Purchase orders
Create a purchase order
Record what you have agreed to buy from a supplier, with quantities and prices. A purchase order posts nothing until you execute it into a purchase invoice.
2 min readLast updated
In this article
A purchase order records a commitment to buy: which supplier, which items, how many and at what price. It does not move stock and does not post to the books. When the goods arrive, you execute the order and it becomes a purchase invoice.
Before you start
The supplier exists. See Add a supplier.
You need the permission to add purchase orders.
Steps
Open Purchasing › Purchasing Order and select New order.
Under Order details, choose the Supplier.
Optionally choose the Payment terms you agreed.
Choose the Warehouse mode: One warehouse for all with its Warehouse, or Warehouse per line.
Under Line items, search for each Item and enter the Unit, Qty, Unit price, Discount and Tax. Use Add line for more lines.
Review the totals, add Notes if needed, and select Create purchase order.
Purchase order created confirms the save. The order starts as Pending.
Find and view an order
The list shows the No., Supplier, Total and Status. Search with Search by supplier / mobile, and filter by Supplier, Select user or Status (Pending or Done).
To open an order, select View in its Actions menu. The Purchase order document shows your letterhead, the supplier, the order number, date, status and creator, the lines and the totals. Choose the paper size and select Print. To email it to the supplier, save it as PDF from your browser's print window.
Statuses
Pending: the order is open and can be executed.
Done: the order has been executed into a purchase invoice. It cannot be executed again.
There is no manual status change. An order becomes Done only when a purchase invoice is saved from it. See Execute a purchase order into a purchase invoice.
Delete an order
In the order's Actions menu, select Delete and confirm Delete purchase order #{id}? This cannot be undone. Nothing needs reversing, because an order never posted anything.
Orders from a price comparison
If you compare supplier quotes in a pricing order, under Administration › System › Pricing Order, you can raise the purchase order straight from the winning pricing order. The two documents stay linked, and the pricing order is marked as executed.
Common questions
Can I edit a purchase order? No. Delete it and create a new one while it is still Pending.
Does an order reserve stock or appear in the supplier's balance? No. Only the purchase invoice affects stock and balances.