How-To

What Is a Purchase Bill in Tally, and How to Track It

Ronak Maloo21 July 2026

A purchase bill in Tally is the supplier invoice you record when you buy stock on credit, entered as a purchase voucher that debits the goods and credits the supplier's ledger. It is the entry that says "we received this stock and now owe the supplier this amount," and it becomes one open line in your accounts payable until you pay it. To track it, you book the purchase voucher with bill-wise details on, give the bill its own reference name (usually the supplier's invoice number), and set the due date from the credit terms you agreed. From then on that bill carries its own due date and its own outstanding, so a payment can be matched to it exactly. The trouble is that this booking and tracking lives on the office desktop, while stock arrives at the godown all day. Takkada lets you see every open purchase bill on the phone, read live from Tally, so nothing goes untracked between deliveries.

Key Highlights

A purchase bill in Tally is a supplier invoice recorded as a purchase voucher; it debits your stock or expense and credits the supplier's ledger, adding one open line to your accounts payable
Tracking a purchase bill properly means booking it with bill-wise details and its own reference (the supplier's invoice number), so it carries a due date and can be matched to the exact payment that clears it
Untracked purchase bills are where supplier statements stop tying out; Takkada shows every open purchase bill on the phone, live from Tally, so the godown and the ledger stay in step

What a Purchase Bill Actually Is in Tally

When stock lands at your godown, it comes with the supplier's invoice. Recording that invoice in Tally as a purchase voucher is what turns a paper bill into a purchase bill inside your books. The voucher does two things at once: it debits the stock item or purchase account, increasing what you hold, and it credits the supplier's ledger, recording that you now owe them.

That credit to the supplier ledger is the important half. It is the moment a purchase bill joins your accounts payable, the running total of everything you owe suppliers. Until you pay, that bill sits open. The full picture of how these open bills add up is covered in bills payable in Tally explained, and the wider view of the money you owe is in accounts payable in Tally for distributors.

A purchase bill is the mirror image of a sales invoice. A sales invoice creates a debtor who owes you; a purchase bill creates a creditor you owe. Same mechanics, opposite direction of the money.

How to Book a Purchase Bill So It Can Be Tracked

Booking the bill is easy. Booking it so it can be tracked takes one extra habit: bill-wise references. Here is the flow on the desktop.

Go to Gateway of Tally, then Vouchers, and press F9 for a Purchase voucher
Set the date to the supplier's invoice date, not the day you happen to enter it
Pick the supplier ledger under Sundry Creditors as the party
Enter the stock items and amounts exactly as the supplier's invoice reads
When Tally prompts for bill-wise details, choose New Reference and type the supplier's invoice number as the reference name
Set the due date or credit period from the terms you agreed with that supplier
Accept the voucher

Step 5 is the one distributors skip when they are rushing, and it is the one that matters. A reference name is what lets a later payment tag against that exact bill instead of floating loose against the supplier. Without it, the ledger shows only a running balance and you cannot tell an old bill from a new one.

Reading Your Open Purchase Bills and Their Due Dates

Once bills are booked with references, the report that matters is Bills Payable. Open Gateway of Tally, then Display More Reports, then Statements of Accounts, then Outstandings, then Payables. Drill into a single supplier and you see every open purchase bill with its reference, its amount, its date, and its due date.

Read this way, your purchases stop being one lump "we owe ₹11 lakh" and become a schedule you can act on: this bill due Tuesday, that freight bill overdue since last week, this principal's invoice due at month end. Sort by due date and the bill due on the 3rd stops hiding under one due on the 30th.

That schedule is what protects a cash discount. Many principal companies give a small discount for paying inside a tight window, and a distributor who cannot see the window loses it quietly, bill after bill, across a year.

The Habits That Keep Every Purchase Bill Tracked

Tracking breaks in ordinary ways. Three habits close most of the leaks.

First, book every bill with the supplier's invoice number as the reference, every time. A blank or duplicated reference is the seed of a ledger that will not reconcile. Second, enter the supplier's actual invoice date, so the due date and ageing are honest. Third, tag every payment Against Reference to the specific bill it clears, so open bills close and paid bills drop out.

When these three hold, supplier reconciliation becomes painless. The FMCG company sends its statement, your bill-wise payable ledger lines up against it entry for entry, and the two of you agree in minutes instead of arguing over a lump sum, "yeh bill toh maine pay kar diya tha".

For the common case where the supplier sends a PDF instead of a printed bill, importing the purchase from PDF into Tally turns that document straight into a booked purchase entry, so the reference and amounts land right the first time.

Seeing Unpaid Purchase Bills on the Phone

The last gap is location. Purchase bills get booked at the office, but the decisions about them happen elsewhere: at the supplier's counter, on a call about a fresh stock order, on the drive back. The owner away from the desk has no way to check which bills fall due this week before he commits cash.

Takkada reads your purchase ledgers and open bills straight from Tally and shows them on the phone. Supplier-wise outstanding with ageing, the bills due this week, and the total you owe, all live, because Takkada keeps a two-way sync with Tally rather than a separate copy of the data. The owner checks his open purchase bills with the same tap he uses to check what retailers owe him, so a stock order gets decided against real cash commitments, not a rough memory of them.

Tally stays the system of record. The phone simply makes sure no purchase bill goes untracked between the godown and the ledger.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is a purchase bill in Tally?

A: A purchase bill in Tally is a supplier invoice recorded as a purchase voucher when you buy stock or services on credit. It debits the stock item or purchase account and credits the supplier's ledger under Sundry Creditors, which adds the amount to your accounts payable. The bill stays open until you record a payment against it.

Q: How do I track a purchase bill in Tally?

A: Book the purchase voucher with bill-wise details switched on, and give the bill a New Reference using the supplier's invoice number. Set the due date from the credit terms. That reference and due date let you track the bill in the Bills Payable report and match a later payment to it Against Reference, so the exact bill closes.

Q: What is the difference between a purchase bill and a sales invoice?

A: A sales invoice records goods you sold on credit and creates a debtor who owes you. A purchase bill records goods you bought on credit and creates a creditor you owe. The accounting mechanics mirror each other; only the direction of the money and the side of the ledger differ.

Q: Why should I use bill-wise references on purchases?

A: Without a reference, a supplier ledger shows only a running balance, so you cannot separate an old overdue bill from a fresh one or reconcile against the supplier's statement cleanly. With references on, each purchase bill carries its own due date and every payment ties to the bill it clears, which protects cash discounts and makes reconciliation a line-by-line match.

Q: Can I see my unpaid purchase bills on mobile?

A: Yes. Takkada reads your purchase ledgers and open bills from Tally and shows supplier-wise payables with ageing on the phone, including what is due in the next seven days. Because it stays in two-way sync with Tally, the figures on the phone match the office desktop, so you can plan a supplier payment or a stock order from the field.

Takkada is a Tally-integrated receivables and auto-reconciliation app for Indian distributors, with 0% MDR UPI collection and WhatsApp dispatch. Book a free demo.