Supplier invoices that don't match, or arrive twice

supplier invoices should match what Aurora ordered and received. Some don't. One is keyed by hand without its order, billing more than came in, at a higher price. Another is keyed twice from a reminder copy, under a new number. Checking every invoice against its order and receipt by hand is slow, so most of these get paid.

You are

Ellen Brooks, Controller at Aurora Components, with Nina Petrov, the buyer.

The situation

supplier invoices should match what Aurora ordered and received. Some don't. One is keyed by hand without its order, billing more than came in, at a higher price. Another is keyed twice from a reminder copy, under a new number. Checking every invoice against its order and receipt by hand is slow, so most of these get paid.

Here you ask, before the payment run.

> Dynocortex explains your company's own figures and who decides. It does not give tax, legal, credit or investment advice; for those, ask a qualified adviser.

Step by step

Each step as it looks in the demo installation, on Aurora Components (Demo).

  1. Open Accounting → Purchase Invoice (the list). In the Ask panel beside it, ask

    "Are there any supplier invoices that don't match what we ordered or received?"

    Supplier invoices that don't match, or arrive twice, step 1: Open Accounting → Purchase Invoice (the list). In the Ask panel beside it, ask:

  2. Open the Vanta Cable Mills invoice from the answer. In the Ask panel beside it, ask

    "What's wrong with this invoice, and what should we do?"

    Supplier invoices that don't match, or arrive twice, step 2: Open the Vanta Cable Mills invoice from the answer. In the Ask panel beside it, ask:
    The answer opens the Vanta Cable Mills invoice beside the panel.

  3. Open Accounting → Received Items To Be Billed (search for it). In the Ask panel beside it, ask

    "Which of these receipts should that Vanta invoice have matched?"

    Supplier invoices that don't match, or arrive twice, step 3: Open Accounting → Received Items To Be Billed (search for it). In the Ask panel beside it, ask:

  4. Go back to Accounting → Purchase Invoice. In the Ask panel, ask

    "Have we been billed twice for anything in the last three months?"

    Supplier invoices that don't match, or arrive twice, step 4: Go back to Accounting → Purchase Invoice. In the Ask panel, ask:
    The answer opens Orion Switchgear's purchase invoices beside the panel.

  5. Ask

    "Who should contact each supplier, and who holds the payments?"

    Supplier invoices that don't match, or arrive twice, step 5: Ask:
    The answer opens the unpaid Orion Switchgear and Vanta Cable Mills invoices beside the panel.

What a good answer contains

  • The Vanta Cable Mills invoice keyed without its order or receipt: none of its lines names a purchase order or receipt. Compared with Vanta's latest order and receipt for the 100 m cable reels, it bills 5 reels more than were received, at a rate 4% above the order's. It works out the difference in dollars, in USD for Aurora Components.
  • The receipt it should have matched still shows in Received Items To Be Billed, as received and not invoiced, because the invoice was keyed without it.
  • What to do: hold the payment and ask Vanta for a credit note for the difference, or a corrected invoice. Then match the corrected invoice to the receipt. A recommendation, not a verdict.
  • Billed twice: two Orion Switchgear invoices with the same lines, the same amount and the same supplier invoice date, entered twice, each under its own document number. The supplier's invoice numbers differ only by a typo (two digits swapped). The later one isn't paid yet. It shows both side by side and calls the pair a likely duplicate, not a certain one: a split delivery can bill the same amount twice.
  • Who acts: Nina (the buyer) contacts the suppliers, and Ellen holds both payments until they answer.

What the full product does beyond the demo

The Executive checks each supplier invoice against its order and receipt as it is entered. It flags a likely duplicate before the payment run, and drafts the request for a credit note for the controller to approve.

Answers are worded afresh each time, so yours will read differently. The demo company is made up, and its data goes back to the start every night.

Try it on the demo company

Try Dynocortex More scenarios