What it is
Accounts payable tracks what the hotel owes its suppliers: each invoice with its due date, its balance and its payments. Every movement is created with its póliza (journal entry); nobody keys in the entry by hand.
| Movement | Póliza created |
|---|---|
| Record the invoice | Debit to the expense or purchase account (subtotal) and to creditable IVA (taxes); credit to Proveedores, accounts payable (total) |
| Record a payment | Debit to Proveedores; credit to the bank or cash account the money came from |
IVA is Mexico's value-added tax; creditable IVA is the tax you paid that can be offset against the IVA you charge.
When to use it
Every time an invoice arrives that you do not pay on the spot, and every time you pay one or more invoices from a supplier.
Step by step
Record an invoice
- Go to Containn → Cuentas por pagar (accounts payable) and click Registrar factura (record invoice).
- Choose the Proveedor (supplier). Suppliers are created in Inn Restaurant → Goods received, under Suppliers.
- Enter the Folio de la factura (invoice number) and, if you have it, the Folio fiscal (UUID), the unique ID of the CFDI, Mexico's electronic invoice: with it, Containn will not let the same invoice be recorded twice.
- Choose the Fecha de la factura (invoice date) and, if it applies, the Días de crédito (credit days). Left empty, it takes the supplier's terms; if the supplier has no terms, the invoice is due the same day.
- Type the Concepto (description) and choose the Cuenta de gasto o compra (expense or purchase account): an expense, the supplies inventory or a fixed asset account.
- Enter Subtotal and Impuestos (taxes) and save. For example, a laundry invoice of 10,000.00 MXN plus 1,600.00 MXN of IVA is left payable at 11,600.00 MXN.
Pay
- Click Pagar (pay) on the invoice. It opens with its balance; you can add other invoices from the same supplier and pay any of them in part.
- Choose Fecha del pago (payment date), Medio (method) and Sale de (paid from: the bank account). Left empty, it uses cash on hand for cash payments and, otherwise, the bank account for transfers.
- Type the Referencia (reference) exactly as it will show at the bank: it appears in the suggestion when you reconcile.
- Check the Total del pago (payment total) and click Registrar pago (record payment). No invoice accepts more than its balance.
The screen itself is the report of what is payable: the total, the past-due amount and each supplier with its open invoices, flagged Al corriente (current), Pago parcial (partially paid) or with their days past due. A paid invoice drops off the list; its trail stays in its pólizas.
The invoice is keyed in: Containn does not read the supplier's XML yet. It carries a single tax amount, which goes entirely to creditable IVA: it does not split out IEPS (the excise tax) or record withholdings, such as those on professional fees or rent. IVA goes to creditable IVA as soon as the invoice is recorded; if your accountant separates IVA not yet paid, the reclassification is done with a manual póliza. Invoices are recorded in pesos.
What can go wrong
- “Falta la cuenta de Proveedores en el catálogo contable” (the accounts payable account is missing), or the creditable IVA one: no account has that role.
- “Esa factura ya está registrada (mismo folio fiscal)” (already recorded, same UUID): you had already entered it.
- The date falls in a closed month. Containn rejects it: record it in an open month or reopen the month with permission.
- An invoice entered wrong. It is not edited: it is cancelled with a reason, and its póliza stays cancelled and visible. Cancellation is refused if payments were applied, and a recorded payment cannot be undone today. Cancellation is not available on this screen yet: ask support to do it. Check before saving.
- You don't see the supplier list. Your user also needs the Ver insumos y unidades (view supplies and units) permission, because suppliers are the same ones used in inventory.