Every supplier has an account in BooksPOS: their bills add to what you owe, payments and credit notes reduce it. This guide covers the Suppliers page, paying a supplier, paying an advance before goods arrive (common when booking next session's stock with a publisher), an advance paid back, and the supplier's statement.
The Suppliers page
Suppliers (under Purchasing in the menu) lists every supplier and publisher with what the shop owes them (We owe), any Advance paid to them and not yet used, and open return Claims. The cards at the top add up every supplier: The shop owes suppliers, Advances with suppliers and Open return claims.
- Search by name, contact person or phone.
- Choose We owe them or Advance with them to see only those suppliers, largest first. Any balance shows everyone.
- New supplier adds one: name, contact person, phone, email, NTN (as printed on their bills), address, credit (days they give you to pay), return window and notes.
- CSV, PDF and Print give the list as it is filtered.
Choose a supplier to open their account. The cards show what the shop owes them today, how many bills are Unpaid and for how much, the Advance with them, and open return claims. Details on the right shows their contact, NTN, credit and return window; Edit changes them.
The supplier's statement
Statement, the first tab on a supplier's account, is their statement for any dates, as you would send it to them or check it against theirs. Type From and To as dd-mm-yyyy and choose Show, or choose Today, This month, Last month, Year (from 1 July) or All.
- The first line is the Balance before the start date: everything posted before it.
- Then every document in date order, one line each, with its number, the supplier's own reference (their bill number, a cheque number, their credit note number), what it was (What: Bill, Payment, Advance paid, Advance paid back, Credit note, Opening balance, Bill voided, Consigned, sold, Consigned, kept), and a short description, for example "Bill, 8 items; Rs 20,000.00 paid with it (bank)".
- Charges (+) add to what the shop owes them: bills, an opening balance, consigned copies sold or kept, an advance they paid back. Paid (−) takes it off: payments, advances paid to them, their credit notes, and voids.
- Balance runs after every line: what the shop owes them less any advance with them, so a negative balance is in the shop's favour.
- The bottom line gives the period's Charges, what was paid, and the Closing balance in words ("Rs 54,760.00 owed to them").
A bill paid from their advance shows once, as the bill, with "Rs … from the advance" in its description: the advance was already counted when it was paid. A bill voided the same day stays on the statement marked Voided, and its void is a line of its own that takes it off again. See Drafts and same-day voids.
On the right, In these dates adds up each kind of document (for example Bill × 2, Credit note × 1) with its charges and payments. Consignment on the shelf is kept apart, as everywhere else: copies the supplier left on sale or return are theirs until sold or kept, so they are never in the balance. It shows their value at the agreed prices, how many titles are on the shelf and how many consignment documents fall in the dates.
Choose a line to open what is behind it: a bill (or its void) opens on Purchases with its lines and what paid it, a payment opens as a summary.
Excel, CSV, PDF and Print at the top give the statement for the dates shown, as an A4 page with the shop's name and page numbers: the balance before, every line, the closing balance, the totals by kind, the bills still unpaid today, and consignment in its own tables.
Unpaid bills lists the bills still owed today, whatever dates are chosen: each bill's amount, what has Settled it so far, what is Due, and how many days old it is. What was paid with a bill when it was entered counts first; after that, payments, credit notes and returns settle the oldest bills first.
Purchases, Returns, Orders and Consignments list the supplier's bills, goods sent back with what they credited, purchase orders, and sale-or-return deliveries. On Consignments, an owner or manager can Void a consignment receipt of today while none of its copies were sold, kept or sent back.
Seeing a supplier's statement needs the payment permission (owners, managers and accountants) or the books (auditors); warehouse staff see the history tabs.
A supplier's account. The statement, unpaid bills, purchases, returns, orders and consignments of one publisher. Screenshot of the current build (28 Sep 2026), synthetic demo data.
How to pay a supplier
- On Suppliers, open the supplier and choose Pay supplier (or choose it on a bill on Purchases). The window shows "The store owes … Rs …", and the amount starts as the whole balance. Change it to what you are paying.
- Choose how you paid: Cash (through this counter's drawer), Bank transfer / cheque, Card, EasyPaisa or JazzCash.
- Add a Reference (cheque, transaction ID) and a Note if useful.
- Choose Post payment.
BooksPOS shows, for example, "MAIN-PV000009: paid Rs 25,000.00 to (the publisher), oldest bills first. Still owed Rs 17,500.00."
- Cash comes out of this counter's drawer, so a shift must be open, and it is subtracted at the shift close.
- You cannot pay more than you owe. "… is owed Rs …. To pay ahead for goods not yet received, record it as an advance."
- A payment settles the oldest bills first. It is not tied to one bill; the Unpaid bills list and each bill on Purchases show which bills it settled.
- Paying suppliers needs the payment permission: owners, managers and accountants.
A payment can also be made on the purchase receipt itself, with Paid now. See Receiving stock from suppliers and publishers.
Advances to a supplier
An advance is money paid before the goods arrive. It is not a payment of what you owe: it is held with the supplier until their bill comes.
- Open the supplier and choose Advance ("Pay ahead for goods not yet received"). The same button is on New receipt.
- Type the amount, how it was paid, and a reference.
- Choose Record advance. "MAIN-SA000002: advance of Rs 50,000.00 paid to (the publisher). They now hold Rs 50,000.00."
When the goods arrive, enter the purchase receipt as usual. Under Paid with, choose From advance and type the amount to take from it in Paid now. The rest of the bill is owed as usual; the rest of the advance stays with the supplier.
If the supplier pays an advance back, for example when an order is cancelled, open them and choose Advance paid back. Type the amount and how the money came in; cash goes into this counter's drawer. It can be no more than the advance they hold, and it needs the permission to receive payments.
Credit notes, claims and consignment
Goods sent back to a supplier are a claim on them, shown on the Claims card. Their credit note settles the claim and reduces what you owe, so it appears on the statement as money off. See Publisher returns and credit notes.
Copies left on sale or return are owed only when sold or kept; each such copy adds to the supplier's balance at the agreed price, and it shows among their unpaid bills. See Consignment (sale or return).
Opening balance on the supplier records what you owed them before BooksPOS. See Opening balances and opening stock. Reports › Ageing › Suppliers shows how long what you owe has been owed, and Reports › Purchases by supplier what you bought from each in a period.
Common questions
We paid the publisher by cheque. Which option do I use?
Bank transfer / cheque, with the cheque number as the reference.
Can I pay one particular bill rather than the oldest?
No. A payment reduces what you owe the supplier and settles their oldest bills first, the same order the Ageing report uses. Pay the total you agreed with them; Unpaid bills then shows what is left.
The advance is larger than the bill. What happens to the rest?
It stays with the supplier as an advance, shown on their card, for their next bill, or until they pay it back.
Where do I record a supplier's discount given after the bill?
As a credit note against a claim if goods went back. For a discount with no goods returned, ask your accountant how they want it recorded.
Why is the statement's balance lower than "The shop owes them"?
The statement's balance takes the advance with them off what the shop owes them. The card shows what is owed on its own, and Advance with them beside it.
Can I send the statement to the publisher?
Yes. Set the dates and choose PDF to save an A4 statement to send on WhatsApp or email, or Print. CSV and Excel open in Excel.
Related guides
Last updated 30 September 2026. Still stuck? Contact us.