Understand advertising spend documents

What this automation covers

Advertising spend document automation prepares and reviews records for bank charges tied to Google Ads, Google Workspace, PayPal, and Meta ads. It creates or updates an invoice of record when the source is reliable, and it leaves a line for review when the document is missing, ambiguous, or not exact.

• Google Ads and Google Workspace use a Finanly payment record when the charge is supported by the bank line and the matching vendor document is not already on file.
• PayPal uses a Finanly payment record when the charge is a supported ad-spend line and no better document is already on file.
• Meta ads can use a Finanly-created billing record built from Meta billing data when no official receipt has arrived yet.
• If a real vendor-issued invoice already exists for the same charge, that document takes precedence over a new supporting record.

Invoice of record versus supporting record

An invoice of record is the document you would want to keep as the accounting source for that charge. A supporting record is a Finanly-prepared document based on bank and platform data. It helps you reconcile the charge, but it is not the same as a vendor-issued tax invoice or receipt.

• For Google Ads, Google Workspace, and PayPal, Finanly can prepare a payment record from the bank transaction when the source data is complete enough.
• For Meta ads, Finanly can prepare a billing record from Meta billing activity and Insights when the billing charge can be paired exactly.
• If the official receipt or vendor invoice arrives later, Finanly can attach it to the same invoice of record instead of creating a duplicate.
• A supporting record does not prove that a vendor-issued receipt or tax invoice exists.

How matching works

Finanly matches ad spend by checking the visible bank transaction details against the expected vendor, amount, date, and source record. It uses exact cent amounts and the correct company context. When a document is not exact, the automation stops and marks the line for review instead of guessing.

• The bank line must belong to the configured company and connected bank account.
• The vendor identity must match the supported source for that line, such as Google, PayPal, or Facebook for Meta.
• The amount must match in cents, not approximately.
• The date must fit the supported posting window for that vendor.
• If the line is already linked, already posted, or otherwise not pending, Finanly does not create a new posting for it.

Meta advertising documents

Meta charges are handled differently from Google and PayPal. Finanly can pair a bank line to Meta billing data using the charge timing and amount, then build a Meta billing record that clearly shows it came from Meta billing data rather than an official receipt.

• The Meta record uses the exact transaction ID, amount, and charge time from Meta billing data.
• The campaign breakdown comes from Insights and is shown as supporting detail, not as billing-exact totals.
• If the charge cannot be paired exactly, Finanly leaves it unpaired instead of using a guess.
• If Meta data is unavailable, the line stays in a waiting or exception state until the missing source is available or the item is handled manually.

Reviewing automation in Vendor Auto-match

The Vendor Auto-match page is where you review each vendor’s automation setting and the open items it has created. This page is for control and review, not for uploading files or managing ad campaigns.

1. Open Vendor Auto-match from your business workspace.
2. Review the vendor list and check whether each vendor is On or Off, and whether it is in Dry run or Live mode.Dry runLiveOff
3. If a vendor is disabled or locked for your workspace, use the setting only if you are an owner or admin and the workspace is entitled to that vendor’s automation.
4. Review the bank lines listed below, especially items in exception, waiting, dry run, submitted, or succeeded states.
5. Use Retry when you want an exception to be considered again on the next run, or use Handled manually when you have resolved it outside Finanly. Handled manuallyRetry

Visible labels on the page

What the item states mean

• Dry run means Finanly found a match it would post, but no posting was made.
• Waiting means the line is not ready yet, often because the needed invoice of record or source data is still missing.
• Submitted means the automation started the posting path and is waiting for the posting outcome to be confirmed.
• Succeeded means the posting completed and the linked voucher was created by the accounting system.
• Exception means Finanly could not prove the match safely and needs a person to review it.
• Resolved means the line was matched elsewhere or you marked it as handled manually.

If something is missing or unclear

• If a vendor document is missing, the line may stay in waiting until the invoice of record appears.
• If two documents could match the same line, Finanly marks the item as ambiguous or exception instead of choosing one at random.
• If the workspace is not entitled to that vendor’s automation, the switch may appear locked or unavailable.
• If live posting stops after a setting change, check whether the last person who saved the setting is still an owner or admin in the workspace.
• If a posting fails after being submitted, use Retry only after you have reviewed the cause; Finanly does not automatically replay an uncertain financial write under a new identity.

When to expect a manual review

Manual review is expected when the system cannot prove the document relationship, the amount does not match exactly, or the source data is missing. That is normal for unresolved vendor documents and is safer than forcing a posting.