The Challenge
For organizations managing high volumes of payments tied to complex contracts, ensuring that each payment aligns with agreed terms can be a daunting task. Manual verification is time-consuming and error-prone, often delaying the discovery of overpayments or underpayments—leading to missed recovery opportunities or financial misstatements.
The Solution
A custom-built Python program was developed to automate the comparison of actual payments to contract terms. The solution ingests detailed payment data (such as customer, product, service, and rate) and matches it against structured contract logic sourced from a data repository or translated from the contract into spreadsheet-based inputs.
Key features include:
- Automated matching of payment data to contract terms across large datasets
- Identification and flagging of only those records that deviate from expected terms
- Easy export to Excel for quick review and follow-up
- Customizable exclusion logic to prevent repeat flagging of validated exceptions
The Benefits
- Time savings – report generation reduced from hours to minutes
- Early error detection – identify payment mismatches proactively
- Reduced financial risk – catch overpayments and underpayments before they escalate
- Improved contract compliance – align operational processes with contractual terms
- Repeatable and scalable – adaptable across teams, contracts, and business units
Real Impact
One organization replaced a reactive, manual auditing process with an automated solution that identified discrepancies in real-time. This allowed their payment configuration team to resolve issues faster, reduce financial leakage, and prevent repeated errors. The program’s ability to adapt to complex and evolving contract terms made it a sustainable part of their financial operations toolki
Holcomb Reporting Solutions 