The supplier invoice
For a small shop the supplier invoice is the whole purchasing cycle: goods come in and the payable is booked in one step. Here is how it works, and what changes in the cost.
On this page
The short path: a direct invoice
- Open Purchasing, then Supplier invoices and click New supplier invoice.
- Choose the Supplier (required; a party with the supplier role). Their currency and payment terms are filled in.
- Enter the Supplier invoice number and Supplier invoice date as printed on the paper you received; they are your reference when reconciling with the supplier. The document date in Sahl may differ from the supplier's invoice date.
- Choose the Warehouse the goods enter.
- Add the lines by barcode or name: unit, quantity, the unit Cost in the invoice currency, and any line discount.
- Save, then Post. The number is in the form
PINV-26-01-000001.
On posting, every quantity enters the warehouse at its cost, the item's last purchase cost is updated, and the supplier payable is booked. See Stock balances to see the effect.
How the average cost changes
Sahl values stock at the weighted average. When goods come in: new average = (old quantity x old average + incoming quantity x incoming cost) / total quantity. This average is what goods leave at when sold and it determines the profit margin. You bought 10 pieces at 8 while holding 10 at 10, so the average became 9.
The full path: from an order and a receipt
A larger company starts with a purchase order, then a goods receipt when the goods arrive, then the supplier invoice when the paper arrives. In that case you create the invoice with the Convert button from the receipt, the lines are copied with their received quantities, and you type the actual invoice price. What posting does then is different, because the goods already entered stock at the receipt cost; the explanation is in Orders, receipts and returns.
Service items
A line for an item that does not track stock (a service, maintenance, a subscription) does not enter the warehouse; its net goes straight to General expenses. This is how an electricity or internet bill is recorded as an ordinary supplier invoice if you want to track that supplier's balance.
What happens in the books
A direct invoice for stock items:
- Debit 1500 Inventory for the movement value in the base currency.
- Debit 1600 Input VAT for the invoice tax in its currency (a recoverable asset that appears in the VAT report).
- Credit 2100 Supplier payables under the supplier's name for the total in the invoice currency.
For service items, 5900 General expenses replaces Inventory. And if the invoice is in a foreign currency and a few cents of difference appear between conversions, they are booked explicitly to 5210 Rounding differences.
Paying the supplier
The invoice does not pay itself. Create a payment voucher from Documents, then Payment vouchers for the supplier and allocate it to their invoices; auto-allocation oldest first is available. The Payment column in the invoice list updates accordingly. See Receipt and payment vouchers, and for cheques Cheques.
Dates and periods
The document date must fall in an open fiscal period and must not be older than the item's latest stock movement in the same warehouse, or posting is refused. Record supplier invoices at their actual arrival date rather than the supplier's paper date if that is old.
Shipping and customs
Do not enter them as a line on the supplier invoice. After posting it, create an Import expenses document that spreads them over the invoice lines and raises the stock cost accurately. Details in the next article.
Frequently asked questions
The supplier sent an invoice in dollars and I sell in shekels. What do I do?
Choose dollars as the invoice currency; the exchange rate is resolved from the latest rate recorded on its date. The payable is booked in dollars and stock enters in shekels at the converted value.
Do selling prices change automatically after a supplier invoice?
No. Only the average cost and last purchase cost update. Selling prices in the price lists are changed by you.
I entered the wrong quantity and posted. How do I fix it?
Cancel the invoice so the stock movement and entry are reversed, then enter it correctly. If it was partly paid, cancel the payment voucher allocated to it first.