Before you buy or post vouchers: the setup checklist

Q: Will a supplier's credit limit stop a purchase?

No. A supplier's Amount limit and Day limit are saved, and the Day limit fills the Due day of a new purchase invoice, but no purchase screen checks them ( Create a supplier ).

The purchase screens stay switched off until two ledgers and a fiscal year exist, and an Add button appears only when a numbering series covers the user's branch. The voucher screens need a fiscal year and a series. This is the order to set things up in.

Accounting Setup for buying and vouchers
5 min read
Updated October 20, 2026

For Administrator Accountant

On this page

What switches the screens off
Set up in this order
Which series each screen needs
Common questions

What switches the screens off

Every purchase screen (requisition, quotation, order, goods received note, purchase invoice, return, add-on voucher) checks the company's settings when it opens. While something is missing, Add is greyed out and a message says why. Voucher screens (receipt, payment, contra, journal, credit note, debit note, cheque) are simpler: they need an active fiscal year and a numbering series.

Screen group	Needs	The message you see
Purchase screens	Purchase ledger and Purchase return ledger in Configuration (tab Purchase), and an active fiscal year	Please set purchase and purchase return ledger from configuration section to proceed.
Voucher screens	An active fiscal year	Please set Fiscal Year to proceed.
Both	A date on or after the start of the active fiscal year	The financial year for this transaction date has already been closed, so you are not allowed to make a transaction on this date.

Set up in this order

Check the fiscal year
Who
Accountant or administrator
Where
Fiscal year
What changes
One year is active and its start date is not in the future. See The fiscal year.
Name the two purchase ledgers
Who
Administrator
Where
Configuration > Purchase > Purchase ledger, Purchase return ledger
What changes
Purchases are booked to the Purchase ledger and returns to the Purchase return ledger unless the product has its own. See Company settings that change buying and vouchers.
Set up the purchase adjustments and name VAT
Who
Accountant
Where
Purchase adjustment, then Configuration > Purchase > Purchase vat adjustment
What changes
The purchase screens use these for VAT and discounts, and the VAT purchase reports find VAT by the adjustment you name. See Set up VAT, discounts and other purchase adjustments.
Add numbering series
Who
Administrator
Where
Document numbering > Add, one series for each document your company uses
What changes
Each purchase document and voucher takes its number from its own series. No series for your branch means no Add button. See the table below.
Create the suppliers
Who
Accountant
Where
Supplier
What changes
Each supplier is a ledger with its PAN and credit terms. See Create a supplier and Suppliers' opening balances.
Choose which optional fields to show
Who
Accountant
Where
Entry control, entry types Purchase and Voucher
What changes
Fields such as the supplier's own bill number, the order or GRN link and the notes can be shown or made required. See Company settings that change buying and vouchers.
Decide about approvals
Who
Administrator
Where
Company setting > Approver
What changes
Approval is off for every document until it is switched on. With it on, some documents post to the books only when an approver approves them. See Approvals for purchases and vouchers.

Example: a test purchase and payment, and what you should see

Enter a bill from a test supplier for one product at 1,000, with VAT at 13% (the rate set up for this example).

Step	What you should see
Save the Purchase invoice	It takes a number from the purchase invoice series and shows in the list as Unpaid, amount 1,130
Open Stock status for the line's warehouse	One unit more than before
Open the invoice and choose Payment, 1,130 from the bank	The payment takes a number from the payment voucher series. The invoice becomes Paid
Open the supplier	The balance is 0

Where approval is on for purchase invoices or payments, approve each one before you look: until then it is not in the ledger or the stock (Approvals for purchases and vouchers).

Which series each screen needs

Screen	Module	Without a series
Purchase requisition	Purchase requisition (PIN)	No Add button
Purchase quotation	Purchase quotation (PQ)	No Add button
Purchase order	Purchase order (PO)	No Add button
Purchase order cancellation	Purchase order cancel (POC)	No Add button
Goods received note	Purchase challan (PC)	No Add button
Purchase invoice and fixed-asset purchase	Purchase invoice (PB)	No Add button
Purchase return and fixed-asset return	Purchase return (PR)	No Add button; a return made from an invoice has no series to offer
Purchase add-on voucher	Purchase additional (PAB)	No Add button
Receipt voucher	Receipt voucher (REC)	No Add button
Payment voucher	Payment voucher (PAY)	No Add button
Contra voucher	Cash bank voucher (CB)	No Add button
Journal voucher	Journal voucher (JV)	No Add button
Credit note, Debit note	Credit note (CN), Debit note (DN)	No Add button
Cheque, Provisional cash	Provisional cash bank (PCB)	No Add button
Supplier opening amount	Customer opening (OBC)	The supplier is not saved

When the first day of a new year comes, every one of these needs a series for the new year: Start a new fiscal year.

Common questions

The administrator set the ledgers, but Add is still greyed out.

The purchase screens read the settings when the page opens. Reload the page. For the other settings to reach you, sign out and sign in again (Company settings that change buying and vouchers).

Will a supplier's credit limit stop a purchase?

No. A supplier's Amount limit and Day limit are saved, and the Day limit fills the Due day of a new purchase invoice, but no purchase screen checks them (Create a supplier).

Before you buy or post vouchers: the setup checklist

What switches the screens off

Set up in this order

Which series each screen needs

Common questions

Related guides

More in Setup for buying and vouchers