Inventory : Creating And Managing Central Buyer Purchase Orders

Overview

The PO Buyer Module adds a purchase order system to your Inventory Center. You create a purchase order (PO) for items you're ordering from a vendor, then receive that inventory against the PO when the shipment shows up. Your inventory counts update automatically as you receive, so what's on the shelf matches what's in the system. 

Before you start

• The items you're ordering need to already exist in Inventory Center. If you're ordering something new, create the SKU first.
• Each item should have a vendor attached to it. When you build a PO, the item search only shows items tied to the vendor you selected, so set the vendor on each item first under Inventory Center → item → set Vendor → Update.
• Your role needs the right permission to use this feature. Check Settings → Manage Roles → POS Section → Inventory. The relevant permissions are "Manage Purchase Orders" (create and edit POs), "Receive Inventory Through Purchase Orders" (receive against an existing PO), and "Receive Inventory Without Purchase Orders" (receive stock not tied to a PO).

How to create a purchase order

Step 1: Go to Settings → Inventory Center → Purchase Orders.

Step 2: Click New Purchase Order in the top right.

Step 3: Fill out the PO details. Required fields are marked with a red asterisk: PO Number, PO Date, Vendor, Status, and Inventory Search. You can also fill in optional fields like Store, Ship Date, Email Receipt, and Comments.

Step 4: Add the items you're ordering. You can use the ADD button after the Inventory Search, or the ADD ITEM button. For each line item, enter the Ordered Qty and the Ordered Unit Cost.

Step 5: Click Submit to save the PO.

A couple of things happen when you submit. The PO number automatically picks up your store identifier as a prefix, and an email confirmation goes out to the vendor.

How to receive inventory against a PO

Step 1: Go to Settings → Inventory Center → Purchase Orders.

Step 2: Find the PO that matches the shipment that arrived.

Step 3: Open the Action menu on that PO row and choose Receive Inventory.

Step 4: In the Receive Inventory popup, fill in the header details like Invoice Number and Invoice Date. The Vendor and PO Number fill in automatically from the PO.

Step 5: For each item, enter the Received Qty. If you're tracking margins, note that any Shipping Cost you enter folds into the item's net cost.

Step 6: Click Submit. Your inventory counts update automatically.

You can also print a label from this screen using the Print Label button.

Receiving a shipment in more than one delivery

If only part of your order arrives, enter the Received Qty for what you got and submit. The PO stays open so you can receive the rest later. Each time you receive, the "Allready Received Qty" column adds up your cumulative receipts and the Remaining Qty recalculates. You can run as many receive cycles as you need until the order is complete. Once everything is fully received, the PO moves to the Closed Purchase Orders sub-tab.

Finding your POs

The Purchase Orders tab has three sub-tabs: Purchase Orders, Vendor List, and Closed Purchase Orders. The Closed Purchase Orders sub-tab gives you a history of received orders, with date filters for Day, Week, Month, Year, or a custom range, plus a vendor search.

Common questions

A PO still shows Partial or BackOrdered after the full shipment arrived. Did my receipt post?

Yes. The receiving transaction posts independently of the PO status, so your inventory counts are already correct — there is no need to receive the shipment a second time. Reach out to support and they can reconcile the PO status for you.

I don't see Purchase Orders in my Inventory Center. Why not?

This is controlled by permissions. Check your role under Settings → Manage Roles → POS Section → Inventory and make sure the purchase order permissions are enabled. If they are already on and the tab still is not there, your support contact can confirm the setting for your environment.