Purchase Orders

1. CREATING A PURCHASE ORDER — STEP BY STEP

1. Supplier — pick an existing supplier or add a new one inline.
2. Entry Info — order date, reference, location the goods are going to.
3. Items — add products by browsing your catalog or typing a SKU directly, with quantity, rate, discount, and tax per line. Each line is typed as Inventory, Non-Inventory, or Service, so a single order can mix physical stock with a Service line for something like installation, freight-in, or a supplier's labor charge — Service lines skip stock tracking entirely and can carry an optional service duration instead of a quantity.
4. Cost Lines — track additional costs like freight or duties on the purchase itself.
5. Extended Details — an optional, collapsible section for anything else the order needs (attachments, extra terms).
6. Order Summary — running totals visible the whole time you're building the order.
7. Save — the order is created and, depending on your approval settings, either auto-approves or waits for manual sign-off.

2. THE PURCHASE PIPELINE

Just like the sales side, a Purchase Order moves through a visible pipeline. You can see at a glance whether an order has been received yet, billed by the supplier, and paid — all from the order list, with status flags like Awaiting order approval, Approved, Bill Sent, and Billed.

A Cash Purchase option is available for the simplest case — an immediate, pay-now purchase that doesn't need the full order-approval cycle.

3. APPROVAL THRESHOLDS

Just like Sales Orders, you can configure Purchase Orders to auto-approve under a dollar threshold you set, and require manual approval above it — so routine restocking doesn't need a manager's sign-off every time, but a large or unusual purchase does.

4. HOW IT CONNECTS TO THE REST OF THE SYSTEM

• Inventory — approving a Purchase Order places incoming stock on order (visible in reorder planning as "On Receive") before it physically arrives, so you can plan around it.
• Receiving — the order carries directly into the Receiving step, where actual quantities received are recorded against it.
• Bills & Payments — once received, the order flows into Bills (AP) and then Payments Made, without re-typing supplier, items, or pricing.
• Supplier record — every order shows up in that supplier's own purchase history.
• Requisitions & RFQ — orders can also arrive here already sourced: an approved requisition converts directly into a draft order, and an awarded RFQ supplier quote creates one automatically with their price, lead time, payment terms, and delivery date already filled in (see the Requisitions, RFQ & Supplier Quotes guide).

5. WHY IT SCALES FROM SMB TO ENTERPRISE

Quick Reference

  Purchase Orders list ..................... Purchase > Orders
  New order ................................ Purchase > Orders > New Order
  Cash Purchase ............................ Purchase > Orders > Cash Purchase
  Approval threshold ....................... Settings > Purchase