Purchase
Purchase bill status workflow
How a bill moves from draft to completed, including partially paid, what locks at each stage and which statuses allow a payment to be recorded.
Updated 12 September 2026
A purchase bill has six possible statuses. They make sure nothing becomes payable until a person has checked it. They also stop anyone from editing a paid bill afterwards.
The workflow
- Create the purchase bill, by hand or from a goods received note.
- Add the bill details and products, or let them fill in automatically.
- Save the bill as Draft, or submit it.
- A submitted bill moves to Pending.
- An authorised user reviews and approves it.
- The approved bill can now be paid.
- Payment is recorded, in part or in full.
- The bill is marked Completed.
What does each status mean?
Draft: created but not submitted. Full editing is allowed. Make corrections at this stage.
Pending: submitted and waiting for verification by an authorised user. The document can still be edited.
Approved: verified and approved. You can now record payments. The bill data is locked so the figures stay accurate.
Partially Paid: a part payment has been recorded. The remaining amount is still outstanding, and you can add more payments.
Completed: the bill has been paid in full. The bill is closed, and the record stays available for reporting and audit.
Void: cancelled and removed from the active workflow. It cannot be used for payment or processing. It stays available for reference and audit.
The rules that follow
- Each status controls which actions are available on the bill.
- Status changes happen through approval and payment actions.
- On an approved bill you can record payments, but you cannot edit it.
- Completed bills are read-only.
- Void bills are left out of financial operations but kept for records.
- Every status change is tracked for audit.
How status and payment interact
Only an approved bill can move to the payment stage. A part payment changes the status to Partially Paid. A full payment changes it to Completed. Because payments set the status, the status tells you whether a bill has been paid.
A bill still in Draft or Pending is not in payables at all. So your accounts payable report can show less than you really owe. Clear the pending list on the dashboard to keep that report correct.
Removing the pending stage
To switch off the pending stage for purchase bills, go to Configuration, then Inventory configuration, then Inventory validation settings.