How to order by supplier and track what you owe them

Two views of the same purchase orders. By supplier is for placing the order — everything you need from one company, in one order. Accounts Payable is for paying it — what you still owe, across every order.

1. 1

   Build the order by supplier

   In Purchase Orders, the by-supplier view groups what you need by who sells it. One trip through it produces one order per supplier, which is how a supplier expects to receive an order.

2. 2

   Let the price list do the pricing

   If the supplier has a price list, the costs and their product codes come from it. That is the payoff for keeping the list current: the order is priced before you have typed a number.

3. 3

   Open Accounts Payable

   Purchase Orders → Accounts Payable is the other side. Two figures head the page: the payable balance, and how many orders are owing. Those are bills from your suppliers — separate from money your customers owe you, which lives in accounts receivable.

4. 4

   Read what is outstanding per order

   Each order shows what is still owed on it. An order can be fully received and still owing, or paid and not yet received — receiving and paying are two different events and the page treats them that way.

5. 5

   Apply a supplier credit

   When a supplier gives you a credit note — usually from goods you sent back — it can be applied straight to the purchase order it came from, reducing the balance. That is why a supplier return is worth recording properly rather than settling over WhatsApp.

6. 6

   Check it before you pay anybody

   The payable balance is the number to reconcile against your own bank before a payment run. An order that shows as owing when you know you paid it is a receipt nobody recorded, and it is easier to find this week than next quarter.