XBert Type: Standard
Accounting Software: Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks Online
Country Restriction: All supported countries
Risk Type: Cash Flow Risk
Business Function: Purchases
Overview
This XBert looks for signs that the same supplier bill has been paid more than once. When two or more paid bills for the same supplier share the same reference and amount, it is often the same invoice entered and paid twice. Catching this early helps you recover money before it is lost and keeps your supplier records accurate.
What it does
It scans your paid supplier bills from the last 12 months and compares them to find likely duplicate payments. It looks for two or more paid bills that match on:
The same supplier
The same invoice reference
The same amount and currency
Within that, it picks up three situations: bills that match exactly, bills that match on reference and amount but have different due dates, and bills that match but have different bill dates. Each of these can mean the same invoice has been paid twice.
How it works
The XBert raises an alert when it finds two or more paid bills for the same supplier carrying the same invoice reference and the same amount. To keep the alerts meaningful, it leaves out several cases:
It only looks at bills marked as paid. Bills in any other status are ignored.
It ignores a bill that has a credit note applied for the full amount of the bill, because that bill has already been reversed.
It only considers bills from the last 12 months, skips very small amounts (one dollar or less) and skips expense claims.
It does not flag a bill that has no invoice reference at all, because without a reference there is nothing reliable to match on.
In short, it fires when a real invoice reference and amount appear to have been paid twice.
Example/Use Case
While bookkeeper Sarah is away on leave, the office manager pays the outstanding bills, including invoice INV-2087 for $1,450.00 from Coastal Office Supplies. When Sarah returns and works through the backlog, she enters and pays the same invoice again, not realising it was already settled. The business has now paid Coastal Office Supplies $1,450.00 twice. The supplier's system does not flag the overpayment, so it goes unnoticed until cash runs short. XBert spots the two matching paid bills and raises an alert, allowing Sarah to contact the supplier, arrange a refund or credit, and tidy up the records.
Accounting software
This XBert runs on the major supported accounting platforms, including Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks Online.
Which countries it supports
All supported countries.
Processes
This alert falls under the Purchases (Accounts Payable) area and helps keep your payment records clean and accurate. To resolve it:
Open the flagged bills for the supplier and confirm whether they really are the same invoice paid more than once.
If it was a duplicate payment, contact the supplier and request a refund or a credit against future invoices.
Void or delete the extra bill so your records show the invoice only once.
Check whether the payment was also recorded directly from the bank feed or as a spend money transaction, as this is a common cause of accidental double-ups.
Agree a clear approval and payment process with your team so the same bill is not entered and paid twice in future.
Once the duplicate has been corrected, mark the XBert as resolved.