I want to create a purchase invoice for stationary ordered for one of my clients (I am a graphic designer). When I look at the drop down list of options for the ‘Account’ area, there isn’t anything along the lines of materials, or services (e.g. if I contracted a web builder to do some work for me). What do I do if none of the existing Account entries in the drop down list are relevant?
Go to Settings - Chart of Accounts and under P&L - Create New Account.
Alternatively, if an existing account is not relevant to you - Edit and rename it
When you purchase things on behalf of your customer, consider using the Billable Expenses module.
i created new account, but is still does not appear when trying to list a purchase invoice as “cost of sales”
thank you
What new account did you create ?
Cost of Sales occurs when you sell inventory items, what are you trying to post to “cost of sales” ?
i want to create a “cost of sales” category under the Expenses. Done so, but when trying to list an invoice under this “Cost of sales” category, it is nowhere to be found…i do not want to list anything as “inventory” since i do not hold any inventory
Have you have created Cost of Sales as a “Group”, is that what you mean by Category
If yes, then you can’t post to a Category, you can only post to Accounts
Can you show a screenshot of your P&L Chart of Accounts, please ?.
i managed to add a “new total”, which is even better, but still can not list any purchase invoice under the “cost of sales” 
i probably started on a wrong explanation:) i need to somehow list my purchase invoices under “cost of sales” as they are now listed as “suspended” and it all seems wrong. I do not hold inventory, therefore no inventory entries can be done either…any ideas? i thought i would be able to add a new “category=group” and get my invoices listed under it, but it does not seem to appear when choosing the group from the expended drop-down menu
Can you please show a screenshot of the cost of sales edit screen and your P&L chart of accounts.
You have a couple of problems, @swc. First, you have no cash account (whether cash on hand or cash at bank) from which to pay for purchase invoices. Second, your Cost of Sales is set up as a group, not an account. As @Brucanna said earlier, you cannot post to groups, only to accounts. You need to modify your chart of accounts so Cost of Sales is an account under Expenses. Then get rid of the Cost of Sales group.
As for things in Suspense: that is an account where Manager stores incomplete, incorrect, or unbalanced transactions until you can fix them. Since you have no cash account to credit when debiting an expense account for your purchases, the most likely problem is that they are unbalanced.
Design a good chart of accounts for your expected business model first. Consult an accountant if necessary. Then learn how to use the features of Manager. I suggest creating a test company so you are not butchering your actual records. If you don’t understand the basics of double-entry accounting, have a look at http://www.accountingcoach.com.
@swc - if you want to have a COS section you need to have both a Group and an Account called Cost of Sales. Also you can have a total after to show the Gross Profit as per sample below
