Add a bill on mobile

This article explains how to use the FreeAgent mobile app to record a bill that you’ve been sent by one of your suppliers. 

You should record a cost as a bill if the cost has been incurred but not yet paid for.

However, if the cost has been paid for using business funds, you should explain the bank transaction instead once it’s been imported into FreeAgent. Alternatively, if the cost was paid for using personal funds, you should record the cost as an out-of-pocket expense. Find out more about the difference between an expense, a bill and a bank payment.

Adding a bill

Tap the ‘☰’ (mobile app navigation menu) button and select ‘Bills’.

Then, tap the ‘+’ the top-right if you’re using an iOS device, or the green ‘+’ button if you’re using an Android device.

Alternatively, from the home screen, tap the ‘+’ button and select ‘Bill’.

You can either upload a receipt using Smart Capture to auto-fill some of the details, or manually enter all of the details of the bill.

Uploading a receipt using Smart Capture

To automatically extract some of the information from a receipt, tap ‘Smart Capture’.

Take a new photo using the camera function.

Once you’ve snapped the receipt, select ‘Done’ if you’re using an iOS device, or select ‘Next’ if you’re using an Android device.

Smart Capture will automatically extract the date and amount and suggest a cost category and contact.

Please note that if some of the data was unable to be extracted, the relevant fields will not be automatically populated and you’ll need to manually enter the details.

Next, complete any additional relevant fields for the bill and select ‘Save’ in the top-right corner to complete the process.

Manually entering all the bill details

If you have any paperwork that relates to the bill (e.g. a receipt), you can attach a scanned copy by tapping ‘or choose an attachment’ and selecting the file.

Contact and reference number

Next, choose the contact that sent you the bill and enter a reference number for the bill by tapping the ‘Reference’ field.

Choose a bill date

Next, select the date of the bill by tapping the calendar icon in the ‘Dated X’ field. The bill will default to the current date, but you can select an alternative date by selecting the calendar icon in the ‘Dated X’ field.

Choose a due date

Select the date that the bill is due to be paid by tapping the calendar icon in the ‘Due on’ field. The due date will default to 30 days after the bill date, but you can select an alternative due date.

Choose a currency

The currency for the bill will default to your base currency. If you want to create the bill in an alternative currency, tap the ‘Currency’ field and select it from the list provided.

VAT inclusivity

You can choose whether to enter totals including or excluding VAT. If the bill you're adding does not include VAT, you can select either option.

Choose a VAT option

Tap the ‘VAT Options’ field and select from the list provided. Please note that you’ll need to enable non-standard UK VAT rates in your ‘VAT Registration’ settings if you need these. You’ll only be able to select one VAT option per bill. For example, a bill for the purchase of both goods and services from outside of the UK which requires the reverse charge to be applied to part of the bill would need to be entered as two individual bills.

Comments

If you’d like to add additional comments to the bill, such as a note about what the bill was for, add them to the ‘Comments’ field. This is particularly important for bills in tax-sensitive categories such as legal and professional fees, purchases of capital assets or sundries.

Spending category

FreeAgent remembers the category used for the last bill created. If this is not the category that is required for this new bill, select the relevant category from the ‘Category’ field. You can add a new category if you need to, for example, clothing or petrol.

If your business is registered for VAT, make sure the bill is being added to the right category for VAT. For example, for the purchase of stamps at the post office using business funds, make sure that you categorise this as ‘Postage’ so that no VAT is claimed on it. If you’re unsure which category to select, please ask your accountant.

Enter the total price

Enter the total price of the bill in the 'Total price' field.

VAT rate

Select the relevant rate of VAT from the ‘VAT rate’ field. Alternatively, you can enter a specific amount manually by choosing ‘Custom VAT amount’ and enter the amount of VAT and select 'Done' in the top-right corner.

Project and recurring options

To link this bill to a project, select the relevant project from the ‘Link to project’ field and if this bill is going to happen again in the future, for the same supplier and the same amount, select the relevant frequency using the ‘Recurring options’ field.

Once you’ve added all relevant details to the bill, select ‘Save’ in the top-right corner of the screen to complete the process.

Alternatively, select ‘Save bill & review’ at the bottom of the screen.

Next steps 

You can then add line items to the bill.