Getting Started with Purchase Orders

Purchase Orders (POs) track money you have committed to spend with a supplier - from raising the order through to matching it against the supplier's bill. You can raise them for anything from parts and tyres through to subcontracted transport work, and link them to jobs so the cost shows in your profit figures.

The two kinds of purchase order

Manual POs - created with the New Order button on the Purchase Orders screen. Use these for general purchases: parts, servicing, office costs, one-off services. You choose a PO type, and can link each line to a job if you want the cost against it.
Subcontractor POs - generated in bulk from the Subcontract Summary for work your subcontractors have carried out. These always use the Subcontract type, are approved automatically and are emailed to the supplier as soon as they are created. See Subcontractor Summary and POs.

The Purchase Orders screen

Open Purchase Orders from the sidebar. The header bar has three list views, plus shortcuts to Pending Approvals and the Subcontract Summary:

Open - everything still in progress: orders with a status of New, Pending Approval or Part Invoiced.
Invoiced - orders fully matched to supplier bills, going back five years.
Cancelled - cancelled and rejected orders from the last year.

Each row shows the order number (for example PO-0142), date, type, status, supplier, who raised it and the total value. Click the order number or the magnifying glass to open the order, the PDF icon for a printable copy, or the supplier code to jump to that supplier's profile.

The statuses mean:

New - approved and with the supplier; waiting to be matched to a bill.
Pending Approval - waiting for someone with a high enough approval limit to sign it off. Nothing is sent to the supplier yet.
Part Invoiced - some lines have been matched to a supplier bill.
Invoiced - every line has been matched to a bill.
Cancelled - cancelled, or rejected by an approver. Rejected orders keep the rejection reason on the order.

Creating a manual purchase order

Click New Order at the top right of the Purchase Orders screen.
Choose the Supplier.
Add a Reference if you have one - it appears on the order and is printed on the PDF, so the supplier can quote it back to you.
Pick the PO Type. It defaults to your company's standard type. Approval limits are set per type, so pick the right one. Types are managed under Settings > Purchase Types - see Managing Purchase Order Types.
Add any Notes - these are printed on the PO PDF.
Check the Send to box in the Email section. It prefills with the supplier's email address, and the order is emailed there automatically - PDF attached - as soon as it is approved. Leave it blank if you would rather send the order yourself later.
Click Add Line and enter at least one purchase line. The order total must be more than zero.
Click Create Order.

What happens next

If the total is within your own approval limit for that PO type, the order is created as New and emailed to the Send to addresses straight away.
If it is over your limit, it is created as Pending Approval. Approvers are notified, and the supplier email is held back until someone approves it. See Purchase Order Approvals.

Purchase lines

Each line on a PO has:

Description - what you are buying (up to 255 characters).
Quantity and Unit Cost - the line total is worked out for you.
Nominal Code and VAT Code - prefilled from the supplier's defaults, or your company defaults if the supplier has none. These are needed if you send bills to your accounts package - see Accounts Integration for Purchase Orders.
Vehicle and Trailer (optional) - record which vehicle or trailer the cost belongs to, useful for reporting on repairs and parts. Job costings come from the consignment link below, not from these.
Link to Consignment (optional) - search by order number or customer name to attach the cost to a specific job.

When a line is linked to a job, the cost appears in the Financials tab of that order alongside the invoice, so your profit figures include it. Costs from linked POs also flow into your load costings on the scheduler automatically - and are removed again if the PO is cancelled.

Editing an order

Open the order from any list to make changes:

The Reference, Order Date, Notes and Send to addresses can be edited at any time. The supplier can only be changed while the order is still New.
Lines can be added, edited or removed with the buttons on the order - but once a line is on a supplier bill it shows a padlock and is locked. An order must always keep at least one line.
The three dots menu at the top right has Send Email (to send or resend the PO to the supplier - hidden while the order is awaiting approval), View PDF and Cancel Order.
If you increase the value of an order that was already approved, it may need approving again - see Purchase Order Approvals.

Cancelling an order

Orders can only be cancelled while their status is New. Open the order and choose Cancel Order from the three dots menu.
To cancel several at once, tick them in the Open list and click Cancel at the top. Orders that are not New cannot be ticked.
Orders awaiting approval cannot be cancelled - they should be Rejected from the Pending Approvals screen instead.

When an order is cancelled the supplier is emailed a cancellation notice, any linked subcontract work is released, and the cost is removed from any linked jobs.

Next step: matching the supplier's bill

A purchase order is a promise to pay. When the supplier's invoice arrives, record it under Accounts > Bills and match it to the PO - line by line or as a whole order. That moves the PO to Part Invoiced or Invoiced and, if set up, sends the bill to your accounts package. See Recording Supplier Bills.

Common questions

How do I find a PO quickly? Use the quick search at the top of the screen and choose the PO option, then type the purchase order number.
Why hasn't the supplier received the PO? The email only goes out once the order is approved, and only to the addresses in the Send to box. Open the order and use Send Email to send it now.
Why can't I cancel an order? Only New orders can be cancelled. Once a bill has been matched, remove it from the bill first; orders awaiting approval should be rejected instead.
Are there reports? Yes - the Reports screen includes Purchase Orders - Delivered but Not Invoiced, Purchase Orders - Spending by Type and Purchase Orders - Supplier Analysis.