Short answer: give supplier invoices one way in, keep them in one place, give every invoice a status, and name them the same way every time. Then you can always answer three questions: what came in, what do we owe, and where is the original.
The one-minute version is in the video above. The detail follows.
1. One way in
Invoices arrive by email, post, supplier portals, WhatsApp and the occasional photo from a director's phone. The first fix is to send them all to one place:
- Create one invoices@ mailbox and give it to every supplier. Add it to your purchase orders and email signature.
- Forward the strays. Anything that lands in a personal inbox gets forwarded the same day.
- Scan paper on arrival, then file the paper or, where the rules allow, throw it away (see the record-keeping section below).
One way in also helps with fraud. A changed bank account request that didn't come through the normal channel stands out.
2. One place to keep them
Every invoice should end up in one place, linked to the bill in your accounting software. Most accounting software lets you attach the PDF to the bill, which is the most useful place for it: the document and the entry are together when someone asks a question in three years' time.
Avoid a second copy in a shared drive that nobody keeps up to date. Two places means two versions.
3. A status for every invoice
Keeping track is about status, not folders. Every invoice should be in exactly one of these:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Received | In the system, not yet checked |
| Approved | Someone has confirmed the business owes it |
| Booked | Recorded as a bill in the accounting software |
| Paid | Payment made and matched on the bank statement |
The aged payables report in your accounting software then shows what you owe and when it is due. That report is only as good as your data entry, which is why invoices that sit in an inbox unentered are the ones that get paid late, or paid twice.
4. Name and tag them the same way every time
If you keep files outside your accounting software, use one naming pattern, for example:
supplier_invoice-number_2026-10-13.pdf
You can sort that by supplier or by date, so you don't have to pick one folder structure. Tags for project, cost centre or client work the same way. Search and filters beat folders.
5. Check for duplicates on the way in
The same invoice often arrives twice: once by email, once by post, or again as a "reminder" with the invoice attached. Check the supplier and invoice number before you book it. More in the quiet cost of registering the same invoice twice.
How long to keep supplier invoices in the UK
- Limited companies: keep records for 6 years from the end of the last company financial year they relate to, according to GOV.UK. Some situations need longer, for example a late return or an open HMRC compliance check.
- VAT records: HMRC says to keep them for at least 6 years.
- Scans and PDFs: HMRC's VAT record-keeping notice says that if a scanned invoice image is kept and contains all the detail required for VAT, you don't need the paper original, unless another rule requires it. A few documents, such as C79 import VAT certificates, must be kept as originals.
Other countries have different periods. Check the rules where the business is registered. Our country pages cover several EU countries.
A monthly checklist
- Every invoice from the invoices@ mailbox is in the system
- Nothing is stuck in "Received" for more than a few days
- Approved invoices are booked with the PDF attached
- The aged payables report matches what suppliers say you owe
- Payments are matched on the bank statement (how AI helps with that)
Where Invoreg fits
Invoreg gives each company or client one list of supplier invoices. Invoices come in from a dedicated mailbox or by upload, including multi-page PDFs that hold several invoices. Invoreg reads every line, flags duplicates, and registers the bill in your accounting software with the PDF attached. You can filter by date, amount, company and status, or search by document number. See mailbox intake and multi-page PDFs and duplicates, filters and search, or try it on your own invoices. The first 20 are free.