Purchases
Acting Office provides a comprehensive and intuitive workflow to manage all aspects from creating purchase invoices and credit notes to handling payments, suppliers, purchase orders, and item management. Designed for efficiency and accuracy, the module enables users to capture, track, and reconcile purchase transactions with ease. It includes robust features such as import and scan functionalities, smart automation like auto-allocation of payments, interactive dashboards for real-time insights, and flexible data handling tools. This centralised platform helps to streamline your purchasing operations and maintain complete financial control.
Creating a purchase invoice
Go to the 'Purchases' area under the 'Inputs' tab.
Click the 'Add' button to create a new invoice
Select or create supplier
Enter the supplier's name. You can choose an existing supplier from the list or create a new one directly from the invoice screen, start by typing the name. If the supplier’s business is registered with Companies House, the software will automatically retrieve the details. Simply type the business name and click the search icon or press enter. A list of matching results will be displayed, from which you can select the relevant business. The address and other relevant details will automatically populate. If necessary, you can modify the address by clicking the edit icon or by pressing tab after inputting the business name itself. You may also input additional supplier information by clicking on ‘More details’ and completing the required fields as mentioned below:
Contact details- You can enter details of the primary contact, phone number, email address, fax, website details, billing address. You can add further contact persons by clicking on ‘add more’.
Bank details of the supplier can also be added for handy records.
VAT number - This helps in storing the VAT number to be displayed in each invoice.
EORI number - EORI number is used to track and register customs information in the EU and could be stored for each supplier.
Payment terms - To populate due dates of invoices and store credit periods offered by different suppliers.
Notes can be added for quick reference.
Enter supplier invoice reference
Input the supplier's invoice reference. Use the attachment icon to upload related documents if needed.
Invoice reference number
A reference number is auto-generated based on the predefined settings. You may edit this if required.
Set invoice and due dates
The invoice date defaults to today’s date and can be modified. The due date can also be set up.
Add items
Select existing items or create new ones. The system provides a searchable list for convenience. To create a new item, start by typing the item name in the designated field and selecting ‘Create’. This will generate a new line item, and the details will be saved for future use.
Input item details
Complete fields such as item description, account selection, quantity, unit cost, and applicable VAT. The net amount is calculated automatically. Once an item has been added, a new row will appear, enabling you to enter additional items. To remove a line item, click the 'Delete' icon next to the corresponding row.
Note: The ‘Go up’ and ‘Go down’ arrows, located to the left of the line items, allow you to rearrange the sequence of items within the invoice.
Apply Discounts - Add a discount as either a percentage or a fixed value.
Add Notes - Use the 'Settings' icon to enter notes.
Save the Invoice Click 'Save' to record the invoice or 'Save & New' to create another invoice immediately.
Import
You can also create purchase invoices using the Import feature. Click the 'Import' button to download the available template. Populate the template with the required invoice details and upload it to the system to record multiple purchase invoices efficiently.
Scan
The Scan feature enables users to generate a new purchase invoice by uploading a supporting document (e.g., PDF or image file) from their system. The system will extract relevant data from the document to prefill the invoice fields.
Purchase Dashboard
Total purchase amount Displays the total value of all purchase invoices, net of any credit notes. A graph illustrates both the outstanding and paid amounts. Hovering over the graph provides detailed figures for each segment.
Outstanding amount Shows the total unpaid balance, including a breakdown of due and overdue amounts.
List of purchase Invoices A detailed list of all purchase invoices is shown, including reference numbers, dates, due dates, invoice amounts, outstanding balances, and current status. The following quick actions are available:
Clone: Duplicate an existing purchase invoice. All details are copied to a new draft for editing.
Create payment: Apply full or partial payments using the 'Add payment' icon.
Delete: Remove a purchase invoice from the system using the delete icon. Deleted invoices can be restored by switching the filter from active to deleted and clicking the revive icon.
Download: Generate a PDF version of the invoice using the download icon.
Edit: Modify invoice details using the edit icon. Editing may be restricted if transactions are linked or if the period is locked (e.g., VAT return submitted).
Additional functions
Search Quickly find
A purchase invoice by reference number or supplier name using the search bar.
Date filters Select a date range to display invoices dated during a particular period.
Status filters Filter invoices by status—such as active, due, overdue, paid, or deleted—to narrow down the displayed list.
Sorting Organise invoices by various fields like date, amount, or supplier name using the sorting tool.
Hide graphics Click the hide graphics icon to remove the visual summaries and focus solely on the invoice list.
Refresh Use the refresh icon to update the dashboard and reflect the most recent data.
Creation of a credit note
1. Creating a new credit note
To begin creating a credit note, click on the 'Add' button.
You can search for the supplier by entering the supplier’s name and a list of existing suppliers will appear for you to select the appropriate one. The system will automatically generate the credit note number based on the sequence configured in the business settings, although this can be modified as needed.
By default, today's date will be set for the credit note. If you wish to select a different date, use the calendar icon to choose the desired date.
The software will then display a list of all outstanding invoices for the selected supplier. Hovering over the invoice reference field will provide additional guidance on how to use it.
You also have the option to attach relevant documents by clicking the 'Attachment' icon.
2. Select items for credit note
A list of items associated with the selected invoice will be displayed. You can select the items for which the credit note is being raised and adjust the quantity or unit price of any concerned item as needed. Discounts can be configured either as a fixed amount or a percentage.
3. Allocation of payment amount
Once the credit note is saved, a pop-up will appear, allowing you to review and allocate the amount from the associated purchase invoice. You can either apply the credit note to the due amount of invoice or mark it as a refund. To save the credit note, click on ‘Save’, select 'Save & New' to save the current credit note and create a new one simultaneously.
4. Credit note tab
All credit notes raised within the selected date range will be displayed in the credit note tab, along with details such as the credit note reference number, the associated purchase invoice reference in the Invoice column, date, amount, and refund amount.
Use the 'Download' icon to download a specific credit note.
To delete an existing credit note, click the three-dot icon and select the 'Delete' option.
Filters can be applied to display only active or deleted credit notes.
The search bar and refresh icon allow you to search for a specific credit note or refresh the page to update information.
Creation of purchase orders
A purchase order (PO) is a formal document issued by a buyer to a seller, specifying the details of products or services the buyer intends to purchase. Once the supplier reviews and accepts the purchase order, it can be converted into a formal invoice. Raising a purchase order is similar to raising a purchase invoice. Input all necessary details and click 'Save' to proceed with the creation of the new purchase order.
Purchase order dashboard
The interactive dashboard displays important information such as the total number of purchase orders raised, the total amount, and the breakdown of pending and accepted purchase orders, along with their respective percentages.
A list of all purchase orders will be presented along with important details. The status column will indicate whether the purchase order is 'Pending' or 'Accepted'.
Quick action buttons are available to:
Download the purchase order
Edit the purchase order
Create an invoice
Delete the purchase order
Filters can be applied to narrow down the list of purchase orders. You can also set a date range to view only purchase orders created within a specific period. The 'hide graphics' icon hides the graphical presentations, and the refresh icon allows you to refresh the page for new information.
Payments
Acting Office allows users to easily record payments from suppliers. To record a new payment, click on add payments button and proceed with the following steps:
Input required details
Enter all necessary details including selection of supplier, date of payment, the relevant account and payment method from the dropdown for reconciliation purposes. Suppliers can also be created by typing the name and clicking on create supplier. The rest of the process is similar to creation of suppliers while adding a purchase invoice
Auto allocation toggle
If a supplier has multiple outstanding purchase invoices, the Auto allocation feature will intelligently allocate the total payment amount across those invoices based on their respective due dates following the FIFO method. If you prefer to manually allocate the payment against specific invoices, simply toggle off this feature and input the amounts manually against the desired invoice. You can also use settings option to record discounts received. For the amount in excess of the allocated amount to invoices, the system stores it in the form of advance, available for exhaustion further.
Notes and attachments
You can add additional remarks using the 'Notes' option and attach relevant documents using the 'Attachment' icon. Once the details are entered, click 'Save' to record the payment, or choose 'Save & New' to save the current payment and create a new one simultaneously.
Payment Dashboard
The payment dashboard displays a list of all payments, including relevant details such as payment reference(s), date, account, and payment amount.
Quick action buttons allow you to download the payments.
The three-dot menu offers options to either delete the payment or download the invoice(s) against which the payment has been marked.
Supplier
With Acting Office’s intelligent syncing feature, a list of all suppliers created through various modes will be compiled and presented in the Supplier section. All relevant supplier’s information will be displayed here.
Create new supplier To add a new supplier, click the 'Add' button and input the required details. The process is similar to creation of suppliers from all the other sections including invoices, payments, etc.
Additional features a. The search bar enables you to locate a specific supplier from the list of all suppliers. This report can also be downloaded as an excel document using the 'Download' icon.
b. Filters can be applied to refine the data. You may also use the 'Choose columns' icon to select the specific columns you wish to display in the report to track supplier’s details.
c. The Edit icon allows you to modify supplier information. Additionally, the three-dot icon provides options to either view the report or delete a supplier from the system. In order to revive a deleted supplier, change the filter from active to deleted, and then use the revive icon to do the needful.
Items
All items created during the invoicing process will be listed here along with essential details such as item code, description, item type, and other relevant information. You can also create a new item, from here.
Create new item To add a new item, click the 'Add' button and input the required details-
Item name - This would be visible in the dropdowns and hence would be used to refer to a particular item.
Item code - A unique code assigned to each item. The same could even be displayed on invoices, if needed, using options in settings.
If you are adding a service instead of a product, you can enable the ‘as service’ checkbox.
The system allows you to differentiate the details of description, unit price, account to be journalised and applicable VAT rates for the same item in context of both sales and purchase purposes. So just in case you are creating a particular item only for purchases and not for sales, you can disable the checkbox ‘for purchases’. Another example, in the case of trading entities where an item is bought at 400 and sold at 1000, the unit prices can be changed accordingly for both the sections.
Additional features
a. The 'Edit' and 'Delete' icons provide options to modify or remove an existing item. b. Use the search bar and filter options to quickly locate specific items and refine the list as needed.
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