XBert Type: Standard
Accounting Software: Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks Online
Country Restriction: Australia only
Risk Type: Tax Risk
Business Function: Purchases
Overview
The "Multiple ABNs on attachments for supplier bill" XBert flags a supplier bill that has two or more attachments showing different ABNs from each other. This usually means the wrong document has been attached, or paperwork from more than one supplier has been mixed onto a single bill. Catching this before you pay protects your GST claims and keeps a clean audit trail.
What it does
XBert reads the ABN printed on each document attached to a supplier bill and compares them. It flags bills where two or more attachments show ABNs that do not match each other, so you can confirm every document on the bill really belongs to that supplier.
How it works
XBert automatically reads the ABN on each attachment of a supplier bill. The alert is raised when:
The bill has two or more attachments, and those attachments show at least two different ABNs.
None of those ABNs matches the supplier recorded on the bill. If any attachment carries the supplier's own ABN, the bill is treated as in order and no alert is raised.
To keep the alert relevant, XBert ignores some cases. Bills that have been voided or deleted are skipped. Bills where every attachment is clearly a non-invoice document, such as a receipt, bank statement, certificate or email, are skipped, because the numbers on those documents are not the supplier-invoice ABN being compared. Draft and approved bills are deliberately included, so you are warned before the bill is finalised or paid.
Example/Use Case
Steve processes a bill for Bob's Burgers in Xero for $1,240 and attaches two documents. The first is a genuine invoice from Bob's Burgers (ABN 34 598 233 311). The second is a scanned taxi receipt from 13-CABS (ABN 89 893 489 977) that was dropped onto the bill by mistake.
The two attachments show different ABNs, and neither matches the supplier on the bill, so XBert raises this alert. Steve removes the stray taxi receipt, leaving only the Bob's Burgers invoice. The bill is now correct, the GST claim is supported by the right document, and the audit trail stays clean for any ATO review.
Accounting software
Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks Online.
Which countries it supports
Australia only.
Processes
This XBert is part of the Purchases (Accounts Payable) business area. To resolve it:
Open the bill and review every attachment on it.
Confirm which document is the supplier's actual invoice, and check that its ABN matches the supplier recorded on the bill.
Remove any attachment that does not belong to this supplier or bill.
If the documents belong to more than one supplier, split them into separate bills so each bill carries only its own supplier's paperwork.
If the supplier's invoice shows the wrong ABN, request a corrected invoice from the supplier.
Once the attachments and ABNs are correct, mark the XBert as resolved.