Comparable item costs
Review meaningful price changes using explicit quantities, units and pack contents, with the earlier and current evidence together.
Early research prototype · Colorado
Supplier costs change.
See what changed.
A second look at recurring supplier invoices. Compare item costs, notice unfamiliar fees and review possible duplicates—with the source evidence beside each flag.
A short conversation first. No invoices or account access needed.
SYNTHETIC EXAMPLEFor review
Coffee beans · same item, different pack
Same $24 case.
Half the contents.
OCT 01
12 bags / case
$2.00 / bag
OCT 08
6 bags / case
$4.00 / bag
+100% per bagObserved change · not confirmed savings
Could be a valid pack change. Check the invoice and supplier terms.
Source evidence, not just a number.
Uncertainty stays visible.
You decide what needs action.
THE CHANGE BEHIND THE NUMBER
Follow a flag back to its source.
Everything below is fictional, drawn from our local synthetic demo. It illustrates a comparison, not customer results.
SYNTHETIC SUPPLY · DEMO ONLY
Coffee beans, 1 kg bag
Same supplier, account, item code CFE and description. USD; no line discounts.
| Invoice evidence | Prior · Oct 01, 2026 | Current · Oct 08, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Invoice number | DEMO-001 | DEMO-002 |
| Cases purchased | 2 | 2 |
| Explicit contents per case | 12 bags | 6 bags |
| Price per case | $24.00 | $24.00 |
| Comparable cost per bag | $24 ÷ 12 = $2.00 | $24 ÷ 6 = $4.00 |
A change to check, with a reason to check it. The current invoice buys 12 bags. At the prior per-bag cost, those bags would cost $24; their current line total is $48. The $24 difference excludes fees and tax. It is an observed spend difference, not an error, refund or recovered saving.
Read the original synthetic line excerpts
DEMO-001 · Oct 01
01-baseline.txt · page 1 · line 11
CFE | Coffee beans 1kg bag | 2 | case | 12 ea | 24 | 0 | 48 | item
DEMO-002 · Oct 08
02-follow-up.txt · page 1 · line 11
CFE | Coffee beans 1kg bag | 2 | case | 6 ea | 24 | 0 | 48 | item
Columns: item code · description · quantity · unit · pack contents · unit price · discount · line total · kind. “ea” means each bag for this explicitly described item.
WHAT WE ARE TESTING
A smaller invoice-checking workflow.
For small businesses buying the same supplies repeatedly. We are testing usefulness with owners and bookkeepers before building a hosted service.
Possible duplicates
Notice repeated invoice details that need checking. A repeated invoice can be a copy or reissue; it does not prove a duplicate payment.
New or changed fees
Review fees against available invoice history. A new fee may be legitimate; supplier terms and context still matter.
WHERE THE PROTOTYPE STANDS
Useful evidence starts
with honest limits.
We have tested with synthetic invoices only. We have not established accuracy, customer savings or self-service reliability on real business documents.
- Limited invoice formats. The local prototype supports selected English invoice layouts. A PDF is not automatically a supported document.
- Scans remain unreliable. Missing, conflicting or uncertain readings are held for review. Missing values are not guessed.
- History is necessary. Without a suitable earlier invoice, there may be no meaningful comparison to make.
- Human judgment stays essential. Flags are observations to investigate. Price increases and unfamiliar fees are not automatically billing errors.
COLORADO PILOT CONVERSATIONS
How do you check
supplier invoices today?
We would like to hear from small-business owners and bookkeepers—especially cafes, restaurants and cleaning businesses with recurring supply purchases.
A 12-minute phone or video conversation about your current process is the first step. We can walk through this fictional example. If there is a useful fit, we can discuss a small, free research pilot.
No subscription or payment details. Please do not email invoices, bank information or account credentials. Any real-document test needs a separate agreement on permission and handling first.