Accessing Supplier Invoices/Vendor Invoices

NOTE: Actionstep offers in-built Accounting to users on our Practice Pro + Accounting plan.  This article covers functionality only available with that option.

Supplier invoices can also be called Vendor invoices. The term is interchangeable so while we might use the term "supplier invoice" in this article, please know that we are talking about vendor invoices if that is the preferred term you use. 

In this article, we will explain how to access your supplier invoices and show you ways to manage your list of supplier invoices. 

Overview of supplier invoices

Supplier or vendor invoices are the bills that you have to pay to keep your business running. These may be items that you bill onto your clients, or they might be general costs such as utilities or office supplies.

Whatever you call them, these are the bills that are issued to your company from a supplier or vendor for you to pay. In Actionstep we have a list view of all the supplier invoices as well as a view for Accounts Payable and reports on Aged Payables so there are many ways you can monitor these invoices. 

When you create a new supplier invoice you can do it in one of two ways: through a process that steps you through entering the basic details of the supplier invoice (which we call the "normal method") - Creating a Supplier Invoice/Vendor Invoice, or through a quick entry wizard - Creating a Supplier Invoice/Vendor Invoice through the Quick Entry Wizard that presents more details at once and allows you to create invoice after invoice quickly and efficiently. 

Navigating to your supplier invoices

The majority of the time you will manage your supplier invoices through a list of supplier invoices. You will find this list under the Accounting menu at the top of the Actionstep screen. Look under Supplier Invoices and click on Supplier Invoice.

NOTE: In some systems, you are able to customize the terms used in Accounting. While the default setup of Actionstep may have terms like "Supplier Invoices", these might have been changed to similar terms such as "Purchases", "Payables" or "Vendor".

Understanding the Supplier invoices screen

Now that you have navigated to the Supplier invoices screen, let's talk about some of the function that you have on the screen. 

Filter the view

The Supplier Invoice screen is a list view so you can use the filter to help find the records that you are after. You can search by date, supplier/vendor, reference number, and a dozen other options to help find specific invoices.

You can also use it for basic reporting. You can easily use the filter to be able to see invoices due for a month or the total you have paid to a certain supplier.

Opening records

To open a supplier invoice, you just need to click on one of the first three columns ('Seq. No', 'Our Reference' or 'Supplier'. The results in this column will appear in blue and be bolded to show that clicking them will open the Supplier invoice record.

You are also able to click on the result in the 'Matter number' and/or the 'Related client' columns to open a matter that is linked to a supplier invoice.

Lastly, under the document column (which shows a count of how many documents you have uploaded as supporting documents to a supplier invoice), you can click on the number to either upload a new document or download an existing one.

Changing one or more records from the list view

To the left of every line is a tick box. Ticking this box will give you more options on what you can do with the supplier invoice selected. Many of those functions can be done on multiple invoices at once. 

We explain what each of these options is below.

Heading	Description
View	Use this to open the supplier invoice(s) selected. These will open in a new tab.
Status	Status and the options under it allow you to change the status of the supplier invoice(s) selected.  There can be some restrictions on when you are able to change the status of a supplier invoice and these will still be enforced as you make changes to the status in this manner. For example, if you have a payment against a supplier invoice and try to change its status to draft, you will get a message telling you that you cannot make an invoice a draft while there is a payment loaded against it. The options available are: Lock and Approve This option will post the supplier invoice to your general ledger. You are moving it from Draft to an 'Open' status. Unlock/Revert to Draft This will move an Open invoice back into Draft so that changes can be made to it.  NOTE: There are restrictions in Actionstep that will stop an invoice from being moved back into Draft. These can include: Having a payment made against the invoice. Having a credit applied to the invoice. Having the invoice included in a sales tax/VAT return. Data permissions can prevent a user from being able to "unlock" a supplier invoice. There is a setting in Accounting Preferences which prevents the user from deleting an accounting transaction.  Update status to Closed This will move an invoice from 'Open" to 'Closed'. This indicates that it is fully paid.  This can only be done to an invoice that is fully paid. Typically, this will not be needed as a supplier invoice is automatically marked as 'Closed' when paid in full, however, it may be that zero amount invoices might not be marked as closed so this function will achieve that.
Print (Preview, Email as Attachment, Download)	This option and its three sub-options allow you to print off the Actionstep copy of the supplier invoice. Regardless of which option you choose ('Preview', 'Email as Attachment', 'Download'), you will be directed to a screen in which you can firstly select the supplier invoice template that you would like to preview, email or download. This will not be a copy of the invoice that was issued to you by your supplier/vendor, but a PDF record of the invoice as it is recorded in Actionstep.
Other > Upload Document	This allows you to upload a supporting document to your supplier invoice record to ensure you have complete records.  It is good practice to upload a copy of the supplier invoice that you received from your supplier/vendor for your records. You can also upload documents by clicking on the number that is displayed in the "Document" column of the list of supplier invoices. The title of this column is shortened to "D" to save space, but it is normally in the far right-hand column.
Other. View Uploaded Document	This allows you to see the names and file type of any files that you have uploaded as a supporting document on the supplier invoice.
Other > View GL Transaction	Every accounting transaction in Actionstep, including Supplier invoices, will have a GL transaction (General Ledger transaction). By using this option you are able to see details of the general ledger accounts that were debited and credited for this transaction.  This is a useful audit tool to help you understand how your supplier invoice is affecting your general ledger.  There can be multiple transactions that are associated with a supplier invoice and a payment to it.  The general ledger transaction that this link will take you to will be the result of posting the supplier invoice to the general ledger.
Other > Mark as Sent	It is possible to mark a supplier invoice as 'Sent'. This is not a function used often for supplier invoices and was designed more for sales invoices (bills you send to your client to pay you). When you mark a supplier invoice as 'Sent', two of the columns in the supplier invoice list will be updated. The column "Sent Date" will populate with today's date for that invoice and the column "Sent Via" will be updated to Manual. These columns are normally updated automatically if you use the Print or Print > Email as Attachment option.
Other > Mark as Unsent	It is possible to mark a supplier invoice as 'Unsent'. This is not a function used often for supplier invoices and was designed more for sales invoices (bills you send to your client to pay you). When you mark a supplier invoice as 'Unsent', two of the columns in the supplier invoice list will be updated. The column "Sent Date" and "Sent Via" will have any value removed for that supplier invoice.
Other > Delete	Delete allows you to delete the supplier invoice. You are only able to delete an invoice if it is in draft currently. A deleted invoice can still be found and re-saved as a draft invoice if you realize you have made a mistake by deleting it. Use the filter in the Supplier invoice list view and set the "Status" to "Deleted" to see all deleted invoices in your system. You can apply further filters (supplier, date, etc) to help you find a specific supplier invoice. Once you find it, you can either open it and then use the Save button to change its status, or you can tick the box beside it and use Status > Unlock/Revert to Draft to save it as a draft once more.
Create Payment	Use this to create a payment for the selected supplier invoice(s).