Purchase Invoices
Official guide · English · Version 9c253d0cf11816df
Purchase invoices track what you buy from suppliers. They record incoming goods or services, calculate landed costs through cost allocation, and feed into your accounts payable and inventory systems.
Accessing Purchase Invoices
Navigate to Dashboard > Accounting > Invoices > Purchase Invoices. This opens the purchase invoices list page.
Statistics Cards
At the top of the page, four summary cards provide an overview:
| Card | Description |
|---|---|
| Total Invoices | The total count of all purchase invoices. |
| Total Amount | The combined monetary value of all purchase invoices. |
| This Month | The number of purchase invoices created in the current month. |
| Last Month | The number of purchase invoices from the previous month, for comparison. |
Filtering and Searching
The purchase invoices list supports the following filters:
| Filter | Description |
|---|---|
| Search | Free-text search by invoice number, supplier name, or other fields. |
| Status | Filter by status: Draft, Pending Approval, Approved, Paid, Partially Paid, or Cancelled. |
| Date Range | Start and end date pickers to filter by invoice date. |
The Invoices Table
Each row in the table displays:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Invoice Number | The system-generated purchase invoice number. |
| Supplier | The name of the supplier contact linked to this invoice. |
| Date | The issue date of the invoice. |
| Total Amount | The grand total including all costs, taxes, and discounts. |
| Paid | The total amount paid so far. |
| Status | The current status badge. |
| View | Click to open the invoice detail page. |
Creating a New Purchase Invoice
Navigate to the Form
From the Purchase Invoices list, click the New Invoice button. This opens the purchase invoice creation form.
Select a Supplier
The Supplier field is required. You have two options:
- Search existing contacts: Type at least 2 characters to search your supplier contacts. An autocomplete dropdown shows matching suppliers with name, email, and phone. Click a result to select it.
- Quick Add Supplier: Click the "Quick Add Supplier" button to create a new supplier contact without leaving the form. The new contact is automatically selected.
Once selected, the supplier appears in a card showing their name, email, and phone. Click the X button to clear and select a different supplier.
Fill In Invoice Details
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Supplier Invoice Number | No | The invoice number as printed on the supplier's own invoice. Useful for cross-referencing. |
| Invoice Date | No | The date the invoice was issued. Defaults to today. |
| Due Date | No | The date by which payment is expected to the supplier. |
Add Line Items
Each line item in a purchase invoice has the following fields:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Product Name | Type to search existing products. The autocomplete shows matching products with name, SKU, cost price, weight, and dimensions. Selecting a product auto-fills the name, SKU, unit price (from cost price), weight, and volume. You can also enter a product name manually. |
| SKU | The stock keeping unit code. Auto-filled when selecting a product. |
| Qty | The quantity being purchased. Minimum value is 1. |
| Unit Price | The cost price per unit. Auto-filled from the product's cost price when selected. |
| Weight | The weight of the item (e.g., in kilograms). Used for weight-based cost allocation. |
| Volume | The volume of the item. Used for volume-based cost allocation. |
| Line Total | Automatically calculated as Quantity x Unit Price. |
Click Add Item to add more line items. Click the trash icon to remove an item (at least one item must remain).
Info: Unlike sales invoices, purchase invoice line items include Weight and Volume fields. These are critical for accurate cost allocation when you have additional costs like freight or customs duties that should be distributed across items proportionally.
Add Additional Costs (Optional)
Additional costs represent charges beyond the item prices, such as:
- Freight / shipping charges
- Customs duties
- Insurance
- Handling fees
- Packaging costs
Each additional cost entry has:
- Description -- What the cost is for (e.g., "International shipping").
- Amount -- The monetary value of the cost.
Click Add Cost to add entries. Click the trash icon to remove one.
Choose a Cost Allocation Method
When you have additional costs, the system needs to distribute them across your line items. This determines the true landed cost of each product. A dropdown appears with four allocation methods:
| Method | How It Works |
|---|---|
| By Price | Allocates costs proportionally based on each item's line total relative to the subtotal. Items with higher line totals absorb more of the additional cost. |
| By Weight | Allocates costs proportionally based on each item's total weight (weight x quantity). Heavier items absorb more cost. Requires weight values on items. |
| By Volume | Allocates costs proportionally based on each item's total volume (volume x quantity). Bulkier items absorb more cost. Requires volume values on items. |
| Equal | Distributes costs equally across all items based on their quantities. Each unit receives the same additional cost regardless of price, weight, or volume. |
Review the Cost Allocation Preview
When additional costs are present and a method is selected, a Cost Allocation Preview table appears inside a highlighted blue box. This table shows:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Product | The name of each line item. |
| Allocated Cost | How much of the total additional costs are allocated to this item. |
| Final Unit Cost | The original unit price plus the allocated cost divided by quantity. This is the true landed cost per unit. |
This preview updates in real time as you change items, quantities, prices, weights, volumes, or the allocation method.
Warning: If you select "By Weight" or "By Volume" but your items do not have weight or volume values entered, the allocation will be zero for those items. Make sure to fill in the relevant measurements for accurate cost allocation.
Configure Financial Settings
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| VAT Rate (%) | The tax rate as a percentage applied to the subtotal. |
| Discount | A flat discount amount subtracted from the total. |
| Currency | The currency for this purchase invoice. Defaults to your tenant's configured currency. |
Review the Totals Summary
The totals section on the right shows:
| Line | Description |
|---|---|
| Subtotal | Sum of all line item totals. |
| VAT (x%) | The calculated tax amount. |
| Discount | The discount amount, shown in red. |
| Additional Costs | The total of all additional cost entries. |
| Grand Total | Subtotal + VAT - Discount + Additional Costs. |
Add Notes (Optional)
Two text areas are available:
- Notes -- General notes about this purchase.
- Internal Notes -- Private notes visible only to your team.
Save the Invoice
At the bottom of the form:
| Button | Description |
|---|---|
| Cancel | Returns to the list without saving. |
| Save Draft | Saves the invoice in "Draft" status for later editing. When editing an existing invoice, this button reads "Save Changes". |
| Submit for Approval | Saves and submits the invoice for approval. Only appears when creating a new invoice. |
Editing a Purchase Invoice
Only invoices in Draft status can be edited. From the invoice detail page, click Edit to open the form pre-filled with existing data.
Purchase Invoice Workflow
Purchase invoices follow the same approval workflow as sales invoices:
- Draft -- Can be edited freely. Submit for approval when ready.
- Pending Approval -- Waiting for an authorized user to approve or reject.
- Approved -- Ready for payment recording.
- Paid / Partially Paid -- Payment has been recorded (fully or partially).
- Cancelled -- The invoice was rejected or voided.
Understanding Cost Allocation
Cost allocation is one of the most important features of purchase invoices. It ensures your product costs accurately reflect the true cost of acquiring goods, including all ancillary expenses.
Example
Suppose you purchase:
- Product A: 10 units at $50 each (line total: $500)
- Product B: 5 units at $100 each (line total: $500)
- Shipping cost: $100
By Price allocation:
- Product A and B have equal line totals, so each gets $50 of the shipping cost.
- Product A's final unit cost: $50 + ($50 / 10) = $55
- Product B's final unit cost: $100 + ($50 / 5) = $110
Equal allocation (by quantity):
- Total quantity: 15 units
- Product A gets: (10/15) x $100 = $66.67
- Product B gets: (5/15) x $100 = $33.33
- Product A's final unit cost: $50 + ($66.67 / 10) = $56.67
- Product B's final unit cost: $100 + ($33.33 / 5) = $106.67
Tips for Effective Purchase Invoice Management
- Always link a supplier contact to your purchase invoices. This builds a complete purchase history per supplier that you can review from the contact's ledger.
- Enter weights and volumes on line items if you plan to use weight-based or volume-based cost allocation. This is especially important for import/export businesses with significant freight costs.
- Use the Supplier Invoice Number field to record the vendor's own invoice number. This makes reconciliation much easier when matching your records to supplier statements.
- Review the cost allocation preview before saving to ensure additional costs are distributed as expected.
- Save as Draft if you are waiting for the final shipping bill or other cost details. You can edit the draft later to add additional costs before submitting for approval.