Field Notes · 18 September 2025
When force-pay becomes the real matching policy
Signs that three-way match exists on paper while AP routinely overrides it — and how a short control check exposes the gap.
Many Hong Kong distributors can point to a policy that invoices wait for purchase order and goods receipt. Payment history often tells a different story: force-pay codes used for late receipts, urgent suppliers, or “relationship” vendors.
What we count
In a three-way match control check we quantify override frequency by user and by vendor, then interview a few high-volume cases. Patterns matter more than a single emergency payment.
Fixes that stick
Tightening tolerance without fixing warehouse posting delays only moves the pile. Pair threshold changes with a service-level agreement for goods receipt timing, and remove force-pay rights from clerks who do not need them daily.
Keep the evidence
Save override reason codes. Blank reasons make every exception look the same in an audit file — and that rarely helps the controller defending the balance.