Purchase orders

Stock you've ordered in — tracked from draft, through receiving, to the supplier's bill.

Overview

A purchase order (PO) is a record of what you've ordered from a supplier — which products, how many, and at what cost. A PO moves through a simple lifecycle: Draft (still being put together) → Ordered (sent to the supplier) → Received (goods arrive) → Billed (the supplier's own invoice is recorded against it, see Purchase bills) — or Cancelled at any point before receiving. Crucially, a PO existing and being "Ordered" does not touch your inventory at all; only the receiving step adds stock.

Why it's useful

Keeping a record of what you've ordered — separately from what's actually arrived — means you always know what's still in transit, what's overdue, and whether a delivery matches what you asked for. Separating "ordered" from "received" from "billed" is also what lets the Suppliers and Purchase bills screens tell you accurately what you actually owe: a PO alone creates no payable, only a bill does.

Step by step

Create a purchase order

1. Click New purchase order

   Choose the supplier (see Suppliers) and the branch stock should arrive into.

2. Add product lines

   For each product, enter the quantity and cost you're ordering at — this is what becomes your expected landed cost once received.

3. Save as Draft, or mark it Ordered

   A draft can be edited freely; marking it Ordered is the point you'd typically send it to the supplier.

Receive goods

1. Open the PO and click Receive

   Enter the quantity actually delivered for each line — this is the only step that adds stock to your branch.

2. Receive partially if needed

   If a supplier delivers in multiple batches, receive what's arrived now and leave the rest outstanding — the PO stays open until every line is fully received.

3. Check the status updates

   A PO moves to Received once every line is fully received; it stays visible with a partial indicator until then.

From Low Stock to a new PO

You don't have to start every PO from scratch: the Low Stock screen lets you multi-select under-threshold items and click Create PO, which opens a new draft pre-filled with those items and a suggested order quantity for each.

Bill & pay

Once goods are received, record the supplier's own invoice against the PO as a purchase bill — that's the step that actually creates what you owe the supplier, settled later through Supplier payments.

Statuses explained

Tips & best practices

• Use Low Stock → Create PO as your default starting point for routine reordering — it's faster and less error-prone than re-typing quantities by hand.
• Receive goods the same day they physically arrive, not days later — Available Stock and Low Stock are only as accurate as your receiving is prompt.
• Record the supplier's bill as soon as the invoice is in hand, even if payment will happen later — that's what keeps your payables figure on Suppliers trustworthy.

Notes & warnings