The reasons why invoices are rejected

A study by Causeway Technologies reviewed more than eight million invoices, which were sent by suppliers to companies in the construction sector during 2021.

It found that more than 810,000, or 10% were rejected due to not meeting the rules of the receiving business.  

Rejected or disputed invoices will certainly result in delays in payment being made, which can impact a business’s cash flow. Although just a small snapshot of the billions of invoices sent to customers by British businesses each year across all sectors, the study highlights the importance of making sure the information on invoices is correct before sending them to customers.

Here are the top five reasons that were identified for invoices being rejected by customers and not processed for payment.

1. The purchase order number on the invoice sent by the supplier wasn’t a valid open purchase order from the customer
2. The value on the invoice sent by the supplier exceeded the value on the purchase order or receipted value of goods against that order
3. The total value or total tax submitted in the invoice didn’t match the sum of the line items on the invoice
4. The customer’s company name on the invoice was incorrect
5. A product code on the invoice didn’t match a product code in the catalogue held for that supplier

Each of these issues is easily avoidable, provided the processes and structure is in place to generate and verify invoices before they are issued.

We have over 40 years of experience in credit management and debt recovery outsourced solutions and have seen every issue possible with invoices. If you need any assistance with late payments or indeed need advice on how to ensure you invoices include all of the essential information, we can help.