An invoice disbursement component review should distinguish the supplier’s own charges from amounts described as paid on someone else’s behalf. Keep the supporting documents and identify who contracted for each item. The words reimbursement or disbursement do not automatically establish accounting or GST treatment.

Accounting records, calculator and glasses on a desk
Illustrative photograph by Cht Gsml.

Break down the invoice

List each fee, third-party amount, tax and other charge separately. Obtain the relevant underlying invoices or receipts and compare names, references and amounts. Note any markup or administrative fee rather than treating every line as an exact pass-through.

Do not assume a third-party cost belongs to your company simply because your service provider paid it first.

Establish the parties and capacity

Ask who was responsible for the underlying purchase and in whose name the document was issued. Give the accountant the engagement terms and any authority to make the payment.

Keep the client’s payment to the provider separate from the provider’s payment to the third party. Matching cash movements can support reconciliation but do not alone establish whether a cost is yours or how tax applies.

Example: fee plus a registration charge

A service invoice includes a professional fee and an amount labelled registration charge. Obtain the underlying official receipt and compare it with the provider’s invoice. Refer differences or missing evidence for clarification instead of applying the fee line’s tax code to the entire document.

This guide does not classify a particular payment as a GST disbursement or reimbursement.

Record the reviewed components

Retain the approved posting schedule, tax review and document references. Check that the third-party amount was not separately entered from another copy of the receipt. Preserve the original invoice while requesting a correction where its wording or amounts are wrong.

Related practical guidance

For the surrounding records and responsibilities, see bookkeeping basics, company records to keep, bookkeeping and accounting.

Official guidance: IRAS official guidance.

Help with your company records

For accounting, bookkeeping and related compliance support, contact Raffles Corporate Services at [email protected] or WhatsApp +65 8501 7133. Tell us which records or process need attention so we can discuss the relevant next steps.