Duplicate Payment

What is a duplicate payment?

A duplicate payment occurs when you pay the same invoice twice. Common causes include paying from both a paper invoice and an emailed copy, processing payment before recording a previous payment, or vendor resubmission of invoices. Duplicate payments waste cash and create accounting headaches. Prevention through good processes costs less than recovery after the fact.

Detecting duplicates

Run reports looking for multiple payments to the same vendor for identical amounts within a short period. Review invoices with the same invoice number or date. Some accounting systems flag potential duplicates automatically. Periodic audits of accounts payable activity can catch duplicates that slipped through. The sooner you catch them, the easier recovery becomes.

Recovering overpayments

Contact the vendor promptly upon discovering a duplicate. Request a refund or credit against future invoices. Most vendors cooperate when you provide documentation. For unresponsive vendors, apply the credit yourself against the next payment. Document the duplicate and your recovery efforts. Persistent duplicates with the same vendor may indicate invoice fraud.