Extra costs, VAT and foreign currency on inventory purchases
Add named costs like freight or clearing — included in the payment or paid separately — capitalise non-recoverable VAT, and handle foreign-currency purchases.
The breakdown modal handles the messy parts of landed cost:
Named extra costs — click Add cost in the Additional costs section, give it a name (Freight, Clearing, Duty) and answer one question: where did the money for this cost come from?
- Included in this payment — the cost was part of the same amount you're breaking down. Choose whether to keep it in the item cost or post it to an expense GL (defaults to Cost of Sales).
- Paid separately — you paid it in a different transaction. Click Find the payment… to open a searchable picker with two groups:
- In your bank review (amber) — unreviewed bank transactions. Picking one posts it straight into your stock cost and marks it Completed in the bank feed — categorised correctly the first time.
- Already in your books (green) — posted expense transactions from open periods, shown with their current account. Picking one moves the amount out of that account into your stock cost — it hits your profit when the goods sell, not today.
The amount fills in automatically from the transaction you pick, a plain-language preview explains exactly what will happen, and nothing is ever double-counted. Transactions attached this way carry an "Added to stock cost" badge in the bank feed. Only transactions from open (unclosed) periods appear in the picker.
VAT — recoverable VAT (input VAT you can claim back) automatically stays out of inventory cost. If the VAT on a purchase is not recoverable, tick "VAT on this purchase is not recoverable — include it in inventory cost" and enter the amount; it is capitalised into the landed cost and the breakdown target adjusts to include it.
Foreign currency (FX) — purchases made in a foreign currency are converted to your business currency at the transaction-date rate. The breakdown target shown in the modal is already in your business currency, so your item costs should add up to that converted figure.
If you later change your mind — undoing or recategorising an attached transaction from the bank feed automatically removes it from the purchase cost, recalculates your item costs, and raises a task reminding you to double-check.
Shortcut from the bank feed — when a transaction in Review Needed looks like a landed cost (its description mentions freight, shipping, clearing, customs or duty), AkountFly shows "Looks like a cost of getting goods in — add to a stock purchase?" right on the transaction. Two clicks and it's attached — no need to open the Inventory page at all.
Step-by-step
- 1Add a cost
Inside the breakdown modal, use + direct cost on an item (item-specific) or Add cost in the Additional costs section (spread across the purchase). Give it a clear name like "Freight — Lagos port".
- 2Say where it came from
Pick Included in this payment if the cost was inside this same transaction, or Paid separately if you paid it in another transaction.
- 3Find the separate payment
For Paid separately, click Find the payment… and search. Amber entries are still in your bank review (they'll be posted to inventory and marked Completed); green entries are already posted (they'll be moved into your stock cost).
The amount locks to the transaction you pick, so totals always reconcile. - 4Handle VAT
Tick the non-recoverable VAT checkbox and enter the amount only when you cannot claim the VAT back. Recoverable VAT needs no action.