Keep one vendor record for the relationship
Store the supplier's contact and tax details, use it across purchase documents and control whether that vendor receives a portal invite.
Purchases
One purchase-side path from supplier record to bill, credit and payment
Invoice Crowd keeps vendors, purchase orders, bills, vendor credits and payments made in connected workflows. Each document retains its own lifecycle and permissions, while the vendor portal gives suppliers a read-only view of selected records.
- Vendors, POs and bills connected
- Credits and payments remain distinct
- Read-only vendor portal
How it works
A purchase workflow made of explicit documents, not one hidden state machine
Start with the supplier, authorize the order, record the bill and settle it with a payment or eligible vendor credit. The separation keeps the factual document and the settlement evidence clear.
Before the bill
Supplier identity and the purchase commitment.
Raise and approve a purchase order
Create a PO in the document editor, send or mark it approved and convert the approved order into a draft bill. The PO is a commitment record, not a payment.
Record what is owed
Bills carry due dates, balances and purchase-side accounting context.
Enter the vendor bill and its due date
Bills keep the vendor, lines, taxes, date, due date, status and balance together. A converted PO becomes a separate bill draft that can still be reviewed.
Use credits and payments as separate settlements
A vendor credit reduces what the supplier owes back; Payments Made records money the business sent. Both can affect a bill, but they preserve different evidence and actions.
Share and review
Portal access and bank review remain deliberate.
Give the supplier a read-only portal
Choose whether an accepted vendor can see eligible bills, purchase orders, credits and payments made. The portal does not expose internal create, edit or delete actions.
Reconcile the cash movement separately
A recorded vendor payment can feed the accounting reports, while Bank Reconciliation compares the recorded entry with the external statement. Recording and reconciling are not the same step.
Built in
The purchase-side toolkit
Every core surface and the boundary it owns, linked into one navigable hub.
-
Keep one vendor record for the relationship
Store the supplier's contact and tax details, use it across purchase documents and control whether that vendor receives a portal invite.
-
Raise and approve a purchase order
Create a PO in the document editor, send or mark it approved and convert the approved order into a draft bill. The PO is a commitment record, not a payment.
-
Enter the vendor bill and its due date
Bills keep the vendor, lines, taxes, date, due date, status and balance together. A converted PO becomes a separate bill draft that can still be reviewed.
-
Use credits and payments as separate settlements
A vendor credit reduces what the supplier owes back; Payments Made records money the business sent. Both can affect a bill, but they preserve different evidence and actions.
-
Give the supplier a read-only portal
Choose whether an accepted vendor can see eligible bills, purchase orders, credits and payments made. The portal does not expose internal create, edit or delete actions.
-
Reconcile the cash movement separately
A recorded vendor payment can feed the accounting reports, while Bank Reconciliation compares the recorded entry with the external statement. Recording and reconciling are not the same step.
-
Vendors
The supplier record used across purchase documents.
-
Purchase Orders
Authorize and convert supplier commitments.
-
Bills
Record what is owed and when it is due.
-
Vendor Credits
Apply or refund supplier credits.
-
Payments Made
Record and allocate outgoing vendor payments.
-
Vendor Portal
Give the supplier a read-only view.
Questions
Purchases, answered
What purchase workflows are included in Invoice Crowd?
Invoice Crowd's Purchases menu covers vendors, expenses, bills, purchase orders, payments made and vendor credits, plus a read-only vendor portal. Each surface retains its own lifecycle and permissions. Vendor records work on every plan; the documents need a paid plan.
Does approving a purchase order pay the vendor?
No. An approved purchase order is a commitment document. Invoice Crowd can convert it into a draft bill, but payment is recorded separately through Payments Made or an eligible vendor-credit application.
What is the difference between a vendor credit and Payments Made?
A vendor credit represents value the supplier owes back to the business. Payments Made records money the business sent to a vendor and how much of it was allocated to a bill.
Can vendors edit purchase documents through the portal?
No. Invoice Crowd's Vendor Portal is a read-only projection of the enabled bills, purchase orders, vendor credits and payments made for that supplier.
Does recording a payment reconcile it with the bank?
No. Payments Made records the vendor settlement. Bank Reconciliation is the separate workflow that compares recorded activity with an uploaded bank statement.
Can I use bills without first creating a purchase order?
Yes. Invoice Crowd can create a vendor bill directly or from an approved purchase order. The source route is kept explicit in the document workflow.
Can I stop changes to purchases after closing a period?
Yes. In Lock Transactions the account owner can lock the Purchases area, which covers expenses, bills, purchase orders, payments made, vendor credits and inventory, up to a date. Records dated on or before it can't be created, edited or deleted until the owner unlocks those dates, and every lock and unlock is logged with a reason.
Bring the whole supplier-side workflow into one account
Move from vendor to purchase order, bill, credit and payment without losing which document owns each decision.
- No card required to start
- Your data stays yours
- Cancel anytime