The supplier record

Summary

Open a supplier from the supplier list and you get their record: what you hold on file about them, what you have spent with them, and every document you have had from them in one history.

It answers the two questions that come up most. “How much are we actually spending with this factor?” and “Where is that invoice from them?”

Prerequisites

• Permission to view purchases.
• Owner or manager to change a supplier’s VAT number.

Steps

Read the header

1. Spend, last 12 months. A rolling figure, so it is comparable between suppliers.
2. Last purchase. How recently you used them.
3. Account and payment terms, as you have them recorded.
4. Default nominal code, which pre-codes their scanned invoices.
5. VAT number, or No VAT number recorded.
6. Counts of invoices, credit notes, deliveries and statements.

Work through the document history

The history lists invoices, credit notes, deliveries and statements together, newest first, with the date, reference, value and status of each.

Scans you have not confirmed yet are not listed. A document only appears once it has been confirmed, so if you are looking for something you scanned this morning, it is still in the scan inbox and there is a link to it.

Record or change their VAT number

1. Open the supplier for editing and find VAT registration.
2. Enter the number as printed on their invoices.
3. Save.

Leave it blank if you have not been given one. If the format cannot be checked for your jurisdiction, the number is still recorded and Torqueflow says it could not check it.

If another supplier already has that number, that is allowed. One business can trade under several names, each with its own record. While two records share a number, Torqueflow will not offer to move VAT evidence from one to the other.

Remove a VAT number

You are asked to confirm, and told what it means.

1. The supplier is treated as not VAT registered from then on.
2. The next purchase invoice from them is refused if any line carries VAT. Whoever records it has to zero the tax on every line, or put the number back.
3. Invoices already recorded are not changed.
4. The number is not kept. If you need it again you will have to find it.

Expected Outcome

• A single page answering what you spend with a supplier and what you have had from them.
• A VAT number on file, so their invoices can be reclaimed against.

Notes

• A supplier’s VAT number is no longer set only during scan review. It can be recorded here at any time, and error messages elsewhere point at this screen.
• Deactivating a supplier does not delete anything. They stop appearing when you pick a supplier and cannot be used on new purchases. Everything already recorded stays exactly as it is.

Troubleshooting

Problem: An invoice I scanned is not in the document history. Cause: It has not been confirmed yet. Fix: Confirm it in the scan inbox. There is a link on the page.

Problem: “That is not a valid VAT number.” Cause: It does not match the format for your jurisdiction. Fix: Check it against one of their invoices. Watch for a transposed pair of digits.

Problem: The VAT number field is read-only. Cause: Only an owner or manager can change it. Fix: Ask one.

Problem: A purchase invoice from this supplier is being refused because of VAT. Cause: They have no VAT number on file, so Torqueflow treats them as unregistered and will not accept VAT on the lines. Fix: Record their VAT number here, then record the invoice.

Problem: The spend figure looks wrong. Cause: It covers the last 12 months only, and it counts what is recorded against this supplier record. A factor entered twice under two names splits its spend across both. Fix: Check whether there is a duplicate supplier record.