhead is the customer.
PO number, dates, termsPO number, order date, required-by date and payment terms.
VendorWho will supply and invoice. Look it up in your vendor list.
Deliver to and requested byShip-to site and the person who asked for the order.
Line itemsItem, description, quantity, unit price and amount for each line.
Subtotal, tax, freight, totalThe order total is what an invoice should not exceed.
BarcodeOften carries the PO number. Reading it avoids typos.

A schematic of a typical layout. Positions vary by company; the fields do not.

A worked example

This is a fictional purchase order from the accounts payable sample documents that come with CapturePoint 6, issued by Willowbrook Community Services to Maple Harbor Supply LLC.

FieldPO number: Value on the POMHS-PO-26013
FieldBuyer: Value on the POWillowbrook Community Services
FieldVendor: Value on the POMaple Harbor Supply LLC
FieldOrder date: Value on the PO02/03/2026
FieldDelivery date (required by): Value on the PO02/13/2026
FieldRequested by: Value on the PORobin Hale
FieldOrder total: Value on the PO538.25

Field	Value on the PO
PO number	MHS-PO-26013
Buyer	Willowbrook Community Services
Vendor	Maple Harbor Supply LLC
Order date	02/03/2026
Delivery date (required by)	02/13/2026
Requested by	Robin Hale
Order total	538.25

ItemBX-101: DescriptionShipping cartons, 12 x 10 x 8 in; Qty4; Unit price24.95; Amount99.80
ItemTP-220: DescriptionPacking tape, clear, 6-roll pack; Qty6; Unit price18.40; Amount110.40
ItemBW-340: DescriptionBubble wrap, 100 ft roll; Qty8; Unit price32.75; Amount262.00
ItemLB-420: DescriptionShipping labels, 500 per box; Qty1; Unit price21.90; Amount21.90

Item	Description	Qty	Unit price	Amount
BX-101	Shipping cartons, 12 x 10 x 8 in	4	24.95	99.80
TP-220	Packing tape, clear, 6-roll pack	6	18.40	110.40
BW-340	Bubble wrap, 100 ft roll	8	32.75	262.00
LB-420	Shipping labels, 500 per box	1	21.90	21.90

Each line checks out: quantity times unit price equals the amount. The lines sum to the 494.10 subtotal; tax of 29.65 and freight of 14.50 make the 538.25 total.

Note what is easy to get wrong here: the order total includes tax and freight, so an invoice for the same four lines can legitimately come to a different amount if the vendor bills freight differently. Capture subtotal, tax and freight separately if your matching needs to explain the difference.

Common traps

Buyer and vendor swapped

On an invoice the letterhead is the vendor. On a PO the letterhead is the buyer. Mix POs and invoices in one stack and a careless setup files POs under the buyer's name as if it were a vendor. Keep them as separate document types with their own fields.

Lines that wrap, split or run onto the next page

Long descriptions wrap to a second line, and big orders run onto page two with the header repeated. Check how your longest POs read before you rely on them, and confirm the line count against the printed page.

Revisions and change orders

A revised PO usually keeps the number and adds a revision or change number. If you capture only the PO number, the old version and the new one look identical. Add a revision field and file the latest version on top.

Units of measure

Quantity 1 can mean one box of 500 labels. When the PO says "case" and the invoice says "each", the quantities will never match. Capture the unit if your POs print one.

Poor copies and handwriting

Faxed POs lose fine print, and receiving copies collect pen marks, initials and crossed-out quantities. Handwriting is not something to count on: route marked-up copies to a person.

Matching POs to invoices

Two-way matching compares the invoice with the PO: same vendor, same items, prices no higher, totals within tolerance. Three-way matching adds the receiving record, so you only pay for what arrived. Capture makes both possible by putting the same keys on every document.

Capture the PO number on the invoice. The Invoice type in the same sample job has a Purchase Order field for exactly this.
Check the number against open POs. Import a CSV export of open purchase orders as a lookup list. A PO number that is not on the list, or fits more than one row, waits for a person.
Fill the rest from the list. One match can fill the vendor number, cost center and terms from the same row, so nobody types them.
Let the system of record do the match. The ERP or accounting system compares lines and totals and routes exceptions for approval.

CapturePoint 6 review screen: line 1 of an invoice is flagged because 4 times 35.00 is not 141.00, with the note Line 1 does not add up — CapturePoint 6 checks every line of a table: 4 times 35.00 is 140.00, not 141.00, so the line is flagged for a person to correct or mark right as printed. Shown on the invoice sample; the same check runs on purchase order lines.

Setting up capture, step by step

Try the sample first. Install CapturePoint 6 (the free trial starts on first launch, with no form), pick Invoices on the welcome screen and scan the sample documents with the built-in demo scanner. That set includes purchase orders, invoices and credit memos, so you can watch a PO split from its neighbors and read.
Then use your own POs. Choose Use my own documents and add a folder of real POs from your busiest vendors or customers, including multi-page orders and a few poor copies. Setup finds the document types and proposes fields and line item tables.
Set the fields up properly. PO number as an identifier with an expected pattern, dates as dates, totals as currency, and the PO number marked required. If the PO number is printed in a barcode, read the field from the barcode.
Add your lists. A vendor list (or customer list, on the order desk) and an open-PO list, both as CSV files.
Review the exceptions. Needs review shows each document with the reason it is waiting. Correct what is wrong, mark a line right as printed when it is, and press Ctrl+Enter to confirm. Corrections teach the job.
Name and file. For example Purchasing / Maple Harbor Supply LLC / 2026-02-03_MHS-PO-26013.pdf. Files are never overwritten.
Send it on. A folder with a searchable PDF, a data file with every value and line, and a text file; or Content Central. Each PDF can also go to SharePoint or OneDrive (work or school accounts), Google Drive, Dropbox or Nucleus One.

Six document types found automatically in one accounts payable folder — Set up from one accounts payable folder: Purchase order was found as its own document type with line items, next to invoices, statements, remittance advice, W-9s and credit memos.

Where the data goes next

Into the ERP or accounting system through the data file, for matching and approval.
Into a packet. In Content Central, a packet gathers every document that shares a key value such as the PO number (the PO, receiving documents and invoices) and shows which required documents are still missing. See how packets work.
Into an approval. Content Central workflows route documents for multi-step approval with deadlines and escalation. See approval workflows.
Into the order desk. For sellers, the data file is the order entry: header, ship-to and lines, ready to import.

Checklist

Before PO capture goes live

POs and invoices are separate document types, with buyer and vendor in the right fields.
PO number required, with an expected pattern; read from the barcode where there is one.
Open-PO and vendor (or customer) lists imported and refreshed on a schedule.
Line items checked on your longest multi-page POs.
Revision number captured if your POs carry one.
Subtotal, tax and freight captured separately if matching needs them.
Marked-up and handwritten copies routed to a person.
File naming agreed with the people who search for POs.

Purchase order data capture: header, lines and matching