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🧾 Vendor bills: three ways to record them

From a purchase order, by uploading the PDF, or by hand - and how the three-way match protects you from paying twice.

1 min read Updated 10/12/2026 Accounting

A. From a purchase order (recommended)

  1. Open the confirmed purchase order and click Create Bill.
  2. Odoo copies the lines. With the received quantities control policy, only what the warehouse has received is billable.
  3. Enter the vendor's bill date and reference, check the total matches the paper bill, and Confirm.

The bill, the order and the receipt are now linked: that is the three-way match. A bill for more than was received shows a warning instead of silently increasing cost.

B. Upload the PDF

Drop the PDF on Accounting > Vendors > Bills (or email it to the bills alias). Odoo creates a draft and, if digitization is enabled, fills the vendor, dates, lines and totals for you to check.

C. By hand

For bills with no purchase order (rent, subscriptions): Accounting > Vendors > Bills > New. Pick the vendor, add lines with the expense account, confirm.

Paying

Register Payment on one bill, or select several bills and register one payment for the lot. The bill shows In Payment until the bank statement line is reconciled, then Paid.

Watch out

  • The bill date drives the accounting period; the accounting date can differ if the period is locked.
  • Credit notes from vendors are Refunds, created from the bill with Add Credit Note.
  • Duplicate vendor references are flagged - don't ignore the warning.
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