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How to stop paying the same supplier bill twice

For owners and accounts payable staff who enter and pay supplier bills. By the end you will be able to close the common routes by which one invoice gets paid twice, and spot the ones that slip through.

Purchasing3 min read

The short answer

Make the supplier’s own invoice number the key, typed exactly as printed, so the same number from the same supplier is never entered twice. Bill stocked goods from the goods receipt, so a second copy has nothing left to bill. Pay only posted bills, never a statement total, and compare each main supplier’s statement with your balance every month.

Key takeaways

  • Do not enter a bill with no supplier invoice number; ask the supplier for a proper invoice instead.
  • Give bills with no receipt behind them, such as services and rent, a second look before posting.
  • Once a week, sort the week’s bills by supplier and amount and read down the list.
  • Before entering a reissued invoice, ask the supplier in writing whether it replaces the first, and void the first if so.
  • Void a duplicate rather than deleting it, and note how it got in so you can close that route.

How the same bill gets paid twice

Nobody pays a bill twice on purpose. It happens when one invoice arrives by email and again on paper, when a supplier sends a copy as a reminder, when two people enter the same pile, or when someone pays from a statement instead of the bills behind it. The supplier seldom points it out.

Each duplicate is small, but they add up quietly, and money paid twice is slow to recover.

Make the supplier’s invoice number the key

The amount and the date are poor checks. Two genuine bills can share an amount, and a retyped copy often carries a different date. The supplier’s own invoice number is the reliable key: the same number from the same supplier should never be entered twice.

The check only works if numbers are typed the same way every time. Agree a rule, such as typing the number exactly as printed with its prefix and dashes, and train everyone who enters bills on it.

TipDo not enter a bill that has no supplier invoice number; ask the supplier for a proper invoice instead.

Bill from the receipt, not from the paper

For stocked goods, enter the bill from the goods receipt, not from the supplier’s invoice alone. A bill drawn from a receipt can only cover what that receipt brought in, so once it is billed, a second copy has nothing left to bill, whatever number it carries.

TipBills with no receipt behind them, such as services and rent, deserve a second look before posting.

Pay bills, never statements

A supplier statement lists invoices, payments and a balance. It is useful for checking and dangerous for paying, because a payment of the statement total can include invoices already paid on their own. Pay only posted bills, and let each payment name the bills it settles.

  1. Choose the bills due for payment
  2. Check each one against its receipt and order
  3. Record one payment that names the bills it covers
  4. File the supplier’s statement for the monthly check

TipPay suppliers on fixed days, such as once a week, so payments are prepared in one batch and checked together.

Watch for what a number check misses

A number check stops the copy that carries the same number. Some duplicates carry a different one, and need a person to spot them.

Treat a reissued invoice with care. Ask the supplier in writing whether it replaces the first one, and if it does, void the first before entering the new one.

  • A reissued invoice with a new number for the same goods
  • A proforma invoice entered, then the final invoice
  • Service bills with no order or receipt behind them
  • The same amount from the same supplier in the same week
  • A supplier’s credit note entered as a bill

TipOnce a week, sort the week’s bills by supplier and amount and read down the list.

Fix a duplicate without losing the trail

If a duplicate is found before payment, void it rather than deleting it, so the record shows what happened and why. If it was already paid, ask the supplier for a refund or agree to set the overpayment against the next bill, and put that agreement in writing.

Keep a short note of every duplicate found: how it got in, who entered it and how it was caught. After a few months the notes show which route needs closing, whether it is emailed copies, a supplier who resends reminders, or bills entered without their receipt.

Check the supplier’s side every month

Each month, compare your balance for each main supplier with their statement. A difference is a bill you are missing, a payment they have not applied, or something entered twice. A supplier you have paid more than you were billed is the clearest sign of a duplicate.

Checklist: Duplicate bill checklist

  • Enter every bill with the supplier’s invoice number
  • Type the number exactly as printed
  • Bill stocked goods from the goods receipt
  • Pay only posted bills, never statements
  • Let each payment name the bills it settles
  • Scan each week’s bills by supplier and amount
  • Void duplicates rather than deleting them
  • Compare main suppliers’ statements every month

In Axon Suite

How Axon Suite handles it

In Axon Suite a stocked line is billed through the goods receipt that brought it in, at the purchase order’s agreed price, and a bill can’t go past what was received. A second bill with the same vendor invoice number for the same vendor is refused, and voiding a bill frees its number so the corrected bill can use it. Each vendor shows its balance, with a vendor aging as of any date and a running statement for any period.

Feature

Bill what arrived, at the agreed price

Draw the bill from the goods receipt and each line is billed at the purchase order’s agreed price and discount, under the vendor’s own invoice number. You can’t bill more than was received, and the same vendor invoice can’t be entered twice.

Open: Bill what arrived, at the agreed price
Feature

Receive against the order, never over it

Open the approved order and the receipt fills itself with what is still to come. Put it into bins, enter lots or serials where the item is tracked, and take part now and the rest later. A receipt past the ordered quantity is refused.

Open: Receive against the order, never over it
Feature

Aging and party statements

Aging buckets every open invoice and bill by its due date. A statement gives one customer or vendor their running balance with the same aging beneath it, printed in Arabic or English.

Open: Aging and party statements
Feature

Debit notes for goods sent back

A debit note against a bill credits each line at the price and discount the bill was settled at. Posting it takes the stocked goods out of the warehouse and lowers what you owe the vendor, in one step.

Open: Debit notes for goods sent back

Before you go

Questions owners ask

Is checking the amount enough to catch duplicates?

No. Genuine bills can share an amount, and a retyped copy often has a different date. Check the supplier’s invoice number, and draw bills for stocked goods from the receipt.

What if a supplier reissues an invoice with a new number?

A number check will not catch it, but for stocked goods a bill drawn from the receipt will: in Axon Suite a bill can’t go past what was received, so a second bill for the same goods finds nothing left to bill.

We paid a bill twice. What now?

Ask the supplier for a refund or to set it against the next bill, agree it in writing, and record it so the supplier’s balance is right.

Glossary

Terms in this guide

Open the glossary

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