Purchase orders

A purchase order records what you have asked a supplier to deliver. The order itself posts nothing and adds no stock. Your accounts change only when you press Receive goods, which makes a goods receipt. This page also covers Supplier products, where you keep each supplier’s own codes, pack sizes and quoted costs. That screen posts nothing either.

Where

Purchases › More › Purchase orders, and Purchases › More › Supplier products

Number

PO-000001, given when you first save

Posts to

Nothing itself. Receiving goods posts Inventory and Goods Received Not Invoiced. The supplier bill posts later

Who

Managers and admins

What it’s for

• Agree quantities and costs with a supplier before the goods arrive, and print the order for them.
• Receive in parts. The order remembers what is still to come. For example, four of ten units now and six next week.
• Every Receive goods makes a goods receipt, which adds the stock at once. See Goods receipts.
• You add the supplier’s bill to each receipt when it arrives. The order then shows which receipts are billed.
• An order does not reserve anything and does not change your stock or your supplier’s balance.
• You can order stock items only. A bundle cannot be bought: order its items instead. A service cannot be ordered.
• A purchase order has no VAT. Supplier VAT is recorded when you add the supplier’s bill.
• Supplier products stores, for each supplier and item, the supplier’s own code, the unit or pack the supplier sells in, and an optional quoted cost. A quote is a suggestion only.

Fields

Purchase order

Field	What it means	What it changes
Supplier	Who you are ordering from. Search by code or name. Your role may let you add a new supplier	Printed under Supplier. The supplier must be active. Changing the supplier clears the unit or pack chosen on the lines
Document date	Defaults to today. It cannot be in the future	The date printed. A receipt made from the order cannot be dated before it
Stock location	Where the goods are expected to arrive. Your role may let you add a location with Create location	Every receipt made from the order goes to this location. It is printed as Deliver to
Expected date (optional)	The day you expect the goods. It cannot be before the document date	Printed as Expected. It does not stop you receiving on another day
Reference (optional)	Your reference or order number. Up to 120 characters	Printed
Item	A stock item. Search by name, code or barcode. Each item can be on the order once	The line you are ordering
Description (optional)	Extra words for the line. Up to 200 characters. It starts as the item’s name	Printed under the item
Unit / pack	The item’s base unit, the supplier’s unit, or a pack	Quantity, cost and discount are all per that unit or pack. Choosing another unit clears the quantity and discount
Qty	How many units or packs	The line amount, and what can still be received
Cost	Cost per unit or pack, without VAT. It starts at the item’s usual purchase cost	The line amount. A receipt made from the order uses this cost
Discount	An amount per unit, not a percentage	Lowers the cost of each unit
Notes (optional)	Up to 2,000 characters	Printed
Terms (optional)	Up to 2,000 characters	Printed under Terms

An order holds up to 50 lines. The total under the lines is a preview: quantity × (cost − discount), added up. When you save, the app works out the final figures again.

When you choose a pack, the cost follows it. For example, a pack of 10 with a usual cost of 50.00 a unit starts at 500.00. A cost you typed yourself stays when you change the unit.

When the line uses the supplier’s unit, the unit list shows the supplier’s code and its quote. For example, Supplier: BOX10 · SUP-KT with quote 480.0000. Open the line menu (F4) and choose Use quote to copy that quote into Cost.

Supplier products

Field	What it means	What it changes
Supplier	The supplier who sells the item. It cannot be changed after you save	The profile belongs to this supplier
Product	A stock item. It cannot be changed after you save	The profile belongs to this item
Purchase unit	A unit that converts to the item’s own unit, such as a box of 10. Only units set up that way are listed. The form shows, for example, “1 PACK3 = 3 PCS. Cost is per PACK3.”	The unit the supplier sells in. Quantities and quoted cost are per this unit
Supplier SKU	The supplier’s own code for the item. Up to 80 characters	Shown on order and receipt lines. Searchable. Each code can be used once among your active profiles for one supplier
Quoted cost per purchase unit	What the supplier quoted, without VAT. Optional	Copied into a line when you choose Use quote. It never changes a cost by itself
Quote date	The day of the quote. Needed with a quoted cost	Kept in the history
Quote reference	The supplier’s quote number. Up to 120 characters	Searchable. Kept in the history
Active profile	Tick to keep it in use. Untick to archive it	An archived profile is not offered on new lines. Its history stays

Each supplier can have one profile for each item. Enter both the quoted cost and the quote date, or leave both empty.

Buttons

Purchase orders

On the list, press New purchase order. Search by number, supplier or reference, and filter by status. The last column shows the next step for each order.

Button	When you see it	What happens	Accounts
Save draft & review	New or draft	Saves the order as a draft with its number, then shows it	No change
Save & new	New or draft	Saves the draft and opens a blank form for the same stock location	No change
Edit	Draft, or issued with nothing received	Opens the form again	No change
Issue purchase order	Draft	Makes it an issued order that can be received	No change
Review changes, then Update purchase order	Editing an issued order	Shows what changes, asks for a reason, then saves under the same number	No change
Receive goods	Issued, something left to receive	Opens a form where you choose the date, a reference and the quantities that arrived. Makes a goods receipt	Posts the receipt
Cancel remaining	Draft or issued, something left	Asks for a reason, then Confirm cancellation	No change
Print…	Always	Shows the order to print	No change
Items & terms and Linked history	Always	Switch between the lines and the receipts made from the order, with the edit history	No change

There is no Create invoice and no Copy as new purchase order. To order the same again, start a new order.

On the receiving form, Use all remaining quantities fills every line with what is left. Leave a quantity blank to skip that line. Conversion date is the date the goods arrived, and Reference becomes the delivery reference of the receipt.

Statuses you will see: Draft, Issued, Fulfilled and Cancelled. Fulfilled means every quantity has been received. A receipt listed under Linked history has a Match supplier bill link while goods wait for a bill.

Supplier products

Button	When you see it	What happens	Accounts
New supplier product	The list	Opens an empty profile form	No change
Save profile	The form	Saves a new version of the profile. Posted documents and costs stay as they were	No change
Edit	A row	Opens the profile to change	No change
History	A row	Shows every saved version: code, unit, quoted cost, date, reference and status	No change
Unit barcodes	The list	One barcode for each unit of an item. A pack barcode selects that pack at the till	No change

The list shows 25 profiles a page. Filter by Supplier, by product, or with Find supplier SKU or quote reference.

What gets posted

The order

Nothing. Saving, issuing, editing, cancelling or printing a purchase order writes no journal entry, moves no stock and books no VAT. It does not touch your supplier’s balance, either.

Receive goods

Each Receive goods posts one goods receipt, dated on the Conversion date you choose. (That is the date the goods arrived.) It uses the order’s cost and discount, so the stock value of what you receive is quantity × (cost − discount).

Account	Side	In plain words
1200 Inventory	Debit	The stock you received goes into your stock value
2050 Goods Received Not Invoiced	Credit	Stock received that the supplier has not billed yet

Example: an order for 10 units at 10.00 with a discount of 1.00 a unit. You receive 4 units. The receipt is worth 4 × (10.00 − 1.00) = 36.00. The stock goes up by 4 units. Inventory is debited and Goods Received Not Invoiced is credited by 36.00. The receipt and the stock are saved in one step. If any part fails, nothing is kept.

No VAT and no supplier balance are posted yet. The order still shows 6 units left. When the supplier’s bill arrives, add it to the receipt. The bill clears Goods Received Not Invoiced into Accounts Payable and books the VAT. See Goods receipts for the entries and worked examples.

A receipt can be billed in parts. In the example, two bills of 2 units each, at 9.00, bill the 4 units. The receipt then shows as billed, and no stock is added a second time.

Supplier products

Nothing. Saving a profile does not change a stock cost, a label, VAT or a supplier balance. The page says: Supplier product saved. Posted documents and costs are unchanged.

What is copied to the receipt

	Goods receipt made from the order
Supplier, stock location	Copied
Items and quantities	The ones you choose, up to what is left
Cost and discount	As ordered. The discount per unit is multiplied by the quantity received
Unit or pack, supplier pack	Copied
VAT rate for the later bill	The VAT profile the item had when you saved the order, while that profile is still in use
Date	The conversion date you choose
Delivery reference	The reference you type on the form

Where it shows up

Place	What changes
Purchases › More › Purchase orders	The order is listed with its status and how many lines are left
Goods receipts	Each Receive goods adds a receipt. See Goods receipts
Stock reports	Stock goes up at the order’s location, on the receipt date
Balance sheet	Inventory and Goods Received Not Invoiced go up when you receive
Supplier balance, payables, VAT return	Nothing for the order or the receipt. The supplier bill adds them later
Order lines and receipt lines	A line bought in the supplier’s unit shows the supplier’s code and quote

What the printout shows

Print… opens a preview you can print.

• Your shop’s details, the title PURCHASE ORDER, and the number, date, Expected date and reference.
• A Supplier box with the supplier’s name, and a Deliver to box with your stock location.
• The items with cost, discount and total, then the total in words.
• Your terms and notes, the line Purchase costs exclude VAT. Supplier VAT is determined when the invoice is matched. and the line Not a tax invoice.
• Signature lines Prepared by and Authorised by.

What the app blocks

Most checks happen before anything is saved, so a refused action leaves no half-finished records.

Saving and issuing an order

Situation	What you see
No supplier	Select a customer or supplier.
No stock location	Select a stock location.
Date missing or not a date	Enter a valid document date.
Document date in the future	Use a date on/after the source date, not in the future, and within quotation validity.
No items	Add an item.
More than 50 items	Use up to 50 items.
The same item again	Already on line 1.
Quantity of 0	Quantity must be greater than zero.
Cost of 0	Unit cost must be greater than zero.
Discount equal to or above the cost	Discount per unit must be less than the price or cost per unit.
Discount typed as a percentage	Type the discount as an amount per unit (for example 2.50), not a percentage.
Expected date before the document date	Use the document date or a later date.
Quantity with too many decimals for the unit	Quantity must match the selected unit precision.
Supplier made inactive	The customer or supplier is unavailable. Select an active account from this company.
Location inactive	Select an active physical stock location from this company.
An item is inactive	Select an active inventory product with an active base unit and tax profile.
A bundle on the order	A bundle can’t be bought. Order its items instead.
The supplier pack no longer matches	Select a matching purchase unit and supplier profile.
An item or supplier pack changed since the order was saved	The agreed tax, unit or supplier-pack basis changed. Revise an unissued draft, or cancel the remaining issued order and create a replacement.
Someone else changed the order	This document changed. Reload its current version and remaining quantities before continuing.

Editing an issued order

Situation	What you see
Goods were already received	Quantity already converted to ‹document› cannot be edited. Cancel the remaining quantity instead.
Nothing changed	Change at least one field before updating this issued document.
No reason, or fewer than 3 characters	Enter a reason with at least 3 characters.

Cancelling

Situation	What you see
Reason shorter than 3 characters	Enter at least 3 characters.

Receive goods

Situation	What you see
No quantity entered	Choose an item to convert.
More than is left	‹item›: quantity cannot exceed ‹quantity left›.
Decimals the unit does not allow	‹item›: use whole-number quantities.
More than is left when you save, because someone else received first	Enter a positive quantity no greater than the remaining quantity, using the source unit precision.
Date before the order date, or in the future	Use a date on/after the source date, not in the future, and within quotation validity.
Date inside a locked period	The accounting period is locked through ‹date›. Choose a later date, or ask an administrator to reopen the period. The form keeps what you typed, and nothing is saved
Someone else changed the order	This document changed. Reload its current version and remaining quantities before continuing.
Leaving with quantities typed	Discard the quantities and reference entered for this conversion?

Supplier products

Situation	What you see
No supplier	Select a supplier.
No product	Select a product.
No purchase unit	Select a purchase unit.
Supplier SKU over 80 characters	Use 80 characters or fewer.
Quote reference over 120 characters	Use 120 characters or fewer.
Quoted cost of 0	Unit cost must be greater than zero.
Only one of quoted cost and quote date	Enter both the quoted cost and the quote date, or leave both empty.
The supplier is not active	Select an active supplier from this company.
The unit does not suit the item	Select an active purchase unit compatible with this inventory product.
The supplier already has a profile for this item	This supplier already has a profile for this product. Edit the existing profile.
The code belongs to another active item	This supplier SKU is already assigned to another active product.
Someone changed the profile first	The supplier profile changed. Refresh and review it before saving.
Leaving with unsaved changes	Discard unsaved supplier product changes? and The changes to this supplier product have not been saved.
The list cannot load	Supplier products could not be loaded. with Retry
Nothing saved yet	No supplier products yet

Warnings that do not stop you

• Supplier VAT. The order says Excludes supplier VAT. and This is not a tax invoice.
• Quotes. A quoted cost is a suggestion. It is never applied unless you choose Use quote.

Who can do it

Action	Admin	Manager	Cashier
See, create, edit and print orders	Yes	Yes	No
Issue, and cancel remaining	Yes	Yes	No
Receive goods	Yes	Yes	No
See and manage supplier products and unit barcodes	Yes	Yes	No

These are the standard roles. Your administrator can give a custom role each action separately in Settings › Users & access. Receive goods is a separate right from the right to record a goods receipt.

Fixing a mistake

1. Still a draft. Use Edit, then Save draft & review. If you no longer want it, use Cancel remaining and give a reason. A draft keeps its number.
2. Issued, nothing received. Use Edit. Press Review changes, check the list of changes, give a reason, then press Update purchase order. The number stays and the history keeps the before and after.
3. Part received. Edit is blocked. Use Cancel remaining for what you no longer expect. What you already received stays as it is.
4. A receipt was wrong. Fix it on the receipt, not on the order. A receipt made from an order cannot be edited or deleted. An admin uses Cancel receipt if nothing is billed and none of its stock was used. See Goods receipts. Receiving or cancelling never reopens the order. Make a new order if you will receive the goods again.
5. The price changed. Cancel the rest of the order and make a new one, or correct the cost on the supplier’s bill. See Goods receipts.
6. A supplier code, pack or quote is wrong. Open Supplier products, press Edit and save. This adds a new version and keeps the old one in History. Documents already saved do not change. To stop using a profile, untick Active profile.