Check your mortgage support provider’s monthly invoice

Before approving an outsourced mortgage support invoice, match each line to the agreed billing basis, the service period and evidence of delivery. Record what matches, what needs clarification and what has been corrected. Keep the payment decision attached to that record.

This method is for Australian brokerage owners checking a provider’s monthly bill. It covers service reconciliation, not borrower invoices, employee wages, tax treatment or legal rights. Use your actual agreement; the example below uses invented quantities, not market prices or client records.

Start with the billing basis for this month

Bring together the invoice, current service schedule, approved changes, coverage log, relevant work records and previous payment references. Record the service-period dates and the agreement version that applied. An invoice date alone does not identify when the work occurred.

Write the charging rule beside each line: fixed monthly coverage, recorded hours, accepted units or a separately approved task. For a fixed package, check the promised coverage and inclusions. Do not convert its fee into an hourly or daily rate unless that is the agreed calculation.

If the baseline is unclear, use the support scope comparison checklist to locate the missing definition. Resolve it with the provider rather than retrospectively inventing a billing rule.

Copy this invoice-line-to-service-record checklist

Invoice item	Record to match	Question before approval
Monthly coverage	Agreed calendar and actual coverage log	Were the specified windows covered, including agreed replacements?
Hourly support	Dated task-linked time entries	Do the hours, scope and rate match the agreed basis?
Per-unit preparation	Unique task reference and billing milestone	Did this unit reach the agreed billable state in this period?
Extra scope	Approved request, delivery record and fee basis	Who approved this addition, and what was delivered?
Correction or credit	Provider confirmation and original invoice reference	Is the adjustment applied once to the correct item?
Repeated line or revised bill	Earlier invoices and payment register	Is this new work, a replacement document or a possible duplicate?

Add columns for invoiced quantity, evidenced quantity, difference, reviewer and next action. Use internal task references in the reconciliation; leave borrower documents in their existing controlled location. Check arithmetic after quantities and rates have been matched.

Work through an illustrative coverage-and-unit check

Assume a fictional arrangement includes 20 scheduled coverage days in a fixed monthly package. Approved extra pack-preparation units are billed once, in the month the brokerage accepts the prepared pack. These are example terms only; preparation acceptance does not describe a lender decision.

The invoice lists one monthly package plus four extra units. The coverage log shows 18 days delivered by the usual processor and two by an agreed replacement. That reconciles to 20 covered days. Do not count the replacement days again as extra coverage when they are included in this example package.

• Units A and B have approval and acceptance records within the month: two matched units.
• Unit C was prepared this month but accepted next month: query the billing period under the example rule.
• The fourth entry repeats Unit B’s reference: query whether it is a duplicate or separately approved work.

The review therefore records one matched package, two matched extra units and two entries needing clarification. It does not silently change four units to two or invent a credit. Ask the provider to explain or correct the entries, then check the revised document against the same records.

Park questions with an owner and a deadline

Give each unresolved line a status such as “unverified” or “disputed”, plus the exact question, evidence requested, provider contact and next review date. Keep it visible in the invoice register without automatically treating it as an accepted debt, rejected charge or confirmed credit.

Raise questions before the due date. Refer payment timing and any proposed partial payment to your authorised finance or commercial owner under the actual agreement. A pending check should not silently become a decision to withhold payment.

Record a missed service target separately from its proposed billing treatment. Ask which agreed term, if any, applies; do not calculate an automatic discount. For clearer delivery records next month, use the service-level schedule template to define coverage, completion and exceptions.

Close the review without creating a second payment

Keep the original invoice and link any replacement or credit to it. Mark which version is current and which entries have already been paid. Check the supplier, invoice reference, service period, amount and payment history before releasing a payment, including any scheduled collection.

Record the approved amount, remaining questions, approver, date and payment reference. Reopen only the unresolved lines when evidence arrives. A reminder email or replacement PDF should return to the existing review record, rather than entering the payment queue as a fresh bill.