When to use it
Use this for invoice mismatches, duplicate charges, surprise usage spikes, renewal fees, sales-tax differences, shipping/fuel surcharges, late fees, credits that did not appear, or line items that do not match the purchase order, subscription plan, quote, or contract.
Do not use this checklist to avoid legitimate bills. It is a review aid for source-backed questions and approvals, not a legal, accounting, or collections tool.
Copy/paste source card
Vendor invoice anomaly review
Vendor name:
Invoice number:
Invoice date:
Due date:
Invoice total:
Normal expected amount or range:
What changed? (line item, quantity, rate, tax, fee, usage, term, credit, duplicate):
Source used for comparison (PO, quote, contract, subscription plan, prior invoice, delivery receipt):
Exact source link/file/location:
Screenshots or PDF attached? yes/no:
Internal owner:
Bookkeeper/accounting reviewer:
Operational approver:
Customer/project affected, if any:
Potential urgency (due date, service cutoff, renewal, dispute window):
Decision needed: approve / pay partial / ask vendor / dispute / hold for review
Safe vendor question to ask:
What AI is allowed to draft:
What AI must not decide:
Final human approval date:
AI review prompt
You are helping review a vendor invoice for a small business. Use only the source card and attached invoice/source records. Do not invent contract terms, tax rules, credits, payment status, vendor intent, or legal conclusions.
Task:
1. List the exact invoice fields that changed or look unusual.
2. Match each issue to the source record that supports it.
3. Separate factual questions for the vendor from internal approval questions.
4. Draft a polite vendor question that does not accuse, threaten, or promise nonpayment.
5. Add a STOP AUTOMATION note for anything requiring owner, bookkeeper, CPA, attorney, or contract review.
Vendor-safe message snippets
- Clarifying question: “Hi — we are reviewing invoice
[invoice #]and noticed[specific line item]differs from[source]. Could you confirm the reason for the change before we approve it?” - Missing credit: “Our records show a credit or adjustment from
[date/source]. Can you confirm whether it should appear on this invoice or on a future statement?” - Duplicate check: “This looks similar to invoice/payment
[reference]. Can you confirm whether the new invoice is separate, revised, or a duplicate?” - Internal hold: “Holding for owner/bookkeeper review until
[source]and[invoice line]are reconciled.”
STOP AUTOMATION guardrails
- Stop if the invoice involves tax, insurance, payroll, lending, legal, collections, penalties, or regulatory terms.
- Stop if AI cannot see the original invoice and comparison source.
- Stop before accusing a vendor of fraud, refusing payment, changing payment terms, or threatening cancellation.
- Stop before approving a new recurring charge, plan upgrade, contract renewal, cancellation fee, or service cutoff risk.
- Stop if the answer depends on a verbal agreement that is not documented.
How this connects to the paid kit
The Small Business AI Profit Kit includes prompt libraries, workflow scorecards, rollout guidance, and human-review rules for owners who want useful AI without unsupported decisions. This free worksheet is a finance-adjacent example of the same principle: AI can draft and organize, but humans approve money decisions.