Procurement & Spend
Connect purchasing, approvals and supplier invoices.
Follow purchasing from the initial request through approval, order, receipt and invoice, with the supporting records connected throughout.
The purchasing journey
The purchasing journey
From purchase request to supplier payment.
Each step shows the work your team does. Where a step creates an accounting entry, it is shown beneath it.
Illustrative workflow · purchase of stocked goods
- 1.Requisition
A purchase request is raised and approved.
RecordRequest and approval recorded. No accounting entry.
- 2.Purchase order
New orders are approved by Procurement, then by a different Finance approver, before issue.
RecordCommitment tracked against the order. No accounting entry.
- 3.Receipt
Goods or services accepted against the order.
Accounting entryStock or expense recorded, with an accrual for goods received not yet invoiced.
- 4.Supplier invoice
Compared with the order and the receipt. Differences are raised for review.
- 5.Approval for payables
Approved by Procurement and posted to accounts payable.
Accounting entryAccrual cleared, recoverable VAT and the amount owed to the supplier recorded.
- 6.PaymentSandbox
Payment prepared and approved in Payment Orchestration (Sandbox).
Accounting entryWhen a settlement is recorded, the supplier balance is cleared against the bank account.
Approvals and commitments are records, not ledger entries. Accounting entries are created only at the steps marked, each when that step is completed. Invoices for services or costs without a purchase order follow a shorter route. Live money movement is not enabled.
Approval and authority
See what was approved, ordered and received.
New purchase orders follow Procurement approval, then Finance approval by a different person, before they can be issued. The requester, each approval and the approved amounts stay with the order through receipt and invoice.
- The person who raises an order cannot approve it
- Both approval steps are fixed when a new order is submitted
- An order returned for rework starts its approvals again
- Requested by
- Operations planner
- Requisition approved
- £48,500
- New purchase order
- 400 units × £120 = £48,000
- Step 1 · Procurement approval
- Approved
- Step 2 · Finance approval (different person)
- Approved
- Order issued to supplier
- After both approvals
The order (£48,000) sits within the requisition amount (£48,500). The supplier later invoices £49,200 — above the order — so the difference is raised for review in the matching step below; it does not change what was approved. All amounts exclude VAT.
Illustrative example — not customer data.
Three-way comparison
Order, receipt and invoice compared before payment
Invoice lines are compared with the order and the goods received. Differences beyond the tolerances set for your company are raised as exceptions for review, and are resolved or approved by a person with that authority.
| Document | Units | Unit price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purchase order | 400 | £120 | £48,000 |
| Goods received | 380 | £120 | £45,600 |
| Supplier invoice | 400 | £123 | £49,200 |
Differences identified for review.
- Quantity: 20 invoiced units not yet received × £120
- £2,400
- Price: £3 per unit above the order × 400 units
- £1,200
- Invoice (£49,200) less value received at order price (£45,600)
- £3,600
Invoice less order: £49,200 − £48,000 = £1,200, which is the price difference alone.
Illustrative example — not customer data.
Supplier position
Each supplier's account, invoice by invoice
The supplier ledger shows each supplier's outstanding invoices, their due dates and how each payment was applied. Purchase orders show the quantities still to be received.
Illustrative position at 30 September 2026
- Outstanding invoices (incl. VAT)
- £142,300
- of which due within 7 days
- £38,900
"Due within 7 days" is part of the outstanding amount, not an addition to it.
Illustrative activity, September 2026
- Invoices posted (incl. VAT)
- £96,200
- Payments applied
- £88,700
Illustrative example — not customer data. Dates are example reporting dates, not live results.
Separately, the unpaid invoices of all suppliers together are reconciled to the accounts payable control account in the ledger. One supplier's balance is only part of that total.
Purchase journal
Review supplier invoices by supplier and period
The purchase journal lists posted supplier invoices and credit notes with net, VAT and gross amounts, filtered by supplier and date range, for each company you have access to. Management Accounting analyses recorded costs by dimension.
Illustrative period: July to September 2026 (example dates, not live results).
Northfield Components Ltd
- Net
- £212,800
- VAT
- £42,560
- Gross
- £255,360
Calder Packaging
- Net
- £38,400
- VAT
- £7,680
- Gross
- £46,080
Ridgeway Maintenance
- Net
- £21,750
- VAT
- £4,350
- Gross
- £26,100
| Supplier | Net | VAT | Gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northfield Components Ltd | £212,800 | £42,560 | £255,360 |
| Calder Packaging | £38,400 | £7,680 | £46,080 |
| Ridgeway Maintenance | £21,750 | £4,350 | £26,100 |
Illustrative example — not customer data.
From approved supplier invoices to payment.
Payment Orchestration takes approved supplier balances and prepares payments for approval under your payment policy, with the approver separate from the person who prepared the payment. Supplier invoices on hold or in dispute are kept out of payment until released.
Recording a supplier payment in the accounts is separate from sending money. In the Sandbox, payments are simulated.
Live money movement is not enabled.
Explore Payment OrchestrationRelated capabilities
Where purchasing connects
What you order, receive and owe feeds stock, the accounts and your working-capital and cash position.
- Inventory & Operations
Received goods add to stock at their recorded cost.
- Finance
Accruals, VAT and supplier balances feed the accounts.
- Working Capital
What you owe suppliers alongside stock, receivables and cash.
- Cash & Treasury
Recorded supplier payments are checked against the bank.
- Payment Orchestration
Payments for approved invoices — available in Sandbox.
Business outcomes
What changes for the business
See approvals and commitments
Who requested, who approved each step, and what has been ordered but not yet received.
Compare order, receipt and invoice
Quantity and price differences outside your set tolerances are raised for review.
Keep supplier accounts in view
Outstanding invoices, due dates and how each payment was applied, supplier by supplier.
Review exceptions before payment
Invoices on hold or in dispute stay out of payment until an authorised person releases them.
See the purchasing journey in action.
A guided walkthrough of purchasing approvals, orders, receipts, supplier invoices and the connection to finance.