Case Analysis

Supplier Invoices Through an Intermediary Without Purchase Order Proof Lawyer and Advocate in Nairobi

Your invoice names the event organiser, but the service was provided for its corporate client. Who actually owes the money? A supplier invoice lawyer or advocate in Nairobi should establish the contractual and payment route for each job. A familiar business relationship does not remove the need to connect the disputed assignment to the party sued.

What the Trueblaq appeal decided

The High Court set aside a KSh 969,200 invoice judgment from Milimani Commercial Magistrate Court and substituted dismissal of the supplier's suit with trial and appeal costs. It found insufficient proof of the disputed transactions and the intermediary's payment obligation. Missing purchase-order evidence mattered to the particular arrangement; the supplier's invoices did not fill the evidential gap. The decision did not establish that every oral contract is invalid or that every business invoice requires a purchase order regardless of the parties' agreement.

Map who commissioned and received each service

Create one row per event or assignment. Identify who requested the work, agreed the scope, accepted the price and received the service. Attach the corresponding email, message or order. Several entities may appear in the conversation while only some undertook a contractual obligation.

Explain the intermediary's role. Was it buying services for its own account, acting for a disclosed client or simply passing on funds under a separate arrangement? Give the advocate the document or conduct supporting your account. A company appearing on an invoice does not, without more, explain why it became responsible for payment.

Mark changes between assignments. One event may have been ordered directly while another used a client-generated purchase order. Do not assume that proof of the first event establishes the terms of every later transaction. The lawyer should be able to trace the disputed jobs independently.

Connect the purchase order to the invoice and delivery

Where an order exists, retain its number, issuing entity, addressee, amount and scope. Compare those with the invoice and the work delivered. If the invoice exceeds the order, provide evidence of the additional work and who authorised its price. An unexplained difference can conceal the central dispute.

If no purchase order is available, provide the alternative evidence of agreement. This may include accepted quotations, instructions and correspondence addressing the particular assignment. Be clear whether the order was never issued or simply missing from your records. The advocate needs to assess the arrangement rather than assume the same consequence follows in both situations.

Preserve delivery or performance evidence. An event photograph may show that work occurred while leaving uncertain who engaged the supplier or agreed to pay. Pair evidence of performance with the instructions and acceptance records so the legal relationship is not inferred from performance alone.

Trace money received and money passed on

Prepare a payment ledger for the disputed jobs. Distinguish a client payment to the intermediary from a remittance to the supplier. Where the supplier says the intermediary retained funds, identify the evidence that the relevant money reached it. A belief based on how earlier jobs were paid should be marked as such.

Retain remittance advice, bank entries and instructions allocating money to an invoice. If one transfer covers several jobs, supply the reconciliation accepted by the parties where available. Do not allocate it retrospectively to the invoice that makes your claim appear strongest without supporting the allocation.

Explain any special payment arrangement. A promise to pass on a client's funds for one invoice may differ from accepting liability for all disputed invoices. Provide the complete message, including any conditions and reservations. The adviser needs to see whether an alleged acknowledgment concerned the whole balance or a limited amount.

Separate admitted and disputed amounts

List what the other party acknowledges, what it denies and the reason stated for each denial. Keep any payment proposal in full. A proposal concerning a particular invoice should not be described as admission of unrelated jobs unless its wording supports that conclusion.

Consider whether demanding all invoices together obstructed payment of an acknowledged item. Give the advocate the correspondence and explain your commercial objective. The adviser can assess the options while preserving the dispute over the remaining amounts. Do not silently treat offered but unpaid money as money already recovered.

Defendants should collect their own order and payment records promptly. A denial of liability can be weakened by incomplete records or inconsistent explanations of the intermediary role. Provide the underlying documents to the lawyer rather than rely only on a broad statement that the service benefited someone else.

Prepare the claim or appeal around the actual obligation

Identify the contractual basis, transaction evidence and balance claimed against each proposed defendant. If a judgment already exists, include the pleadings, exhibits, witness record and reasons. The appeal must address the alleged error in the decision, not only repeat the account sent before litigation.

For a Nairobi supplier invoice and missing purchase order consultation, bring the assignment-by-assignment map, orders or alternative instructions, delivery evidence and payment ledger. A lawyer and advocate can assess the party responsible for each disputed obligation and the evidence supporting recovery.

Editorial analysis checked on 8 October 2026. Practical document guidance is commentary. The cited case is not our firm’s case or a promised outcome; later orders may affect its position.