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Record a purchase invoice

A purchase invoice is a bill you have received from a supplier. Recording it is the step that actually posts the purchase to your accounts: it records what you owe (accounts…

Record a purchase invoice

A purchase invoice is a bill you have received from a supplier. Recording it is the step that actually posts the purchase to your accounts: it records what you owe (accounts payable), the expense or asset you bought, and any reclaimable input VAT.

Note: In the application this document is headed Supplier Invoice, and you record it from Purchases → Purchase Invoices. This guide uses "purchase invoice" and "supplier invoice" to mean the same thing.

Before you begin

  • You need the supplier on file. See Add a supplier.
  • Your Accounting Settings must be configured, because recording the bill posts to your general ledger.
  • To record the bill you need at least one line and a Total greater than zero.
  • If you raised a purchase order for this bill, have its number to hand — you can pull its lines in automatically.

Steps

  1. Go to Purchases → Purchase Invoices and select New Supplier Invoice.
  2. Choose the Supplier.
  3. Optionally choose a Related Purchase Order, then select Populate Lines to copy its lines onto the bill.
  4. Enter the Supplier Invoice Number (the reference printed on the supplier's own bill).
  5. Choose the Currency and set the Invoice Date. Add a Received Date and Due Date if you wish.
  6. Under Line Items, first check the Amounts are selector in the card header: Tax exclusive (the default — prices are net, VAT added on top) or Tax inclusive (prices are gross with the VAT extracted — supplier bills usually show gross figures, so this saves you the arithmetic; the bill total then equals what the supplier printed). For each line enter a Description, Quantity and Unit Price, and choose a Tax Rate if VAT applies. If the supplier has a default tax rate set on their record, new lines pre-select it (it takes precedence over the product's rate — you can always change it per line). For services bought from an overseas supplier, choose the Reverse Charge Expenses (20%) rate — see Reverse charge VAT on purchases from abroad. You can optionally pick a product and an Expense Account; if you leave the account as Default, Sales Scribe uses the account set for that product or your default purchase account. Each line also has an Input VAT selector — leave it on Auto (from account) unless this particular line's VAT should be treated differently from its account's default (see VAT on blocked expenses).
  7. Check the Subtotal, Tax and Total.
  8. Select Create Draft.
  9. When the bill is correct, open it and select Issue, then Issue Invoice to confirm.

[Screenshot required: Create Supplier Invoice page with the Related Purchase Order and Populate Lines controls]

What happens next

While it is a Draft, the bill has no effect on your accounts and can be freely edited or deleted.

When you select Issue, Sales Scribe:

  • gives the bill its document number and sets its status to Issued;
  • posts the purchase to your general ledger — it debits the expense or asset account and the input VAT account, and credits accounts payable (what you owe the supplier);
  • locks the bill from further editing.

The bill now shows a Payment Status of Unpaid until you pay it. When you record a supplier payment and allocate it, this changes to Partially Paid or Fully Paid.

Accounting impact

Issuing a purchase invoice is one of the few purchase actions that touches your books. In plain terms it records that you have incurred a cost and now owe the supplier, and (if you are VAT-registered) that you can reclaim the VAT on it. See How Sales Scribe records your transactions.

Important notes

  • Only a Draft can be edited. Once issued, a bill is part of your records. To correct it you void it (see Void a purchase invoice) or record a purchase credit note.
  • A Draft bill can be deleted with Delete Draft; an Issued bill cannot — it must be voided.
  • If your accounting settings are incomplete, issuing is blocked with a message telling you which accounts to set up first.

Troubleshooting

  • The Issue button is missing. Issuing is only offered on a Draft bill with lines and a positive total.
  • A message about accounting settings. Recording the bill needs the relevant ledger accounts (such as accounts payable, input VAT and a purchase/expense account) to be configured. Set them under Settings → Accounting, then try again. See Configure your accounting settings.
  • "A selected product is not on the related purchase order" or a quantity that "exceeds the available quantity" — when a bill is linked to a purchase order, its lines must match what was ordered and not exceed it. Adjust the line, or remove the purchase-order link.
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