Not using Procure? See the non-Procure Bills articles instead.
With Procure enabled, every bill is linked to a vendor and can be linked to a purchase order (PO). Aspire fills in most of the bill for you, from your bill document or the purchase order.
This guide covers everything you need to submit a bill when Procure is on, whether you upload it in the Aspire app or send it by email.
Before you start
Every bill needs a vendor. If the vendor isn't on Aspire yet, create the vendor first.
The vendor must be approved before the bill can be approved and paid. You can still submit a bill for a vendor pending approval, but it will wait until the vendor is approved.
Linking a purchase order is optional. Only purchase orders in Open or Partially fulfilled status can be linked. One purchase order can have many bills, but each bill links to only one purchase order.
Supported file types: JPG, JPE, JPEG, PNG, GIF and PDF, whether you upload the bill document or send it by email.
Autofill works best when your bill document:
Is addressed to your company
Shows the vendor's payment details: bank name, account holder name, account number and amount
Shows the vendor's email, so Aspire can notify them once the bill is paid
Shows the purchase order number, if there is one, so autofill can link it
The bill document can be in any currency.
How to submit bills
Admins, Finance users and Employees can submit bills to Aspire in two ways:
Via Aspire app
On your Aspire dashboard, go to Bills and click New Bill.
Upload the bill document and choose Yes, Autofill to let Aspire read it, or No, Enter Manually. With autofill, Aspire also tries to find the matching purchase order and vendor (see How autofill reads your bill document).
Purchase order (optional): select an Open or Partially fulfilled purchase order. Aspire fills in the vendor, amount, line items, tax, discount, budget and reporting fields from it (see How Aspire fills in your bill).
If you have already saved or autofilled the bill, Aspire asks Update bill from purchase order? Choose to update the bill from the purchase order, or keep your current bill details and only link the purchase order.
Vendor: if you linked a purchase order, the vendor comes from it. Otherwise, select the vendor. Their default budget and reporting fields fill in automatically.
Check the bill details: invoice number, invoice date, due date, invoice amount and budget.
Add or review line items, tax and discount (see Line items, tax and discount).
Review the reporting fields, such as category and any custom fields your company uses. Add an internal note or supporting documents if needed. Both are optional.
Click Continue. The vendor's bank account is selected as the recipient. If no recipient is linked to the vendor, you may add one here.
Paying this bill by card? Skip the recipient and click Continue. You can mark it as paid via card once it's approved. See How to Review and Pay a Bill.
Choosing a recipient is optional for everyone. Only Admins, Finance users and Budget Owners with transfer rights can add a new recipient.
To let the vendor know once the bill is paid, turn on Notify recipient (see Notify the vendor when the bill is paid).
Review the bill and click Submit, or Save as draft to finish later.
Before it's paid, the bill goes through your company's review and approval process. See How to Review and Pay a Bill.
Via email
You can also email bill documents to your company's unique bills email address. Aspire reads each document and creates a draft bill, matching the purchase order and vendor the same way autofill does (see How autofill reads your bill document).
Go to Bills and copy your unique email address. If you don't see one yet, submit your first bill in the app. The address is assigned after that.
Send or forward the bill document with this address in the To field. Documents sent to it in CC or BCC won't be received.
Aspire creates a draft bill on your Bills dashboard. An icon next to it shows whether it was sent by a user on your Aspire account or by someone outside it, such as a vendor.
Admins, Finance users or Budget Owners open the draft to review it. The email and its attachments show next to the bill details.
If the email has more than one file attached, you can add the others as supporting documents. Open the file's menu and choose Set as supporting document.
Check the purchase order, vendor and line items Aspire filled in, then submit the bill.
You can ask your vendors to send their bill documents straight to this address.
How Aspire fills in your bill
What gets filled in
Aspire fills in the bill from one of two sources: your bill document, or a purchase order you select.
Field | From your bill document (autofill) | From a purchase order you select |
Invoice number and dates | From the document | Not filled |
Amount and currency | From the document | Amount not yet billed on the purchase order |
Line items | From the document | Lines not yet billed on the purchase order |
Tax and discount | From the document | From the purchase order |
Vendor and bank account | From the matched purchase order, or the matched vendor | From the purchase order |
Budget and reporting fields | From the matched purchase order, or the matched vendor's defaults | From the purchase order |
If you select a purchase order on a bill you've already saved or autofilled, Aspire asks whether to update the bill from it or keep your details.
If you select the vendor yourself and no purchase order is linked, the vendor's default budget and reporting fields fill in.
You can change any filled-in value before you submit. Changes on the bill don't update the vendor or purchase order.
To set a vendor's default budget and reporting fields, see How to Create a Vendor.
How autofill reads your bill document
When you choose Yes, Autofill, or email a bill document to your bills email address, Aspire reads it in this order:
Purchase order. If the bill document shows a purchase order number that matches one of your Open purchase orders, Aspire links it. The vendor is then taken from that purchase order.
Vendor. If no purchase order is found, Aspire matches the vendor name on the bill document to your vendors on Aspire.
Line items. Aspire reads each line from the bill document. If a purchase order was linked, it also suggests which purchase order line each one matches.
Aspire never creates a new vendor or purchase order from a bill document. If it can't find a match, that field is left blank for you to select.
Autofill usually takes up to 30 seconds. Always review the filled-in details before you submit.
Line items, tax and discount
Line items break the bill down into what you were charged for. Each line has an item name, quantity and unit price. If you linked a purchase order, you can also match each line to the purchase order line it relates to.
First, choose where tax and discount apply:
Option | Use it when | What you enter |
Apply on total amount | The bill document shows one tax rate and discount for the whole bill | One tax rate and one discount for the bill |
Apply on individual line items | Lines have different tax rates or discounts | Tax and discount on each line |
The line items table shows each line with its quantity, unit price, discount and tax. With a purchase order linked, the Purchase order line item column shows which PO line each one matches, and Difference shows any gap between the line items and the invoice amount.
Tax is always calculated after discount. For example, a line of SGD 100.00 with a 10% discount and 9% tax comes to SGD 90.00 + SGD 8.10 = SGD 98.10.
If you add line items, their total after tax and discount must match the invoice amount. If it doesn't, you'll see a message and can't continue until the amounts match.
Paying the bill
Notify the vendor when the bill is paid
In the payment details step, turn on Notify recipient.
Enter the email address that should receive the payment notification.
If autofill finds the vendor's email on the bill document, Aspire fills it in and turns on Notify recipient for you. Check the address before you submit.
Schedule a bill payment
Admins and Finance users with transfer rights can schedule a bill payment once the bill is approved. Scheduling is only available for SGD to SGD transfers from your SGD account.
Paying from another account? Save the bill as a draft and pay it later. We're working to support scheduled payments in more currencies.
FAQs
Do I have to link a purchase order to every bill?
No. A purchase order is optional. A vendor is required.
Why can't I see my purchase order in the list?
Only purchase orders in Open or Partially fulfilled status can be linked. Fulfilled and Closed purchase orders don't appear. See Guide to PO Statuses.
Can I remove a purchase order from a bill?
Yes. Clear the purchase order field. This also removes the line items and resets tax and discount to apply on the total amount.
Can I change the values Aspire filled in?
Yes. Every filled-in value can be edited. Your changes apply to this bill only.
Why wasn't the vendor filled in from my bill document?
Aspire only fills in the vendor when it finds a clear match. Select the vendor yourself, or create it if it isn't on Aspire yet.
Does the tax I enter affect the bill total?
Yes. Tax and discount are part of the calculation, and the line item total must match the invoice amount.
Questions? Chat with us by clicking on the messenger icon at the bottom right of the screen once you are logged in.