Record supplier invoices against a purchase order

Recording supplier invoices gives the payment forecast real dates. Instalments anchored on the invoice date or the end of the invoice month are scheduled from the invoice dates you record.

Until an invoice covers an amount, the forecast estimates it from the receipt date. If nothing has been received yet, it uses the expected delivery date, then the order date.

Before you begin

You can add or edit invoices only on an Approved order whose supplier has not been deleted. Delivery and payment status do not matter, so you can record a deposit invoice before the goods arrive. On any other order, Add invoice and the pencil are not shown.

Anyone who can open the purchase order can see the card and read its invoices. Adding, editing and removing invoices requires the Manage PO Invoices permission. The owner always has it, and the Admin and Accounting roles include it. On plans with per-person permissions, it can also be granted to one person. Without it, the card is read-only.

If your account is restricted to certain departments, you can only work with invoices on purchase orders in those departments.

Record an invoice

1. Open Purchase Orders.
2. Open View Purchase Orders.
3. Open the approved purchase order the invoice belongs to.
4. In the Invoices & payments card, select Add invoice beside Supplier invoices. The form heading names the order and supplier and shows how much is left to invoice.
5. Enter the supplier's invoice number, if there is one. The same number cannot be recorded twice for one supplier.
6. Set the invoice date to the date on the supplier's invoice. It starts as today and cannot be in the future or in a locked year.
7. If the form asks what the invoice covers, select the matching card. See "Choose what the invoice covers" below.
8. Enter the amount in the order's currency, not your own. It must be greater than zero. Use full fills in what is left on the card you picked.
9. To add a note, select Add a note and type it.
10. Select Save invoice.

View invoice totals and payments

The Invoices & payments card is in the left sidebar, under the card showing the supplier, total and statuses. At the top, it shows how much has been invoiced and paid, what is outstanding, and a bar and line showing how much is left to invoice.

Below that are the payment schedule, when the payment term has instalments, then Supplier invoices, with one line per invoice in invoice-date order, followed by payments recorded on the order.

You can record partial invoices as separate entries. The card adds them up in the Invoiced figure and shows the percentage invoiced and what is left under the bar. When the entries add up to the full order total, the line says Fully invoiced.

Choose what the invoice covers

When the order has a payment term, the form shows it in a band under the heading. A label says whether it was set on the order or comes from the supplier. Open the band to see each instalment, its value on the order and whether recorded invoices cover it: Not invoiced, Partly invoiced with the amount still left, or Invoiced. People who cannot see purchase prices see the instalments without amounts.

What the form asks depends on the payment term:

If it has no instalments, nothing is asked. If every instalment is anchored on the invoice, there is nothing to choose: a single card says the amount is split across them in proportion to their percentages.

Otherwise, What does this invoice cover? shows one card for the instalments anchored on the invoice together, and one for each instalment anchored on another event, such as the order date, approval or receipt. Each card shows what is left on it. Leave the invoice-anchored card selected unless the invoice is for a specific milestone, such as a deposit or advance.

If no instalment is anchored on the invoice, only instalment cards appear. Pick the one the invoice covers. Those instalments are due from their own events, so the invoice date does not move them. On a new invoice for such a term, the first instalment card is selected to start with, so check it before saving.

Under the amount, Up to shows what is left on the selected card. You can enter more, for example when one supplier invoice bills two instalments. The form warns you but still records it, provided the order total is not exceeded. The part above the instalment counts against instalments anchored on the invoice, starting with those that still have something left.

Understand invoice labels

Each invoice in the list says what it covers: for #1 when it is for one instalment, split over #2, #3 when it is shared by instalments anchored on the invoice, or Tag stale.

Tag stale means the instalment the invoice pointed at is no longer part of the order's payment term, usually because the term changed after the invoice was recorded. The amount still counts, and the forecast treats it as covering the invoice-anchored instalments. To clear the label, edit the invoice, pick the card it covers and save.

Edit or remove an invoice

To correct an invoice, select the pencil icon on its line, change the details and save.

To remove an invoice, select the bin icon on its line, then select Delete to confirm. An invoice dated in a locked year cannot be removed.

Removing remains possible after the order has been reopened, so an invoice recorded by mistake can be removed. Adding and correcting invoices must wait until the order is approved again.

Invoiced total exceeds the order total

A red bar stating that the invoiced total exceeds the order total means the invoices no longer fit the order, normally because the order total was reduced after they were recorded. Nothing is blocked, but review the invoices and order total because the forecast is working from figures that disagree.