Invoices, receipts and bank records: which evidence completes a booking?

Match the question to the right document

A contract and an invoice may support the same expense. A card statement and a bank debit may represent two stages of the same payment. Recording each document as a new purchase is a common route to duplicates.

Work through a privately paid company purchase

A director buys a printer for a GmbH. The invoice is addressed to the GmbH: €1,200 net plus €228 VAT, totalling €1,428. The director pays with a personal card. The company later reimburses €800.

Assume the purchase belongs entirely to the company, the equipment is capitalised, and the ordinary input-VAT conditions are satisfied. The evidence chain is:

1. The invoice identifies the company’s purchase and VAT.
2. The personal card record proves that the director paid the supplier.
3. The reimbursement claim identifies the person and business purchase.
4. The company’s €800 bank payment proves the partial reimbursement.

The supplier is paid in full. The company still owes the director €628: €1,428 advanced less €800 repaid.

In a simplified journal, the purchase is recorded as equipment €1,200 and input VAT €228 against a liability to the director of €1,428. The reimbursement reduces that liability by €800 and reduces the company bank by €800.

The €800 bank payment must not create another equipment purchase or another input-VAT deduction. The unpaid €628 must not appear as an overdue supplier invoice. The precise account for the person depends on their role and the firm’s chart of accounts.

Request the missing piece precisely

“Please send the documents” invites another incomplete upload. State the gap:

• “The supplier invoice is available. Please add the personal payment evidence and identify who paid.”
• “The bank debit is available. Please send the invoice showing the billed service.”
• “The refund reached the bank. Please attach the correction document and original invoice reference.”
• “The fee appears in the settlement report. Please add the document explaining its calculation.”

An internal explanation can establish business purpose. It does not automatically replace a supplier invoice required for input VAT. The deduction conditions are set out in §15 UStG.

Preserve usable originals

Keep every page of a multi-page invoice, referenced attachments and relevant amendments. A cropped screenshot may omit the recipient, invoice number or tax details.

For a structured electronic invoice, retain the received structured file. A readable rendering is helpful for review, but printing or photographing it can lose data needed for electronic processing. The statutory distinction between structured e-invoices and other invoices appears in §14 UStG.

Hans accepts direct uploads and connected Google Drive intake, including supported invoice, statement, contract and settlement formats. The document agent identifies what arrived; the linked bookkeeping record shows what it supports. Retention obligations still require an appropriate overall storage process.

Check completeness from three directions

Starting with documents finds invoices that remain unpaid. Starting with bank and card movements finds payments whose purpose or supporting document is missing. Starting with expected sources finds a missing statement or sales report that neither check would reveal.

Use those three views together. A folder with many files is complete only when the relevant business activity is accounted for.

Continue with open customer and supplier items and the monthly close checklist.