How to enter purchases in MYOB

Have the supplier's bill in front of you. You'll want its invoice number, the issue date, the date it's due, and the lines you were charged for, whether those are stock items or services.

The supplier and any items don't need to exist in MYOB yet. You can add them beforehand from the Create menu (Contact or Item), or on the fly while you fill in the bill, using the + Create supplier and + Create item options in the lists.

Not every outgoing amount needs a bill. MYOB enters costs with no supplier attached, like a bank charge, as spend money transactions instead. If the supplier's invoice came as a document, you can upload it to MYOB and click Prefill from a source document at the top of the bill to have the details filled in for you.

1. Go to the Create menu and choose Bill. The Create bill page opens.
2. In the Supplier field, type the supplier's name or pick it from the dropdown. For a new supplier, choose Create supplier from the dropdown, enter whatever details you have and click Save.
3. Keep the Bill number MYOB suggests, or type a different one. A changed number shifts the sequence, so the next bill carries on from the number you entered.
4. Enter the Supplier invoice number if the bill shows one. Check the Issue date, then set the Due date, the day the bill needs to be paid by.
5. Click Field layout and pick the option that fits the bill: items or services.
6. For items, choose each one in the Item ID column and enter the No of units. Its description and unit price fill in from the item record and can be edited, and MYOB calculates the amount.
7. For services, type a Description, choose the Category the expense goes to and enter the Amount. If you're unsure which category to choose, check with your accountant.
8. Add a line for each further item or service, or click the delete (x) icon at the end of a line to remove it.
9. If you like, add a note to show on the bill, any Freight charge, and a Job for any line that belongs to a particular job.
10. If you've already paid part or all of the bill, enter that in the Amount paid field.
11. Check the totals at the bottom of the bill, including the Balance due, then click Save.

The bill joins the list on the Bills page (Purchases menu, then Bills), showing its number, supplier, supplier invoice number, dates, total and amount due. Its status reads Open until it's paid, shows in red once it's overdue, and changes to Closed when it's been paid in full. Search or the Status filter will find it again later.

Opening the bill shows an Activity history under More information at the bottom, recording when the bill was created and any payments put against it. MYOB's desktop notes add that recording a bill updates your accounts, including the one that tracks what you owe suppliers.

If you typed a wrong amount or entered the same bill twice, MYOB's desktop notes say the bill can be edited or deleted. When it's time to pay, you record the payment from the bill itself.

If the Freight field won't accept an amount, MYOB prompts you to set a linked category for freight first. If a message says you must specify a cost centre, your AccountRight file has a preference that requires one on every transaction. MYOB says cost centres can't yet be used in a browser, so that bill has to be entered in AccountRight on the desktop.

A blank item number column on the bill's PDF means the item has no Supplier item ID. Add one in the Buying section of the item and it will print.

If you use AccountRight on the desktop, purchases are entered from the Purchases command centre with Enter Purchases. There you also pick a purchase type, such as a quote, an order or a bill, and the supplier can't be changed once the purchase is recorded.