XBert Type: Standard
Accounting Software: Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks Online
Country Restriction: the United Kingdom only
Risk Type: Compliance Risk
Business Function: Purchases
Overview
The "Expenses with a Cancelled Business" XBert finds unpaid supplier bills where the supplier's company has been cancelled or dissolved on the Companies House register. Owing money to a business that no longer legally exists can mean you are unable to recover the goods or services you paid for, and it puts the related VAT and expense claims at risk.
What it does
XBert looks at your supplier bills and matches each supplier's company registration details against the official Companies House register. When a supplier's company has been cancelled or dissolved, XBert checks whether you still have an unpaid bill dated from that supplier and brings it to your attention.
How it works
This alert runs for United Kingdom businesses only. XBert raises it when all of the following are true:
The supplier is matched to a company on the Companies House register whose status is no longer active or open (for example, dissolved or in liquidation).
You have a bill from that supplier with an amount still owing.
The bill is dated on or after the date the company officially ceased.
XBert deliberately ignores some cases to keep the alert accurate. It does not flag bills that were raised before the company ceased, bills that have been fully paid (with nothing left owing), and bills that have been voided or deleted. It also will not flag a live overseas company simply because the entry for its closed United Kingdom branch was removed from the register, so well-known international suppliers that still trade here are not mistakenly caught. When a supplier qualifies, XBert combines all of that supplier's outstanding bills into a single alert.
Example/Use Case
Sophie runs a small cafe and orders a new commercial oven for £6,000 from a supplier she has used before. The bill is recorded and authorised, but it has not yet been paid.
What Sophie does not realise is that the supplier's company was dissolved at Companies House two weeks before she placed the order. XBert matches the supplier to the register, sees the company is no longer active, and notices the unpaid £6,000 bill dated after the company ceased.
Because XBert flagged it early, Sophie pauses the payment, contacts the supplier, and discovers the business has closed. She avoids paying £6,000 to a company that cannot legally fulfil the order, and she corrects her records before claiming any VAT or expense deduction that HMRC could later challenge.
Accounting software
This XBert runs on UK-compatible accounting software, including Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks Online.
Which countries it supports
The United Kingdom only.
Processes
This alert is part of your purchases and accounts payable (AP) process. To resolve it:
Look up the supplier's company on the Companies House register to confirm its current status and the date it ceased.
If the company really is dissolved, hold any further payment on the outstanding bill until you have confirmed who you are actually dealing with.
Contact the supplier (or its successor business) to find out whether the trading entity has changed, and obtain the correct, active company details.
If you are now dealing with a different, active company, update the supplier's company registration details in your accounting software so future bills are matched correctly.
Review the VAT and expense treatment of the bill, as a claim against a business that no longer exists may need to be corrected.
Once you have verified the supplier and corrected your records, mark the XBert as resolved.
Only transact with active, registered suppliers to stay compliant and reduce financial risk.