XBert Type: Standard
Accounting Software: Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks Online
Country Restriction: All supported countries
Risk Type: Cash Flow Risk
Business Function: Purchases
Overview
The "Duplicate bill raised advanced" XBert looks for the same supplier bill entered more than once, even when the two entries carry different reference numbers. It helps you avoid paying the same supplier twice, which protects your cash and keeps your accounts payable accurate.
What it does
This XBert reviews your bills from the past 12 months and looks for entries that match on all of the following:
Supplier
Bill due date
Total amount
Currency
Unlike the standard duplicate bill check, this "advanced" version deliberately ignores the bill reference number, so it can still catch a duplicate when the second entry was given a different reference (or no reference at all). To help decide whether a match is a genuine duplicate, it also reads the documents attached to each bill and checks whether the supplier's reference has been confirmed on them.
How it works
When two or more bills share the same supplier, due date, total amount and currency but carry different reference numbers, the XBert takes a closer look. It flags the group as a possible duplicate when all of the following are true: at least one of the bills has an attached document; at least one of the bills does not have the supplier's reference confirmed on its source document; and at least one of the bills is still open (in Draft, Submitted or Authorised status).
To reduce false alarms, the check only treats a reference as confirmed when it comes from the bill's genuine source document (a supplier invoice or bill), not from a receipt, statement, remittance or other unrelated attachment. It also ignores any reference read from a bill that has been voided, deleted or cancelled. Bills that already share the same reference number are handled by the standard duplicate bill check, so this XBert focuses on the harder cases where the references differ.
Example/Use Case
Priya returns from two weeks of leave and starts catching up on data entry. While she was away, a colleague had already entered a $1,480.00 bill from "Bright Spark Electrical" for an office rewire, but forgot to mark the job as done. Priya scans the supplier's PDF invoice and enters the bill again, this time with a slightly different reference number. Because both bills share the same supplier, due date, total and currency, one of them is still open, and one has no confirmed supplier reference on its source document, XBert raises a "Duplicate bill raised advanced" alert. Priya reviews the two entries, confirms the second is a duplicate, voids it, and avoids paying Bright Spark Electrical $1,480.00 twice.
Accounting software
This XBert runs across all major supported accounting platforms, including Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks Online.
Which countries it supports
This XBert is available in all supported countries.
Processes
This alert falls under the Purchases (Accounts Payable) business area. To resolve it:
Open the supplier and review the bills XBert has flagged, including any in Draft, Submitted, Authorised or Paid status.
Compare the entries against the supplier's source document to confirm whether they are the same bill or genuinely separate purchases.
If one entry is a duplicate, delete or void it so the supplier is not paid twice. If a duplicate has already been paid, arrange a refund or credit with the supplier.
If both entries are legitimate, leave them in place.
To reduce future false alarms, make sure each bill has the correct supplier reference recorded and a clear source document attached.
Once the bills are corrected, mark the XBert as resolved.