By automating routine tasks and minimizing errors, workflow automation can result in cost savings. Increased efficiency and reduced labor hours contribute to lower operational costs over time. Having connected your Shopify store to QuickBooks Online, Synder mirrors your money flow in QuickBooks. When clients buy something, transactions go to your payment processor first, and then the payment processor transfers the money to your actual bank account (‘Checking’). Depending on the vendor’s policies and the nature of the transaction, this may involve returning the overpaid amount or applying the excess payment to future transactions.
This may include voiding duplicate entries, updating records or adjusting payment schedules. Aside from these benefits, AP automation platforms can also help flag duplicate or potentially fraudulent invoices to ensure your company does not issue payment if there are any discrepancies. AP automation software tools not only make invoice processing more streamlined, but also operate 24 hours a day — much more quickly than an AP clerk entering payments manually. We’re transforming accounting by automating Accounts Payable and B2B Payments for mid-sized companies. Teams can also minimize human error by removing the ability to make errors in the first place.
How BILL can help you avoid duplicate payments
In desperate situations, an accountant could decide to make an adjustment to balance the books, instead of investigating the problem. A duplicate payment is an additional payment made to a supplier that has already been paid. When these additional payments are for smaller amounts, they may be difficult to detect, resulting in a permanent increase in your expenses and a related cash outflow. A duplicate payment for a larger amount is generally relatively easy to spot, but can require a substantial amount of work to retrieve from the recipient. Workflow automation systems can integrate with various other tools and systems, creating a cohesive digital ecosystem. This ensures seamless data flow between different processes and eliminates data silos.
This end-to-end intelligent AP automation digitizes multi-layout worldwide paper invoices with over 85% accuracy and continues to learn new vendor formats on its own. Plus, it seamlessly coordinates data between vendors, AP systems, and your team for a smooth process from start to finish. To evade issues like these, cleaning up your data, instituting fixed procedures for payment processes and using automated payments systems can make all the difference.
If these copies are not recognized as duplicates, they might all be processed, leading to multiple payments for the same invoice. When businesses receive multiple copies of the same invoice, there is a higher chance of accidental duplication during the payment process. Often, vendors send multiple copies of the same invoice via different methods like mail, email, or fax. Such occurrences are not uncommon, they happen due to miscommunication, system glitches, or human error within their organisation. Duplicate payments also lead to loss of trust among stakeholders, leading to tarnished corporate reputation, loss of business opportunities, and potential legal issues. As a result, businesses must have robust internal control procedures in place to prevent, detect, and correct duplicate payments promptly.
Enter each invoice into a centralized system, double-check it for accuracy and uniqueness, and make sure it’s approved by the right personnel before payment. During invoice processing, your AP team should only pay vendors that are already in your system. If your business receives duplicate invoices, it should promptly address the issue by initiating a thorough investigation. Data from the American Productivity & Quality Center shows that, on average, 0.8% to 2% of companies’ annual disbursements are duplicate or erroneous.
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A duplicate payment is when money is sent to the same supplier twice, either through a single payment or multiple payments. If duplicates are found, promptly communicate with vendors, initiate a refund or credit process, and update your financial records to reflect the accurate status. When there are changes in personnel handling financial transactions, the risk of duplicate payments increases. New employees might not be fully acquainted with the payment processes, and departing employees may leave behind incomplete or unclear records, both of which can contribute to payment duplication. Although it’s easy to blame simple human error, the real causes of duplicate payments usually come down to a lack of internal controls.
Collect standard vendor documents
This simplifies reconciliation with just purchase discounts returns and allowances a few clicks in the ‘Banking’ section, where Synder’s synced info matches real money transfers automatically. Adopt a single workflow for every invoice no matter how that invoice comes in the door. Whether it’s sent by snail mail to a department manager or emailed to your accounting team, every invoice should find its way into the same workflow.
Use a standardized invoice payment process
Other losses aside, duplicate payments and subsequent recovery audits or check requests can lead to strained relationships with your vendors and suppliers. Many companies use AP automation software to streamline invoice processing. These systems automate invoice data extraction and approval routing, allowing real-time visibility into invoice status.
- Not only will prompt payment strengthen your vendor relationships, but it will also cut down on confusion in your AP department if vendors send a second invoice as a reminder for payment.
- These may occur during system updates, changes, or due to inadequacies in the software itself, leading to unintended repetitions of transactions.
- The shorter your business is on cash, the more important it is to retain as much of it in-house as possible.
- It takes Accounting’s time and focus away from other activities, but at least the loss is recovered.
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Contractors who work for businesses typically use this form to verify their tax identification numbers (TINs), and your business will need those TINs when filing corporate tax forms. To fix this, set up consistent, standard labels for different types of vendor information. For the past 52 years, Harold Averkamp (CPA, MBA) hasworked as an accounting supervisor, manager, consultant, university instructor, and innovator in teaching accounting online.
The sheer volume of transactions can overwhelm manual systems, making it easier for errors to go unnoticed until it’s too late. If overpayments aren’t corrected, your company could face serious losses, including the cost of additional audit services from an external audit firm. Companies have been known to lose up to $12,000 in a single month just on duplicated payments. Start by scheduling a who can i claim as a dependant on my tax return demo of Order.co to see how software can help you double your productivity instead of your vendor payments.
Duplicate payments are a huge headache for accounts payable departments and their vendors. For AP teams, they lead to wasted time and money and strained supplier relationships. But in order to eliminate the potential of duplicate payments, your organization must understand where they come from and how they occur.
