Buying a new truck: quotes, order and asset
How a transporter buys a new truck in Achekam, from a requisition and dealer quotes to an approved order, a matched invoice and the asset register.
By Achekam · · 5 min read · For Logistics businesses in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya
A new truck is usually the largest single purchase a transport business makes in a year, and it is often decided in a hurry. A contract is won, the fleet is stretched, a dealer has a unit in stock, and the owner signs the order the same afternoon. Months later, nobody can find the competing quotes, the invoice does not match what was ordered, and the truck is in the books at a figure that includes its first year's licence and insurance.
None of that is fatal, but all of it is avoidable. This article walks a transporter in South Africa, Nigeria or Kenya through buying a truck in Achekam the controlled way: a requisition, competing quotes, an approved order, a matched invoice and an entry on the asset register.
A requisition with the reason
The purchase starts with a request, not an order. Staff can raise a purchase requisition saying what is needed, why and the estimated cost, and someone other than the requester approves or declines it.
For a truck, the "why" is worth writing properly, because it is the business case the owner or a lender may ask about later:
- what the truck will do: a new contract, a route currently subcontracted, a replacement for a unit that is costing too much to keep running;
- the specification: rigid or truck-tractor, axle configuration, body type, any refrigeration or tail-lift;
- whether it replaces an existing truck, and what will happen to that one;
- the estimated cost, including body building and fitting out.
If budgets are set for the year, approved purchase orders count as committed spend against budgets per expense account and period, and the screen shows budget, spent, committed and available, flagging over-committed lines without blocking a purchase. Seeing the truck against the year's capital budget before approving it is a useful pause.
Dealer quotes and a written reason if not the cheapest
Supplier quotations are captured against the requisition and one is selected. Choosing one that is not the cheapest needs a written reason that is kept. A quotation can also be disqualified with a reason.
Trucks are a case where the cheapest quote is often not the best one, and that is exactly why the reason matters:
| Reason a dearer quote may win | What to write |
|---|---|
| Delivery date | The cheaper unit is months away; the contract starts sooner |
| After-sales support | The dealer has a workshop on your main route |
| Fleet standardisation | Same make as the rest of the fleet: shared parts and driver familiarity |
| Specification | The cheaper quote leaves out an item the contract requires |
Capture each dealer's quote with the same specification, so the comparison is fair. A rule that requires a set number of quotations above an amount cannot yet be switched on from the app, so write your own rule into your purchasing policy, and follow it.
An order the raiser cannot approve
A purchase order is raised from the selected quotation of an approved requisition. The person who raised it cannot approve it, and an approved order can be cancelled with a reason. For a purchase of this size, the approver should be the owner or a director, not the fleet manager who chose the truck.
One practical limit: a purchase order cannot yet be sent to the supplier from any screen, although the server can make its PDF. Send the dealer your order by your usual route and keep a copy with the requisition. Nigerian and Kenyan transporters should also know that purchase orders are currently recorded in rand, because the order form sends no currency, so note the naira or shilling price on the order for your own records.
Matching the dealer's invoice
When the truck is delivered, record the delivery against the order. Deliveries are recorded against a purchase order line by line, including part deliveries, and a goods-received record is kept. Check the vehicle identification number and the specification on the day of delivery, not after the invoice arrives.
A supplier invoice recorded against an order is matched with what was ordered and what arrived, and if price or quantity differ it is held until someone writes a resolution note. Dealers' invoices often differ from the quote: a price increase, a delivery charge, an extra fitted at the depot. Each difference should be explained and accepted by someone, not simply paid.
Posting the matched invoice puts it in the ledger as expense, input VAT and trade payables, and the supplier's invoice number stops it being posted twice. A truck, though, belongs on the balance sheet, not in one month's expenses, so agree with your accountant how its cost is moved to the vehicles asset account, typically with a journal in the same month. AccountingTools explains this control in its note on three-way matching: comparing the supplier's invoice, the purchase order and the receiving report before paying.
Adding the truck to the register
A fixed-asset register lets a business add assets at cost, depreciate them monthly by straight line or reducing balance with a journal each month, and dispose of them with the profit or loss posted.
Decide what belongs in the truck's cost before adding it. As a general guide, the price of the truck, the body and any equipment fitted to make it ready for work belong to the asset; licence fees, insurance and the first tank of diesel are running costs. Record the vehicle identification number and registration in the asset's description, so the register can be checked against the vehicles in the yard.
Tax is separate: the register does not work out tax wear-and-tear or capital allowances, so give your tax adviser the purchase details at year end. Choosing a depreciation method and useful life is covered in depreciating a transport fleet, and a truck bought on finance raises its own entries, set out in instalments on a financed truck.
Before the next truck
Write a one-page purchasing rule for vehicles: who may request, how many quotes, who approves and what goes in the cost. Then run the next truck through every step, even if the dealer is waiting, because the paperwork is what lets you explain the purchase to your bank, your accountant and yourself a year from now.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
