Approve or Void a Supplier Bill
Approving a draft bill (the “approve procurement” permission, by someone other than the recorder) posts it to Accounts payable; Void reverses the posting if nothing has been paid.
For School administrators. Updated 2026-10-09.
Overview
Approve is shown on Draft bills for users with the “approve procurement” permission (the Administrator). The person who recorded a bill cannot approve it unless they are an Administrator ("Someone other than the person who raised it must approve this bill.").
On approval the system posts a journal: for lines linked to a purchase order it clears the goods received not invoiced account (2050) at the ordered price and sends any price difference or not-yet-received value to the line's own account; lines without a PO debit their account directly; VAT debits 1400 VAT input recoverable; and the bill total credits 2000 Accounts payable.
The bill becomes Approved and can then be paid. Void needs the “approve procurement” permission and a reason of at least 3 characters (you are prompted "Why void BILL-000x?").
A bill can be voided only when nothing has been paid against it; otherwise "This bill has payments against it." For an Approved bill the original journal is reversed and the PO billed quantities are restored; the original journal is marked Reversed. Already void bills cannot be voided again. Approvals and voids are recorded in the audit log.
Before you start
- A Draft bill (to approve) or an unpaid bill (to void)
- The “approve procurement” permission
- Open fiscal year for the bill date
Steps
- Open Procurement > Supplier bills
- Review the bill with View, then select Approve on the Draft row
- To cancel a bill select Void, type the reason and confirm
- Check Journals > Journal entries to see the posting or its reversal
Common problems
Approve button is missing
Only users with the “approve procurement” permission see it, and only on Draft bills. Accountants can record and pay bills but cannot approve them.
Cannot void: this bill has payments against it
Void is blocked after any payment. Ask the supplier for a credit or handle it through an adjusting journal under Journals.
Approval fails because the year is closed
The bill date falls in a closed fiscal year. An administrator can reopen it under Fiscal years or the bill date must be changed by recording a new bill.