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Check invoiced prices against contract price lists and indexation

For: Procurement controller or accounts payable lead responsible for contract compliance of spend

Pattern: Map, verify, reduceNeeds a connectorDesigned for 20 to 500 agents
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The pain today

Invoices are matched to purchase orders, not to the contract. Price lists, volume rebates and indexation clauses drift out of the ERP, and overcharges are found, if ever, in a recovery audit long after payment.

The ask

“I connected our invoice lines and attached the supplier contracts with their price lists, rebate tiers and indexation clauses. For each invoice line, work out the price the contract allows on that date and tell me where we were charged something else, with the clause you used.”

Plain words, as you would say it to a colleague. Edit it to fit your case before you send it.

What you attach or connect

  • Invoice and purchase order lines from the ERP
  • Supplier contracts with price annexes
  • Rebate and volume tier agreements
  • Published index values named in the indexation clauses

The unit of work

One worker task per one invoice line against its contract price basis.

Why a swarm fits

An invoice line needs only its own contract's price annex and indexation clause. Lines are independent, there are very many of them, and the arithmetic can be recomputed exactly once the clause is identified.

Not for

Catalogue spend where the ERP already holds the contract price and blocks mismatches: the system check is exact and free.

The decision tree

6 typed decisions, each with an action for every answer

At fixed moments in a run, the engine puts one narrow question to a decision model. The decision model never writes text: it answers yes or no with a probability, picks from listed options, or gives a score, about a small slice of the material. The engine then does exactly what this tree says, which is what makes the run auditable. The thresholds are the template's design values, not measured results.

  1. Planner, while planning

    Scope checkYes or no, with a probability

    Before work starts on a unit

    Is this invoice line for goods or services priced under a contract on file, rather than a one-off purchase with no agreed price list?

    Sees only: One invoice line with supplier, item and date, plus the list of contracts on file

    Why: Lines with no contract basis are listed once instead of being worked on.

    • Yes: 0.60 or higherthenAccept
    • Unsure: 0.30 up to 0.60thenAccept
    • No: below 0.30thenSkip this unit

  2. Before workers, before a task runs

    Small worker or strong modelYes or no, with a probability

    Before a task runs

    Is the allowed price a fixed list price, with no rebate tier or indexation formula to apply on the invoice date?

    Sees only: The contract's price rule as stated by the planner

    Why: Formula prices need a stronger reader before code does the arithmetic.

    • Yes: 0.60 or higherthenAccept
    • Unsure: 0.40 up to 0.60thenEscalate to a strong model
    • No: below 0.40thenEscalate to a strong model

  3. After workers, the judge checks

    Evidence checkYes or no, with a probability

    After a worker answers

    Does the quoted price annex or clause govern this item, this unit of measure and this invoice date?

    Sees only: The invoice line, the quoted annex row or clause and its validity dates

    Why: A deviation computed from the wrong annex row becomes a wrongful claim on a supplier.

    • Yes: 0.85 or higherthenAccept
    • Unsure: 0.50 up to 0.85thenEscalate to a strong model
    • No: below 0.50thenReject and retry

  4. Reconciler, while merging

    Conflict checkA choice among options

    While reconciling

    Is the difference between the charged and the allowed price explained by a document on file?

    Sees only: The deviating line, the computed allowed price and that supplier's amendments and credit notes for the month

    Why: Closes deviations that already have an answer before a controller sees them.

    • Explained by an amendment or credit notethenAccept
    • No explanation on filethenMark unresolved
    • Line was matched to the wrong itemthenReject and retry

  5. Run control, between rounds

    Another round?Yes or no, with a probability

    Between rounds

    After this batch, are deviations still appearing for this supplier often enough to justify checking its remaining lines?

    Sees only: Deviation counts per batch for one supplier

    Why: Stops spending on suppliers whose invoices keep matching.

    • Yes: 0.60 or higherthenContinue
    • Unsure: 0.30 up to 0.60thenContinue
    • No: below 0.30thenStop

  6. Accountable person, before anything is settled

    Person decidesYes or no, with a probability

    Before anything is reported as settled

    Would acting on this deviation mean disputing an invoice or claiming a credit from the supplier?

    Sees only: The deviation, the governing clause and any disputed reading of it

    Why: Only a controller may open a dispute or a credit claim.

    Accountable: A controller decides whether to dispute an invoice or claim a credit; the swarm never contacts a supplier or blocks a payment.

    • Yes: 0.40 or higherthenAsk a person
    • Unsure: 0.15 up to 0.40thenAsk a person
    • No: below 0.15thenAccept

The fleet: who does what

Model tiers by role, not brands: you choose the models. Strong reasoning models plan and reconcile, small fast models do the wide work, and the judge is a decision model from a different family, so it does not share the workers' blind spots.

  1. Planner

    A strong reasoning model reads each contract once and states its price basis, rebate tiers and indexation formula as rules.

    Decisions here:1. Scope check

  2. Workers

    Small fast workers from an open-weight family match one invoice line to its rule and compute the allowed price.

    Designed for 20 to 500 agents, one worker task per one invoice line against its contract price basis. Each worker receives only its own unit.

    Decisions here:2. Small worker or strong model

  3. Judge, from a different model family

    A decision model from a different family checks that the chosen clause governs that item and date; arithmetic is recomputed in code.

    Decisions here:3. Evidence check

  4. Reconciler

    A strong reasoning model groups deviations by supplier and cause and separates clear overcharges from disputed readings.

    Decisions here:4. Conflict check5. Another round?

  5. Accountable person

    A controller decides whether to dispute an invoice or claim a credit; the swarm never contacts a supplier or blocks a payment.

    Decisions here:6. Person decides

Checked before anything is accepted

  • The allowed price is recomputed deterministically from the quoted clause and index value
  • Item, unit of measure and validity date are matched before any price comparison
  • Deviations explained by an amendment or credit note are closed with that source
  • Lines whose contract basis cannot be identified are listed, not guessed

What comes back

  • Deviating invoice lines with allowed price, charged price and governing clause
  • Deviations grouped by supplier and by cause
  • Contracts whose price terms are missing or outdated in the ERP
  • Disputed clause readings for a person to decide

What to measure

  • Share of flagged deviations a controller confirms
  • Credit claims accepted by suppliers
  • Controller hours per confirmed deviation
  • Invoice lines with no identifiable contract basis

Names of measures only. No result is claimed for this template.

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