duplicate vendor payments
Duplicate vendor payments create unnecessary financial loss in healthcare accounts payable. PCR identifies and recovers these overpayments through structured audit processes designed to minimize disruption and maximize recovery.
As part of our healthcare AP recovery audits, duplicate vendor payment review is a core area of focus. Our experts conduct a root-cause analysis to identify any systemic issues, process gaps, or human errors contributing to the occurrences of duplicate payments.
During the Duplicate Vendor Payment Auditing phase of each AP recovery audit, we:
- Audit the primary vendor database to ensure there is only one entry per vendor
- Run an exception report to analyze all invoices and identify any instances of duplicate payments
- Establish pattern criteria such as identical PO and invoice numbers, invoices dates, and invoice amounts and analyze invoices to find duplicate payments
- Provide clear recommendations for on-going vendor management and keying policies in our final audit report
Navigating the tangled mess of existing duplicate vendor payments and developing systems to mitigate input errors and promote accuracy can be daunting but with over 20 years’ experience solely in the healthcare industry, a large network of industry vendor contacts, and the emotional intelligence to help enhance relationships with each of your vendors, we are the right partner for your AP Recovery Audit.
Our Duplicate Payment Identification case study outlines how we’ve helped a multi-billion dollar regional healthcare system recover over $2,700 per staffed bed, including duplicate payments, that would otherwise have been lost.
Premier Cost Recovery can help your organization uncover duplicate payments and recoup lost funds, enhance financial accuracy and strengthen your payment processes to prevent future errors.
duplicate vendor payments FAQs
A duplicate vendor payment is an instance where a client erroneously pays the same invoice twice.
Duplicate payments can occur for various reasons. While most accounting software is designed to prevent duplicate payments from being entered, if anything does not match, a duplicate entry can slip through the matching process. For example, within a health system with multiple locations, one invoice may be mistakenly entered against two separate locations. Additionally, if a PO number is missing, an invoice could be loaded with the PO number one time and without it another time. Most commonly, duplicate payments occur due to data entry errors in the entry of invoice numbers: a zero is entered as an 'o,' a dash is omitted or entered, leading zeros are entered or omitted, and so forth. Establishing standard keying policies can mitigate data input errors and promote accuracy.
Vendor accounts receivable departments are processing such a large volume of payments that the matching process typically occurs after the funds have been deposited in their bank. Consequently, it is more efficient for the vendor to list the credit on a statement and shift the burden of utilizing this credit back to the client.
Accounting software is designed to generate separate and unique invoices. When a duplicate invoice is entered, it includes at least one detail that is different from the original invoice, resulting in both a duplicate invoice and a duplicate payment to the vendor. Invoice details may include the facility location, invoice date, PO number, and so forth.
additional insights on duplicate payments
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Unobtrusive Audit
Our team is dedicated to providing personalized, responsive support by working seamlessly with our clients for low-touch, high-impact service that delivers measurable results.
Vendor Relationships
We recognize and respect the relationships you've built with each vendor. That's why we represent your firm in a manner that's consistent with your corporate culture when we work with your suppliers.
Proprietary Process
We go beyond simple statement reviews and harness the power of data analytics and utilize proprietary technologies to deliver some of the highest recovery rates in the industry
Action Plan
Each audit report includes metrics in addition to recommendations to reduce financial leakage and improve the overall efficiency and compliance of your healthcare financial operations
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