Create a purchase order
Order goods or services from a vendor against an approved requisition, then send it for approval.
Before you start
- Create a material requisitionA purchase order is raised from an approved requisition.
- Add a vendorYou choose the vendor at the top of the order.
- Set up dimensionsEvery global dimension must be filled in before you can send the order for approval.
- Set up approval workflowsDecides whether a purchase order needs approval, and who approves it.
- Set up currenciesOnly if you order in another currency. You enter the rate to your base currency.
In this article
A purchase order (PO) tells a vendor what you're buying, how many and at what price. Each PO is raised from an approved material requisition, and its lines come from that requisition. If you asked vendors for prices first, make the order from the awarded quote instead: see request a quote.
Steps
Open Purchases › Procurement › Purchase Order
In the menu on the left, select Purchases, then Procurement, then Purchase Order. Select New PO.
- New PO starts a new purchase order.
Receiving/Remaining shows how much of each order has been received and how much is still to come.
Choose the vendor and the requisition
- Vendor: who you're buying from. Required.
- Vendor's Email fills in from the vendor. Change it if the order should go to another address.
- Requisition ID: the approved requisition you're ordering against. Required. Its lines are copied into Items Ordered.
- Priority: Low, Medium, High or Urgent.
- Date Needed: when the goods should arrive. If you leave it empty, today's date is used.
- Delivery Location: where the goods should be delivered.
- Currency: leave Base currency, or choose another currency and enter its Exchange rate to your base currency.
- Recurring and Low value are flags that change how bills are matched to this order. Tick them only if your finance team asks you to.
Check the items, then save or send
- Items Ordered: check each line's product, requester, required quantity, unit and price. Line Total works itself out.
- Choose a value for every global dimension. You can save a draft without them, but not send the order for approval.
- Description / Justification: notes for the vendor and approvers.
- Save as Draft keeps it so you can finish later.
- Send for Approval sends it to the approvers.
If something goes wrong
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| Please select a requisition ID | Choose an approved requisition. If it isn't in the list, it hasn't been approved yet. |
| Please select a vendor | Choose a Vendor. If they're missing, add the vendor first. |
| Please select all global dimensions before submitting for approval | Choose a value for every dimension, or save as a draft. |
What happens next
Approvers find it under Procurement › Approval › PO Approval: see approve a purchase order. If purchase orders don't need approval in your company, it's approved straight away.
Once it's approved, select Send to Vendor in its actions menu to send it to the vendor. When the goods arrive, open the order and select Receive goods: see receive goods. Receiving/Remaining updates as they arrive. The order's Recurring and Low value flags let a bill be matched to the order without a goods received note.