How does Briefcase detect duplicate invoices?
Briefcase checks every new document against the documents already in Briefcase for the same client. It compares four details: the supplier or customer, the amount, the date and the invoice reference.
Exact match (all four agree): the new document is archived automatically as a duplicate.
Close match (three of the four agree): Briefcase's AI compares the two documents themselves before deciding.
Because the check uses the details on the document, the same receipt photographed and later scanned is caught as a duplicate, even though the images differ. A reference that was changed afterwards, for example in Xero, doesn't stop a match when the other details agree.
Duplicate detection only compares against documents processed through Briefcase, not against historical bills that were entered in Xero or QuickBooks before you started using Briefcase.
Expense claims with a summary spreadsheet
If you upload a summary sheet together with its receipts, Briefcase reads the sheet as a transaction in its own right. The sheet and the receipts have different suppliers and amounts, so they aren't duplicates of each other, and the claim total is counted twice. Instead:
Upload the receipts only, one employee at a time, with a note such as "Expense claim for Jane Smith".
If you want the summary sheet on file, open one of the receipts in the claim and use + Add to attach it. It stays with that item and doesn't change the total.
Use the same full name each time, otherwise Briefcase creates a separate contact and claim for each spelling.
Found a duplicate we missed? Let us know and we'll look into it.