---
name: "purchasing_record_prepayment"
area: "purchasing"
title: "Record a prepayment to a supplier"
price: "$0.01"
method: "POST"
url: "https://api.conecto.chat/v1/tools/purchasing_record_prepayment"
mcp_server: "https://api.conecto.chat/mcp/purchasing"
auth: "Authorization: Bearer <conecto_sk_ key>"
docs_url: "https://conecto.chat/tools/purchasing/purchasing_record_prepayment"
---

# Record a prepayment to a supplier (`purchasing_record_prepayment`)

Records a deposit the business paid a supplier before their bill, like Xero's prepayments; it waits as a credit with them.

Record money the business paid a supplier before their bill, like a deposit, as Xero's prepayments: it waits as a credit with the supplier (SC-0001 on) until purchasing_use_credit puts it on their bill or records it coming back. With tax_rate it carries the VAT on the supplier's advance invoice, reclaimable once paid; using it on the bill takes that VAT back off. With books kept it is posted at once: Prepayments to suppliers (1450, made when missing) and the tax to reclaim against the bank.

Price: $0.01 a call. A call that fails costs nothing.

## Use it when

The business paid ahead: a deposit on an order, an advance the supplier invoiced.

- For paying a bill that came in, use [purchasing_pay_bill](https://conecto.chat/tools/purchasing/purchasing_pay_bill.md).

## Say this to your agent

> We paid Nordstahl a 1,190 euro deposit on order AB-2026-311 today, VAT included.

## Inputs

| Name | Type | Required | Description | Allowed values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| `supplier` | integer or string | yes | A supplier_id, or the supplier's name. 1 to 200 characters, at least 1. |  |  |
| `amount` | number or string | yes | What was paid, tax included. Up to 24 characters. |  |  |
| `currency` | string | no | ISO 4217, e.g. "EUR". Default: the supplier's. Matches ^[A-Za-z]{3}$. |  |  |
| `date` | string | no | When it was paid. Default today. Matches ^\\d{4}-\\d{2}-\\d{2}$. |  |  |
| `method` | string | no |  | `"bank_transfer"`, `"card"`, `"cash"`, `"check"`, `"online"`, `"other"` | `"bank_transfer"` |
| `reference` | string | no | Up to 120 characters. |  |  |
| `note` | string | no | Up to 500 characters. |  |  |
| `tax_rate` | number | no | The VAT in it, in percent, e.g. 19. Default none. 0 to 100. |  |  |

## Example

Written for Hansen & Voss, a restaurant-equipment wholesaler in Hamburg with 60 staff.

MCP: call `purchasing_record_prepayment` on the MCP server `https://api.conecto.chat/mcp/purchasing` with these arguments:

```json
{
  "supplier": "Nordstahl Küchentechnik GmbH",
  "amount": "1190.00",
  "tax_rate": 19,
  "reference": "Anzahlung AB-2026-311"
}
```

REST:

```bash
curl https://api.conecto.chat/v1/tools/purchasing_record_prepayment \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CONECTO_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"supplier": "Nordstahl Küchentechnik GmbH", "amount": "1190.00", "tax_rate": 19, "reference": "Anzahlung AB-2026-311"}'
```

## Response

```json
{
  "call_id": "5f0c8a2e-3b7d-4c1e-9a64-2d8e1f7b0c93",
  "tool": "purchasing_record_prepayment",
  "status": "succeeded",
  "replayed": false,
  "cost_usd": "$0.01",
  "balance_usd": "$19.75",
  "result": {
    "credit": {
      "number": "SC-0001",
      "kind": "prepayment",
      "status": "open",
      "date": "2026-10-14",
      "currency": "EUR",
      "amount": "1190.00",
      "left": "1190.00",
      "tax_rate": "19",
      "tax": "190.00",
      "method": "bank_transfer",
      "reference": "Anzahlung AB-2026-311",
      "note": null,
      "entry": 1,
      "supplier": {
        "supplier_id": 4101,
        "name": "Nordstahl Küchentechnik GmbH"
      },
      "history": [
        {
          "at": "2026-10-14T08:00:00+00:00",
          "what": "received",
          "amount": "1190.00"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

`result`: credit: its number, the amount, its VAT, what is left, the supplier and the entry that booked it.

## Errors

| Code | Status | When | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| `not_found` | 404 | No supplier of the business has that supplier_id or name. | Call purchasing_list_suppliers, or add the supplier with purchasing_save_supplier. |
| `archived` | 409 | The supplier, item, location or account is archived. | Bring the supplier back with purchasing_save_supplier archived: false, or use another one. |
| `unbalanced` | 400 | The debits and credits do not add up to the same amount. | Make the lines balance. |
| `before_start` | 409 | The date is before the books start. | Use a later date. |
| `period_locked` | 409 | The books are locked for that date. | Use a later date, or unlock with books_lock. |
| `no_rate` | 409 | There is no exchange rate for the currency on that day. | Pass rate, or set a standing rate with books_setup rates. |
| `rates_loading` | 503 | The day's exchange rates are still loading. | Try again in a few minutes, or pass rate. |
| `invalid_input` | 400 | The amount is 0 or not a number in the currency, or the date is in the future. | Fix what the message names. |
| `limit_reached` | 409 | The account has 5,000 open credits. | Use or close some first. |
| `in_progress` | 409 | Another credit took the number at the same moment. | Call again. |

The refusals every tool can give (401 key, 402 balance, 429 limits) are on the errors page: https://conecto.chat/docs/errors.md

## Related

- [purchasing_save_supplier](https://conecto.chat/tools/purchasing/purchasing_save_supplier.md): Adds a supplier or changes one: contact, email for orders, address, currency, payment terms and the book account their bills go to. $0.01 a call.
- [purchasing_list_suppliers](https://conecto.chat/tools/purchasing/purchasing_list_suppliers.md): Suppliers by name, each with what is owed to them on open bills and how many orders are open. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [purchasing_save_supplier_items](https://conecto.chat/tools/purchasing/purchasing_save_supplier_items.md): Says which Inventory items a supplier sells: their code, cost, pack size, minimum order, lead time and a fixed reorder quantity. $0.005 per item saved.
- [purchasing_list_supplier_items](https://conecto.chat/tools/purchasing/purchasing_list_supplier_items.md): What suppliers sell: codes, costs, packs, minimums, lead times and the preferred supplier, for one supplier or one SKU. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [purchasing_draft_reorders](https://conecto.chat/tools/purchasing/purchasing_draft_reorders.md): Drafts one purchase order per supplier for every item at or below its reorder point, counting what is already on order. $0.01 per draft order.
- [purchasing_create_order](https://conecto.chat/tools/purchasing/purchasing_create_order.md): Drafts a purchase order to a supplier: lines (with Inventory SKUs if you like), currency, delivery date and stock location. $0.01 a call.
- [purchasing_update_order](https://conecto.chat/tools/purchasing/purchasing_update_order.md): Changes a draft order, or records it as sent without emailing it. $0.01 a call.
- [purchasing_send_order](https://conecto.chat/tools/purchasing/purchasing_send_order.md): Emails an order to the supplier with a link to its PDF; a draft takes the next number first. $0.10 a call.
- [purchasing_receive](https://conecto.chat/tools/purchasing/purchasing_receive.md): Records what arrived on a sent order; lines with a SKU come into Inventory at the ordered cost. $0.01 a call.
- [purchasing_close_order](https://conecto.chat/tools/purchasing/purchasing_close_order.md): Closes a sent order (stop waiting for the rest) or cancels one that received nothing. $0.01 a call.
- [purchasing_list_orders](https://conecto.chat/tools/purchasing/purchasing_list_orders.md): Purchase orders, newest first, by status, supplier or date; or one order in full. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [purchasing_create_bill](https://conecto.chat/tools/purchasing/purchasing_create_bill.md): Records a bill a supplier sent, from its own lines or from an order, with its PDF; it is posted to the books. $0.01 a call.
- [purchasing_update_bill](https://conecto.chat/tools/purchasing/purchasing_update_bill.md): Adds a recorded bill's PDF if it has none, or changes its notes or due date; amounts and the PDF it has never change. $0.01 a call.
- [purchasing_pay_bill](https://conecto.chat/tools/purchasing/purchasing_pay_bill.md): Records money paid on a bill, or money back from the supplier; it is posted to the books. $0.01 a call.
- [purchasing_pay_bills](https://conecto.chat/tools/purchasing/purchasing_pay_bills.md): Pays several bills at once from one bank account, like Xero's batch payments, with the SEPA file to upload to the bank. $0.01 per bill paid.
- [purchasing_set_planned_date](https://conecto.chat/tools/purchasing/purchasing_set_planned_date.md): Plans the day the business will pay a bill, so the cash flow forecast takes the money out then rather than on the due date. Free.
- [purchasing_use_credit](https://conecto.chat/tools/purchasing/purchasing_use_credit.md): Puts a credit with a supplier on their bill, like Xero's allocate credit, or records it coming back. $0.01 a call.
- [purchasing_list_credits](https://conecto.chat/tools/purchasing/purchasing_list_credits.md): Lists credits with suppliers, deposits and overpayments, with what is left on each. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [purchasing_save_repeating_bill](https://conecto.chat/tools/purchasing/purchasing_save_repeating_bill.md): Records a supplier's bill again every so many weeks, months or years, with [Month] and [Year] filled in, like Xero's repeating bills. $0.01 a call.
- [purchasing_list_repeating_bills](https://conecto.chat/tools/purchasing/purchasing_list_repeating_bills.md): Lists the repeating bills: whose each is, how often, the next dates, and what each recorded. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [purchasing_delete_repeating_bill](https://conecto.chat/tools/purchasing/purchasing_delete_repeating_bill.md): Stops a repeating bill for good; the bills it recorded stay. Free.
- [purchasing_void_bill](https://conecto.chat/tools/purchasing/purchasing_void_bill.md): Voids a bill entered by mistake; the books reverse it and its order can be billed again. $0.01 a call.
- [purchasing_list_bills](https://conecto.chat/tools/purchasing/purchasing_list_bills.md): Supplier bills by due date, filtered by status, supplier, order or dates; or one bill in full. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [purchasing_report](https://conecto.chat/tools/purchasing/purchasing_report.md): Aged payables (what is owed to each supplier by how late) or spend (what each supplier billed and was paid). Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.