Missing purchase invoices: what to do before your bookkeeping review

Check whether the document is already available

Search the supplier's customer portal and the email account used for the purchase. Try the order number, supplier name and approximate purchase date. An invoice may have arrived when the goods were dispatched, while the bank shows a later card settlement date.

Ask the person who placed the order whether they have the receipt or invoice. If an employee paid personally, establish whether the business has already reimbursed them and whether an expense claim was entered. That check can prevent the same purchase being recorded through both an expense claim and a bank payment.

Before uploading a recovered invoice, look for an existing bill in the bookkeeping system. If it is already there, match the payment to that bill using the process for your software. Entering another purchase to explain the bank entry can duplicate the cost.

Ask the supplier for a copy

Give the supplier enough information to identify the purchase: the customer or business name, order reference, date and amount. Ask for a copy of the original invoice or receipt. If you need a VAT invoice, say so explicitly.

Check the document when it arrives. Does it describe the purchase you made? Does the total agree with the order and payment, allowing for any deposit, refund or part-payment? If the invoice is incorrect, ask the supplier to correct it. Keep the correspondence with the purchase records.

For example, suppose a recovered invoice totals £300, but the bank entry you are checking is £240. A £60 deposit paid earlier explains the difference. Link both payments to the same invoice, checking whether it is already recorded before adding anything. This hypothetical example assumes no other charges, credits or payments; it does not assign a VAT amount or tax treatment.

Keep a record of what is still missing

A short missing-document list can hold:

• the payment date, amount and bank reference
• the supplier and what you understand was purchased
• any order confirmation, delivery record or correspondence you have found
• the date you requested a copy and the response
• who will follow it up and what still needs a decision

Keep factual notes separate from assumptions. If you do not know what a payment covers, record that uncertainty. Avoid inventing a supplier invoice or assigning a business purpose simply to clear an unresolved item.

HMRC's guidance for self-employed business records lists receipts, bank statements and sales records among the evidence to retain. Limited companies have their own company and accounting record requirements. The treatment of a particular cost still depends on the business and the facts.

Check VAT evidence separately

Finding proof of payment does not by itself establish a right to reclaim VAT. HMRC's VAT records guidance explains the normal requirement for valid VAT invoices. Do not calculate a VAT claim from the bank amount alone or assume that every supplier charged VAT.

If you cannot obtain a VAT invoice after repeated requests, retain evidence of those attempts and raise the issue with your accountant. HMRC can consider satisfactory alternative evidence in exceptional circumstances. Its guidance on alternative evidence makes clear that this is a matter of discretion and does not replace the normal invoice requirement. A missing invoice is not an automatic entitlement to claim VAT from a bank statement.

Agree how unresolved items will be handled

Send the missing-document list with the records for review. Agree who will chase suppliers, who will assess the available evidence and how any unresolved accounting or VAT treatment will be recorded. If a return is approaching, flag the missing items early so the reviewer can consider them before submission.

For the next period, choose a regular time to collect supplier invoices and match them to the relevant purchases or payments. Keep the files where the people doing the bookkeeping can retrieve them, with a clear reference back to the transaction.

Swift's Bookkeeping and VAT Returns service can include transaction processing and reconciliations within an agreed scope. The bookkeeping handover guide explains the wider records and context to prepare.