The E-invoicing Checklist: acquisition fraud [part 17]

October 15, 2012  |  Electronic Invoicing, Publications

Acquisition fraud costs entrepreneurs hundreds and hundreds of millions of euros per year. Acquisition fraud, amongst other things, implies that invoices are being sent for products or services that never have been and never will be delivered. As digitalisation and e-invoicing increases, the number of fake (e-) invoices will increase correspondingly. The E-invoicing Checklist series is here to help, because the following tips will help you prevent paying fake invoices:

1

Check the business information

When in doubt, check the business data of the so-called supplier on the Internet and on websites that fight against acquisition fraud.

2

Verify billing information with transportation data

Make sure you check the company information in the invoice matches, for example, the e-mail address. Do not rely on the data in the invoice or the message. Compare the information. View the address of the claimed supplier meticulously. Sometimes a dash, a letter or other initial can more or less make all the difference.

3

Check the company name with the content data

Are your operations mainly based in your own country and do you receive a foreign invoice? Be aware. Does the business name correspond with the subscription of the account number?

4

Create a white-list/black-list

Keep track of suppliers that received your consent to send you an electronic invoice.

5

Price/performance analysis

Is the price mentioned in the invoice reasonably proportioned to the products or services that have been claimed? When in doubt, contact the responsible or contact person.

6

Invoice matching: contracts and/or purchase orders

Does your organisation use an administration with purchasing orders? Check whether or not a purchase order has been issued that corresponds with the invoice.

7

Take your time

Sometimes the lack of time is used to put you under pressure to quickly pay an invoice. Strategies are to mention that otherwise a subscription ends, or that the competitor gets a competitive edge or gets away with “something”. Don’t take the bait and take your time!

8

To read through the small print carefully

Literally look for the small print (the general terms and conditions). In general, the smaller the print or the more difficult to discover, the more important it is to sift through the information
(and the greater the negative consequences can be if you don’t).

Download your personalised (free!) E-invoicing Checklist here to get all the information neatly organised.

Previously published articles in this series:
New series: The E-invoicing Checklist [part 1]
The E-invoicing Checklist: Manual [part 2]
The E-invoicing Checklist: Current EU e-invoicing basics [part 3]
The E-invoicing Checklist: The new EU E-invoicing Directive [part 4]
The E-invoicing Checklist: content – tax requirements [part 5]
The E-invoicing Checklist: content of the simple invoice [part 6]
The E-invoicing Checklist: content clarity and comprehensibility [part 7]
The E-invoicing Checklist: content payment instructions [part 8]
The E-invoicing Checklist: create your invoice [part 9]
The E-invoicing Checklist: It’s issuing time! [part 10]
The E-invoicing Checklist: receiving invoices [part 11]
The E-invoicing Checklist: verify your data [part 12]
The E-invoicing Checklist: manage your master data [part 13]
The E-invoicing Checklist: let’s archive [part 14]
The E-invoicing Checklist: ensure controllability [part 15]
The E-invoicing Checklist: adoption tactics [part 16]

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