# How to stop paying a bill twice in MYOB Business

Before you enter a bill in MYOB Business, search the supplier's bills for the same number or amount. Use one reference format and check the supplier payment or electronic payment for repeats.

Duplicate payment is when the same supplier invoice is entered or paid more than once. It often happens when an invoice arrives by two routes.

## The MYOB Business way

Where to find it: Purchases > Create bill, Supplier invoice number field

1. Type the Supplier invoice number on every bill. The field is optional, so it is easy to leave blank.
2. Save the bill. Since July 2024, MYOB Business warns you if that Supplier invoice number has been used before. This works for bills made by hand and for bills made from an uploaded document.
3. Read the warning before you go on. If the earlier bill is the same invoice, do not save the new one.
4. Use Find transactions to check for the same supplier and amount, because the warning looks at the number only.
5. Delete the extra bill if you find a duplicate. If the bill has been matched, allocated or reconciled, unmatch it or undo the allocation first.

## Limits in MYOB Business

- The warning checks the Supplier invoice number. MYOB does not say it also checks the supplier or the amount.
- A bill saved with the Supplier invoice number left blank has nothing for the warning to check.
- The warning appears when you create the bill. It does not stop you paying two bills that carry different numbers for the same invoice.

## Good to know in MYOB Business

- Save and duplicate copies a bill and gives the copy a new bill number. Check the Supplier invoice number on the copy before you save it.

## The Pulsify way

1. Forward the supplier's invoice to Pulsify.
2. Pulsify compares the invoice number with punctuation and case ignored, plus the same supplier, invoice date or tax ID.
3. It checks other Pulsify documents and active bills in MYOB Business.
4. A possible duplicate is flagged. Open the match, then reject or approve anyway.

Pulsify connects to MYOB in one click. Approved bills are created in MYOB with the source file attached.

What Pulsify does not do here:

- Pulsify flags. You decide.
- A duplicate with a quite different invoice number may not be found.

## Example in MYOB Business

Example Plumbing Supplies sends invoice INV-5521 by email, then posts a copy. You upload the emailed invoice and later key the posted copy by hand.

- Bill from uploaded document, Supplier invoice number INV-5521: $1,320.00 (Saved)
- Bill keyed by hand, Supplier invoice number INV-5521: $1,320.00 (MYOB Business warns the number has been used)

You open the first bill, see it is the same invoice and do not save the second. Paying both would cost $1,320.00 twice.

## Common mistakes

- Leaving the Supplier invoice number blank, so there is nothing to check.
- Typing your own reference in the Supplier invoice number field instead of the supplier's number.
- Clicking through the duplicate warning without opening the earlier bill.
- Using Save and duplicate for a new invoice and keeping the old Supplier invoice number.
- Not checking the pay run for bills that carry different numbers.

## Common questions

### Does MYOB Business warn me about a duplicate bill?

Yes, since July 2024. If you create a bill by hand or from an uploaded document, MYOB Business warns you when the Supplier invoice number has been used before. It checks the number only, so an invoice entered under a changed number can still get through.

### How do I remove a duplicate bill in MYOB Business?

Delete one of the two bills. If the bill has been matched, allocated or reconciled, unmatch it or undo the allocation first. Then it can be deleted. If you have already paid both, ask the supplier for a credit note.

### Is the Supplier invoice number the same as the bill number?

No. MYOB Business makes the bill number itself, based on the last number used. The Supplier invoice number is the supplier's own number, and it is the one the duplicate warning checks.

### What does Pulsify check?

The invoice number with punctuation and case ignored, plus the same supplier, invoice date or tax ID.

## Sources

- https://help.myob.com/wiki/display/myob/Duplicated+transactions
- https://help.myob.com/wiki/display/myob/Creating+bills
- https://www.myob.com/support/myob-business/product-account/myob-business-release-history

Source: https://www.pulsify.tech/how-to/stop-paying-a-bill-twice-in-myob-business/ (last checked 2026-10-19)