How to Create a Supplier Invoice for Multiple Purchase Orders

Creating a Supplier Invoice for multiple Purchase Orders lets you record one bill from a supplier against several of their orders at once, so a consolidated invoice is entered once rather than split into a separate invoice per order.

Overview

Suppliers rarely bill the way we order. Three orders go out over a fortnight and one invoice comes back covering the lot. Latner handles that directly: pick the supplier, pick the orders, and every line still waiting to be invoiced is pulled onto a single Supplier Invoice.

The flow starts from the Supplier Invoices screen, not from a Purchase Order. Starting from an order locks that order in, so it can only ever produce a single-order invoice.
You choose the supplier first. The Purchase Orders list then only offers that supplier's orders, for the chosen supplier site and branch, that still have something left to invoice.
Latner writes one invoice line for every eligible line on every order you select, carrying across the description, unit cost, purchase tax and line type. There is no line picking at this stage - it is all of them or none.
By default only quantity that has been received is invoiced. A setting can relax this so confirmed-but-not-yet-received quantity is invoiced too.
Each invoice line stays linked to the Purchase Order line it came from, and that order's Qty Invoiced goes up to match. The Purchase Order column on the invoice shows which order each line came from.
Because the invoice spans several orders, the header is not tied to any one of them - Purchase Order Number and Purchase Order Total in Financial Details stay blank. That is expected, not a fault.
The new invoice is created in Open status and is not posted to your accounting system until it is completed.

Before You Begin

Check the following before you raise the invoice.

Requirement	Where to Find It
Supplier Invoice screen permission	Security › Configuration › Permission Groups, Suppliers module, Screen
Create Supplier Invoice permission	Security › Configuration › Permission Groups, Suppliers module, Option
Two or more Purchase Orders for the same supplier, same supplier site and same branch, each with quantity still to invoice	Financials › Purchase Orders
Allow Invoices for Unreceived Purchase Orders - decides whether unreceived quantity can be invoiced	Security › Settings › Financials
Payment terms on the supplier, or a Default Supplier Payment Term	The supplier record, or Security › Settings › Suppliers

Security › Settings › Financials. Left unset, as here, only received quantity can be invoiced

Allow Invoices for Unreceived Purchase Orders decides which orders you can even see in the list. Left at Never, an order only appears once some of it has been receipted. Set to Open Invoices Only or Allow Completed Invoices, any Confirmed, Partly Received or Fully Received order with quantity still to invoice appears - but on Open Invoices Only you will not be able to complete the invoice until that quantity is received.

Creating the Supplier Invoice

Step 1 - Open the Supplier Invoices screen

Go to Suppliers › Supplier Invoices and select Options › Create Supplier Invoice. Start here rather than on a Purchase Order: the same option on an order pre-fills that one order and locks the field, so it cannot cover a second order.

The Supplier Invoices screen. The same option raises a credit note, so check you have picked Create Supplier Invoice

Step 2 - Choose the supplier

The dialog opens with Branch set to your own branch and Source set to Manual. Search for the supplier in the Supplier field and select it.

Supplier - required. Only active suppliers are listed.
Supplier Site - required. Filled in automatically from the supplier's first site; change it if the bill relates to a different site.
Supplier Contact - required. Filled in automatically from the supplier's billing contact.
Branch - required. Filled in from the supplier's branch.

The Create Supplier Invoice dialog before anything is chosen. There is no Purchase Orders field yet, because Source is still Manual

Step 3 - Set the Source to Purchase Order

Change Source from Manual to Purchase Order. A Purchase Orders field appears alongside it. These are the only two sources you can pick here - sub hire and finance schedule invoices are raised from their own records.

Setting the Source to Purchase Order reveals the Purchase Orders field. It accepts more than one order

Step 4 - Select the Purchase Orders

Select the Purchase Orders field and tick every order the supplier has billed you for. The list shows each order's number, sub total, supplier and branch, and only offers orders that still have quantity left to invoice.

Two of the supplier's three eligible orders ticked. PO0006 is left for another invoice

Change the supplier after picking orders and the selection is cleared, because the orders on the list belong to the old supplier. Pick the supplier first and the orders second.

Step 5 - Add the supplier's reference and save

Close the order list, then finish the header and select Save.

Reference Number - the supplier's own invoice number. Optional, but worth entering: Latner rejects a second invoice using the same reference for the same supplier, which is what stops one bill being paid twice.
Invoice Date - defaults to today. The Due Date is worked out from this date and the supplier's payment terms, or from the Default Supplier Payment Term setting if the supplier has none.

The completed dialog. Both orders sit in the one Purchase Orders field, and one reference number covers them

Step 6 - Check the new invoice

Latner creates the invoice and opens it. It is in Open status with Source of Purchase Order, and the totals are the sum of everything invoiced across all the orders you selected.

The new Supplier Invoice. Payment Terms and Due Date come from the supplier, not from the orders

After Creation

The Details tab holds one line per invoiced Purchase Order line, and the Purchase Order column names the order each line came from.
Each source order's Qty Invoiced goes up by what was invoiced, and an order with nothing left to invoice moves to Invoiced status.
The new invoice appears on each order's Supplier Invoices tab, so the trail runs both ways.
Purchase Order Number and Purchase Order Total on the invoice stay blank. A multi-order invoice belongs to no single order - the link lives on the lines.
While the invoice is Open you can still edit line quantities and unit costs, add manual lines with Options › Add Details, or pull in another order's lines with Options › Add Purchase Order Details.
Nothing reaches your accounting system until you select Options › Complete Invoice.

The Details tab. Lines 1 and 2 came from one order, lines 3 and 4 from the other

A source Purchase Order afterwards. Qty Invoiced now matches Qty Received, the status is Invoiced, and the invoice is on its Supplier Invoices tab

The invoice Options menu while the invoice is Open. Add Purchase Order Details is how a late order joins this invoice

Completing the invoice is the point of no return. While it is Open a line can be deleted or the whole invoice cancelled, and each order's Qty Invoiced is wound back. Once it is Completed it has been posted, and a mistake has to be corrected with a credit note rather than unpicked.

FAQs

The Purchase Orders field has not appeared. Where is it?

Source is still Manual. The field only shows once Source is Purchase Order, and it is hidden again (and ignored) if you switch back.

An order I need is missing from the Purchase Orders list. Why?

The list is filtered four ways: to the supplier, supplier site and branch on the dialog, and to orders with quantity still to invoice. With Allow Invoices for Unreceived Purchase Orders at Never, "still to invoice" means received but not yet invoiced - so a Confirmed order with no receipts against it will not appear. Check the branch and site on the dialog first, then check whether the order has been receipted.

Can one invoice cover orders from two different suppliers?

No. A Supplier Invoice belongs to one supplier, so the order list only ever offers that supplier's orders. Two suppliers means two invoices.

Can I choose which lines off each order get invoiced?

Not while creating the invoice - every line with quantity left to invoice is brought across. If you need to choose lines or part-invoice a quantity, create the invoice from one order and then use Options › Add Purchase Order Details on the open invoice, which lets you tick individual lines and set a Qty to Invoice on each. You can also simply delete the unwanted lines while the invoice is still Open.

Why is the Purchase Order Number on the invoice blank?

Because the invoice covers more than one order, so no single order number belongs in the header. Invoice a single order and that field is filled in. Either way, the Purchase Order column on the Details tab tells you where each line came from.

I get an error saying an invoice already exists for this supplier and reference number.

A supplier's reference number has to be unique across all of its invoices that have not been cancelled. Check whether the bill has already been entered - possibly against just one of the orders. If it genuinely is a different bill, use the reference number the supplier actually printed on it.

Why can I create the invoice but not complete it?

You are invoicing quantity that has not been received. With Allow Invoices for Unreceived Purchase Orders set to Open Invoices Only, the invoice can be raised but completing it fails with You cannot Complete an Invoice for Purchase Order quantities that have not been received. Receipt the outstanding quantity on the order in question and try again.

A fourth order turned up on the same bill after I saved. Do I start again?

No. While the invoice is Open, select Options › Add Purchase Order Details, pick the extra order and tick its lines. This needs the Create Supplier Invoice Detail permission, and only works on an Open invoice.

The supplier billed for freight that is not on any order. Where does it go?

Add it by hand with Options › Add Details on the open invoice. Manual lines sit alongside the order-derived ones and leave the Purchase Order column empty, which is how you tell them apart later.

Watch the Demo

Prefer to watch it? Step through the same flow here.