Top tips from Business Garage – purchase ledger

purchase ledger

Share This Post

Business Garage continues our weekly #toptips for #bookkeeping series. Week two – purchase ledger.

Accounts payable can be just as important for a fledgling business. You do not want to gain a reputation as a bad payer, but equally cash flow can be difficult to manage. Here are some tips to ensure you keep on top of your payments and stay safe against cyber fraud:

  1. Agree payment terms with your suppliers in advance, so that you will have cash when you need it. Align payment terms for your suppliers with those from your clients.
  2. Check that the amount due on the invoice tallies, errors are easily made. Reject any invoices that do not match what was agreed.
  3. Implement a purchase order (PO) system where possible. This allows you to agree from the outset the price and any payment terms.
  4. Check payment terms – there is no need to pay the invoice before the due date but do try not to miss the due date and incur late payment charges. In worst cases, some vendors may refuse to supply you in future if you are badly overdue with payments.
  5. Ideally more than one person should approve any outgoing payments to protect against cyber fraud and ensure accuracy of payment.
  6. Be cautious about unexpected emails requesting payment – either roll your mouse over or hit reply to see the true sender of email (as emails can be disguised).
  7. Verify all requests for changes to bank details (including internal emails) by contacting the sender by telephone.

The Business Garage bookkeepers are professionally cautious and have meticulous attention to detail. We always use two levels of approval for any outgoing payments, so you can rest assured that your payments are always correct, secure and on time. Find out more here. If you need expert help, contact our team on [email protected] or 01235 433099.

More To Explore

join our team
Latest News

We’re hiring!

Finance Assistant (hybrid working) full-time or part-time, Grove Business Park to start ASAP Business Garage is an exciting, dynamic, growing company offering a wide range

bookkeeping for a start-up
Bookkeeping

Top tips: bookkeeping for SMEs

Setting up and running your own business is extremely exciting but if you neglect your bookkeeping, you run the risk of your business failing. Business

Book a free, no-obligation consultation

Arrange a chat with one of our team

Outsource to Business Garage

Interested in more information or want to chat with one of our team? Fill in the form below and we'll be in touch!

All over the UK, businesses like yours are planning for better times. After a year of disruption and interruption, their focus is on rebuilding as quickly as possible. We can help.

Our five-point REVIVAL plan is designed to help businesses recover lost ground, maximise their profits, and secure their future.

Through our REVIVAL programmes we focus on the following five key areas:

  • Financial management
  • Operations
  • People
  • Digital transformation
  • Marketing


The first step is a complimentary one-hour strategy session that enables us to understand your business and your challenges better.

Following this we will present our action plan.

Fill in the form now tand book your complimentary REVIVAL strategy session.

Outsource to Business Garage

Interested in more information or want to chat with one of our team? Fill in the form below and we'll be in touch!