A bill records what you owe a supplier after goods or services arrive: it books payables with the right expense or inventory postings, captures purchase VAT when applicable, and lines up cash requirements before you enter a vendor payment.
Bills can follow approved purchase orders and receipts or be raised directly against a supplier invoice. Matching commercial terms keeps three-way reconciliation straightforward. The checklist below mirrors the Welcome guide's Create a Bill steps with vendor and purchases wording aligned to Tafsee Books.
Create a bill
Steps follow the Welcome guide flow; use the screenshot as the visual reference for the bill form.
- Open Purchases, then choose Bills to create a new vendor bill.
- Select the vendor this bill is from.
- Add an attachment when you need the supplier document or supporting files on record.
- Upload your organisation logo if the outbound PDF should show your branding.
- Add line items in the items section (catalog items or details you enter manually).
- Select the expense or account type for each line when your chart of accounts requires it.
- Set quantities for each line.
- Set unit prices for each line.
- Pick the tax treatment per line—VAT on purchases, zero-rated, exempt, or out of scope—based on the supply.
- Apply line discounts with a percentage or a fixed amount.
- Add notes that should print or stay visible on the bill.
- Save the bill to record the payable or keep it as a draft according to your workflow.
Editing a bill
While a bill remains editable—often drafts or balances not yet fully paid—open it from the bills list and adjust lines, tax, references, or attachments, then save. Locks after approval, external matching, or payment activity follow your roles and organisation policy.
When amounts diverge from the purchase order or goods receipt, capture the narrative in notes or route the correction through supplier debit notes so procure-to-pay stays auditable.
Typical bill flow
- Commitment: raise a PO when approvals or receipts need a documented baseline.
- Receipt: confirm goods/services and quantities against the PO when your process captures receiving.
- Bill: post the supplier invoice with correct GL mapping and purchase VAT.
- Approve & pay: finance review, then vendor payment clears payables and updates cash/bank.
When standalone bills matter
Lightweight recurring invoices or urgent vendor documents can bypass a PO when policy allows—as long as approvals and attachments still evidence the obligation.
For high-touch spend or regulated vendors, pair bills with documented PO coverage and reconciliation so AP can defend every payable line before payment runs.
Quick tips
- Match the supplier invoice to the PO and receipt before approving payment.
- Verify purchase VAT per line—errors affect your return.
- For list views and batch payment, see the Manage Bills guide next.