A pile of invoices from four manufacturers
Every week, invoices arrive from the manufacturers you buy from, plus the battery supplier, the earmould lab and the courier. Each hearing aid invoice lists models, technology levels, serial numbers, accessories and sometimes a separate line for a charger. Some come with a statement at month end. Some include credits for returns.
The practice manager glances at the total and pays. There is no time to check each unit price against the agreement signed at the start of the year, or to work out how close the clinic is to the next rebate tier.
Why supplier invoices go unchecked
- Price agreements are in a PDF or an email from the account manager, not in a form anyone can check against.
- Invoices come as PDFs in different layouts from each supplier.
- The order, the delivery and the invoice are recorded in different places.
- Rebate or bonus agreements depend on volumes over a period, which nobody adds up until the supplier does.
- Accessories, remote controls and chargers are priced separately and easy to miss.
Hearing clinics often buy from more than one manufacturer, and each relationship has its own terms. That is what makes checking by hand so impractical.
What unchecked invoices cost
Small price differences that nobody notices. Units invoiced but not received, or received and invoiced twice. Credits that never appear. Rebates that the clinic was entitled to but did not claim because nobody was tracking volumes. And year-end discussions with suppliers where only the supplier has the figures.
| Check | Done by hand? | Automated check |
|---|---|---|
| Unit price against agreement | Rarely | Every line checked against your price table |
| Units invoiced against received | Rarely | Serial numbers matched |
| Credits for returns | Sometimes | Expected credits listed and matched |
| Volumes towards rebate tiers | At year end, if at all | Running total by supplier |
| Duplicate invoices | When noticed | Flagged before posting |
How we build supplier invoice checking
- Your price agreements are entered once in a simple table per supplier: model, technology level, accessory, agreed price and date range. The practice manager can update it.
- Supplier invoices are forwarded to a dedicated email address, or picked up from Xero or Dext if you already use them, and read line by line.
- Each line is matched to the order and to units received by serial number, and the price is checked against the agreement.
- Invoices that match are approved and posted to Xero, QuickBooks or Sage as bills. Anything that does not match goes to a short exception list with the reason shown.
- Credits are matched against expected returns, and missing credits are listed for a chase.
- Volumes are totalled by supplier and period, and shown against any rebate or bonus tiers in your agreements.
Your supplier agreements and what you negotiate are your business. The system simply checks invoices against what you have told it you agreed.
The smaller suppliers get the same treatment. Battery and consumables invoices, earmould lab bills and courier charges are checked against orders and the jobs they relate to, so a remake the lab agreed to do under its terms does not quietly appear on the next invoice as a new charge.
What the practice manager gets back
Invoices that match go through without being opened. Those that do not arrive with the reason already worked out. Missing credits are visible. Rebate progress is known during the year, not after it. And when the account manager visits, the clinic has its own figures on the table.
Is this your accounts payable?
- Supplier invoices are paid without line-by-line checking.
- Price agreements live in PDFs or emails.
- You do not know how close you are to a rebate tier until the supplier tells you.
- Credits for returns are not tracked.
- Invoices are keyed into your accounts package by hand.