Purchase Orders

Creating Purchase Orders

To create a Purchase OrderA Purchase Order is a formal request to purchase items from a Vendor, and an agreement to payment terms. A PO can also be used to inform other functions, such as providing a way for the receiving department to verify the items in a vendor shipment, and for Accounts Payable to know which order a bill received from a vendor applies to., use the side menu to navigate to Purchases > Transactions > Purchase Orders. This will bring up the familiar grid view (either directly, or via a search dialog, depending on the settings in CUSTOMIZE on this view). You can create the PO record in the usual way, using the button.

How to create a Purchase Order Video

In the new line that is created, enter the vendor name or select them from the drop-down menu. This will populate the default information associated with that vendor, such as the vendor location. If there are multiple locations or other options that you wish to select other than the defaults, select them accordingly.

Once the header information has been entered, you will then enter the lines for the items that will be included in the purchase. This is done using the PO Line tab. Lines are entered as usual using the + New button. To add multiple lines, use the green "Save and Add New" button on the lower right.

Typically these will be physical products, but it is also possible to specify service products that have no physical component, such as installation services. (It is also possible to create line items that do not specify a physical or service product, by making an entry in the CHARGE field and leaving the product blank.)

Once all of the line items have been entered, use the button on the PO record to complete it. You can then print the PO and transmit it to the vendor. When the ordered items arrive, shipping and receiving will check them against the PO, and create a receipt that will enter them into inventory.