Purchase: complete guide

What the Purchase module does

Purchase records what you buy and from whom. Recording one purchase invoice increases your stock, records the cost of that stock, and increases what you owe the supplier — in one step, with no separate accounting entry.

Adding a supplier

1. 1Go to Purchase → Definition → Suppliers and choose Add.
2. 2Enter the supplier name, contact person, phone, email and address.
3. 3Save. The supplier also becomes an account under your payables control head.

Recording a purchase invoice

1. 1Go to Purchase → Transactions → Purchase Invoices and choose Add.
2. 2Select the supplier, then enter the invoice date, due date and the supplier's own invoice number.
3. 3Add a line per item: item, quantity, unit of measure and unit price.
4. 4Enter the tax rate per line where tax applies.
5. 5Check the subtotal, tax and total against the paper invoice.
6. 6Save.

What happens when you save

• Each item is added to stock at the price you paid, creating a cost layer for FIFO costing.
• The supplier account is credited with the invoice total — this is what you owe.
• The accounting entry is posted for you, so the purchase appears in your financial statements immediately.

Purchase orders

Where you order before goods arrive, raise a purchase order first. It records what was ordered, at what price, from whom — so when goods and the invoice arrive you can check them against what you agreed.

Paying a supplier

The supplier balance reduces immediately, and the payment appears in their ledger.

1. 1Go to Account & Finance → Transactions → Voucher.
2. 2Choose Bank Payment or Cash Payment.
3. 3Select the supplier account and enter the amount paid.
4. 4Reference the invoice being settled in the narration, then save.

Knowing what you owe

• Supplier Ledger — every invoice and payment for one supplier, with a running balance.
• AP Aging — how overdue your payables are, in buckets.
• Outstanding Payables — every unpaid invoice across all suppliers.
• Purchase Report — what you bought over a period, by supplier or item.
• Purchase Issuance Status — what you purchased against what has been issued out.

Good practice

• Record invoices on the day they arrive, so payables are never understated.
• Always enter the supplier's own invoice number — it is how you match their statement to yours.
• Check AP aging weekly so no payment is missed and no supplier is paid twice.