Accounts payable
Screen supplier invoices for unusual changes to payment details, amounts, identities, or document structures before approval.
Invoice forensics
Invoice Manipulation Detection
Detect altered invoices, receipts, and payment documents
A genuine invoice may be edited before submission. A payment amount can change, bank details can be replaced, or a receipt can be modified. essential-fd checks invoices and expense documents for technical signs of manipulation before they are approved or paid.
File-level evidence
Find manipulation that is difficult to see
A manipulated invoice can look convincing—even when based on a genuine invoice from a real supplier. essential-fd examines the file itself instead of relying only on visual appearance. Each flag is linked to a specific forensic finding.
- The total amount or line items were changed
- Bank account details were added or modified
- Supplier information was covered and rewritten
- Dates or invoice numbers were altered
- Text uses a different font or encoding
- Separate image regions were added
- Pages came from different sources
- A receipt was recompressed after modification
- Unexpected editing software was used
- A template was reused across submissions
Where it fits
Invoice fraud across different workflows
Vendor onboarding
Check invoices, bank confirmations, company files, and requests to send future payments to a new account.
Expense management
Detect changed totals, duplicate documents, altered dates, and manipulated receipt images.
Insurance claims
Check repair invoices, replacement receipts, estimates, and other claim files for modification.
B2B platforms
Screen payment documents submitted by sellers, service providers, and business customers.
How it works
Invoice screening in four steps
The invoice is submitted
The file enters your existing accounts payable, claims, expense, or vendor workflow.
The file is analyzed
essential-fd examines structural, visual, metadata, and content-related signals.
You receive OK or FLAG
A FLAG explains the added element, inconsistent metadata, edited region, or unusual structure found.
Your system decides
Continue automatically, route to review, or apply additional business rules.
Specific checks
Examples of invoice checks
PDF editing traces
Objects, streams, fonts, revision structures, embedded images, and other internal components.
Amount and text overlays
Added text or graphics used to cover and replace original invoice values.
Supplier and bank details
Names, addresses, IBANs, and payment data compared with reference data or prior files.
Metadata inconsistencies
Creation dates, modification dates, and producer software that indicate unexpected processing.
Image manipulation
Recompression, inserted areas, inconsistent dimensions, and unusual metadata in scans and photos.
Duplicate submissions
Invoice numbers, amounts, dates, hashes, and structures used to find related submissions.
Context matters
Not every edited invoice is fraudulent
Invoices may be converted, combined, compressed, annotated, or processed by legitimate systems. essential-fd does not treat every modification as fraud.
Checks focus on meaningful technical evidence that justifies review instead of creating a queue of harmless formatting changes.
Explore document fraud detection →Approve
Let invoices without a forensic finding continue.
Review
Route flagged invoices to an investigator.
Protect
Hold supplier bank-detail changes until review.
Document
Store a forensic report for audit and compliance.
Integration
Connect invoice forensics to your existing process
There is no need to replace your invoice platform. Add screening through the channel that fits your current workflow.
API
SFTP
OneDrive / SharePoint
Web application
Before money moves
Check the file before approving the payment
Add invoice manipulation detection to your current payment, expense, or claims workflow.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is invoice manipulation?
Changing amounts, bank details, supplier information, dates, invoice numbers, line items, or other invoice, receipt, or payment-document content.
Can you detect a changed IBAN?
essential-fd can check whether bank details appear inserted, replaced, or stored inconsistently. Extracted information can also be compared with supplier or reference data.
Can you detect fake receipts?
Photographed, scanned, and digital receipts can be checked for defined forensic signals. Available checks depend on image quality, format, and receipt type.
Does the software automatically reject invoices?
No. essential-fd returns a finding. Your organization decides whether the invoice continues, is reviewed, or is rejected.
Can essential-fd work with our existing invoice software?
Yes. It can integrate into existing accounts payable, expense, procurement, and claims processes.