Purchase Register Format

Every supplier bill you keep in a drawer is money you may be able to claim back in tax, and an expense your accounts need. A purchase register turns that pile into a list: one row per supplier invoice, in date order, with the taxable value, tax and total. The purchase register format below works for any business, and the worked example shows the common GST layout with CGST, SGST and IGST so you can see how the totals check out.

What is a purchase register?

The purchase register (purchase book, purchase journal or purchase day book) is the mirror image of the sales register. Where the sales register lists invoices you issue, the purchase register lists invoices you receive. The difference between the two documents is explained in our guide to purchase invoices vs sales invoices.

It does four jobs:

• Totals purchases and input tax for each month or quarter.
• Feeds each supplier's account in the purchase (creditors) ledger.
• Makes missing bills obvious, because you can compare it with goods received notes.
• Gives you a list to reconcile with supplier statements and tax portal data.

Purchase register format: columns

Column	Example
Entry date	Date you record the bill
Supplier invoice date	As printed on the bill
Supplier invoice number	Exactly as printed, including prefixes
Supplier name	Legal name
Supplier tax ID	GSTIN, VAT number, NTN/STRN
GRN or PO reference	Proves goods or services were received
Description or expense category	Raw materials, packing, freight, services
Taxable value	Amount before tax
Tax columns	One per tax type or rate
Invoice total	Taxable value + tax
Input tax eligible?	Yes / No / Partly, with reason
Due date and status	From supplier terms; Unpaid / Paid

Purchase register example (GST format)

A trading business in one Indian state records its November purchases. Rates are illustrative, at 18% for every taxed line to keep the math clear; the actual rate depends on the goods or services, and GST rates have been revised recently, so always use the rate printed on the supplier's invoice.

Date	Supplier (type)	Inv no.	Taxable value	CGST 9%	SGST 9%	IGST 18%	Total
02-11	Shree Packaging (same state)	SP/26/1187	25,000	2,250	2,250		29,500
05-11	Delta Steel (other state)	DS-4410	80,000			14,400	94,400
09-11	Metro Stationers (same state)	MS-0932	4,200	378	378		4,956
14-11	Local tempo operator (unregistered)	Bill 56	3,000				3,000
20-11	Delta Steel, return (DN-0021 vs DS-4410)	DN-0021	-10,000			-1,800	-11,800
Totals			102,200	2,628	2,628	12,600	120,056

Check the arithmetic:

• Taxable value: 25,000 + 80,000 + 4,200 + 3,000 - 10,000 = 102,200
• CGST and SGST: 2,250 + 378 = 2,628 each
• IGST: 14,400 - 1,800 = 12,600
• Total: 102,200 + 2,628 + 2,628 + 12,600 = 120,056

Same-state suppliers charge CGST plus SGST; the other-state supplier charges IGST. The unregistered transporter charges no GST, so that line has no tax to claim (and you should check whether any reverse charge applies to your situation). The return of steel is recorded as a negative line on the date of the debit note, which reduces both purchases and input tax. Whether you can actually claim the input tax depends on conditions such as receiving the goods and the supplier reporting the invoice; our guide to input tax credit under GST covers them.

This is general information, not tax advice. The CGST Rules on accounts and records are published by CBIC in the CGST Rules document; check the latest version and ask a GST practitioner about your case.

How to maintain a purchase register step by step

1. Collect every bill. If a supplier delivered but did not send an invoice, chase it; our email to request a missing invoice has wording you can use.
2. Match before entry. Check the bill against the PO and the goods received note, so you only record what you actually received.
3. Enter the invoice exactly as printed: number, date, tax ID, taxable value and tax.
4. Flag ineligible tax, such as tax on items your rules block from credit.
5. Post to the supplier's account in the purchase ledger.
6. Record returns as negative lines with references.
7. Total and reconcile monthly with supplier statements and, in India, GSTR-2B.

These steps are also the front end of the accounts payable process: once an invoice is in the register and approved, it is scheduled for payment.

Reconciling with a supplier statement

At month end, Delta Steel sends a statement showing a balance of 94,400 owed. Your purchase register and supplier account show something different:

Item	Amount
Invoice DS-4410 (in both records)	94,400
Your debit note DN-0021 for returned steel (not yet on supplier's statement)	-11,800
Balance per your books	82,600

The 11,800 difference is a timing issue: the supplier has received the goods back but not yet issued its credit note. Note it on a reconciliation sheet, send the supplier a copy of the debit note and the return note, and pay only 82,600 when the invoice falls due. A full method for these checks is in our guide to vendor statement reconciliation.

Which bills belong in the purchase register?

Businesses differ on scope, so decide once and write it down:

• Goods for resale and raw materials: always. These also go into the stock register when received.
• Services and overheads such as freight, repairs, rent and professional fees: usually yes, especially where tax is charged that you may claim.
• Capital items such as machinery and computers: record them, but mark the category clearly so they go to fixed assets rather than expenses.
• Expense claims by staff: often kept in a separate expense record, with the underlying receipts.
• Proforma invoices and quotations: never. Only final tax invoices or bills belong in the register.

A consistent scope makes month-to-month totals comparable, and stops the same bill being recorded twice in two different places.

Purchase register vs purchase ledger vs accounts payable aging

These three records come from the same supplier bills but answer different questions. The purchase register is a date-ordered list: what did we buy this month and how much tax did we pay? The purchase ledger holds one account per supplier: what do we owe Delta Steel and how did we get to that figure? The accounts payable aging report groups unpaid bills by due date: what do we have to pay this week, and what is already late? Enter each bill once in the register and let the other two follow from it, so all three always agree.

Purchase register in Excel

• Use one row per invoice and one column per tax type.
• Calculate tax with =ROUND(taxable*rate,2) and compare it with the tax printed on the bill; flag differences rather than overwriting the supplier's figure.
• Add a duplicate check: a helper column joining supplier tax ID and invoice number, with COUNTIF greater than 1 highlighted. Duplicate bills are a common source of double payments.
• Use a pivot table by supplier and month for statement reconciliation.

Variations by country

UK VAT

Record the supplier's VAT number, net, VAT and gross, and keep columns separating standard-rated, reduced, zero-rated and exempt purchases, plus reverse-charge purchases where relevant.

Pakistan

Record supplier NTN and STRN, value excluding sales tax, sales tax and any further tax, so input claims can be matched with the supplier's filed data.

India: what to watch in the GST register

Beyond the columns in the example, add the place of supply, the HSN or SAC code, and a column for the month in which input tax credit is actually claimed. An invoice dated in one month may be claimed later if the supplier reports it late, and tracking the claim month prevents both double claims and missed credits. Mark reverse-charge purchases separately, because the tax is paid by you rather than charged by the supplier.

US

There is no input VAT, so the register focuses on expense category and vendor details. Keep the vendor's tax ID if you may need to issue Form 1099.

Common mistakes

• Using your own invoice number instead of the supplier's.
• Entering bills twice, once from email and once from the paper copy.
• Claiming tax on bills from unregistered suppliers or with wrong tax IDs.
• Ignoring debit notes, so returns stay in purchase totals.
• Recording proforma invoices as purchases; only final tax invoices belong in the register.

If you also sell, your customers will keep a purchase register of their own, and a clean invoice from you makes their job easier and your payment faster. Make one free in our invoice generator, add your tax ID and line-level tax, and download it as a PDF without creating an account.