A two way match is the simplest verification a payables team performs: does this invoice agree with the order we placed. It is complete where nothing physical arrives, because there is no third document to bring in. Where goods are involved it is a two-thirds check, and the missing third is the one that proves delivery.
What it compares
Supplier, unit price, quantity and total against the purchase order, ideally line by line. Tolerance applies as it does in a three-way match, because invoices legitimately differ from orders through rounding, tax and charges added at billing. Everything about the comparison is the same; only the number of documents differs.
Where it is complete
Services, subscriptions, licences, rent, insurance and professional fees. Nothing arrives at a door, so nothing can be receipted. The equivalent assurance is a confirmation from whoever commissioned the work that it happened, and recording that separately from the spend approval keeps the two assertions distinguishable.
Where it is a two-thirds check
Physical goods. The goods receipt is the only routine evidence that a delivery occurred, so leaving it out means the invoice is checked against what you agreed to buy but not against what you got. That is a real gap and it is worth being explicit about, particularly when the reason for it is that receipts are inconvenient.
Questions people ask about two way match
Is a two way match faster?
Slightly, because one fewer document has to exist. The time is saved at the receipt, and the cost appears when something is billed that never arrived.
Should we use it as a default?
No. Choose by purchase type, so goods get three-way and services get two-way automatically.
What tolerance applies?
The same shape as a three-way match: a percentage with an absolute cap, reviewed against real exceptions.