The eConnect platform automatically checks for duplicate invoices. For every incoming invoice the system checks whether the same invoice has already been received, even if it arrived through a different channel. This prevents you from booking or paying the same invoice twice.

Duplicate detection takes place at multiple stages in the processing workflow:

1. On submission: the platform checks whether an e-invoice (XML) has already been submitted electronically before.
2. On receipt: checks the combination of supplier, invoice date and invoice number.
3. During PDF conversion: additional check by the conversion partner that converts the PDF to an e-invoice.
4. Cross-channel: detection when the same invoice arrives both as XML and as PDF, regardless of the channel.
5. In the ERP package: check on supplier and invoice number when downloading to your accounting software.
6. On payment: final check during payment approval.

For genuine e-invoices (XML) the duplicate detection is 100% reliable, because the invoice number and all details are compared exactly.

For PDF invoices the detection depends on recognition by the IDR (Intelligent Document Recogniser). In virtually all cases duplicates are correctly identified, but there is a small margin for invoices with an unusual layout or when the invoice number is read slightly differently by the OCR.

An invoice recognised as a duplicate receives the status "Duplicate" in the Inbox. The invoice is not automatically forwarded to your accounting software. You receive an email notification when a duplicate invoice is detected.

The original invoice retains its status and is processed normally.

In exceptional cases an invoice may be incorrectly marked as a duplicate. This can happen when two different invoices coincidentally have the same combination of supplier, date and number, or when the OCR recognition reads an invoice number slightly differently.

A known pattern here: the recognition reads a recurring header field on the PDF, such as a postal code, instead of the actual invoice number. If that incorrect number occurs on multiple invoices from the same supplier, the platform correctly flags them based on the key, but incorrectly as a duplicate in terms of content. This occurs, for example, with invoices from Germany, where a postal code (PLZ) is sometimes read as the invoice number.

To release an incorrectly marked invoice:

1. Open the invoice in the Inbox.
2. Click the menu (three dots).
3. Choose "Mark as original".

The invoice is then processed and, if you have a software connection, forwarded to your accounting software.

Want to learn more about invoice statuses? Read Invoice statuses explained.