Purchase Order

One document per order to one vendor. The header says who is supplied, when, in which currency and under which terms. The lines say what is bought, where it is delivered and at what price. With Purchase Type RO the same screen is the return order that sends goods back to a vendor.

Where

Purchasing › Purchase › Purchase Order

Who uses it

Buyers, the purchase manager who approves

When

After a requisition or a quotation, or directly, before the goods arrive

Needs first

Vendors set up for the company (see Vendor In Legal Entity and Release Vendor In Legal Entity), items and units (see Item), sites and warehouses (see Site and Warehouse), a Purchase Organization, Procurement and Sourcing Setting

What it is for

The purchase order is the commitment to the vendor. Nothing in it posts to the accounts: the stock and the vendor's balance move later, on the receipt and on the vendor invoice. What the order does is fix what may be received and invoiced: the item, the quantity, the price and the vendor.

The rule people get wrong: once goods are received against a line, that line is held to what was received. You cannot remove it, cut its quantity below what arrived, or change the order's Posting Date. Close what is left with Purchase Order Closure instead of deleting.

Every field in plain words

General

Field	What it means	What to put
Purchase Order	The order number	Given on Create
Purchase Type	Order or return	PO for an order to buy, RO for a return order that sends goods back. Starts as PO. Locked after Create
Order Journal	The kind of order, from Order Journal	Optional. Its default Special Indicator is put on every line that has none
Vendor Account	The vendor you buy from	Required. Only vendors open for the Purchase Group and Purchase Organization of the order are offered. Locked after Create
Vendor for Invoice	The vendor who will bill you	Required. Copies Vendor Account when you pick it; change it before Create when another party invoices. Locked after Create. The vendor invoice only offers orders whose Vendor for Invoice is the vendor being invoiced
Name	The vendor's name	Fills in
Posting Date	The order date	Required. Cannot be before today less the backdate limit, when backdate control is on in the setting. Cannot be changed once anything is received
Required Date	When you need the goods	Must not be before the Posting Date. Mandatory when PO Required Date is ticked in the setting. Hidden on a return order
Notes	Free text for the order
Purchase Reason, Reason No, Reason Detail	Why the order is raised, from Purchase Reason	Optional. Locked after Create
Currency	The order currency	Starts at the company's local currency. Locked after Create
Vendor Reference, Vendor Reference Date	The vendor's own quotation or order number	Optional
Vendor Reference for Return	The vendor's reference for a return	Optional
Project	The project the purchase is for	Optional. With a project, each line needs a Category, and the line's Activity Number opens. Locked after Create

Basic Data › Site & Warehouse, Tax & Controls

Field	What it means	What to put
Site, Warehouse	Where the goods go, by default	A line with no site or warehouse takes these on save. A warehouse must belong to the site picked, or save is refused
Delivery Stop	Stop receiving	Ticking it here ticks it on every line. A line with Delivery Stop is no longer offered for receipt
Invoice Stop	Stop invoicing	Ticking it here ticks it on every line. An order or line with Invoice Stop is not offered on the vendor invoice
Prevent Partial Delivery	All or nothing	The import shipment must take the whole open quantity of the order
Budget Control Applied, Budget Limit Verified, Budget Limit Override	What the budget check found	Set by save, not by you. See budget, below
Posting Profile, Tax Zone, Tax Exempt number	The tax picture of the order	Tax Zone with each line's Tax Group decides the tax lines

Basic Data › Payment, Pricing & Discount

Field	What it means	What to put
Payment Method, Payment Term, Payment Term Details	How and when the vendor is paid	Optional; carried to the invoice
Pricing Group	The purchase price list to price lines from	Changing it offers to re-price the lines
Discount Group	The discount list to take line discounts from	As above

Basic Data › Address, Delivery Terms & Dates

Field	What it means	What to put
Delivery To	Whose address the goods go to	LE fills the company's address. CM lets you type the address, email and mobile
Delivery Address Name, Address, Delivery Instruction, Person, Email, Mobile	The delivery address	Fill or pick
Delivery Term, Delivery Mode	Incoterm and transport	Optional
Required Date, Required Time, Promise Date, Promise Time	The dates	Optional
Shipping Carrier, Shipping Group, Shipping Service	Shipping	Optional

Purchase Structure

Field	What it means	What to put
Purchase Organization, Purchase Group	Who buys	Pick a Purchase Group from Purchase Group. Clearing it clears the organization and the people. Locked after Create
Responsibility Central, Purchase Responsible, Purchase By	The people and the cost centre responsible	Optional

Terms & Conditions, Header, Footer

Field	What it means	What to put
Term Condition	The terms printed on the order	Starts with the setting's Term Condition. The tab shows only when Required Term & Condition on Purchase Order is ticked in the setting
Header, Footer	Rich text printed above and below the lines	Optional

Prepayment (toolbar)

Field	What it means	What to put
Prepayment	The vendor is paid an advance on this order	Tick it, then Percentage or Fixed
Percentage, Prepayment Percentage	Advance as a share of the order total including tax	Up to 100
Fixed, Prepayment Amount	Advance as an amount	Not more than the order total including tax
Prepayment Cleared, Prepayment Remaining	What has been paid against the advance	Shown, not typed

A ticked Prepayment shows a Prepayment Applied tag on the document.

Purchase Order Lines

Column	What it means	What to put
Purchase	The kind of line	ITM item, ITV item variant, PRC procurement category, FIA fixed asset, CST cost element. On a return order it is fixed
Purchase No, Name	What is bought	Picked from the list for the kind of line. A procurement category line lets you rename it
Item Variant	The variant	Required for an item kept by variant
Site, Warehouse	Where it is delivered	Site is required on every line. Warehouse is required for an item whose storage structure asks for it
Unit, Quantity	Purchase unit and quantity	Quantity above zero on an order, below zero on a return order
Price, Gross Amount	Unit price and quantity times price	Filled from the Purchase Agreement or the price list, see below. Price cannot be zero, except on a free-of-cost or subcontracting line
Discount %, Discount Amount, Net Price, Net Amount	The discount and the result	Type either the percentage or the amount; the other is worked out
Tax Zone, Tax Group, Tax Lines	Tax on the line	The tax lines are worked out on save
Account	The account the line is charged to	Filled from the vendor's posting profile for an item when empty. Required
Special Indicator	A special kind of line	Free of cost (price must be zero, left out of the totals), sample, or subcontracting (needs a Subcontracting Warehouse)
Subcontracting Warehouse	The vendor's warehouse for subcontracting	See the subcontracting scenario
Manufacture	The maker	Required for an item that has manufacturers; must be an approved manufacturer when the warehouse asks for one
Catch Weight, Catch Weight Unit, Catch Weight Quantity	Goods priced by weight	Required for a catch-weight item; the weight must stay within the item's variation
Project, Activity Number, Category	Project costing	Category is required when the order has a Project
Asset Group, Asset, Transaction Type	Fixed asset lines	Asset required unless the line buys a new asset
Required Date, Promise Date and times	Line dates	Not before the Posting Date
Delivery To and address columns	Line delivery address	As on the header
LPR Date, LPR, LPQ, LPR Vendor, LPR & CPR Variance	Last purchase rate, quantity and vendor, and the gap to this price	Shown when Required LPR information is ticked in the setting
Available	Stock on hand	Shown when Required Current Stock is ticked in the setting
Average Period Price, Price Exceeds Average Period Price	The average price of earlier orders over the setting's period	Worked out on save
Requisition, Quotation, Quotation Compare, Origin columns	Where the line came from	Filled when copied
Delivery Stop, Invoice Stop, Prevent Partial Delivery, Delivered Quantity	Line controls	As on the header, per line
Skip Quality Inspection	Receive without inspection	Shown when Required Quality On PO Line is ticked in the setting
Over Delivery, Under Delivery	Tolerance in percent	Over Delivery is how far an import shipment may go over the line, when Accept Over Delivery is ticked in the setting. Under Delivery is recorded only
Line Text	Free text

Totals (Total on the toolbar)

Gross Amount, Discount Amount, Net Amount, Tax Amount, Cost Elements, Amount Including Tax, the quantity, weights and volume, the prepayment figures, and Free of Cost Amount and Quantity for free-of-cost lines, which stay out of every other total.

What fills in and what save checks

• Price. For an item, the line looks first for a Purchase Agreement of this vendor and currency, valid on the posting date, for the item, variant, unit and project. With none, it takes the purchase price list and its discount. The line's Price Origin shows where the price came from.
• Account. An item line with no account takes the vendor's purchase account from the posting profile.
• Cost elements. Freight, duty and other charges can be put on a line (Line Cost Element) or on the header (Cost Element Header, then Apply Cost Element To Lines). Each needs an Allocation Base, an Allocation Value and a Currency.
• Budget. On a released order of type PO, each line is checked against the ledger budget for its account and dimensions. When the budget's action is stop, save is refused. When it is warn, you are asked to confirm, and the line is marked Budget Limit Override. Perform Budget Check and Accounting on the toolbar show the figures before you save.
• Approved vendor. When an item allows only its approved vendors, the vendor must be on the item's list and valid on the Posting Date.
• Line identity. Every saved line gets its own line identifier, which the receipt, the shipment and the invoice follow.

How to configure it

• Columns that come and go with Procurement and Sourcing Setting: Tax Zone, Catalog Number, Part Number, Requisition, the discount columns, Available, the LPR columns, Skip Quality Inspection, Manufacture, and the Terms & Conditions tab.
• Special Indicator shows on the lines only when the inventory setting asks for special indicators.
• The copy buttons on the lines (Purchase Requisition, Purchase Agreement, Purchase Journal, Sales Order, Bill Of Material, and Purchase Order for a return) each need a line on Purchase Origin. Without it the button answers "You don't have rights".
• The Reward button shows only on a PO when Required Promotion & Rewards is ticked in the setting.

Scenarios

• A trader buys on credit from local suppliers. Purchase Type PO, pick the vendor, copy the lines from the requisition, save. The warehouse receives against it.
• Goods came back damaged. Purchase Type RO, copy the lines from the vendor invoice or the original order, quantities are negative. The return is then shipped from the warehouse.
• The vendor wants 30 percent in advance. Tick Prepayment, Percentage, 30. The advance is worked out on the total including tax.
• The vendor is a sister company. When the vendor is set up as inter-company with orders, saving the order makes or updates a sales order in the other company for the same items. Once that company delivers, this order can no longer be changed.
• The vendor makes the item from your material. See the subcontracting scenario.
• The goods are imported. Raise the order on the foreign vendor, then group its lines on an Incoming Shipment.

What it is connected to

• Procure to pay - where the order sits in the whole chain.
• Purchase Requisition - lines copied from it reduce what is left on it.
• Purchase Agreement - the agreed price for this vendor.
• Purchase Journal - lines can be copied from it.
• Incoming Shipment - takes an import order's lines.
• Purchase Order Closure - stops what is left of old lines.
• Promotions & Rewards - supplier deals applied to the order.
• Item Receipt for Purchase Order - the receipt for a purchase order.
• Vendor Invoice - the vendor invoice that bills the order.
• General Ledger Account Budget - the budget a released order is checked against.

If something looks wrong

• "Vendor Account cannot be empty" or "Vendor Account for Invoice cannot be empty". Pick both before saving.
• "Back date not allowed". The Posting Date is older than the backdate limit in the setting. Use a later date, or ask for the limit to be raised.
• "Required date cannot be less than Posting date". Move the Required Date, on the header or on the line named.
• "Purchase Order - Line ID: 0001 - Gross Price cannot be zero". Type a price, or mark the line free of cost.
• "... - Gross Price should be zero". A free-of-cost line must have no price.
• "... - Quantity cannot be zero or less then zero". On a PO quantities are positive; on an RO they are negative.
• "... - Account cannot be empty". Pick the account, or set the vendor's purchase account in the posting profile.
• "... - Site cannot be empty" / "... - Warehouse cannot be empty". Fill them on the line or on the header.
• "... Selected Warehouse ... belongs to Site ... Please select the correct Site." Pick the warehouse's own site.
• "... - Vendor ... is not an approved vendor of Purchase No ..." The item takes only its approved vendors. Add the vendor on the item, or buy from an approved one.
• "... - Manufacturer ... is not an approved manufacturer ..." The warehouse takes only approved manufacturers of the item.
• "Line ID: 0001 - Account ... exceeds budget funds available by ..." The budget for that account and period is used up and set to stop.
• "Posting Date cannot be changed, already referred in Item Receipt", "... cannot be removed. It was already referred in Item Receive.", "... cannot be less than Quantity ... already received." Goods arrived against the order. Leave the line; close what is left with Purchase Order Closure.
• "Purchase Order: ... cannot be deleted. Following Item Receive Transactions has been raised against it". Receipts exist. An import order with shipments is refused with a message that starts "Sales Order:" though it is about the purchase order.
• "Cannot delete Inter Company auto generated Order". This order was made by the other company's sales order. Delete it there.
• "Inter Company Order: Sales Organization is not defined inside Purchase Organization". The Purchase Organization of the order needs a sales organization and site for the inter-company sales order.
• "Pre Payment Amount cannot be greater then Net Amount" or "Prepayment Amount cannot be less than Prepayment Cleared Amount". The advance must sit between what has been paid and the order total.
• "Purchase Order Lines cannot be empty". Add a line.
• "The Financial Period is closed for the Purchase Order posting date." Shown on Create when Required Financial Year Validation is ticked in the setting and the period is closed.
• There is no Reverse on this screen. An order is changed or deleted, never reversed.