The purchase process
How buying works in WbizManager, from asking for goods to paying the vendor, the setup to finish first, and which guide covers each step.
Before you start
- Set up default accountsBills, payments and goods received post to these accounts, unless your company uses posting groups.
- Set up posting groupsOnly if your company takes accounts from posting groups. It decides the purchase, stock and VAT accounts.
- Set up vendor posting groupsOnly with posting groups. Each vendor's group gives the payable account.
- Set up number seriesDecides the reference numbers your purchase documents get, where your company has set up a series for them.
- Set up approval workflowsDecides which purchase documents need approval and who approves them.
- Set up dimensionsRequisitions and purchase orders need every global dimension before they can be sent for approval.
- Set up taxesVAT and withholding tax on bills come from your taxes.
- Set up currenciesOnly if you buy in other currencies. Exchange rates and exchange gain and loss accounts come from here.
- Add products and servicesRequisition, order and bill lines pick from your products and services.
- Add a vendorEvery quote, order and bill is for a vendor.
In this article
Buying in WbizManager follows the same path every time. Someone asks for goods, procurement orders them, the store receives them, and finance records the vendor's bill and pays it. Each step has its own screen under Purchases, and each document is raised from the one before it.
The steps in order
| Step | Who | Where | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Ask for goods or services | Anyone who needs them | Procurement › Requisition | Create a material requisition |
| 2. Approve the request | Managers | Procurement › Approval › Requisition Approval | Approve a material requisition |
| 3. Ask vendors for prices (optional) | Procurement | Procurement › Request for Quote | Request a quote |
| 4. Order from the vendor | Procurement | Procurement › Purchase Order | Create a purchase order |
| 5. Approve the order | Approvers | Procurement › Approval › PO Approval | Approve a purchase order |
| 6. Receive the goods | Store | Purchases › GRN | Receive goods |
| 7. Record the vendor's bill | Finance | Purchases › Bills | Record a vendor bill |
| 8. Pay the vendor | Finance | Purchases › Bills Settlement | Pay a vendor bill |
If the vendor overcharged you, or you returned goods after the bill was posted, create a debit note. For a bill that comes every month, such as rent or cleaning, set up a recurring bill.
- Requisition: step 1.
- Request for Quote: step 3.
- Purchase Order: step 4.
- Approval: steps 2 and 5.
- GRN: step 6.
- Bills: step 7.
- Bills Settlement: step 8.
- Debit Notes.
- Vendors.
How the documents connect
- A request for quote and a purchase order are both raised from an approved requisition. Choosing the requisition copies its lines.
- When you award a quote, the purchase order is made at that vendor's prices.
- Goods are received only against an approved purchase order. Each receipt is a goods received note (GRN).
- A bill line can be matched to goods received. The bill then bills exactly what was received, at the price you agreed, and WbizManager checks the price against the order. This is called a 3-way match (order, receipt and bill).
- A purchase order marked Recurring or Low value can be billed without a goods received note (a 2-way match).
- A payment can pay one bill or several bills from the same vendor.
When your accounts change
Requisitions, requests for quote and purchase orders never post to your ledger. Money moves in three places:
- Receiving goods puts the stock in Inventory and records a liability for goods received but not yet billed.
- Posting the bill turns that liability, or the expense, into what you owe the vendor.
- Paying the bill takes the money out of your bank and clears what you owe.
Settings this module uses
| Setting | Guide |
|---|---|
| Default accounts, or posting groups after the switch-over | Set up default accounts, Set up posting groups |
| Vendor posting groups | Set up vendor posting groups |
| Inventory posting (stock accounts by location) | Set up inventory posting |
| Taxes | Set up taxes |
| Currencies | Set up currencies |
| Dimensions | Set up dimensions |
| Number series | Set up number series |
| Approval workflows | Set up approval workflows |
| Units, categories and store locations | Set up master data |
| Default purchase location and batch numbers on goods received | Set up inventory settings |
| Schedule policies (recurring bills) | Set up schedule policies |
| Letterhead on requisitions, quotes, orders and bills | Set up invoice settings |
Every settings screen in one place: settings overview.
Approvals along the way
Your administrator decides which documents need approval in approval workflows. Requisitions, requests for quote and purchase orders are approved under Procurement › Approval. Bills, bill payments and debit notes are approved by finance, see approve accounting documents. If a document type doesn't need approval, it takes effect as soon as you send or post it.