Case File 008: The Duplicate Drama — When Transactions Appear Twice (or More)

Case File 008: The Duplicate Drama —

When Transactions Appear Twice (or more)

Filed under: Data Sync Snafus & Manual Mayhem

It started with a bloated expense total and a sinking feeling. “Why is my software subscription showing up twice?” the client asked, eyes narrowing. Detective Debit squinted at the register. “Looks like this story’s been told more than once…”

Duplicate transactions are among the most common (and expensive) mistakes in bookkeeping—especially when business owners use bank feeds, connected apps, and a little too much manual entry. One sync hiccup or click-happy moment, and suddenly your reports are lying louder than a B-movie villain.

• The Clues

  • Identical transactions sitting side by side in the same register

• One transaction marked as “cleared,” the other uncleared

• Expenses or income totals that seem oddly high without justification

• Vendor payments showing up twice in the A/P ledger

  

  The Twist This case almost always ties back to timing. A transaction is imported from a bank feed and manually entered, or an automation rule runs twice, or an integration sends data from two sources. It’s not fraud—it’s friction. And unless you know where to look, it’s easy to miss.

Detective Debit’s first move? Check the date, check the memo, and trace the source. If two records are identical but one lacks a clear origin... delete with confidence.

The Takeaway Keep a close eye on connected apps, third-party integrations, and any automation rules inside QuickBooks. Use the Audit Log like a detective’s notebook. And don’t rely solely on the bank balance to tell you if something’s off—duplicated entries can inflate totals without triggering red flags.

📞 Need Backup? If your books are doing double takes—and your totals don’t make sense—I’m here to help you untangle the knots, match the real activity, and reclaim financial clarity. One cleaned-up line at a time.

Case File 009 — The Tag Team Tangle

Tags were supposed to help. But now they’re creating confusion, bad filters, and mismatched reports. Detective Debit dives into the misuse of Tags in QuickBooks—and how a few well-meant labels turned into a bookkeeping mess.