Supplier identity check: ABN and bank details

Every invoice and subcontractor claim that comes into the Invoice Register is checked against your Directory: does the ABN or NZBN belong to the supplier the invoice names, and is the bank account the one you have on file? A changed or shared bank account stops the invoice before it can be sent for authorisation, and no one can change a company's bank details alone.

For Accounts, Commercial Managers and workspace Admins · Invoice Register, Company Directory › Payment Details, Payment Schedules

1The 60-second brief

Changed bank details are the most common invoice fraud in construction: a supplier's email is compromised and a genuine-looking invoice arrives with a new account number. Deep Space now catches this at the invoice, before anyone approves or pays it.

Three rules that explain most of the behaviour

The Directory is the source of truth. KAI reads the ABN or NZBN and the bank account off the invoice and compares them with the supplier's Directory record. Xero bills Deep Space pushes never carry bank details, so the Xero contact's details are what gets paid.

Red stops the invoice. A changed bank account, an account used by another company, or an ABN that belongs to another company blocks Send for Authorisation. KAI also never auto-matches or auto-progresses a red invoice. Only an Admin can override, and must write a reason.

Bank details need two Admins. Any change to a company's bank details is a request until a second Admin approves it. The person who asked can never approve their own change.

The same checks apply to subcontractors: claims that arrive through the inbox, payment schedules, and the RCTI or BCTI you raise for them (section 9).

2Reading the supplier identity check

Open any invoice in Commercial → Invoice Register. Under Project on the KAI panel there is a Supplier identity check card with three rows: ABN (or NZBN for New Zealand suppliers), Bank account and Shared account. The check runs again every time you open the invoice, so it always reflects the Directory as it is now.

Supplier identity check card with three green rows — **All clear.** Supplier identity check with three green rows: ABN matches Black Grid, bank details match the Directory, no other company uses this bank account.

Colour	What it means	Messages you will see
Green	Matches the Directory.	“ABN matches …” · “Bank details match the Directory.” · “No other company uses this bank account.”
Amber	Something to tidy up. Shown to approvers, does not block.	“This ABN is not in your Directory.” · “… has no verified ABN in the Directory.” · “No bank details on file for …”
Red	Possible fraud. Blocks Send for Authorisation and KAI auto-matching.	“Bank details changed: the invoice account ••• does not match ••• on file.” · “This bank account belongs to …” · “This ABN belongs to …, but the invoice names …” · “Bank details for … changed in Xero and have not been verified by an Admin.”
Grey	Nothing to compare.	“No bank details found on the invoice.” · “The tax number on the invoice is not an ABN, so it was not compared.”

Account numbers are always masked to the last three digits. The full number extracted from the invoice is under Extracted Invoice Details (BSB and Account number for Australia, Account number for New Zealand).

New Zealand suppliers

The tax row is labelled NZBN and only a 13-digit NZBN is compared. A GST number printed on the invoice is not an NZBN, so it shows grey rather than red.

3Bank details changed on an invoice

When the account on the invoice is different from the one on file, the Bank account row turns red. Treat it as fraud until you have proved otherwise.

Bank account row red with Mark verified button — **Bank details changed.** The invoice account •••321 does not match •••678 on file. The message tells you to call the supplier on the number in the Directory; Admins see a **Mark verified** button.

Deep SpaceCall the supplier on the number you already have

Use the phone number in the supplier's Directory record, never a number printed on the invoice or in the email it came with. Ask them to confirm the new BSB and account number.
AdminMark verified

If the supplier confirms, click Mark verified on the Bank account row, then Request change. This does not change the bank details yet: it raises a change request with the account from the invoice.
Second AdminA different Admin approves it

Another Admin opens the company's Payment Details and clicks Approve (section 7).
AutomaticThe invoice turns green

Next time anyone opens the invoice the Bank account row shows “Bank details match the Directory.” and it can be sent for authorisation.

Confirm new bank details dialog — **Confirm new bank details.** “Did you call the supplier on the number in the Directory and confirm the new account? A second Admin will need to approve the change before it is saved.” Choose **Request change** or Cancel.

If the supplier did not change their account

Do not mark it verified. The invoice stays blocked. Contact the supplier through the details on file, and reject or archive the invoice in the register.

No bank details on file yet

If the supplier has no bank details in the Directory, the Bank account row is amber (“No bank details on file for …”) and Admins see Add from invoice. It raises the same change request with the invoice's account, and a second Admin approves it.

Bank account row amber with Add from invoice button — **No bank details on file.** ABN matches Black Grid, the Bank account row is amber “No bank details on file for Black Grid.” with an **Add from invoice** button.

4ABN not in your Directory or belongs to another company

The ABN is not in your Directory

The ABN row is amber: “This ABN is not in your Directory.” Click Create company from invoice. The new company form opens with the invoice's ABN already searched. Save the company, and the check runs again and matches the invoice to it. Any bank details on the invoice then go through Add from invoice and a second Admin, like any other bank change.

ABN row amber with Create company from invoice button — **ABN not in the Directory.** The ABN row is amber “This ABN is not in your Directory.” with a **Create company from invoice** button; the bank rows are grey because no bank details were found on the invoice.

The ABN belongs to a different company

The ABN row is red: “This ABN belongs to X, but the invoice names Y.” Either KAI matched the wrong supplier, or the invoice is pretending to come from someone else. Click Change supplier to fix the match if it is a genuine mistake; otherwise treat the invoice as suspect.

5Send for Authorisation blocked, and the Admin override

While any row is red, Send for Authorisation is refused. The dialog stays open and explains why: “This invoice can't be sent for authorisation until the supplier identity check passes”, followed by the red reason.

Send for Authorisation dialog refused with Override reason box — **Send for Authorisation refused.** The red box gives the identity reason (bank details changed). Admins also see **Override reason (Admin)**, recorded on the invoice Timeline; **Override & Send** stays disabled until a reason is typed.

Fix it and send. Resolve the red row (sections 3 and 4), then send again. The block clears as soon as the check is green or amber.
Override, Admins only. If you are sure the invoice is genuine and cannot wait, type the reason in Override reason (Admin) and click Override & Send. Users who are not Admins do not see the box.

Every refusal and every override is written to the invoice Timeline with who did it and when. Approvers also see the override and its reason (section 6).

Timeline entries for a blocked send — **Invoice Timeline.** “Send for authorisation blocked by the supplier identity check by asher.qin@…” with the date and time of each attempt.

6Finding flagged invoices and what approvers see

The Invoice Register has an Identity issues tab at the end of the status tabs, also in the status filter. It lists every invoice with a red or amber identity check, and those rows carry a shield badge next to the invoice number: red for a blocking problem, amber for something to tidy up.

Invoice Register Identity issues tab with one invoice and red shield badge — **Invoice Register, Identity issues tab.** The tab shows a count of 1; the invoice TEST-COM1120-002 from Black Grid carries the red shield badge next to its invoice number.

Approvers see a Supplier identity check notice at the top of the Approval Route window at every approval step. It lists the red and amber messages, and if an Admin overrode a red check it shows “Overridden by …” with their reason, so nobody approves a payment without seeing the warning.

7Changing bank details: the second Admin approval

Bank details live in Directory → Company Directory → open the company → Payment Details tab. Whichever way a change starts (Edit here, Mark verified or Add from invoice on an invoice), it is saved as a pending change first. The account Deep Space uses stays the old one until a second Admin approves.

AdminRequest the change

The yellow banner reads “Change requested by … A second Admin must approve it before it is used.” and shows the new account. The requester only sees Withdraw.
Second AdminApprove or reject

Any other Admin opening the same tab sees Approve and Reject. Approve writes the new account; Reject discards the request.
AutomaticLogged in Change history

Both steps appear under Change history (“Change requested by …”, “Change approved by …”) with the old and new account, masked.

Payment Details with pending change banner seen by requester — **Payment Details, as the requester.** Yellow banner “Change requested by … A second Admin must approve it before it is used.” with the new account 87654321 and only a **Withdraw** button; the account number in use is still 12345678.

Pending change with Approve and Reject buttons — **Payment Details, as the second Admin.** The same pending change with **Approve** and **Reject**.

Approved bank details with change history — **After approval.** Account number 87654321 is now in use; Change history shows “Change approved by …” and “Change requested by …” with •••678 → •••321.

Bank details synced from Xero

If your workspace syncs bank details from Xero, a change made in Xero arrives flagged as unverified. Invoices for that supplier show red (“Bank details for … changed in Xero and have not been verified by an Admin.”) until two different Admins click Mark verified in Payment Details. The first click shows “Confirmed. A second Admin must confirm it too.”

Only one Admin in your workspace?

There is no single-Admin exception. A workspace with one Admin sees: “Bank detail changes need a second Admin to approve them, and you are the only Admin in this workspace. Ask a workspace manager to give a colleague the Admin role.” Set up at least two Admins before you rely on this.

8A bank account used by two companies

Two suppliers or subcontractors paid into the same account is a classic sign of phoenixing or cash-wage arrangements. Deep Space flags it in three places:

Saving bank details. If the account (BSB and account number in Australia, account number in New Zealand) is already on another company in your workspace, you are asked first: “This bank account is already used by … Save anyway?” Save anyway still goes through the second Admin approval, and the request shows who else holds the account.
Payment Details. The company's Payment Details say “2 companies share this account: …” and name the others. A pending change on a shared account shows “Also used by …”.
Invoices. The Shared account row is red: “This bank account belongs to …”, which blocks Send for Authorisation.

Bank account already in use dialog — **Bank account already in use.** Saving Payment Details with an account Black Grid already uses asks “This bank account is already used by Black Grid. Save anyway?” with Cancel and **Save anyway**.

9Subcontractors: claims, payment schedules, RCTI and BCTI

Subcontractors are Directory companies too, so the same rules apply to them.

Where	What Deep Space checks	What happens
Subcontractor claim in the Invoice Register	The same ABN, bank account and shared-account check as a supplier invoice.	A red check blocks sending the claim on, with the same Admin override. KAI never auto-creates the claim and draft payment schedule from a red email.
Payment schedule: Accept and Submit for approval	The subcontractor's bank details at that moment.	Refused when the account is shared with another company, or a change synced from Xero has not been verified, e.g. “… bank account is also used by … Resolve it in Payment Details before this payment schedule can proceed.”
RCTI / BCTI generated from a payment schedule	The same as the payment schedule.	Not generated until the bank details are resolved. The document only ever prints the approved Directory account, never a pending one.
New subcontract	Whether the subcontractor has a verified bank account.	Listed as “No verified bank account” with the other compliance items, following your Company Settings rule for non-compliant commitments (warn or block).

10Questions people ask

Why can't I send this invoice for authorisation?

Look at the red box in the Send dialog or the Supplier identity check card. A changed bank account, an account another company uses, or an ABN that belongs to another company blocks the send until it is resolved or an Admin overrides with a reason.

I clicked Mark verified but the invoice is still red

Mark verified only requests the change. It turns green after a different Admin approves the request in the company's Payment Details.

Why can't I approve my own bank change?

The point of the rule is that one person cannot redirect payments alone. The person who requested a change sees only Withdraw; another Admin must approve it.

Who counts as an Admin?

A user whose role in the workspace has Admin access. Ask your workspace manager to check roles in the user directory if nobody can approve.

Does Xero pay the account printed on the invoice?

No. Bills Deep Space pushes to Xero carry the Xero contact only, never bank details from the invoice, so payment uses the bank details on that contact in Xero.

KAI did not auto-match this invoice even though it is a good match

KAI never auto-matches or auto-progresses an invoice with a red identity check. Resolve the red row and match it yourself.

Is the ABN checked against the ABR or the NZBN register?

Not yet. Today the check compares the invoice with your own Directory. A lookup against the government registers (registered name, active status, GST registration) is planned as a later phase.