XBert Type: Standard
Accounting Software: Xero, QuickBooks Online
Country Restriction: All supported countries
Risk Type: Fraud Risk
Business Function: Payroll
Overview
This XBert checks whether the bank account saved against one of your active employees is the same bank account saved on a supplier or customer contact record. When the two match, it can be a sign that money meant for a supplier is actually being paid to an employee, or that a contact record has been set up to redirect funds. Catching this early helps protect your business from payment fraud and simple data mix-ups.
What it does
XBert looks at the bank account details recorded for each of your active payroll employees and compares them against the bank account details saved on your contact (supplier and customer) records in the same business. It is looking for a single bank account that has been used in two places it should not be: once for paying an employee and once for paying a contact.
How it works
This XBert raises an alert when an active employee's bank account number exactly matches a bank account stored on a contact record within the same business. Before comparing, it strips out spaces and dashes so that small formatting differences do not hide a real match.
It deliberately ignores some situations to avoid raising a false alarm:
It only looks at employees whose payroll status is active, so former staff are not flagged.
It only considers records where a real bank account number has actually been entered, ignoring blank or placeholder entries.
If the employee's name and the contact's name are effectively the same, XBert treats this as a legitimate sole trader or owner-operator paying themselves and does not raise the alert.
Example/Use Case
Priya runs a small landscaping business and employs a contractor named Daniel Cruz, whose wages are paid into his personal account. A few months later a new supplier, "DC Garden Supplies", is added to the contact list, and its bank account details are entered as Daniel's personal account. From then on, invoices paid to that supplier go straight into the employee's bank account. XBert spots that the employee's bank account and the supplier's bank account are identical and raises this alert. Priya reviews it, confirms the supplier should have its own business account, updates the contact record with the correct details, and from then on supplier payments reach the right place.
Accounting software
This XBert runs on businesses connected through Xero and QuickBooks Online.
Which countries it supports
This XBert is available in all countries supported by XBert.
Processes
Business area: Payroll. To resolve this XBert, work through the following steps:
Open the contact record that shares a bank account with the employee and confirm whether the bank details are correct for that supplier or customer.
Check with the employee and the contact to make sure the matching bank account is genuinely meant to be used in both places, rather than an error or an attempt to redirect funds.
If the contact's bank account is wrong, update the contact record with the correct account details for that supplier or customer.
If the employee's bank account has been entered incorrectly, correct it in your payroll records.
Review any recent payments made to the contact to confirm they reached the intended account, and follow up on anything that looks misdirected.
Once the details are correct and verified, mark the XBert as resolved.