XBert Type: Standard
Accounting Software: Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks
Country Restriction: AU only
Risk Type: Tax Risk
Business Function: Purchases
Overview
The "Expenses with a Cancelled Business" XBert identifies when your business has recorded expenses with a supplier that has a cancelled ABN or is not listed on the Australian Business Register (ABR). This ensures your expense records are compliant and prevents unintentional dealings with unregistered entities.
What it does
XBert checks whether any active supplier contacts in your accounting file have:
An ABN that is cancelled
An ABN that cannot be matched to a valid business on the ABR
If your business has recorded expenses with these suppliers, this alert will be triggered.
How it works
XBert reviews all Australian businesses in your file that:
Have an ABN entered
Are matched to a cancelled ABN or cannot be matched at all
Have associated expense journal activity
Are flagged only for Australian tenant files
XBert does not flag income transactions under this alert. Those are handled separately by a different XBert focused on unpaid income with cancelled businesses.
Example/Use Case
Bill, who owns a pizza shop, buys a commercial oven for $6,000 from a supplier with a cancelled ABN. When submitting his BAS, the ATO audits the supplier records and finds the ABN invalid. Bill is required to pay $2,700 in withholding tax because the supplier wasn’t properly registered. If Bill had checked the ABN before making the purchase, he could have avoided this penalty by purchasing from a valid, GST-registered supplier.
Accounting software
All major Australian-compatible accounting software (e.g., Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks Online).
Which countries it supports
Australia only.
Processes
This alert falls under the 'Bookkeeping - Purchases (AP)' category and helps reduce tax and audit risk. To resolve the issue:
Check your supplier’s ABN on the ABN Lookup website
If the ABN is incorrect or cancelled, contact the supplier and request a valid ABN
Update your accounting software contact record with the correct ABN
If no valid ABN can be supplied, do not proceed with the purchase unless there's a legitimate reason and you understand the implications
You may need to withhold tax at the highest marginal rate (currently 47%) for payments made to that supplier
Acting on this alert protects your business from ATO penalties and ensures you're only trading with compliant suppliers.