This article is for: finance teams and admins.
Factorial flags expenses that look like one already submitted, so you can compare them and stop your company paying the same thing twice. You then decide: reject the copy, or remove the alert if it's not a duplicate.
Find and resolve possible duplicates
Overview
A Duplicate alert can appear when an expense looks like another one:
- It uses the same receipt file, or the same vendor and invoice number read from the receipt.
- It's a Factorial card expense and a manual expense of the same person, with the same amount and currency, dated within a day of each other.
- It's a per diem that covers the same days and uses the same rate as another pending or approved per diem of the same person.
There's nothing to set up. The alert never blocks sending or approving, and only people who can see the whole company's expenses see it. If your company uses Expense checks, it also makes One's recommendation "Rejection recommended".
How to use
- Go to Spending > Employee expenses.
- Use the Alerts filter and choose Duplicate expense. The Alerts column shows Duplicate on each flagged expense.
- Open an expense. In the Potential duplicate expense box at the top ("This looks like an expense that was already submitted."), click Compare. In the side panel view, open the Alerts tab.
- In Duplicate document comparison, check both expenses side by side: date, amount, reimbursable amount, receipt and status. Click View to open the other expense.
- Decide:
- It's a duplicate: click Reject this expense on the copy. The reason is filled in for you; edit it if you like, then click Reject.
- It's not a duplicate: click No duplicate documents, then Remove alert.
Tips and Best Practices
- Check the card first. The most common duplicate is a card payment reported again by hand. Keep the card expense and reject the manual one.
- Use the rejection reason to tell the employee which expense is the original.
- Don't rely on the alert alone. If an expense looks familiar, compare the receipts yourself.
- Employees: add the receipt to the card draft instead of creating a new expense. If you send receipts to One, it matches card payments for you.
- Related: Card expenses and manual expenses · Expense statuses and alerts · How do I check expenses against my expense policy? · How does Factorial catch duplicates and other mistakes automatically?
Troubleshooting and FAQ
Troubleshooting
I know there are duplicates but I don't see any alert.
Duplicate alerts are only shown to people who can see the whole company's expenses. Rejected expenses and drafts you create by hand aren't compared (a card expense still waiting as a draft is). Two manual expenses with the same amount are only flagged when they share the same receipt or invoice number. Factorial doesn't catch every duplicate, so compare receipts yourself when something looks familiar.
I can't reject from the comparison.
You're not one of the expense's reviewers, or it's no longer pending. You can only reject expenses you're able to review.
The comparison shows "Expense already in payroll".
That expense has already been paid with a payslip and can't be rejected.
FAQ
1. Where is the duplicate alert on the expense page?
In the box at the top of the expense, with a Compare button (in the side panel, in the Alerts tab). If you don't see it, check that you can see the whole company's expenses, and that nobody marked the alert as not a duplicate.
2. Can the employee see the duplicate alert?
Only if they can see the whole company's expenses. Employees and approvers who only see some people's expenses don't see duplicate alerts.
3. Does a duplicate alert block approval or payment?
No. The alert is information for the reviewer, who decides.
4. Is the alert a status?
No. The expense keeps its status (for example Pending) and the alert is shown next to it.
5. What about per diems claimed twice for the same days?
A per diem that covers the same days as another pending or approved per diem of the same person, and uses the same rate, gets a Duplicate alert. Nothing is blocked. A Category conflict alert is for a per diem and an expense in the Meals or Refreshments category on the same days.
6. Are drafts and rejected expenses checked for duplicates?
Rejected expenses and drafts you create by hand aren't compared. A card expense that's still a draft is.
7. What reason is filled in when I reject a duplicate?
"Flagged as duplicate, a similar expense has been found." You can edit it before clicking Reject.
8. Who can use the duplicate comparison?
Finance teams and admins who review expenses across the company, that is, people who can see the whole company's expenses.
9. Does duplicate detection use One credits?
No. Duplicate detection is a built-in check: it doesn't use One credits. Only Expense checks do.
10. Does duplicate detection still work if we run out of One credits or turn off Expense checks?
Yes. It runs on its own, separate from Expense checks, so it keeps flagging the same receipt sent twice, receipts with the same supplier and invoice number, and a manual expense that matches a card payment. Only the Expense checks verdict (in or out of policy) stops.