Sectors · retail
Retail accounts payable: goods, store services, credit notes and several companies
A retail chain receives two kinds of supplier invoice that are controlled differently: goods invoices, which have a purchase order and a delivery note and are matched line by line, and store services invoices (cleaning, maintenance, security), which have no delivery note and are controlled against the purchase order or the contract and an approval. Mixing the two controls produces the worst of each: goods approved without checking what was received, and services held waiting for a delivery note that will never arrive.
Two invoice flows in the same chain
| Goods | Store services and overheads | |
|---|---|---|
| Documents | Purchase order, goods-in delivery note at the store or warehouse, invoice | Purchase order or contract, invoice (no delivery note) |
| Control | Three-way matching: price against the purchase order and quantity against the delivery note, line by line | Two-way matching against the service purchase order, or approval by the person responsible when there is no purchase order |
| Typical risk | Quantities invoiced that never reached the store, prices different from the agreed price list, return credit notes not applied | Services invoiced twice, fees that continue after the contract is cancelled |
| Who confirms | The warehouse or the store when recording the goods in | Whoever contracted the service |
Example in euros: one goods invoice and one service invoice (synthetic data)
Example built for this guide with round figures; it does not correspond to any real company.
| Invoice | What it says | What it is checked against | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goods: 400 units of a seasonal item | 400 × EUR 6.50 = EUR 2,600.00 | Purchase order at EUR 6.20; delivery note for 400 units | EUR 120.00 on price |
| Service: monthly cleaning of a store | 1 × EUR 1,150.00 | Monthly service purchase order for EUR 1,150.00; no delivery note | EUR 0.00 |
| Service: same cleaning, same monthly fee, sent again with a different number | 1 × EUR 1,150.00 | Same supplier, same amount, same period | EUR 1,150.00 if paid |
The first invoice matches on quantity but not on price: EUR 0.30 per unit over 400 units is EUR 120. The second is correct and should not wait for any delivery note. The third is the classic duplicate of recurring services: same supplier, same amount, same month and a different invoice number.
Returns, promotions and credit notes
In retail, a good part of the money that comes back from the supplier arrives as credit notes: product returns, price adjustments, agreed contributions and volume rebates. A credit note that corrects a specific invoice should quote its number; one that settles an annual agreement corrects no invoice and has to be applied to the supplier's account. In both cases, the credit note nobody links is money that is not recovered.
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Several companies, a single invoice inbox
Many chains operate with several companies (the one for their own stores, the logistics one, the franchise one or one per country) and receive invoices in shared mailboxes. Assigning each invoice to the right company is the first control: the recipient's tax ID (NIF) on the invoice says which company it belongs to, and an invoice for one company should never be matched against another company's purchase order. The full logic is in multi-entity accounts payable.
What ininvoice does with these invoices
- Goods. It matches each line against the purchase order and the delivery note, with the tolerance the organisation sets (by default it holds the line that exceeds EUR 1.50 or 2%), and shows each difference in euros.
- Services. A purchase order marked as a service order, with no receipt, is matched against the purchase order only. Agreed service charges within a goods purchase order, such as freight, do not wait for a delivery note if they match the service items configured by the organisation. An invoice with no purchase order is not taken as valid: it is held for a person to approve.
- Duplicates. It holds the invoice with the same normalised number from the same supplier and warns about the one that repeats supplier and amount to the cent within 30 days; see the seven types of duplicate invoice.
- Credit notes. They are linked to the original invoice by the number they quote and the same tax ID; credit notes that quote no invoice are left as a pending credit to be applied.
- Companies. It assigns each invoice to its company by the recipient's tax ID and never matches one company's invoice against another company's purchase order.
Limits today: ininvoice does not assign the invoice to a store, a cost centre or a delivery address: the separation is by company. Nor does it calculate volume rebates or agreed contributions; it checks invoices and links credit notes. It reads invoices as PDF, image, scan or photo; direct reading of structured e-invoices is in development.
E-invoicing 2027 in retail
According to the Spanish Tax Agency calendar, from 6 October 2027 a chain with a volume of operations above EUR 8 million will have to receive in electronic format the invoices of its suppliers that are bound by the rule, and Royal Decree 238/2026 (article 10) requires it to report to the supplier the rejection and the full payment of each one within four days. With hundreds of goods and services suppliers, that requires knowing beforehand who decides a rejection and with what check. See how rejection and payment are reported (in Spanish).
Frequently asked questions
How are service invoices with no delivery note controlled?
Against the service purchase order or contract (two-way matching) or, if there is no purchase order, with the approval of whoever contracted the service. Waiting for a delivery note that does not exist only delays the payment.
What is the most common duplicate in retail?
The one for recurring services: the same monthly fee from the same supplier sent again with a different invoice number. It is detected by comparing supplier, amount and period, not just the number.
How are invoices split between the companies of a chain?
By the recipient's tax ID (NIF) shown on the invoice. An invoice for one company must not be matched against another company's purchase order.
Does ininvoice assign invoices by store?
No. Today it separates them by company in the group. Assignment to a store or a cost centre is done outside ininvoice, usually in the ERP.
Want to see it with your own invoices? Request a demo with your own invoices