.Purchase Order v2.1.4.7

Purchase Orders

The Purchase Order screen allows the User to create and manage Inventory. Purchase Orders require a Vendor and a Warehouse, Equipment from the Warehouse can then be added to the Purchase Order. The Purchase Order number can be configured with the ALLOW_CUSTOM_PO_NUMBER

The Basics

• Required Fields:
  • Status - The status of the Purchase Order will allow Inventory Managers to sort Purchase Orders more easily. The Workflow Rules will give the User some more insight into how the Statuses control the Purchase Order process.
    • Pending - The Pending status is meant to be used when you are building a Purchase Order, but before you have sent it to the Vendor. This status allows for internal processes like approvals from internal organizational business practices to go through. If the Purchase Order or Equipment on it is declined at any point before the Purchase Order is sent to the Vendor, they can be edited by the Inventory Manager.
    • Open - The Open status is meant to be used once the Purchase Order has been sent to a Vendor and you are waiting on the Equipment to be shipped. Once the Equipment is received it can be brought into Inventory from the Purchase Order.
    • Closed - The Closed status can only be set once all the Inventory is received on the Purchase Order. This status lets Users know that the Purchase Order has been addressed and all the Inventory is received.
  • Created Date - The Created Date field will let Users know when the Purchase Order is created.
  • Warehouse - The Warehouse field will auto populate with the Master Default Warehouse . Once the Purchase Order is created this field becomes read only.
  • Vendor - The Vendor is required because the Purchase Order will be limited to only valid Equipment Catalogs associated with the Vendor.

Purchase Order video

Introduction to the basics of Purchase Orders.

Adding a new Purchase Order

To create a new Purchase Order click the Add button  on the grid. When the Purchase Order form opens, select the Warehouse where the ordered Equipment will be located and select the Vendor. Before you can continue with adding Equipment, you must save the new Purchase Order to allow the Equipment grid to know which Vendor you've chosen and can show you the correct list of Equipment for that Vendor.

Purchase Order tabs

On the Purchase Order are the following tabs: Equipment , Activity/Remarks , Attachments , and User Defined Fields

Building The Purchase Order

To begin adding Equipment to the Purchase Order, click the Add button  on the Equipment tab's grid.

In the figure above, note the Units and Price Per Quantity fields (indicated with arrows). The Equipment grid will group similar selections together as much as possible. If the Equipment is a "Has Units" item, the Units field will show and you can set the Unit count. The Quantity is how many _eaches_ of that Unit count you're ordering. For example, you can order 10 boxes of pencils, but how many are in each box: 25, 50, 100? Quantity is the 10, Units is the 25/50/100. When you set a Units value on a Purchase Order that is different from another record of the same Equipment, you're telling the system you want some boxes of 25 pencils and some other boxes of 50 pencils. This generates separate line items for "boxes of pencils".

The User can add a Blanket PO# by clicking the 'Apply Blanket PO#' button.
This will add the Blanket PO number from the Vendor to the Purchase Order into the 'Vendor Order Number' field. 

As with Units, Price Per Quantity acts the same way. Maybe your Vendor only has 15 boxes of pencils in stock at their normal price, but can special order the additional 30 you need, at a different price. You can enter the 15 at one price, and create another line item for the other 30 at the other price, which results in separate line items.

Refer to the data sample below to see how Price & Units affect line items:

However, if you use the Add form and select the same Equipment, Price, and Units (where applicable) as an existing line, the Quantity you enter will increase the matching line item by the Quantity you set. For example, if you already have "10 Boxes of 50 Pencils at $5.25 per box", and you attempt to add a line for "8 Boxes of 50 Pencils at $5.25 per box", the existing line of 10 is increased to 18. To reduce a Quantity, open the line item in Edit mode and change to the specific quantity you want. Note: you cannot change Equipment, Units, or Price in Edit mode. To change these, you'll need to add a new line item with the revised values and delete the original line if desired.

When Equipment is added to a Purchase Order, its status is set as "On Order". In other areas like Service Desk, you'll be able to handle Equipment changes based on the current or ordered inventory. Once Equipment is received through the PO Receive form, its status is set to "Unassigned". This means the Equipment has arrived & is physically present, but is not yet applied to any Service Orders or other demands for it.

You can also use the Equipment sub-grid to observe information about the individual records within a line item:

Editing

A Purchase Order (PO) can only be edited while it is in a 'Pending' status. Once the status has been set to 'Open' and approved, the order is locked, and an additional PO will have to be submitted instead of modifying the current one. The steps to edit a PO are as follows:

1. Locate a PO in the grid with a 'Pending' status that you wish to modify.
2. Single click to select the PO, and click the 'Edit Selected' button.  Alternatively, double-click the PO. This will bring up the Manage Purchase Order Dialog. From here the User can select the Equipment to edit, add to the current order, or delete items that were ordered in excess.

• Edit Equipment Ordered

1. Single-click to select the Equipment to edit, and click the 'Edit Line' button  or double click the Equipment to edit. The Manage Purchase Order Equipment dialog will open and the User can edit three fields. The Ordered Date  , Quantity  , and the Price per Quantity.
2. Make the necessary modifications in the appropriate fields. Please note that following changes to the line item management form, the form will add additional quantity to all matching lines, it does not adjust the quantity.
3. Click the 'Update Line' button. 

• Add additional Equipment
• Delete an item

Workflow Rules

A brand new PO has a status of "Pending", which means the PO is still under construction, not finalized or ready to send to the Vendor. At this point, Equipment can be added, edited, and removed from the PO. However, you cannot yet Receive or Cancel lines because the Vendor hasn't seen the order yet.

• A "Pending" PO can only be changed to "Open" status. However, the PO can be deleted from the system if you need to kill the order completely — even if it's been Approved.</li>
• A "Pending" PO can be Approved, at which point the ability to add/edit/delete Equipment is locked. However, since the order is not yet "Open" (the Vendor hasn't received it yet), you can't Receive or Cancel lines, either.*
• There are a couple optional settings for "Open" POs that affect how it can be edited. Typically, once a PO is "Open", the ability to Add/Edit/Delete Equipment is locked, and you switch to the Receiving phase where you either receive the equipment or cancel it. Once "Open", the equipment can be processed through Receive/Cancel actions.
• An "Open" PO can only be changed to "Closed". It can no longer be deleted from the system. However, once you begin Receiving/Canceling line items, you must finish before closing the order. If no such activity has occurred yet, you can close the untouched order. If you need to close a partially-complete PO because you won't receive any further equipment on it, Cancel the remainder of each line before closing the order.</li>
• Once a PO is "Closed", no further action can be taken on it. You can only open the form to review the information on it.

Processing Line Items

On an "Open" PO, use the 'Receive Items' and 'Cancel Items' buttons to either indicate a line item (or partial) has arrived & can be used, or to Cancel lines (or partial) because you no longer expect them to be delivered.

To receive delivered equipment, select a line from the PO and click Receive Item(s).

You can enter a partial Quantity if only some of the line item arrived. Enter Asset Tag/Serial #/Equipment ID values if necessary. Note that you can also change the destination Warehouse if needed. You'll be restricted to the Warehouse selected on the PO, and its descendant Locations. When you have the information completed, click Save and Close. The Equipment grid will be updated to reflect the quantity received, and how many are still Pending. Note, currently, you cannot receive more than the Pending Quantity.

To cancel ordered Equipment, select a line and click Cancel Item(s).

You can enter a partial Quantity if needed, but cannot exceed the Pending Quantity. After entering the Quantity & Cancellation Date, click Save and Close.