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S
stephen-panasl-c
August 6, 2022
Question

How do I add supplier invoices to the A/P and then allocate the bank payments to multiple invoices. It seems to want to assume cash accounting.. but we get invoiced

  • August 6, 2022
  • 1 reply
  • 0 views
eg invoices come in every couple days and should be added with the VAT etc, but then payment is taken by Direct Debit a week later against a weeks worth of invoices. I don't see how to manage A/P?

1 reply

Rose-A
Rose-A
August 6, 2022

I'd be pleased to help you manage your A/P, stephen-panasl-c.

 

We can record the invoices or bills including the VAT in QuickBooks Online and pay them at once using the Pay bills option.

 

Here's how to add invoices/bills:

 

  1. Click + New in the left panel and choose Bill. See the sample screenshots below.
  2. Choose the Supplier's name.
  3. Enter the necessary information including the VAT.
  4. Hit Save and close.

 

Once saved, let's pay the invoices or bills through the Pay bills section. This process allows us to record and allocate the payments to multiple invoices. We can refer to this article for detailed instructions: Enter bills and record bill payments in QuickBooks Online.

 

 

In case you need help with managing your expenses in QuickBooks Online, check this write-up: Expenses and suppliers. This will provide us with links to how your expense transactions work in QuickBooks.

 

I'm always here should you have any follow-up questions or concerns, stephen-panasl-c. Wishing you and your business continued success!

S
stephen-panasl-cAuthor
August 7, 2022

Clicking that option takes me to the upgrade page.. I have Simple Start package. So does this mean that basic supplier invoices and payments are not included? Assuming this is included in the "manage suppliers" this means I need to upgrade not even to Essentials but to Plus which is going from £12->£32/mo?

 

Just to be able to pay suppliers.. I can't think of anything more basic than receiving invoices and making payments, or am I missing something here? I could manually split every bank payment down but thats extra work and I'd also be breaking the VAT rules which require reporting on the invoice not payment date.

 

thanks

Steve 

S
stephen-panasl-cAuthor
August 7, 2022

Sorry to reply to myself, but I thought of some fundamental issues in thinking if there can be a workaround, perhaps this isn't obvious to US developers but in UK/EU we have VAT and that makes for strict accounting rules as you can be audited at any time and receive fines if you don't record it correctly. Problems without normal supplier bill entry + payment:

 

1) Anything by direct debit - an invoice will be sent and it will usually specify when payment will be taken, this can be within a day or two but is most often most of a month later, so a big gap between invoice date and payment date (and VAT needs to be recorded at the invoice date and in the correct VAT period.

 

2) Anything covering multiple invoices, supplier credit. All our product suppliers provide next day delivery and invoice at that time but they take payment by direct debit later, between 2 and 4 weeks after and include all the bills outstanding on a single payment.

 

3) Any utility, eg my water bill, they direct debit the same amount monthly and then take a meter read and invoice every 6 months, there is always a +/- balance on the account, this is also how electricity and gas are usually billed in the UK.

 

4) Different VAT rates. In winter we use more gas and pay 20% VAT whereas in summer its 5% as the rate is based on the consumption for the month. You must enter the invoice and correct VAT rate, these do not correspond to the payments as per (3).

 

Similarly our suppliers in (2), most items are charged at 20% but essential goods eg fresh fruit, milk, meat, veg are charged 0%, these will be on the same invoice so need to be split, the payment of the invoices occurs later as mentioned.

 

So I think QBO approach works for cash accounting businesses, or non-VAT registered but the minute you involve VAT or a direct debit it doesn't, and since even basic utilities work this way, unless you're literally a sole trader selling accounting services say with no suppliers you're out of luck on anything but QBO highest packages, which from the package descriptions isn't what I think they intend.

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