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Pamela-Davey
New Member
August 5, 2026
Question

Can I post a purchase invoice direct to a sales code in Quickbooks and how would it show up. Would it reduce the sales total?

  • August 5, 2026
  • 5 replies
  • 44 views
I am trying to reduce the amount in a sales code. I have a purchase invoice that I would like to show coming off the sales code is this possible and correct?

5 replies

L
Lolly_NCQuickBooks Team
QuickBooks Team
August 5, 2026

Could you clarify what you mean by "sales code"? If you are trying to adjust the sales tax on an invoice, you can edit it directly on the transaction screen in the Includes VAT fields.

 

Adjusting the sales tax amount will not reduce the total amount on the sales invoice. The subtotal for your goods or services will remain unchanged.

 

If you were referring to posting a bill directly to a sales/income account, please keep the following in mind:

 

  • Purchase invoices are intended for Accounts Payable (tracking what you owe vendors). They are typically recorded in liability and expense accounts, whereas income accounts track revenue earned from customers.
  • Posting expenses or vendor bills directly to sales or income accounts can distort your gross revenue figures and complicate your tax reporting.

 

If you still need to post a bill to an income account, consider making a journal entry. It is always advisable to consult your accountant before making these adjustments. They can provide accurate guidance on how these actions will impact your financial statements.

 

Please let me know if you have any further questions or if you can share a bit more about what you're trying to set up!

P
Pamela-DaveyAuthor
New Member
August 11, 2026

No it is nothing to do with tax codes or VAT.  I have a purchase invoices that I would like to set against a sales invoice code.  I was wondering if I post it as a purchase invoices to the sales code will it automatically become a negative amount in the sales code and is this allows.

 

Many thanks for your assistance much appreciated

R
RheaMaeHQuickBooks Team
QuickBooks Team
August 11, 2026

If this contact is both your customer and your supplier, you can use a contra payment to offset a purchase invoice against a sales invoice. This allows you to clear the balances without affecting your sales code. You'll need to create a journal entry first.

 

Here's how:

 

  1. Go to + Create and click Journal entry.
  2. On Line 1, set ACCOUNT to Debtors (Accounts Receivable), enter the offset amount in the CREDITS column, and select the contact under NAME.
  3. On Line 2, set ACCOUNT to Creditors (Accounts Payable), enter the offset amount in the DEBITS column, and select the contact under NAME.
  4. Select Save and close to record the journal entry.

 

Apply the journal entry to both the sales invoice and purchase invoice to complete the offset. You can refer to this article for detailed steps: Enter contra payments in QuickBooks.

 

Feel free to return if you have follow-up questions.

P
Pamela-DaveyAuthor
New Member
August 11, 2026

Hi Thank you for replying so quickly.

 

Unfortunately not same contact.  This is a sales of tickets code and I want to decrease the amount in the sales of tickets code when I post a purchase invoice which reduces the amount in the sales of tickets code.  So I was wondering if you are able to post a purchase invoice bill to a sales code and if so would it show as minus figure on the reports of the sales code - if you are able to do it.

 

Many thanks

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