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.

How to add a bill on mobile

You can use Smart Capture to create a bill from a file or paper receipt. Smart Capture will read the supplier invoice and try to capture key details such as the date and amount. Convert the Smart Capture to a bill, and these details will be filled in for you and a cost category suggested.

Alternatively, you can create a bill manually.

Add a bill using Smart Capture

Tap the ‘☰’ (mobile app navigation menu) button and select ‘Files & Smart Capture’.

Select the ‘Smart Capture’ tab and tap the ‘+’ at the top-right of the screen (iOS) or the green '+' at the bottom of the screen (Android). You can choose an existing photo or file, or select 'Camera' from the menu to take a new photo.

Once you’ve captured the receipt (supplier invoice) using Smart Capture, select the file and tap ‘Convert to a new bill’ to convert the file into a bill.

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

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.

Add a bill manually

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

Tap the ‘+’ at the top-right of the screen (iOS) or the green '+' at the bottom of the screen (Android) and choose the contact that sent you the bill.

You'll then be prompted to enter the following information.

Add an attachment

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

Enter a reference number

Next, 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.

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.

Enter the total price

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

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.

You can then add line items to the bill.