How to Create and Track an Invoice

Learn how to create an invoice in Precoro, monitor its progress, and ensure timely payments.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

What Is an Invoice?

An invoice is a document a supplier issues to inform a buyer about due payment. In Precoro, invoices contain the following details:

  • invoice number;
  • invoice issue date and due date; 
  • payment terms;
  • buyer and seller details;
  • references to related purchase order, service order, and credit notes;
  • details regarding the products or services: description, quantity, prices;
  • total amount.

You can customize the details required in the invoice in Configuration — Basic Settings — Document Setup — Invoices. You can also include additional information with custom fields for documents; follow this link to learn more.

Ways to Create an Invoice in Precoro

There are several ways you can create invoices:

  • From scratch
    Creating standalone invoices helps you account for purchases that do not require a PO and monitor your spending precisely. The next section of this article will guide you through this process.
  • From a purchase order or service order
    You can add invoices to previously created POs and SOs. In these cases, all the details in the original documents are added to the invoice so you do not have to enter them by hand. Check out these guides to Create an invoice from PO or Create an invoice from SO.
  • Using optical character recognition 
    If your suppliers send you invoices in physical format, you can easily add them to Precoro with OCR. Upload images or document scans, check the details, and skip manually entering the information. Click here to learn more. 

How to Create a Standalone Invoice

Step 1. Create the Document

  1. Navigate to the Invoice module in the left-side menu.
  2. Press Add in the top right corner.
  3. Fill out the necessary details. Pay attention to these fields:
    • The Due Date is filled out automatically based on the Issue Date, Supplier, and Payment Terms. See how to Manage Payment Terms and set the needed rules and dates.

    • You can choose a supplier from the drop-down menu or add a new one by clicking Add new supplier at the top of the list.

    • If your company keeps track of numbers that suppliers assign to invoices, enter the number in the Supplier Invoice # field. To prevent creating duplicates, activate the Warn if Supplier Invoice or Credit Note # is duplicated setting in Configuration — Basic Settings — Document Setup — Invoices, but make sure there are no preexisting duplicates. You can learn more about this feature here.

  4. Click Create.

An image highlighting important invoice details

Step 2. Add Items 

Use one of the following ways to add items:

  • Click the Catalog button to select items from the existing catalog.

  • Press the Add button to enter item details manually.

  • Press Import Items or Update Items to upload or update using Excel. We have detailed guides on How to Import Items In Bulk and How to Update Items In Bulk.

  • Click Add Shipping to include shipping and tax costs.

You can add items to the catalog directly through the invoice without transferring them manually. Find a guide on how to set up and use this function here.

You can also mark items free of charge or set negative item prices; learn more about this functionality here. To confirm the document, make sure the total amount is non-negative.

Step 3. Enter Additional Information

You can add notes, comments, and attachments to your invoices.

Notes appear on the printed document and can be used for communication outside of your company. Comments are visible to Precoro users who have access to the document. Learn more about notes and comments here.

A photo showing where to find notes and comments to an invoice

Attachments include files needed for your company’s processes; you can make them required by activating Required File Attachments in Configuration — Basic Settings — Document Setup — Invoices. Learn more about using attachments in invoices here.

A screenshot showing attachments to an invoice

Step 4. Review and Confirm the Document

  1. Double-check the information as you can freely edit the invoice at this point. Once confirmed, you can edit payment terms, issue date, and delivery date, and you need to revise the document to change other information. 
  2. When everything looks good, click Confirm. If the button is greyed out, hover over it to see what information needs to be added.
  3. Once confirmed, the document will proceed to the approval workflow set up in your company and gain Pending status. Use the Revision History button to see the changes made to the document; learn about this functionality here.
  4. You can download the invoice in XLSX or PDF formats unless it has Draft or Pending status.

How to Track Invoices


Track invoices directly from the Invoices page. There, you can see the list of invoices with their statuses, related documents (as hyperlinks), due dates, and other details. It also shows credit notes with allocated invoices. You can open any document from this list and check for more detailed information.

A screenshot showing features of the invoices page that help track any invoice

Let’s review the features that can help you monitor invoices from this page.

Understanding Invoice Statuses

Statuses give you an overview of the document’s progress. Here is a list of statuses an invoice can have:

Draft

The initiator has not confirmed the invoice yet. At this stage, they can edit the invoice and add or modify the items.

Pending

The invoice is undergoing an approval process.

Approved

The invoice was approved and can now be paid.

Rejected

Approvers rejected the invoice, so it will not be paid.

In Revision

The revision process allows changes in a previously confirmed document.

Canceled

The initiator revoked the invoice.

Matching

There are discrepancies between the invoice and the related PO. Therefore, the PO initiator needs to review and approve the changes in the PO.

Pending receipt

If your company uses 3-way match functionality, an invoice cannot be confirmed before you receive the items.

Paid/Partly paid

The Invoice is paid/partly paid with prepayments from related PO or payments added to the invoice.

Using Filters and Infocards

To navigate the list faster, you can use filters; this guide will show you how to use them in more detail.

On the Invoices page, you can use both fast and advanced filters. You can also search by SKU or names of items included in the invoice.

A screenshot to help you find filters and search

Infocards offer both convenient filtering and a way to approve, reject, and pay invoices in bulk. Here are the infocards you can see at the top of the page:

  • The Draft infocard shows all invoices you created that have a Draft status. From there, you can finish creating invoices and submit them for approval.

  • The Approve infocard shows all the invoices awaiting your approval. After clicking the infocard, you can select several documents and press either Approve Selected or Reject Selected.

  • To be paid and Overdue infocards show the invoices awaiting payment. After clicking the infocard, select several documents and press Add Payments to Selected; these invoices will gain the Paid status.

  • The Approval Review infocard shows invoices that skipped the regular approval process. Users with a Configuration role can review and modify the approval workflow so these documents can be approved. Learn more about approval review here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make changes to an approved invoice?

While you can freely edit invoices in Draft status, the options are limited once the invoice is approved. Follow this link to learn how to edit approved invoices. Refer to this article if you need to change the currency.

How do I create a repeating invoice?

To avoid creating repeating documents manually, set up recurring invoices. You can create a recurring invoice from a standalone invoice with no related documents by following this guide.

How do I use the Budget Breakdown function in invoices?

If you add a budget to your invoice and activate Budget Breakdown, you will see the Show budget breakdown button below the item lines; click it to review the breakdown. Follow this link to learn more about the function.
💡Please note: you will see the button in documents with Draft, Approved, and In Revision statuses.

How can I add or view payments made for the invoice?

Open the invoice you want to pay and scroll to the bottom of the document to see the payments. If the related PO is prepaid, previous payments are displayed in the invoice. Follow this link to see the ways to manage invoice payments.

Can a supplier send invoices directly to Precoro?

You can connect your suppliers to the Supplier Portal. There, they can manage purchase orders and requests for proposals addressed to them as well as send invoices.
💡Please note: if the supplier is connected to the portal, you cannot create invoices related to the supplier's POs, as they are responsible for issuing invoices. Learn more about this functionality here.