Approving supplier bills that arrive without an order

How a non-profit approves supplier bills that arrive without an order, when to insist on a requisition, and a written policy for small recurring costs.

By Achekam · 11 October 2026 · 5 min read · For Non-profit businesses in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya

A non-profit's procurement policy usually looks strong on paper: requisitions, three quotes above a limit, a purchase order signed by someone other than the requester. Then the invoices arrive. The programme coordinator hired a bus for a youth camp with a phone call. The caterer for the donor breakfast sent a bill after the event. The printer delivered the annual report before anyone raised an order. The internet provider's monthly bill has never had an order at all.

Bills like these are normal. The question funders and auditors ask is not whether they exist, but whether someone with authority looked at each one before it was paid. This article covers how Achekam handles a bill without an order, how uploaded invoices fit in, when to insist on the full ordering process, and a short policy for the small recurring costs that will never have one.

Bills that bypass the ordering process, and why funders ask about them

Funders care about bills without orders for a simple reason: the ordering process is where a non-profit shows that it chose the supplier fairly, confirmed the need, and checked the price before committing grant money. A bill with no order skips those steps. If it is large, unusual or paid to a related party, a funder's monitoring visit will want to know who decided, and why.

The risk is not only fraud. It is also spending that falls outside the grant budget, VAT claimed on a document that is not a valid invoice, and the same bill paid twice because nobody matched it to anything.

The approval queue a bill without an order waits in before it posts

In Achekam, supplier bills are recorded line by line with VAT. A bill without a purchase order does not post straight away: it waits for approval before it reaches the ledger. Once approved and posted, it can be paid in full or in parts from a chosen bank account.

That approval step is where your policy does its work. The approver should check, for each bill:

• the goods or services were actually received, and by whom;
• the cost belongs to the programme, grant or account it is coded to;
• the amount matches what was agreed, by quote, e-mail or contract;
• the supplier is one you know, and not a staff member's business without disclosure;
• the document is a proper invoice, with VAT shown correctly where the supplier charges it.

Name approvers by amount and by programme, and make sure nobody approves a bill for something they ordered themselves.

Uploaded invoices that become suggested postings for a person to approve

Many small non-profits receive bills by e-mail and photograph till slips from staff purchases. Supplier invoices and receipts uploaded to Financial Intake become suggested postings. AI can suggest how to post them; a person approves and posts each one.

That is helpful for volume, but it is a separate path from the bills list, so agree which documents go which way. A common split: bills that will be paid later are recorded as supplier bills so they wait for approval and appear when you plan payments; receipts for things already paid, such as a staff member's fuel slip reimbursed in cash, go through Financial Intake. Whichever path a document takes, the person approving it is accountable for the coding.

When to insist on a requisition and an order instead

For anything significant, a bill after the fact is too late. Achekam's procurement lets staff raise a purchase requisition saying what is needed, why and the estimated cost, and someone other than the requester approves or declines it. Supplier quotations are captured against the requisition and one is selected; choosing one that is not the cheapest needs a written reason, which is kept. The purchase order is raised from the selected quotation, and the person who raised it cannot approve it.

Insist on that route when:

AccountingTools' explanation of three-way matching describes how accounts payable compares the supplier invoice, the purchase order and the receiving report before paying. A bill without an order has only one of those three documents, which is exactly why it needs a careful human approval in place of the match. How to show a funder why each supplier was chosen is covered in showing funders why you chose each supplier.

A short written policy for small recurring costs

Some costs will never have an order and do not need one: utilities, rent, internet, subscriptions, bank charges, and small ad hoc purchases below a modest limit. Write them down so that their lack of an order is a decision, not an oversight. A one-page policy can say:

1. Which costs are exempt from ordering, listed by type and supplier.
2. The limit below which a one-off purchase may be billed without an order, set by the board.
3. Who approves each kind of bill, by amount and programme.
4. What evidence must accompany the bill, such as a delivery note, an e-mail agreeing the price, or a signed attendance register for an event.
5. What happens if a bill above the limit arrives without an order: it is approved by a senior person, with a written note explaining why the process was skipped, and reported to the finance committee.

A bill after a camp, in words

A youth programme's coordinator hires a bus by phone for a weekend camp, and the transport company's invoice arrives the following week. The bookkeeper records it as a supplier bill; because there is no order, it waits for approval. The programme manager confirms the trip took place, checks the price against the WhatsApp message agreeing it, codes it to the camp grant, and approves it with a note that the late booking skipped the requisition. The finance committee sees the note in its monthly report.

Putting it in place

Draft the one-page policy, list your recurring suppliers, name approvers, and brief programme staff on when a requisition is required. Bills that are paid twice are a separate danger, covered in a supplier invoice paid twice, and bills that arrive after a month is closed in a late bill and the month it reports in.

General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.