How to check a supplier's ABN on an invoice

Short answer

1. Find the ABN on the invoice.
2. Search it on ABN Lookup. Check it is active.
3. Check GST registration if the invoice charges GST.
4. Match it to the supplier record before you pay.

Before you start

You need the invoice and the supplier contact. The ABN is an 11-digit number. A business can also have an ACN, which is a 9-digit company number. They are not the same thing.

The manual way

1. Read the ABN off the invoice. The ATO says a tax invoice for a taxable sale must show the supplier’s ABN. See the ATO page on tax invoices.
2. Optional format test. The Australian Business Register gives this check: subtract 1 from the first digit, multiply each digit by its weight, add them up and see that the total divides by 89 with no remainder. See ABN format. This catches typos only.
3. Go to ABN Lookup. The search accepts an ABN, an ACN or a name. Enter the ABN.
4. Check the result. The ABN should show as active. The name should be your supplier or a trading name you know.
5. Look for GST registration on the result. If the invoice charges GST and the supplier is not registered, ask for a corrected invoice.
6. Open the supplier contact in Xero or MYOB. Check the ABN matches. If the contact has none, add it.

If a supplier will not give an ABN, read the ATO’s note on payments with no ABN. The ATO says a payer must withhold 47% from a payment made before the supplier quotes an ABN, unless an exception applies. Ask your accountant before you pay in full.

Limits: a lookup takes a minute per supplier. It checks the number, not whether the person who emailed you is the real supplier. For that, see bank detail changes.

The Pulsify way

1. Forward the invoice to your Pulsify address. Pulsify reads the supplier’s ABN.
2. It checks a valid-looking ABN against the Australian Business Register. A badly formed ABN is marked invalid without a lookup.
3. You see a flag on the invoice: “ABN is invalid” when the ABN is badly formed or its status is not Active. You see “ABN is not registered for GST, but the document includes tax” when the supplier is not on the GST register and the invoice charges tax.
4. Pulsify also compares the invoice ABN with the ABN on your supplier contact. A mismatch shows both values. If your contact has no ABN, it asks you to confirm.
5. Fix or ask for a corrected invoice, then approve.

If the ABR is down, the flag reads “Unable to validate ABN” and you can save again later. Pulsify flags. It does not block payment.

Worked example

Example Plumbing Supplies invoices $1,100.00 including $100.00 GST. The ABN printed is 12 345 678 901.

The bookkeeper searches it on ABN Lookup. The result shows the ABN is active, but there is no GST registration. The invoice charges GST, so a tax claim could be at risk. She asks the supplier for a corrected invoice. The corrected invoice has no GST and a total of $1,000.00. She pays that.

Common mistakes

• Checking only the format. A well-formed number can still be cancelled.
• Never saving the ABN on the contact. Next time the check has nothing to compare.
• Paying the GST on an invoice from a supplier who is not registered.

Next step

Try an invoice and see the ABN flags. Related help: invoice checks. For a tax invoice check, use the construction invoice compliance checker.