Can I make an invoice for a supplier who purchases something from me? Thus, being a customer and a supplier?

paul80 · ‎January 06, 2020

JamesM · ‎January 06, 2020

Hi there,

Since this is your first post in the Community, I'd like to give you a warm welcome.

In QuickBooks Online, a customer can't have the same name as a supplier. You'd have to differentiate the two by using either a difference name or by adding a number on one of the names. Once you've ensured this is correct, you can proceed with creating an invoice for a supplier who purchases from you. Here's how to create an invoice:

Select the + New button.
Select Invoice.
From the Customer ▼ drop-down, choose the name of your customer. Verify the other information as well.
From the Terms ▼ drop-down, choose the term when you expect the payment from your customer.
Check the Invoice date and the Due date. Note: By default, the Due date is set to 30 days from the Invoice date, but you can change either date if needed.
Under the Product/Service column, select the item or service that is being billed, then complete the rest of the fields as needed. Some fields, such as tax rate, may be required.
Select Save or Save and close.

Once you save or preview the invoice, even if you don't send or print it, the transaction information from the invoice you created will be included in reports and in the customer balance.

Receive payments on invoice

When your customer pays the invoice, you can record the payment by opening the invoice, selecting the Receive payment, and entering payment information. You can also record the payment from the Customer or Sales Transactions pages.

Let me know if this info helps. If you need further assistance, don't hesitate to reach out to our support team using this link.

View solution in original post

JamesM · ‎January 06, 2020

Hi there,

Since this is your first post in the Community, I'd like to give you a warm welcome.

In QuickBooks Online, a customer can't have the same name as a supplier. You'd have to differentiate the two by using either a difference name or by adding a number on one of the names. Once you've ensured this is correct, you can proceed with creating an invoice for a supplier who purchases from you. Here's how to create an invoice:

Select the + New button.
Select Invoice.
From the Customer ▼ drop-down, choose the name of your customer. Verify the other information as well.
From the Terms ▼ drop-down, choose the term when you expect the payment from your customer.
Check the Invoice date and the Due date. Note: By default, the Due date is set to 30 days from the Invoice date, but you can change either date if needed.
Under the Product/Service column, select the item or service that is being billed, then complete the rest of the fields as needed. Some fields, such as tax rate, may be required.
Select Save or Save and close.

Once you save or preview the invoice, even if you don't send or print it, the transaction information from the invoice you created will be included in reports and in the customer balance.

Receive payments on invoice

When your customer pays the invoice, you can record the payment by opening the invoice, selecting the Receive payment, and entering payment information. You can also record the payment from the Customer or Sales Transactions pages.

Let me know if this info helps. If you need further assistance, don't hesitate to reach out to our support team using this link.

Maliziosa · ‎November 07, 2020

I have the same question, but a bit more complicated.

I receive stock from a shop but I also sell them stock.

I was hoping there was a way of allocating my Invoices against my Supplier's Invoices .

Since QBO does not allow one supplier to also be a customer, I assume the only way to work around is to create separate Credit Notes for each? I mean supplier account will get a Credit Note ( for the stock I sold to them) while the Customer account will get the Credit Note ( for the stock I bought from them?) Would that be correct?

Many Thanks

LauraAB · ‎November 09, 2020

Hi there Maliziosa,

I appreciate you taking a moment to explain your situation a bit. I know that many businesses work with customers who may also be a supplier to them, which to me signals a great working relationship between the two of you! I know this can complicate matters when recording things in your books and crossing over funds, and I'd like to shed more light on this so you can get to recording this in QuickBooks Online.

The program handles supplier and customer transactions separately, so there isn't a direct way to apply a customer payment as a credit against a supplier transaction or vice versa. I do have an option that may work for you however, which is called a barter transaction. Luckily, we have an article right here in the QuickBooks Community that explains this kind of transaction and walks you through the steps to use it in your books: Record a barter transaction

As for setting up a supplier and customer with the same name, it can be done. There's just a specific way to do it. I can show you how.

When you create a customer or supplier in QuickBooks Online, the program relies on the Display name as field to log and differentiate the name of the person in the program, so this is where you'll want to focus differences for the name. This just makes sure the data is organized and transactions aren't accidentally being created for the wrong person. Here are some screenshots to demonstrate.

Supplier setup

Customer setup

Note how both are named John Doe, but the Display name as field is where I've set them apart. I've also made sure to uncheck that option for the Print on cheque as field to make sure that it's the appropriate name if I need to create a cheque for them. These setups can be completed in the Expenses > Suppliers and Sales > Customers sections respectively.

With this setup, whenever I look at my supplier or customer lists, I see either John Doe (Supplier) or John Doe (Customer), but the forms themselves show as John Doe in both cases. Give that a shot and let me know how it goes.

As for the barter transaction, if you're not sure if that's right for you, I recommend connecting with an accountant. They'll be able to offer you guidance tailored to your business needs to make sure you're on the right track. Using the My Accountant tab, you can easily work with a professional by either inviting someone you're already working with as a user on your QuickBooks or you can take advantage of the Find a pro to help button to find a QuickBooks-certified pro near you.

Wishing you the best!

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Can I make an invoice for a supplier who purchases something from me? Thus, being a customer and a supplier?