Duplicate Invoice Detected: How to Prevent ERP Rejections
Many ERP systems automatically reject an invoice when it appears to be a duplicate of an earlier submission. This is a structural control designed to prevent double payment and accounting inconsistencies.
Typical trigger: the same vendor + invoice number combination already exists in the system,
or the same document gets submitted more than once.
Common reasons duplicates happen
- Vendor resubmits after not receiving confirmation
- AP team uploads the same invoice twice by mistake
- Invoice number reused (credit notes or revised invoices)
- Multiple channels (email + portal + EDI) submit the same document
- Minor PDF changes, same invoice number (ERP still flags it)
How to prevent duplicate rejections
- Enforce unique invoice numbers per vendor
- Track submissions and confirmations internally
- Use a consistent naming rule for revised invoices (e.g., INV-123A)
- Validate before ERP submission to catch duplicates early