Purchase invoices and suppliers: frequently asked questions
Questions about entering purchase invoices, Do not affect earnings, payment types, invoices from Excel, drafts, prices including VAT, updating purchase prices, returns, supplier payments and cheques.
The most frequently asked questions about purchase invoices, stock entry and supplier accounts. For step-by-step instructions, see the Creating a purchase invoice and returning to a supplier article.
Purchase invoices
Should I enter incoming products with a purchase invoice, or can I add stock from the product card?
Both increase stock. We recommend entering goods from suppliers through purchase invoices: stock and purchase prices are updated, and the amount is posted to the supplier's account and to reports according to the payment type you choose. When you add stock from the product card, a purchase invoice is also created in the background.
There are purchase invoices I did not enter. What does "Do not affect earnings" mean?
When you increase stock from the product card, upload stock with Excel, or have surplus products in a stock count, the system creates an automatic purchase invoice; these records cannot be turned off. On an invoice with the Do not affect earnings payment type, only stock and purchase price are updated; it does not affect the till, the profit / net earnings calculation or the supplier balance. If needed, you can open the invoice and edit its supplier and payment type.
Which payment type should I choose on a purchase invoice?
| Payment type | Result |
|---|---|
| On Account | The amount is recorded as your debt to the supplier; as you pay, you add payments from the supplier card. |
| Cash / Credit Card | It counts as paid to the supplier and is deducted from earnings as an expense in reports. |
| Do not affect earnings | Only stock and purchase price are updated; it does not affect the till or the supplier account. |
After saving the purchase invoice, do not also enter the same payment under Expenses; the cost would be deducted twice.
Can I add a new product that is not in my products from the invoice?
Yes. Scan a barcode that is not in your account on the barcode line; quickly create a product card from the line and enter the product name, sale price and quantity. When the invoice is saved, the product is added to the product list and to stock.
Yes. Scan the barcode and press Enter; if it is not saved, you can add the product. You can also search by typing the product name, or pick it with Select from List.
Yes. Add the new barcode on the invoice with New product or Scan.
Can I upload a long invoice from a wholesaler with Excel? Is there import from XML or a photo?
You can upload it with Excel: on the create purchase invoice page, use Add products from Excel and fill in the template (barcode, product name, quantity, unit purchase price excl. VAT, VAT rate, discounts). Do not leave the VAT column empty; an empty VAT can set the product's VAT to 0.
Uploading products with Excel is in the web panel; create the invoice on the web and it reaches the desktop app through sync.
Uploading products with Excel is in the web panel.
Automatic import from an invoice XML file or a photo is not available at the moment. If you have e-invoice integration, you can convert incoming invoices into purchase invoices: E-invoice and e-archive.
Why don't products match when I import an incoming e-invoice?
If the barcode or stock code of the product on the invoice is the same as the product card in BenimPOS, it matches automatically. If an additional barcode linked to the product is the same as the code on the invoice, that also matches. On a line that does not match, press the orange link (chain) button in the web panel and choose your own product; if the product comes in a case or box, enter how many units it contains, and the quantity and unit price are converted automatically. The supplier's code is saved as an additional barcode for the product and is recognized automatically on later invoices. See Additional barcode.
Can I save the invoice as a draft? The page closed and the invoice I entered is gone.
There is no draft feature at the moment; an invoice on a page that closes without saving is not kept and cannot be recovered. For invoices with many items, we recommend using Add products from Excel, or saving the invoice in several parts and then adding products to the invoice.
I get the "Please enter at least one product" warning.
A purchase invoice cannot be saved without products. Add at least one product by scanning a barcode, picking from the list or with Excel; make sure the quantity and unit price on the line are filled in.
The invoice total with VAT is wrong.
The Incl. VAT option on the line determines how the unit price is read. If you entered prices including VAT, Incl. VAT must be ticked; if you entered them excluding VAT, untick it. With the wrong choice, VAT is calculated twice or not added at all. On invoices with more than one VAT rate and discounts, small differences of a few cents can occur because of rounding.
How is the product's purchase price updated? Is it the price on the last invoice or an average?
In the web panel, if My Profile › Other Settings › Update purchase price from last invoice is on, the product's purchase price becomes the price on the most recently saved invoice (the invoice date is not taken into account; enter invoices in date order). If it is off, the new purchase price is averaged with the stock on hand. The setting affects only later invoices. Profit is calculated with the purchase price at the time of sale, so an invoice entered later does not change the profit of earlier sales.
How do I edit or delete an invoice I saved? The invoice was saved twice.
On the "Purchase Invoices" page, choose the date range and supplier, press View and open the invoice: you can add products, edit lines, take a product return or delete the invoice.
In the invoice details, Actions › Delete invoice.
On a slow connection, pressing Save twice can save the invoice twice; delete the duplicate invoice and stock is corrected accordingly. We recommend using only digits in the invoice number.
How do I return products to a supplier?
Create a new invoice, set INVOICE TYPE to Return Invoice and enter the returned products; or open the existing invoice and take a return from the product. The return reduces stock and is posted to the supplier balance as a return.
Choose Return invoice as the invoice type, or click the product line on a saved invoice and use the Return section.
On a new invoice, choose return invoice as the Invoice type.
The invoice number is not filled in automatically on mobile.
In the mobile app, enter the invoice number manually. In the web panel, if there is no number, you can create one with Generate random.
How do I enter a product I bought in dollars / euros?
Purchase invoices are saved in your app currency; no separate currency is chosen on the invoice. To keep the product's purchase price in a foreign currency, choose the currency next to the purchase price on the product card and turn on using exchange rates.
Can I save an order I place with a supplier (purchase order)?
There is no separate module for supplier orders at the moment; the orders module is only for customer orders. Enter a purchase invoice when the goods arrive.
Suppliers
How do I add a payment I made to a supplier?
On the supplier card, press Add Payment / Debt; enter the transaction type, amount, date and note. You can attach an image of the invoice or payment receipt if you want (attaching files is only on the web).
On the supplier card, choose Add Payment (Cash / Credit card / your own types) or Add Debt from the TYPE list, enter the amount and press Add Debt / Payment.
Add payment or Add debt at the bottom of the supplier card.
Do not enter supplier payments under Expenses; they already appear in the Supplier Payments card in reports and in the Cash Register Report. See Adding a payment or debt for a supplier.
The supplier balance went negative, or the total debt is different from what I expected.
When you pay more than the debt or enter the payment before the invoice, the balance shows negative (the supplier owes you) and is deducted from the next debt. A common cause of unexpected differences is an invoice saved with a future date: check it by moving the date range forward on the supplier card and correct the invoice date.
How do I track a payment I made by cheque / promissory note?
There is no separate cheque / promissory note module. In the web panel, set up a payment type such as "Cheque" on the Payment Types page and enter the supplier payment with this type, using the due date.
Can I see the due dates of my debts to suppliers? Which product did I buy from which supplier?
If you enter a Payment term (days) on the supplier card, suppliers with remaining debt are listed in the upcoming payments section on the web home page; no notification is sent. You can see which supplier you bought a product from and when in the stock movement report (SUPPLIER SELECTION) or in the purchase invoices on the product card.
Can I see the total of purchase invoices in a date range I choose?
In the Purchase Invoices list, the total of each invoice is shown on its line; there is currently no separate field with the grand total for the selected range. You can download the list with Download Excel and calculate the total in Excel. For older invoices, move the start date back.
Can I upload my suppliers in bulk with their balances?
Yes, with Import on the "Suppliers" page in the web panel. For the balance type, enter only A (you owe the supplier) or B (the supplier owes you); do not upload the same file twice. See Importing suppliers with Excel.