XBert Type: Standard
Accounting Software: Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks Online
Country Restriction: Australia only
Risk Type: Tax Risk
Business Function: Sales
Overview
The "Invoice Raised With a Cancelled Customer" XBert finds sales invoices you have raised against a customer whose Australian Business Number (ABN) is shown as cancelled on the Australian Business Register (ABR). A cancelled ABN can mean the business has stopped trading, which puts both your payment and the GST on the invoice at risk.
What it does
This XBert looks at the ABN linked to each of your customers and compares it against the live ABR. When a customer's ABN is marked cancelled, it checks the sales invoices you have raised for that customer and flags any that were dated on or after the ABN was cancelled. This gives you the chance to confirm the customer's status, fix the GST treatment and chase payment before the debt becomes hard to recover.
How it works
XBert matches each customer to the ABR in one of two ways: the ABN you have entered against the customer's contact, or the most recent ABN seen for that customer if no ABN is recorded on the contact. If that ABN appears on the ABR with a cancelled status, XBert reviews the invoices raised against the customer.
An invoice is flagged only when all of the following are true:
The customer's ABN is cancelled on the ABR.
The invoice is dated on or after the date the ABN was cancelled. Invoices raised while the customer was still registered are ignored.
The invoice is in a Draft, Submitted or Authorised state. Draft invoices are included so you are warned before you send them; voided and deleted invoices are ignored.
The invoice was raised after your XBert account first connected, so the initial historical sync of older transactions does not raise alerts.
Example/Use Case
Steve runs a newsagency and raises an invoice for $285 to Dave's Plumbing for office supplies. A few weeks later, the invoice is still unpaid. XBert alerts Steve that Dave's Plumbing has a cancelled ABN, which means the business may no longer be trading and may not be entitled to be charged GST. Steve checks the ABR, contacts Dave to confirm what has happened, corrects the GST on the invoice and follows up for payment before the business finalises its affairs, avoiding a complete write-off.
Accounting software
This XBert runs on Australian-compatible accounting software, including Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks Online.
Which countries it supports
Australia only.
Processes
This alert falls under the Sales (AR) area and helps you reduce the credit and GST risk of invoicing customers who are no longer registered. To resolve it:
Use the ABN Lookup service to confirm the customer's current ABN status.
If the ABN is cancelled or incorrect, contact the customer to obtain their updated registration details.
Update the customer's contact record and ABN in your accounting software.
Review the invoice and amend the GST treatment if the customer is no longer entitled to be charged GST.
Avoid raising further invoices to a cancelled or unregistered business unless you have a valid reason. For invoices already raised, follow up for payment promptly or reissue them with the correct business details.
Once the customer's details and the invoice are correct, mark the XBert as resolved.