Creating Contract Invoices

• 01/10/2024
• 7 minutes to read

A contract invoice is an invoice that has been linked with a purchase contract. When the invoice is registered, the lines of the purchase contract are automatically inserted into the invoice.

The first step in the process is to link an incoming invoice with a contract, and the second step is to register the invoice as a contract invoice. Upon registration, the contract invoice is created as a real business entity in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Using the posting setup, you can also enable Continia Document Capture to automatically create the link between the invoice and the contract during the actual registration of the invoice, as described under To create a contract invoice using the posting setup.

For ease of understanding, this article deals exclusively with invoices as a representative example – as this is by far the most common scenario. However, the exact same principle applies to contract credit memos.

To link a purchase contract with an invoice

A purchase contract can be linked to an incoming invoice either manually by you or automatically by Document Capture when the invoice is created from a document. Both methods are described below:

Automatic linking

To link the contract with the invoice automatically, you must create the contract based on a purchase invoice – as described under To create a purchase contract from a document. This automatically links the contract with the invoice, and adds the following two values to the Document Header section of the document journal for the selected invoice:

• In the Account Type field, the value Purchase Contract is added.
• In the Account No. field, the contract number is added.

Manual linking

To manually link the contract with the invoice, you must add the same two values by following these steps:

1. Choose the icon, enter Document Categories, and then choose the related link.
2. Select the PURCHASE code to open the document journal.
3. In the list of documents, select the invoice that you want to link with the contract.
4. In the action bar, select Purchase Contract > Select Purchase Contract.
5. On the Purchase Contract Selection page, select a contract. On the Match Overview FastTab, the Amount to Match, Matched Amount, and Difference fields help you select the right contract – whether the document lines are recognized or not.

This links the contract with the invoice, which can then be registered as a contract invoice.

To register an invoice as a contract invoice

Once you've linked a contract with an invoice as described above, you can register the invoice as a contract invoice in Business Central. To do this, simply register the invoice as any other invoice. This automatically inserts the lines of the contract into the invoice. The lines are displayed on the Lines FastTab of the Purchase Invoice page, under a top line that indicates the number of the purchase contract from which the lines originated.

To create a contract invoice using the posting setup

You can automate the linking process using the posting setup, which enables you to decide how amounts are posted for incoming invoices when they're registered. By specifying that the amounts must be transferred from a specific purchase contract for all invoices using the selected template, you enable Document Capture to automatically create a link between the invoices and the specified contract during invoice registration. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Choose the icon, enter Document Categories, and then choose the related link.
2. Select the PURCHASE code to open the document journal.
3. In the list of documents, select the invoice that you want to register as a contract invoice.
4. In the action bar, select Template > Accounts for Amounts.
5. On the Amount Excl. VAT field line, under Account Type, select Purchase Contract.
6. Under Account No., select the contract that you want to link with the selected invoice and with all other invoices using the same template.
7. Close the Accounts for Amounts page to return to the document journal.
8. In the action bar, select Process > Register to register the invoice.

This automatically links the invoice with the selected contract and inserts the lines of the contract into the invoice. The lines are displayed on the Lines FastTab of the Purchase Invoice page, under a top line that indicates the number of the purchase contract from which the lines originated.

See also

Creating Purchase Contracts
Purchase Contract Approvals
Approving Contract Invoices
Viewing the Purchase Contract Archive