Import a bill
A bill is a purchase invoice that a supplier sent to you. You owe them money. In accounting terms this is an accounts payable (AP) transaction; in Dutch it is a crediteur or inkoopfactuur.

Shillinq uses bill for what you receive, and invoice for what you send. See Bookkeeping foundations for the full breakdown.
Method 1 — Manual entry
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Open Inkoop → Supplier invoices.
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Click + New supplier invoice (or use the Import bill shortcut on the Financial overview dashboard).
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Fill in the header:
supplier— pick from your Nextcloud contacts list. If the supplier is new, create them in Nextcloud Contacts first.invoiceNumber— the invoice number printed on the supplier's document.invoiceDate— the date on the supplier's invoice.dueDate— the payment due date (check the supplier's payment terms).currency— defaults to EUR.
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Add invoice lines. Each line represents one type of expense:
description— short description of what was purchased.quantityandunitPrice— Shillinq calculates the line total.glAccount— the expense account from your chart of accounts (e.g.83600for ICT costs).vatCode— the applicable VAT treatment (21 %, 9 %, 0 %, or exempt).
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Verify the totals at the bottom: subtotal, VAT per rate, and grand total.
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Click Save. Shillinq creates the journal entry automatically:
Account Debit Credit Expense account (e.g. 83600)line total BTW voorbelasting 51020VAT amount Crediteuren 50000invoice total -
The bill appears in the Open bills list until it is paid and matched during bank reconciliation.
Method 2 — PDF import (OCR)
If you have a PDF of the supplier invoice:
- Open Inkoop → Supplier invoices → Import.
- Upload the PDF. Shillinq runs OCR and attempts to extract supplier name, invoice number, date, amount, and VAT.
- Review the extracted values. Correct anything the OCR misread.
- Map each line to a GL account.
- Click Save to confirm the bill.
After confirming a few invoices from the same supplier, Shillinq learns to suggest the correct GL account for that supplier's expense type automatically.
Approve and post a bill
By default, bills are created in Draft status. Depending on your organisation's approval settings:
- No approval required — the bill is posted immediately on save and the AP balance updates at once.
- Requires approval — the bill stays in Draft until an approver clicks Approve. Only then is the journal entry posted and the AP balance updated.
Mark a bill as paid (without bank import)
If you pay a bill in cash or via a method not covered by your imported bank statement, you can mark it paid manually:
- Open the bill detail.
- Click Mark as paid.
- Enter the
paymentDateandbankAccount. - Shillinq creates the payment journal entry and closes the open item.
For bank-imported payments, see Import your bank statement — reconciliation closes bills automatically.
View open bills
Inkoop → Supplier invoices shows all bills with their payment status. The Financial overview dashboard widget Open payables lists the oldest unpaid bills so you can prioritise payments.
Common issues
| Issue | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Supplier not found in autocomplete | Not in Nextcloud Contacts | Add the supplier to Nextcloud Contacts first |
| VAT does not match supplier invoice | Wrong VAT code on a line | Set the correct vatCode (21 %, 9 %, exempt) on the offending line |
| Duplicate warning | Invoice number already exists for this supplier | Check if the bill was already entered; if it is a different invoice, change the invoice number |