Five PDFs for one order
A buyer places one order on your marketplace for items from four suppliers. They receive four supplier invoices in four different formats, one from the marketplace for a delivery charge, and a card receipt for the total. Their accounts payable team cannot match any of these to their single purchase order. They email to ask which document they should pay against, and whether VAT has been charged correctly.
On the supplier side, some suppliers issue their own invoices from their accounting system, some rely on you to do it, and a few forget.
Why multi-supplier invoicing is complicated
Who issues the invoice, and who is treated as selling the goods for VAT purposes, depends on your marketplace model and the rules that apply to it. Some marketplaces act as agent, with each supplier invoicing the buyer; some buy and resell; some use self-billing arrangements where the marketplace issues invoices on the supplier's behalf. Your accountants and advisers decide which applies to you. We do not.
Whatever the model, the operational problem is the same: the right documents must be produced for every order, from every supplier, consistently, and the buyer must be able to make sense of them.
| Party | Document they typically need | Common problem |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer | Valid invoices for goods, a statement to pay against | Too many documents, no link to their PO |
| Supplier | Record of sale and of commission charged | Invoicing done inconsistently |
| Marketplace | Invoices for commission and fees | Raised separately and late |
| Everyone | Credit notes for refunds | Not matched to the original invoice |
What invoicing confusion costs
Buyers delay payment when documents do not make sense to their accounts team, and some stop using the marketplace because it creates admin. Incorrect or missing invoices create problems for buyers reclaiming VAT and for suppliers reporting it. Your finance team spends time producing copies, correcting documents and answering questions.
Credit notes are where it gets worst. A partial refund on one supplier's items has to produce the right credit note, linked to the right invoice, and adjust the commission, all consistently.
The invoicing we build
- Model rules: the documents required for your model, as confirmed by your accountants, are set up as rules: who issues what, what each must show, and numbering sequences per issuer.
- Document generation: for each order, the required invoices are generated from order data, with each supplier's details, the buyer's PO number and correct VAT treatment as set by your rules.
- Supplier-issued invoices: where suppliers issue their own, their invoices are collected by upload or from their accounting system and checked against the order before the buyer receives them.
- Buyer statement: the buyer receives one statement per order or per period, listing every document with a clear total, which their accounts team can pay against and reconcile to their PO.
- Credit notes: refunds and credits generate credit notes linked to the original invoice, and commission adjustments follow automatically.
- Accounting sync: documents and payments are posted to Xero, QuickBooks, Sage or your accounting system, so your ledger matches what was issued.
Invoicing buyers can process
The buyer's accounts team gets documents that match their purchase order and a statement that ties everything together. Suppliers see every invoice issued for their sales. Your finance team stops producing copies by hand, and credit notes match their invoices. When your accountants review the model, the documents and rules are in one place to check.
Is marketplace invoicing confusing your buyers?
- Buyers receive several invoices for one order and ask which to pay.
- Suppliers issue invoices inconsistently, or not at all.
- Buyer PO numbers do not appear on invoices.
- Credit notes are not linked to the original invoice.
- Your finance team produces invoice copies by hand.