A month of invoices, and a surveyor with a sample
Your repairs contractors invoice monthly or weekly, with hundreds or thousands of lines. Each line has a job number, one or more schedule of rates codes, quantities and a value. The contract says what the rates are. The repairs system says what was ordered, and hopefully what was completed. A surveyor checks a sample, because there is no time to check the rest, and the finance team pays the invoice.
Later, someone notices the same job was invoiced twice, or that codes on a job describe work far beyond what was ordered.
Why checking at volume is hard
The data needed for the check exists, but in different places: the invoice as a PDF or spreadsheet, the order and variation history in the repairs system, the completion and photos on the operative's device, and the rates in the contract. Bringing them together line by line is not something a person can do for every invoice.
- Invoices arrive as PDFs or spreadsheets in different formats per contractor.
- Variations to orders are approved by phone and not always recorded.
- Schedule of rates codes can be combined in ways that inflate a job.
- Duplicate lines across invoices are hard to spot by eye.
- Sampling finds problems but not their scale.
What unchecked invoices cost
Overpayments are the direct cost, through duplicates, wrong rates or code combinations that should not apply. Disputes found months later are harder to resolve. And the relationship with contractors suffers when checks feel random rather than consistent. Good contractors benefit from clear, consistent checks as much as you do.
The invoice checks we build
- Invoices are collected from a shared inbox or contractor portal and read line by line, whatever the format, with totals checked against the invoice.
- Each line is matched to the order in your repairs system by job number, with the original order, any approved variations and the completion record.
- Codes and quantities are compared with the order and with your schedule of rates, such as the NHF schedule or your own, at the rates in the contract.
- Rules you set are applied, for example codes that should not appear together, quantities above a threshold for a job type, or jobs invoiced before completion.
- Duplicates are checked across all invoices from the contractor, not just the current one.
- Lines that pass go forward for payment. Exceptions go to a surveyor with the order, completion, photos and the reason for the flag, so they can decide quickly.
- Results are reported by contractor and type of exception, which helps contract meetings focus on facts.
| Check | What it catches |
|---|---|
| Job exists and is complete | Invoicing for jobs not done or not ordered |
| Rate matches the contract | Wrong or outdated rates |
| Codes match order and variations | Unapproved extra work |
| Code combinations | Codes that should not appear together |
| Duplicates | Same work invoiced twice |
The rules and what counts as an exception are set by you and your contract terms. A surveyor makes every decision on an exception.
What your surveyors and finance team see
Surveyors spend their time on the lines that need judgement, with everything they need on one screen. Finance pays invoices knowing each line has been checked. Contract meetings start from a factual list of exceptions and trends. Contractors see consistent checks, which makes invoicing cleaner over time.
Are your contractor invoices checked like this?
- Contractor invoices are checked by sample.
- Variations are sometimes agreed without being recorded.
- Duplicate invoicing has been found months later.
- Surveyors do not have time to check codes against orders.
- Contract meetings rely on anecdotes about invoicing.