You took delivery of the goods in December; the supplier will invoice in February. The cost belongs to the closed year and must be recorded there as an invoice not yet received, at its amount excluding VAT, with no VAT deduction. This is the purchase-side application of cut-off, and the single most commonly missed entry in a small-business close.
The essentials in five points
- The trigger is receipt, not the invoice. Goods received or a service performed before closing: the cost belongs to the closed year.
- Record the amount excluding VAT. VAT is not deductible while there is no invoice, so it waits.
- The source is the goods received note, or the purchase order failing that — never the accounts alone.
- A documented estimate beats an omission. The difference is settled when the real invoice arrives.
- The entry is reversed at the opening of the following year, otherwise the cost is counted twice.
1. Finding the missing invoices
The list is not built inside the accounts, since by definition nothing has been recorded there yet. It is built from physical flows and from the commitments actually made.
- Pull the goods received notes from the final weeks of the financial year.
- Tick off those with no supplier invoice attached to them.
- Go back to open purchase orders and check what was actually delivered.
- Add services performed without an invoice: maintenance, transport, professional fees, subcontracting.
- Ask the warehouse and the buyers what came in without paperwork.
- Put a figure on each line, using the purchase order or the last known price.
Recurring external costs are the ones most often forgotten, because no goods enter stock: December electricity invoiced in January, the quarter’s professional fees, the transport cost of the last shipment.
2. Record excluding VAT, and only excluding VAT
This is the point that separates an invoice not yet received from an ordinary invoice, and the one where mistakes cost the most.
| Item | Treatment at closing | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Amount excluding VAT | Recorded as a cost of the closed year | The cost arose on receipt |
| VAT | Not recorded, not deducted | The right to deduct requires a proper, compliant invoice |
| Counterpart | Suppliers, invoices not yet received account | The liability exists even without an invoice |
| Supporting document | Goods received note and the calculation of the amount | That is what makes the cost defensible |
In the Moroccan chart of accounts, the usual counterpart is the suppliers — invoices not yet received account (4417), against the relevant cost account. Deducting VAT at this stage is a tax error, not merely an accounting one: the deduction is exercised once the compliant invoice exists.
3. Putting a figure on it when the exact amount is unknown
Uncertainty about the amount is never a reason to drop the line. It only obliges you to document the basis you used.
- A purchase order exists: Use the agreed price and the quantities delivered. This is the strongest basis and the easiest to justify.
- No order, but a regular supplier: Apply the last price invoiced and say so. The difference will be marginal and will settle itself.
- Service billed by time spent: Price it from the approved timesheet or the contractual rate, and attach the timesheet.
- No reliable basis at all: Take a prudent estimate and write down the method. An approximate but documented line survives an inspection; a missing line does not.
Write the calculation method next to each amount. That note is what turns an estimate into a defensible position, and it will save you real time at the next close.
Do not deduct VAT on an invoice not yet received
The temptation is real, especially when the amount excluding VAT is known to the dirham. But the right to deduct VAT presupposes a compliant invoice in the company’s name. VAT deducted on an estimated cost is a deduction with no supporting document, adjustable exactly as it stands, and it distorts that period’s return as well. Record the amount excluding VAT and wait for the invoice before touching the VAT.
4. Reverse at opening, then reconcile
An invoice not yet received is provisional by nature. It must disappear as soon as the real invoice arrives, otherwise the cost appears twice.
- At the opening of the following year, reverse the closing entry.
- Record the actual invoice in the normal way, VAT included this time.
- Compare the estimated amount with the amount actually invoiced.
- Leave the difference as a cost of the new year: it is not corrected retroactively.
- If the difference is large and recurring, revisit the estimation method itself.
- Check at year end that the invoices-not-yet-received account has cleared.
A residual balance in the invoices-not-yet-received account almost always signals a forgotten reversal. It is a thirty-second check that avoids a double cost.
Mistakes to avoid
- Leaving the cost out because the invoice has not arrived.
- Deducting VAT on an estimated amount.
- Building the list from the accounts instead of the goods received notes.
- Forgetting services, which never enter stock.
- Failing to reverse the entry at opening, and counting the cost twice.
- Documenting no basis of calculation alongside the estimated amount.
Frequently asked questions
When should an invoice not yet received be recorded?
As soon as the goods were received or the service performed before the closing date and no invoice has arrived. The test is actual receipt, regardless of the order and regardless of payment.
Should VAT be included in the amount?
No. Only the amount excluding VAT is recorded. VAT becomes deductible only with a compliant invoice, and it is picked up at that point.
How do I justify an invoice not yet received during an inspection?
With the goods received note or the purchase order, together with the calculation of the amount. It is the combination of the two — proof of receipt and the basis of the figure — that makes the cost defensible.
What if the invoice arrives for a different amount?
The difference is recognised in the year the invoice is received. You do not reopen the closed year, except for a material error assessed with your accountant.
Does BelloPOS help spot invoices not yet received?
It supplies the raw material. With the purchases module, available from BelloPOS Go, goods receipts are recorded and timestamped: you get the list of year-end receipts to check against invoices. Calculating and posting the entry remains your accountant’s job.
What to take away
An invoice not yet received is a simple entry that gets forgotten for a simple reason: nothing in the accounts asks for it. The habit that saves it is starting from goods received notes rather than from the accounts. Price it excluding VAT, document the basis, reverse it at opening, and check the account has cleared at year end.
Sources
The figures and rules quoted above come from these pages, read on the date given in the article.
- Ministry of Economy and Finance, General Code of Accounting Standardisation, read 1 September 2026
- Moroccan Tax Administration, 2026 General Tax Code
Your goods receipts, dated and findable
The BelloPOS purchases module records goods receipts and their dates: exactly the list to check against supplier invoices at closing. Purchases and receipts start with Go, accounting journals and exports with Pro.
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