XBert Type: Standard
Accounting Software: Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks Online
Country Restriction: All supported countries
Risk Type: Cash Flow Risk
Business Function: Purchases
Overview
The "Unusually Overdue Bill Outside Normal Behaviour" XBert finds supplier bills that are far more overdue than your usual payment habits. It helps you catch important bills that may have slipped through the cracks, so you can prioritise the ones most likely to disrupt a supplier relationship, a project, or your cash flow.
What it does
This XBert looks at your unpaid, overdue bills and compares them against your own history of bills you have already paid. It learns how long you normally take to settle bills of a similar size and how long you normally take with each particular supplier. It then highlights any unpaid bill that is overdue well beyond those normal timeframes, so you can act on the bills that matter most.
How it works
XBert builds a picture of your normal paying behaviour from your paid bill history, then checks each unpaid, overdue bill against it. A bill is flagged when:
It is overdue by 60 days or more. This is an absolute safety net, so a genuinely late bill is never missed, no matter what your usual patterns look like; or
It is overdue by more than 25% longer and by at least 7 more days than both the typical wait for bills of a similar amount and your typical wait for that specific supplier. A bill that is only marginally above your average will not trigger.
To keep the results accurate and relevant, the XBert:
Needs a reliable history of at least 10 paid bills before it will compare anything. With less history than this, it stays quiet rather than guessing.
Groups your paid bills into 10 amount bands and works out the typical overdue days for each band, plus the typical (middle) overdue days for the individual supplier, so a single very old payment cannot distort the picture.
Focuses on recent activity, looking at bills due within roughly the last three months.
Ignores bills that are simply a duplicate of a payment already recorded in your bank transactions, so you are not chased for something already settled.
Example/Use Case
Priya runs a small design studio and usually pays bills from "ABC Supplies" within 25 to 30 days, just like most of her bills in that price range. One bill for $720 is now 49 days overdue — well past both her usual habit for bills that size and her usual habit with ABC Supplies. XBert flags it as unusually overdue. Priya checks and realises the bill was approved but never scheduled for payment. She pays it before it damages a key supplier relationship or holds up her next project order.
Accounting software
This XBert runs on the major accounting platforms, including Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks Online.
Which countries it supports
All supported countries.
Processes
This XBert falls under the Purchases (Accounts Payable) business area and supports proactive supplier management. To resolve it:
Open the bill in your accounting software and confirm it has not already been paid but left unreconciled.
If it is still unpaid, decide how urgent and important it is. Is it from a regular or key supplier? Will late payment affect project delivery or your relationship with them?
If you can pay it, schedule or make the payment, then reconcile it in your accounting software.
If you cannot pay in full, contact the supplier to propose a payment plan or make a part payment, and note the agreed date.
If the bill is a duplicate, was entered in error, or has already been settled another way, correct or remove it so your payables stay accurate.
Once the bill is sorted, mark the XBert as resolved.