Expense bills

An expense bill records a supplier’s bill for something that is not stock, such as rent, electricity, repairs or a service, that you will pay later. Saving it writes one journal entry. It books the cost, books any VAT you can claim back, and adds the amount to what you owe the supplier. Nothing is paid and no stock moves.

Where: Purchases › Expense bills › Record an expense bill
Number: SB-000001, given when you save
Posts to: Your expense categories, Input Tax Recoverable, Accounts Payable
Who: Managers and admins

What it’s for

A supplier sends a bill for a cost that is not stock, and you will pay it later.
You can pay it all at once or in parts. See Supplier payments.
One bill can be split across up to 50 lines and many expense categories.
Goods you will sell or keep in stock are not recorded here. Use Purchases.
A cost you paid at the moment you bought it is not an expense bill. Record it in Expenses under Banking & cash. Both screens link to each other: Already paid? Record an expense.
An expense paid by a post-dated cheque from Banking & cash also appears here as a bill. Change or delete it from Expenses, not from here.
The supplier is set up in Suppliers first. You can also add one from the Supplier box.
There is no recurring bill. Record each bill when it arrives.
You cannot attach the supplier’s invoice file to the bill. Keep the paper or PDF with your records and use Notes to say where it is.

Fields

Field	What it means	What it changes
Supplier	Who sent the bill. Search by code or name. Their tax number (TRN) shows under the box	What you owe that supplier goes up. The supplier must be active
Supplier invoice number	The number printed on the supplier’s invoice. Up to 100 characters	Only one live document of a supplier can have a given number. Capital and small letters count as the same
Bill date	The date on the supplier’s invoice. It starts as today and cannot be in the future	The date of the accounting entry and of the VAT. It cannot be inside a locked month
Due date	When you must pay. It starts as the bill date	Drives “Overdue”. It cannot be before the bill date
Description	What the line is for. Up to 500 characters	Printed and kept with the line only
Category	The expense category the cost belongs to	That category is debited. Cost of Goods Sold and other protected accounts are not offered. If your role allows, you can add a category from the box
Amount	The line amount, before or including VAT	The cost. It is rounded to the fils (0.01)
Tax	The VAT rate for the line	Decides the VAT on the line
Incl. tax	Tick it when the amount already includes VAT. It starts as your company setting for prices	Decides whether VAT is added to the amount or taken out of it
Claim VAT back	Yes or No. It starts as No	Yes puts the VAT in Input Tax Recoverable. No keeps the VAT as part of the cost
Line total	Shown for each line, read-only	The line amount plus VAT, or the amount itself when it already includes VAT
Supplier invoice total (incl. VAT)	Optional. The total printed on the supplier’s invoice	The app works out the supplier’s VAT from it. See the VAT rule below
VAT as per supplier invoice	Optional. The VAT printed on the supplier’s invoice	Replaces the calculated VAT you claim back, by up to AED 0.05 either way
Notes	Optional. Up to 2,000 characters	Kept with the bill only

The Bill totals panel under the lines and the Bill total in the footer show the net amount, the VAT and the total owed. They are a preview. The app works the figures out again when you save.

The VAT rule for printed VAT

The app works out VAT line by line and rounds each line to the fils. A supplier’s invoice can differ by a few fils.

Type the VAT printed on the invoice, or the invoice total. The app uses your figure if it is within AED 0.05 of its own. The VAT you claim back, the VAT total and the amount you owe all move by the same difference. This works only when every line that has VAT claims it back.

Buttons

Nothing touches your accounts until you confirm Save expense bill.

Button	When you see it	What happens	Accounts
Record an expense bill	The Expense bills list	Opens the entry form	No change
Add line	The form	Adds a line, up to 50. The trash button on a line removes it	No change
Review expense bill	The form	Opens “Review expense bill” with the supplier, dates, each line and the total owed. Nothing is saved yet	No change
Review & new	The form	The same review. After you save, a fresh form opens for the next bill	No change
Save expense bill	The review	Saves and posts the bill. The list opens with the new bill marked “Just saved”. Back to edit returns to the form with everything kept	Posts
Pay bill	A bill that still owes money	Opens the payment form: date, amount, Bank or Cash, the account and a reference	Posts payment
Edit bill	A saved bill	Change the bill, then Update bill. Asks for a reason	Restated on its own date
Supplier credit note	A saved bill that can be edited	Lowers the bill by what the supplier credited. Asks for the credit note number	Restated; paid part becomes supplier advance
Print…	A saved bill, if you may print vouchers	Shows the bill voucher to print	No change
Delete bill	A saved bill that can be deleted, admins only	Removes the bill as if it never happened. Asks for a reason	All effects removed
Correct today	A bill that cannot be edited, admins only	Cancels the bill and enters the right one, both dated today	Two entries dated today
Cancel this bill	A bill that cannot be edited or deleted, admins only	Opens a correcting entry. Confirm with Cancel bill, or leave with Keep bill	Correcting entry

On the list, the same actions are in the ⋯ menu of each row: Print, Pay bill, Edit bill and Delete bill. The bill number opens the bill. The list also has a search box (“Search bill, invoice or supplier”), a Status filter, Print… and Download CSV for the list as filtered.

A bill has four tabs: Details, Payments, History and Accounting details.

Statuses you will see: Open, Overdue, Part paid, Paid and Cancelled. A deleted bill is shown as Deleted on its own page and no longer appears in the list.

What gets posted

Saving writes one journal entry, dated on the bill date. Lines to the same category are added together into one debit.

Expense: the net amount of each line, plus any VAT you do not claim back.
Input Tax Recoverable: the VAT you do claim back. There is no line when it is zero.
Accounts Payable: the whole bill total, which is what you owe the supplier.

Example 1A bill with VAT you claim backAmount excludes VAT · VAT 5% · Claim VAT back: Yes

Bill line, excluding VAT100.00
VAT 5% on 100.005.00
Bill total105.00

Account	Debit (AED)	Credit (AED)	Why
The expense category you chose	100.00		The cost
1400Input Tax Recoverable	5.00		VAT you claim back from the FTA
2000Accounts Payable		105.00	You owe the supplier the full total
Total	105.00	105.00	Balanced

The bill is Open. Nothing has left your bank or cash.

Example 2Two categories, one line includes VAT and is not claimedVAT 5% on both lines

Line 1: Office supplies, excluding VAT, claim VAT back100.00
VAT 5% on line 15.00
Line 2: Consulting fee, including VAT, no claim52.50
VAT inside line 2: 52.50 × 5 ÷ 1052.50
Bill total157.50

Account	Debit (AED)	Credit (AED)	Why
6700Office and Administration Expense	100.00		Line 1 net cost
A category you added, for the consulting fee	52.50		Line 2: net 50.00 plus the 2.50 VAT you do not claim
1400Input Tax Recoverable	5.00		Only line 1 claims its VAT
2000Accounts Payable		157.50	The full total of both lines
Total	157.50	157.50	Balanced

When prices include VAT, the app takes the VAT out of the amount you type. A line that does not claim its VAT keeps that VAT in the expense, so it costs the full 52.50.

Example 3Paying part of the bill laterExample 1 · pay 40.00 from a bank account

Account	Debit (AED)	Credit (AED)	Why
2000Accounts Payable	40.00		You owe the supplier less
The bank account you paid from		40.00	Money left the bank
Total	40.00	40.00	Balanced

This is a second entry, dated the payment date. The bill now shows Part paid with a balance due of 65.00. Paying from cash works the same way, using the cash account you pick. More on payments in Supplier payments.

Other rules that apply on every bill

No stock: an expense bill never changes stock.
Not VAT registered: if your company is not VAT registered on the bill date, you cannot claim VAT back. The VAT stays in the cost.
VAT records: VAT you claim back is also written to your VAT records for the bill date. The supplier must have a 15-digit tax number (TRN) when your company is VAT registered in the UAE.
Cancelling a bill: a correcting entry is the mirror image of the bill, on a date you choose. It starts at today and cannot be before the bill date. It also reverses the VAT record.
Editing a bill: the bill is restated on its own bill date with the same number. If a payment can no longer stay on the bill (see Fixing a mistake), the money becomes supplier advance in a separate entry dated the day you save.

Where it shows up

Place	What changes
Supplier balances	What you owe the supplier goes up by the bill total, and down as you pay
Reports › Suppliers you owe, Supplier dues by age and Overdue suppliers	The bill appears with its balance and due date
Reports › Purchase activity	Counted in the supplier bills of the period, by bill date
VAT return (Detailed Reports › Tax)	VAT you claim back counts in the period of the bill date, as input VAT
Reports › Profit and loss	The expense categories you chose
Reports › Balance sheet	Accounts Payable and Input Tax Recoverable
Reports › Day book	One entry for the bill, and one for each payment
Purchases › Supplier payments	The bill can be paid on its own or together with other bills

What the app blocks

The app checks the form as you review it, and again when you save. A refused bill leaves no half-written records.

Situation	What you see
No supplier chosen	Select a valid supplier.
Supplier is inactive	Select an active supplier.
No supplier invoice number	Enter the supplier invoice number.
Bill date in the future	Choose today or an earlier date in the company time zone.
Due date before the bill date	Due date cannot be before the supplier bill date.
Bill date inside a locked month	The accounting period is locked through ‹date›. Choose a later date, or ask an administrator to reopen the period.
Invoice number already used by this supplier	This invoice number already exists for this supplier. It is on ‹document›. Open that document, or delete or cancel it first to use the number again.
A line with no description	Enter a line description.
A line with no category	Select a valid expense category.
A category that is no longer active	Select an active expense category.
A line with no VAT rate	Select a valid tax profile.
An amount of zero	Enter an amount greater than zero.
Claiming VAT back on a zero-rated line	Zero-rated VAT can’t be claimed back. Choose No under Claim VAT back.
Company not VAT registered on the bill date	You can’t claim VAT back: the company is not VAT registered on this date.
Printed VAT more than AED 0.05 away from the calculated VAT	VAT differs from the calculated amount by more than AED 0.05. Check the supplier invoice.
Printed VAT on a bill where some VAT is not claimed back, or none is	VAT as per supplier invoice applies only to recoverable standard-rated input VAT. Leave it blank for zero-rated, exempt or non-recoverable VAT.
Claiming VAT back but the supplier has no 15-digit TRN	Enter the supplier or payee 15-digit UAE TRN before posting recoverable VAT.
Claiming VAT back but the company has no 15-digit TRN	Enter the company 15-digit UAE TRN before posting recoverable VAT.
The bill date is inside a VAT return with locked figures	This tax point is in a finalised VAT return. Record a later-period correction.
A VAT rate with no UAE treatment set	Add an effective UAE VAT treatment for each tax profile before posting.

Edit, delete and cancel

Edit and Delete are refused for these reasons. The bill page shows the reason beside the next step. The row menu shows it as a message when you try.

Situation	What you see
The bill date is in a locked month	Locked period — locked through ‹date›.
The bill is in a VAT return with locked figures	This is in your filed VAT return for ‹from› to ‹to›, so it can’t be changed or deleted. Correct or cancel it with an entry dated today. The correction goes into your next VAT return. Administrators can do this, and managers whose role allows it.
The bill is the expense for a post-dated cheque	This bill is the expense for cheque ‹number›. Change or delete it from Expenses, or cancel the cheque in PDC cheques first.
A post-dated cheque is planned to pay the bill	This bill is planned to be paid by cheque ‹number›. Remove it from that cheque, or cancel or delete the cheque in PDC cheques, first.
A payment on the bill was made in a payment run	Settled from a payment batch — open the payment batch to make changes.
The bill was cancelled or corrected under the old way	Part of an earlier correction.
Someone else changed the bill since you opened it	This bill was changed by someone else. Reload it to see the latest version.
You moved the bill date after a payment	Choose a bill date on or before its earliest payment, till-cash settlement or applied credit.
Cancelling a bill that has payments	Cancel active payments before cancelling this bill. Open the bill to review its payment history.

Who can do it

Action	Admin	Manager	Cashier
See the list and open a bill	Yes	Yes	No
Record an expense bill	Yes	Yes	No
Pay a bill	Yes	Yes	No
Edit a bill, supplier credit note	Yes	Yes	No
Print the voucher	Yes	Yes	No
Delete a bill	Yes	No	No
Cancel a bill, Correct today	Yes	No	No

These are the standard roles. Your administrator can give a custom role each action separately in Settings › Users & access. A supplier credit note on a paid bill also needs the right to apply supplier advance.

Fixing a mistake

Wrong supplier, invoice number, date, category, amount or VAT. Use Edit bill (a manager or admin).
- The bill is restated on its own bill date with the same number. The review shows each change from old to new, the new total and what is still owed.
- A reason is required, at least 3 characters. The History tab keeps the before and after.
- If the new total is below what you already paid, or you change the supplier, every payment on the bill becomes supplier advance. You can use it on another bill. It is never refunded automatically.
- Any supplier advance applied to the bill is released the same way. The review lists each one before you confirm.
- The bill date cannot move to a day after the bill’s first payment.
The supplier sends a credit note. Use Supplier credit note. Enter the credit note number and lower the lines the supplier credited. The Input VAT falls with the bill. If you had already paid, the part above the new total stays with the supplier as supplier advance.

Example: a bill of 1,000.00 including 5% VAT, paid in full, lowered to 800.00 leaves 200.00 of supplier advance, and Input VAT falls from 47.62 to 38.10.
The bill should never have been recorded, or was entered twice. An admin uses Delete bill and gives a reason.
- Every expense, VAT and payable effect is removed. The number stays as Deleted and is never used again. The supplier’s invoice number can be used again.
- Any payment against it becomes supplier advance, never a refund.
The bill can no longer be edited or deleted because its month is locked or it is in a VAT return with locked figures. An admin uses Correct today: the wrong bill is cancelled and the right one is entered, both dated today. The closed month and the filed return are not changed. The new bill can keep the same supplier invoice number. Use Cancel this bill if you only want to cancel it.
- A bill with payments cannot be cancelled until those payments are cancelled.
A payment was wrong. Open the bill’s Payments tab. See Supplier payments.
The cost was paid when you bought it. An expense bill is the wrong record. Delete it (admin) and record the cost in Expenses.