Clearing and forwarding
Clearing agent invoices: the right number, the right base, the right total.
A clearing and forwarding invoice is not a simple supplier bill. It prints the goods supplier’s invoice number and purchase order beside its own, charges agency fees as a percentage of a value printed in the quantity column, often prices in one currency and asks for payment in another, and is regularly followed by a credit note that quotes the invoice it reverses. Each of those is a place where a capture tool can book the wrong thing. This is how InvoiceParser Pro handles them.
Its own invoice number, not the supplier’s
Clearing documents print the goods supplier’s “Supplier Inv No” or “Supplier PO” next to their own “INVOICE No.”. When the number read is one of those third-party references, and the page labels exactly one number of its own, IPP swaps in the clearing agent’s own number. If the page is not that clear, it leaves the number as read for you to check rather than guess.
Credit notes work the same way. A credit note’s own label (Credit Note No, NdC No., CN, CRN) is preferred over the number of the invoice it reverses (“Refer Inv No”, “Original Invoice”), and the reviewer sees a note saying the number was changed.
The invoice number and the purchase order number are kept apart. If they read the same, the PO number is cleared and the invoice flagged, rather than IPP guessing which of the two was wrong.
Fees charged on a base value
Agency, finance and disbursement fees are often charged as a percentage, with the value they are charged on printed in the quantity column. That base value is never taken as a line amount or as the invoice total.
A line whose quantity is larger than its amount is a warning sign, but not proof of a misread. IPP keeps it as read when its own arithmetic works: quantity times unit price, or the printed percentage of its base, gives the amount.
Two currencies and the VAT
Clearing agents commonly price in US dollars or euros and print the amount payable in rand or Namibian dollars. IPP books the amount in the payable box, in its currency, and keeps the other total as a secondary figure in the exports. The dual-currency page explains the rules.
Disbursements passed through at cost and VAT charged on the agent’s own fees can sit on one invoice. IPP keeps each printed tax line as its own entry, and the total check covers the lot: subtotal − discount + shipping + fees + tax must equal the total.
The VAT amount is tested against the page’s printed VAT rate only when the page prints one VAT rate and no other percentage. Clearing invoices usually print fee percentages too, so on those IPP checks that the totals add up but does not test the VAT against a rate. It tells you less, and nothing false.
Credit notes, corrections and loads
A credit note is recognised as a credit, never approved automatically, and never booked as a bill. Pushed to QuickBooks Online it becomes a vendor credit, and to Xero a supplier credit note. Zoho Books pushes refuse credit notes, so book those in Zoho by hand.
One clearing invoice often covers several consignments. Tag the whole invoice, or individual lines, with your own trip numbers, and each load carries its share of the clearing cost in the currency it was billed in.
What it does not do
- It does not read customs declarations or bills of entry, or calculate duty or import VAT.
- It does not check a clearing agent’s fees against an agreed tariff or quote.
- It does not split a file that holds several invoices. Such a file is flagged, and you upload each invoice on its own.
- On a page that prints fee percentages, it does not test the VAT against a rate; it still checks that the totals add up.
Questions buyers ask
Will IPP book the goods supplier’s invoice number instead of the clearing agent’s?
Not when the page labels them. If the number read is the “Supplier Inv No” or “Supplier PO”, and the page labels exactly one number of its own, IPP uses the clearing agent’s own number.
How are percentage-based fees handled?
The value a fee is charged on, printed in the quantity column, is never taken as an amount or as the total. A line is kept as read when its own arithmetic, quantity times price or the printed percentage of its base, gives the amount.
Can a clearing agent’s credit note go to QuickBooks?
Yes, after approval, as a vendor credit. Xero receives it as a supplier credit note. Zoho Books pushes refuse credit notes.
Can one clearing invoice be split across several loads?
Yes. Tag individual lines with different trip numbers, and each load carries its own share of the invoice.