XBert Type: Standard
Accounting Software: Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks Online
Country Restriction: South Africa only
Risk Type: Cash Flow Risk
Business Function: Sales
Overview
The “Unpaid Income with a Cancelled Business” XBert checks for unpaid sales invoices you have issued to a customer whose business is no longer registered on the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) register. It helps you spot money owing to you by an entity that has been deregistered or wound up, so you can chase the debt before it becomes unrecoverable.
What it does
XBert looks at your outstanding sales invoices and the Enterprise Number held against each customer. It matches that Enterprise Number to the CIPC register and checks whether the business has been cancelled, deregistered or otherwise ceased trading. If a customer with unpaid invoices is no longer active on CIPC, XBert raises an alert so you can act on the outstanding amount.
How it works
This XBert raises an alert when all of the following are true:
The customer on the invoice has an Enterprise Number that matches a CIPC record showing the business as cancelled, deregistered, in liquidation or otherwise ceased (not an active, open or in-business status).
The invoice still has an amount owing greater than R0.00. A part-paid invoice that still has a balance is included; a fully settled invoice is not.
The invoice is authorised (approved and awaiting payment) or part-paid. Draft, submitted, voided and deleted invoices are deliberately ignored.
The invoice is dated on or after the date the business was cancelled. Invoices raised while the customer was still trading are ignored, and XBert will not raise this alert unless CIPC records an actual cessation date.
XBert groups the qualifying invoices by customer and by invoice month, then shows the total amount owing for that customer in that month, along with a link to review the contact.
Example / Use Case
Thandi runs a small print shop and issues an invoice for R12,400.00 to Khumalo Logistics for a batch of branded stationery. The invoice is approved and sits unpaid on her debtors. A few weeks later, Khumalo Logistics is deregistered on CIPC. Because XBert checks the customer’s Enterprise Number against the CIPC register and sees the invoice was dated after the cessation date with R12,400.00 still owing, it raises this alert. Thandi contacts the directors straight away and arranges payment before the business is fully wound up. Without the alert, she may not have noticed the debtor was no longer a registered entity until it was too late to recover the money.
Accounting software
Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks Online
Which countries it supports
South Africa only.
Processes
This alert is part of your Sales (Accounts Receivable) process and helps you manage the risk of unrecoverable income.
To resolve this XBert:
Confirm the customer’s status by checking their Enterprise Number on the CIPC website.
If the Enterprise Number is wrong or missing, request the correct details from the customer and update the contact record in your accounting software.
If the business really has been deregistered, prioritise collection of the outstanding invoices — contact the directors or responsible parties promptly, as recovering a debt from a ceased entity becomes harder over time.
Review whether the debt is still recoverable. If it is not, follow your usual process for writing off a bad debt and adjusting the receivable.
Avoid issuing further invoices to a cancelled or deregistered business unless you have a clear and valid reason to do so.
Once you have corrected the details or actioned the outstanding amount, mark the XBert as resolved.
Keeping contact records and Enterprise Numbers accurate helps ensure you are dealing with legitimate, registered entities and reduces the risk of carrying income you cannot collect.