XBert Type: Standard
Accounting Software: Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks Online
Country Restriction: Australia only
Risk Type: Tax Risk
Business Function: Purchases
Overview
The "Supplier has bills with different ABNs on attachments" XBert checks whether the ABN shown on the documents attached to a supplier's bills matches the ABN saved in that supplier's contact record. A mismatch can mean the contact holds the wrong ABN, or that documents have been attached to the wrong supplier. Both can lead to incorrect GST and ATO compliance problems.
What it does
XBert reads the ABN printed on the document attached to each bill and compares it to the ABN recorded against that supplier in your accounting software.
Looks at the documents attached to a supplier's bills, such as tax invoices.
Reads the supplier ABN printed on each attachment.
Compares that ABN to the ABN saved in the supplier's contact record.
How it works
This XBert flags a supplier when the same supplier has more than one bill whose attachment shows an ABN that differs from the ABN saved in that supplier's contact record. XBert groups every mismatch for a supplier into one alert, so you get a single notification per supplier instead of one per bill.
To keep the alert accurate, XBert leaves some things out:
It only counts attachments that are genuine source documents, such as tax invoices or bills. Receipts, account statements, proforma invoices, drafts, reminders and estimates are not counted and will not trigger the alert.
It only fires when an ABN can actually be read from the attachment, so blank or unreadable documents do not raise a false alarm.
It runs only for Australian organisations.
Example/Use Case
Steve runs a printing business and regularly enters bills in Xero for his catering supplier, Bob's Burgers. The Xero contact record still shows an old ABN (12 376 128 211), but the tax invoices attached to three recent bills, totalling $4,180, all show the current ABN (34 598 233 087).
Because the ABN in Xero is out of date, the GST on these purchases could be wrong, leading Steve to overpay or underclaim GST on his BAS. The other possibility is that a document, such as a taxi receipt, was attached to the wrong supplier's bill. Either way, the mismatch creates an audit and compliance risk worth correcting.
Accounting software
Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks Online.
Which countries it supports
Australia only.
Processes
This XBert is part of the Bookkeeping – Purchases (Accounts Payable) category.
To resolve this alert:
Open the supplier named in the alert and review the bills involved.
Compare the ABN printed on each attached tax invoice with the ABN saved in the supplier's contact record.
If the contact record holds the wrong ABN, update it with the correct one. You can confirm the correct ABN on the ABN Lookup register.
If a document has been attached to the wrong bill or supplier, remove or replace it and make sure each bill is assigned to the correct supplier.
Check that the GST treatment on the affected bills is correct, since an incorrect ABN can affect your GST and BAS.
Once the records are corrected, mark the XBert as resolved.
Keeping supplier ABNs accurate and attaching the right source documents helps ensure correct GST treatment and ATO compliance.