Best practices for the Providers App

The reports are only as good as the provider records and the expenses behind them. These habits keep the figures reliable and the VAT return defensible.

1. One provider per legal entity

• Create the provider under its legal name, not the shop or brand name on the receipt. The AI document scan does the same: the VIES name wins over the trading name.
• One VAT number = one provider. If a group bills you from several entities (for example an EU and a non-EU company), create one provider per entity: they get different VAT treatments.
• Before adding a provider, search the list; duplicates split the spend and hide the real total.

2. Always fill in country and VAT number

• The country (or the prefix of the VAT number) is what classifies each expense as domestic, intra-EU reverse charge or import. Without it the expense lands in Country unknown and cannot be placed on the return.
• Enter the VAT number with its country prefix (BE…, NL…, DE…). Input VAT is only recoverable with a valid VAT number on the invoice, and the report warns when it is missing.
• Set the provider's usual Tax %: it preselects the right rate in the "Add the missing VAT" sheet.

3. Link every expense to a provider

• Make the Provider select part of the routine when booking an expense. An expense without a provider is invisible to this App.
• Add expenses from the provider's report page when you are working on one supplier: the provider is preselected.
• Use the AI document scan for receipts and invoices; it fills the provider for you and creates it if needed.
• Use the recurring flag on subscriptions and rent: the report's "Recurring / month" readout depends on it.

4. Book the VAT, don't leave it for later

• Bank imports arrive without VAT. Open the provider, check the amber To check readout and run Add the missing VAT in one go rather than editing expenses one by one.
• Pick the right meaning of the amounts: a bank import is almost always gross ("they already include the VAT").
• If the supplier is genuinely exempt, use They are right as they are so the expenses are marked verified at 0% and stop being flagged every month.
• Leave Also correct earlier years unticked unless the accountant agrees: a filed period is normally corrected through the next return, not by rewriting it.

5. Keep the document behind every deduction

• Input VAT without an invoice is VAT you may have to give back. Watch the Input VAT without a document figure and aim for "Every expense has its document".
• Put the supplier's email on the provider so Request the invoices opens a ready-to-send mail listing every missing document.
• Belgian workspaces: from 1 January 2026 a domestic B2B invoice must arrive as a structured Peppol e-invoice. Record each supplier's Peppol ID and ask suppliers still sending PDFs to switch.

6. Use ignored status instead of deleting

• Mark a private or mistaken payment as ignored rather than deleting it. Ignored expenses are left out of every figure but stay visible under the Ignored tab, so the bank reconciliation still matches.

7. Review the list monthly

• The Suppliers with something to fix readout is the to-do list: work it down to zero before the VAT return is prepared.
• Check the trend column and "against last year" on the biggest suppliers; a growing share of spend at one provider is worth a conversation about pricing.
• Use Still to pay and Oldest open to keep suppliers paid on time.

8. Store logins carefully

• The Web Console, User and Password fields are convenient for hosting panels and marketplace accounts, but they are visible to every staff member with expense access. For sensitive credentials prefer the Password Manager App and keep only the URL here.

9. Share the report with the accountant

• Set the year tab to the period being filed, then send the VAT return card figures (base, VAT, deductible VAT per treatment) and export the expenses table. Belgian workspaces can read the grid numbers straight off the note under the card.
• The deductible caps are applied from the expense category title (cars / fuel, restaurant / reception). Name categories clearly so the caps land on the right expenses.