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Add/Edit Purchase Orders

Purchase orders are used to buy inventory from your suppliers, and/or create an AP invoice and commitment for non-inventory items. Like sales orders, you must first enter the order and then it can be processed, revised, and committed.  Once the purchase order is committed, it will adjust inventory levels and create accounts payable invoices.  

Purchase orders provide additional functionality by allowing you to receive multiple shipments against a single purchase order and to track multiple receipts. You can also enter several sub-purchase orders against a master purchase order. A purchase order does not, however, have to be attached to a master purchase order. Please note that a purchase order can no longer be edited after you have received items against that purchase order.

What is the auto receive feature? You will note on the P.O. screen at the top, a check box labeled "Auto Recv". It is located next to the Master PO check box. The Auto Receive check box should be checked only if ALL items on your P.O are non-inventory items. When that is the case, by checking the Auto Receive feature the system will automatically by-pass any need for you to process your P.O. You can go directly to the Purchase Order Action labeled Add/Edit Invoices for PO Items Received and follow the instructions for that action provided below. 

Should you inadvertently combine non-inventory and inventory items on the same P.O., which the system will permit you to do, the Auto Receive feature, if checked, will be automatically over-ridden. In this case, you will process your P.O. in accordance with the processing instructions provided below.

The relationship between master purchase orders and sub-purchase orders is simple. Many companies may need to purchase a certain quantity of inventory, but do not yet know when the specific items will be needed. One example is the construction industry. A contractor may know that $10,000 needs to be spent on inventory from a specific supplier, but does not know what parts will be needed during a specific time period for a job. A master purchase order is then entered for the amount of $10,000. The total of any purchase orders then attached to this master purchase order cannot go above $10,000. Having master purchase orders is optional.

For step-by-step instructions, see the Common Purchase Order Transactions section.