Price change detected notice
The Price Change Detected notice means an invoice line item's unit price differs significantly from the unit price on the last approved invoice for the same vendor and the same item. It is the platform's signal that prices may have shifted between invoices without prior notice, or that the current invoice may have the wrong amount.
The comparison is invoice-to-invoice, not invoice-to-item-master. Mod AI looks at what you last paid for this exact vendor + item combination and flags meaningful variance against that baseline.
What triggers it
After extraction, the platform looks for the most recent approved invoice that contains the same vendor and the same item (matched by SKU or description). If found, the platform compares unit prices line by line. When the variance exceeds the tolerance configured for your environment, the notice fires.
If your last approved invoice from a vendor listed Widget A at $10.00 per unit and the current invoice charges $12.50, that 25% increase will typically exceed the default tolerance and the notice surfaces.
The notice severity is warning by default, so it does not block the invoice. Your administrator cannot adjust hook severities directly; tolerance and severity are configured in code by Mod AI.
What the notice shows
- The line item (index, SKU or item code, description).
- The current unit price (from the invoice you are reviewing).
- The previous unit price (from the prior approved invoice).
- The variance, both as a dollar amount and as a percentage.
- A reference to the prior invoice — number and date — so you can open it for context.
Resolve the notice
Investigate the source of the price change, then act.
Accept the variance
If the price increase is legitimate (for example, a contract renewed at a higher rate, a volume discount no longer applies, or the vendor sent advance notice and your team simply expected the new rate), dismiss the notice and proceed with the invoice.
Dispute with the vendor
If the price seems wrong (the contract did not change, no notice was given, or the rate exceeds your agreement), hold or reject the invoice and contact the vendor. Do not process the invoice until the discrepancy is resolved. Once it is, the vendor will either credit the difference or you will accept the new rate.
Set the new expectation
If the new price is correct and permanent (a new contract rate, a new pricing tier), simply approve the invoice. The next invoice for this vendor and item will compare against this newly approved price, so future invoices stop alerting once the new baseline is established.
Right-sized variance thresholds prevent unnecessary alerts while catching real price changes. If your team is drowning in price-change notices, talk to your Mod AI partner about adjusting the tolerance for your environment.
When this notice does not fire
You will not see this notice if:
- This is the first invoice for that vendor and item (no prior approved invoice exists to compare against).
- The item on the current invoice cannot be matched to a line on any prior approved invoice for the same vendor.
- The variance falls inside the configured tolerance.
In those cases, price changes are not detected automatically. Reviewers can still spot them manually during invoice review.