Adding lines: products, expense services and landed cost charges

Each line on a cash purchase represents one item (product or service) the vendor is supplying. You can also add landed cost charges, such as freight or customs fees, which increase the cost basis of the inventory.

Before you start

• The vendor must already be selected.
• Products and services must be created in your Products or Services areas. Expense services (like "Freight" or "Labour") must have type "Expense" or "Service".
• If adding landed costs, you need a landed cost account set up in your chart of accounts.

Steps

1. On the cash purchase form, scroll to the Lines section and click Add a line.

2. In the Product/Service field, type or search for the item. The field will show matching products and services.

3. Click the item to select it. The Unit Price will auto-fill from the vendor's last price (if available). Change it if needed.

4. Enter the Quantity (how many units you are buying).

5. The Total will calculate automatically as Quantity × Unit Price.

6. To add another line, click Add a line again. Repeat steps 2–5.

7. Adding landed costs (optional):

   • Scroll below the lines and find the Landed Cost Charges section.
   • Click Add a charge.
   • Select the cost type (e.g., "Freight", "Customs", "Insurance").
   • Enter the amount. This amount will be added to the total cost of the purchase.
   • Landed costs are distributed across all lines to update the unit cost of the items.

8. Once all lines and charges are added, the Total Due will display at the bottom.

Accounting impact

• Products: debited to inventory, credited to cash (or liability account if on account).
• Expense services: debited to an expense account, credited to cash.
• Landed costs: distributed to increase the inventory cost basis of products; the landed cost account is credited.

Tips & common mistakes

• Service vs. product? If you are buying something that will be used up or resold (e.g., goods, materials), use a product. If you are paying for a service (e.g., delivery, labour, repairs), use a service.
• Landed costs only for products: you can only apply landed cost charges to products, not services. If the vendor includes shipping in a service charge, record it as a separate line item under expenses.
• Changing quantities later? If you made a mistake, you can edit the line by clicking it again, or delete the line with the delete icon and start over.

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