XBert Type: Standard
Accounting Software: Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks
Country Restriction: GB only
Risk Type: Tax Risk
Business Function: Purchases
Overview
The "Bill Raised with a Cancelled Supplier" XBert checks for bills created against suppliers whose Company Registration Number (CRN) has been marked as cancelled or dissolved on the UK Companies House register. This alert helps ensure supplier records are accurate and that your business is not at risk when making payments to invalid or unregistered entities.
What it does
This XBert reviews unpaid bills and cross-checks the CRN of the supplier in your accounting system against the official Companies House records. If the CRN is found to be cancelled or the supplier is dissolved, XBert will generate an alert so you can review the bill before proceeding.
How it works
XBert scans for UK supplier bills that meet all of the following criteria:
The bill is unpaid.
The supplier’s CRN is entered in your accounting software.
The CRN has been matched to a record on Companies House that is cancelled or dissolved.
The bill was created after both your XBert connection date and the date the business became inactive.
When a match is found and the conditions are met, the alert is raised so you can check the legitimacy of the supplier and update or remove the bill if necessary.
Example / Use Case
Bill owns a pizza shop and recently purchased a commercial oven for £6,000. He entered the bill and paid the supplier without knowing their CRN had been marked as dissolved on Companies House. Months later, HMRC reviewed the business records and questioned the legitimacy of the transaction. As the supplier was no longer registered, Bill had to pay £2,820 in withholding tax out of pocket.
Had XBert’s alert been reviewed in time, Bill could have confirmed the supplier’s CRN before making the payment — or chosen to work with a properly registered business instead.
Accounting software
Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks
Which countries it supports
United Kingdom
Processes
This alert is part of the Purchases (Accounts Payable) process and supports accurate bookkeeping by highlighting cancelled or invalid suppliers.
To resolve the alert:
Select RESOLVE NOW in XBert to access the bill and supplier contact.
Check that the CRN is correctly entered in your accounting software.
Search for the CRN on the Companies House website to verify its status.
If the CRN is no longer valid, contact the supplier for updated business information.
Update your contact record and decide whether to proceed with payment.
If the bill is no longer valid due to the supplier status, update or remove it accordingly.
Do not pay bills from a cancelled or unregistered supplier unless you have confirmed the reason and are confident in the transaction. This reduces your exposure to compliance issues and ensures better data integrity.