Purchase Invoices

Summary

Purchase invoices track what you owe to suppliers. You enter the supplier’s invoice details, assign a nominal code for accounting, and record payments as you make them. Filters let you focus on unpaid or overdue invoices. Purchase invoices can optionally be linked to a work order. You can enter an invoice by hand in two ways: a quick header-only entry for overheads, or an itemised line-by-line entry for parts invoices that updates stock and feeds delivery matching. Both are covered below.

Prerequisites

• You are signed in to Torqueflow.
• You have the finance.purchases.view permission to see purchase invoices.
• You have the finance.purchases.create permission to create or edit invoices.
• You have the finance.payments.record permission to record payments.
• At least one supplier exists in the system (see Supplier Management).
• At least one nominal code is configured in finance settings.

Steps

Viewing the purchase invoices list

1. Click Finance in the main navigation.
2. Click Purchase Invoices (or navigate to /finance/purchases).
3. The page title reads Purchase Invoices with the subtitle “Enter supplier invoices and track payment status”.

The table columns are:

Column	Description
PI #	Internal Purchase Invoice reference, auto-assigned at creation (e.g. PI-00042). Sortable. Shows — for invoices created before auto-numbering shipped.
Supplier	Supplier name. Sortable.
Supplier Invoice #	The invoice number printed on the supplier’s document. Sortable.
Date	Invoice date in dd/MM/yyyy format. Sortable.
Due Date	Payment due date. Shown in red if overdue. Sortable.
Gross	Total gross amount in GBP. Sortable.
Outstanding	Remaining unpaid amount. Shows a dash when fully paid. Not sortable.
Status	Payment status badge: Unpaid, Part Paid, Paid, or Overdue. Sortable.
Actions	Three-dot menu with Edit, Record Payment, and Mark as Paid options (if you have edit permission).

Overdue invoices are highlighted with a light red background row. Click any row to open the invoice detail page.

Filtering purchase invoices

The list carries an Entered column showing when each invoice was recorded, and sorts newest first. There is also an Include void filter, because voided invoices are hidden by default but stay on file.

1. Use the Status toggle buttons to show or hide invoices by status. Options: Unpaid, Part Paid, Paid, Overdue. Default filter shows Unpaid and Overdue.
2. Use the Supplier dropdown to filter by a specific supplier. Select “All suppliers” to clear.
3. Use the Date pickers (From and To) to filter by invoice date range.
4. Click Reset to clear all filters.

Your status filter preference is saved in your browser and restored on your next visit.

Creating a purchase invoice

1. Click the New Invoice button in the page header.
2. The New Purchase Invoice dialog opens.
3. Fill in the required fields:
   • Supplier - Select from the searchable dropdown (required). When you choose a supplier, the default nominal code and due date are auto-populated from the supplier’s settings.
   • Invoice Number - Enter the supplier’s invoice number (required). If a duplicate is detected for this supplier, a warning appears but does not block saving.
   • Invoice Date - Select using the date picker (required). Changing the date recalculates the due date based on the supplier’s payment terms.
   • Due Date - Auto-calculated but can be overridden (required).
   • Net Amount - Enter the net (before VAT) amount in GBP (required). VAT is auto-calculated using the organisation’s default VAT rate.
   • VAT - Auto-populated but editable.
   • Gross - Calculated automatically (Net + VAT). Read-only.
   • Nominal Code - Select from the searchable dropdown, grouped by category (Cost of Sales, Overheads, Staff Costs, Other) (required).
4. Optionally fill in:
   • Description - Brief description of the invoice.
   • Notes - Internal notes.
5. Click Create Invoice to save. A confirmation toast names the auto-assigned PI reference (e.g. “Purchase invoice created — PI-00042”).

The internal PI reference is auto-generated and sequential. You cannot edit or override it. It is for your internal records only — it is never shown to suppliers, on customer-facing documents, or on the portal.

Viewing invoice detail

Two blocks appear on an invoice only when they apply.

1. Per-line nominal codes. Each line shows its own code, or Same as invoice. A code set on a line stays put even if the header code changes. Line codes are captured and shown here, but they do not yet drive your accounting package’s line accounts or the nominal reports, which still use the header code.

2. VAT evidence. Shown only when a purchase is awaiting a VAT invoice, has one on file, or was closed out. Ordinary purchases show nothing because there is nothing outstanding. See Purchases where the VAT invoice has not arrived yet.

3. Click any invoice row in the list.

4. The detail page at /finance/purchases/[id] shows:

   • Header - Invoice number, supplier name, payment status badge, and action buttons (Back, Edit, Record Payment).
   • Invoice Details card - Supplier name, invoice number, invoice date, due date (with overdue badge if past due), nominal code (code and name), linked work order (if set, clickable link), description, and notes.
   • Amounts card - Net amount, VAT, gross total, amount paid (in green), outstanding (in red if unpaid), payment progress bar with percentage, and status summary.
   • Payment History - Table of recorded payments with date, amount, method, reference, notes, and who recorded it.
   • Metadata - Created by and timestamps.

Editing a purchase invoice

Amend when the document is right and something on it is wrong. Void when the whole document should not be there. Both, plus reversing a payment, are covered in Correcting a purchase mistake.

1. From the invoice detail page, click Edit. Or from the list, use the three-dot menu and select Edit.
2. The Edit Invoice dialog opens pre-filled with current values.
3. The Supplier field is locked when editing (cannot be changed).
4. Edit the fields you need to change.
5. If the invoice has payments recorded and you change the amounts, a warning banner appears: “This invoice has payments recorded. Editing amounts may create discrepancies.”
6. Click Save Changes to update.

Recording a payment

1. From the invoice detail page, click the payment button (shows the outstanding amount, e.g. “Pay £85.00”). Or from the list, use the three-dot menu and select Record Payment.
2. The Record Payment dialog opens showing the outstanding balance (e.g. “Outstanding: £85.00 of £100.00”).
3. Select a Payment Method from the searchable dropdown (required). The default method is pre-selected.
4. The Amount is pre-populated with the outstanding balance. Adjust for partial payments.
5. Set the Payment Date (defaults to today).
6. Optionally enter a Reference (e.g. bank reference, cheque number).
7. Optionally add Notes.
8. Click Record Payment to save the payment. Or click Pay Full to record the full outstanding amount in one action.

Marking as paid from the list

1. In the invoices list, click the three-dot menu on an unpaid or part-paid invoice.
2. Select Mark as Paid.
3. The Record Payment dialog opens. Select a payment method and click Pay Full.

Expected Outcome

• Purchase invoices are listed with correct status badges, amounts, and overdue highlighting.
• New invoices appear in the list immediately after creation.
• Payments update the status from Unpaid to Part Paid or Paid. The outstanding amount decreases accordingly.
• Supplier defaults (nominal code, payment terms) auto-populate when creating invoices.
• Duplicate invoice warnings help prevent double-entry.

Entering an itemised parts invoice by hand

There are two ways to enter a supplier invoice by hand, and which one you pick matters.

• Quick records the totals only. This is the New Invoice dialog described above. Use it for overheads like rent, utilities, or a service charge. It does not touch stock or parts.
• Itemised records the invoice line by line. Use it for parts invoices. The lines update your stock and feed the matching of invoices against deliveries, exactly like a scanned invoice.

The difference is real. A parts invoice entered the Quick way is invisible to stock and to delivery matching. If it lists parts, enter it Itemised.

Itemised manual entry is available to Owners and Managers. It is not available to service advisors or technicians, though they can record deliveries by hand.

Choose Quick or Itemised

1. Go to Finance > Purchases.
2. Select New invoice. Two options appear with their consequences spelled out: Quick for overheads (totals only, no stock impact) and Itemised for parts invoices (lines update stock and delivery matching).
3. Pick the one that fits. You can also reach the Itemised form from the scan inbox via Enter manually.

Itemised entry (parts invoices)

1. The Itemised page opens.
2. Fill in the header:
   • Supplier (required). Search and pick, or Add new supplier inline. A soft warning shows if the invoice number looks like a duplicate for that supplier.
   • Supplier invoice number (required).
   • Invoice date (required). Defaults to today.
   • Due date. Filled in automatically from the supplier’s payment terms. Editable.
   • Document type. Defaults to Invoice. For a credit note, see Supplier credit notes.
   • Nominal code (required).
   • Work order and Notes (optional).
3. Add the lines. Select Add line and fill in part, description, quantity, unit price, and tax. Pick the part from your catalogue, or use Add to catalog to add it now. The net, tax, and gross update as you type.
4. If the supplier is not VAT registered, a banner appears. Set every line’s tax to zero (there is a one-click action), or mark the supplier VAT registered inline if that is wrong.
5. Select Confirm. The invoice is created with its lines, your stock is updated, and the invoice is ready to match against deliveries. You land on the new invoice’s detail page.

Rules that catch mistakes

• Use Itemised for anything with parts on it. A parts invoice entered Quick will never match against the delivery and will not move stock.
• Every itemised line needs a description and a quantity. Empty lines are rejected on confirm.
• There is no draft save. If you leave with lines entered, Torqueflow warns you first.
• If you only see Quick, not Itemised, your role lacks the purchases confirm permission held by Owner and Manager. Ask an Owner to run it, or to review your role.
• If the Confirm button is disabled, a line is empty, the invoice date is missing, or the supplier is not VAT registered but a line still has tax. Fill in or remove empty lines, set the date, and zero the tax.
• If a parts invoice you entered is not showing against its delivery, it was probably entered Quick (header-only), which does not feed matching. Re-enter it as Itemised so the lines exist for matching.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Cause	Fix
”New Invoice” button is missing	You do not have the finance.purchases.create permission.	Ask an admin to assign the correct role.
No suppliers in the dropdown	No active suppliers exist.	Add a supplier first via Finance > Suppliers.
No nominal codes in the dropdown	Nominal codes have not been configured.	Set up nominal codes in Settings > Finance.
Duplicate invoice warning	An invoice with the same number already exists for this supplier.	Check if the invoice has already been entered. The warning does not block saving.
Payment amount error “cannot exceed outstanding balance”	The entered amount is higher than what remains unpaid.	Reduce the amount to match or be less than the outstanding balance.
Amounts warning when editing	The invoice has recorded payments. Changing amounts may create discrepancies.	Review carefully before saving. Consider whether the amounts truly need changing.
Cannot change supplier on an existing invoice	The supplier field is locked when editing.	If the supplier was wrong, create a new invoice with the correct supplier and delete or void the incorrect one.

Notes

• The Overdue status is calculated automatically. If an unpaid or part-paid invoice’s due date has passed, it shows as Overdue.
• VAT is auto-calculated from the net amount using the organisation’s default VAT rate. You can override the VAT amount manually.
• The due date auto-calculates from the supplier’s default payment terms when you select a supplier. Changing the invoice date also recalculates the due date.
• Status filter preferences are saved in your browser’s local storage and persist across sessions.
• The internal PI reference is sequential per organisation. It can be configured via Settings → Finance → Invoice Settings (“Next Purchase Invoice Number” + “Purchase Invoice Prefix”). Pre-existing invoices created before auto-numbering shipped show “Not assigned” — this is expected and does not affect them.
• For an alternative way to enter purchase invoices (drag-drop a PDF, take a phone photo, or forward an email), see Scanning purchase invoices.

Permissions

Action	Required capability
View purchase invoices	finance.purchases.view
Create or edit invoices	finance.purchases.create
Record payments	finance.payments.record