XBert Type: Standard
Accounting Software: Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks Online
Country Restriction: All supported countries
Risk Type: Data Quality Risk
Business Function: Sales
Overview
The "Duplicate invoice paid" XBert finds sales invoices you have issued to the same customer that look like exact copies of each other and have both been marked as paid. Duplicate invoices overstate your sales and can lead to a customer being charged twice, so it is worth catching them quickly.
What it does
This XBert reviews the sales invoices you have raised for your customers and looks for two or more separate invoices that share every one of these details:
The customer the invoice was issued to
The invoice reference or code
The invoice due date
The total amount
The currency
When two or more genuinely separate invoices match on all of those details and have both been marked as paid, it is a strong sign the same sale has been recorded and collected more than once.
How it works
This XBert scans your sales invoices and groups them by customer, invoice reference, due date, total amount and currency. If it finds more than one separate invoice in the same group, it raises an alert so you can check whether the customer has been billed and has paid twice for the same thing.
To keep the alert focused on real issues, it only looks at invoices that are marked as paid, and only at invoices dated within the last 12 months. It also only considers customers that are recognised contacts in your ledger. Invoices that are still draft, awaiting payment, voided or deleted are not included, and a single invoice on its own is never flagged.
Example/Use Case
Priya, a bookkeeper at a landscaping firm, returns from leave and starts reconciling the month. While she was away, the account manager had already raised an invoice to Macks Earthworks for $4,180 and recorded the payment. Not realising this, Priya creates and records payment for a second, identical invoice with the same reference and due date. XBert spots the two matching paid invoices for Macks Earthworks. Priya confirms it was an accident, voids the duplicate, refunds the overpayment, and her sales figures are corrected before they affect her GST reporting.
Accounting software
This XBert runs on all major supported accounting software, including Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks Online.
Which countries it supports
This XBert is available in all supported countries.
Processes
This alert falls under the Sales (AR) area and helps protect against duplicate billing and overstated revenue. To resolve it:
Open the matching paid invoices for the customer and compare them side by side to confirm they are duplicates rather than two legitimate, similar sales.
Check whether the duplication was intentional, such as a recurring or repeat order, in which case no change is needed.
If it is a genuine duplicate, void or delete the extra invoice so your sales total is correct.
If the customer has actually paid twice, contact them and either refund the overpayment or apply it as a credit towards their next invoice.
Update your records so your sales and payment figures reflect the single, correct transaction.
Once the records are corrected, mark the XBert as resolved.