Create or change a purchase order

A purchase order records what you plan to buy. It does not create a bill or post an amount owed to the vendor.

Create a draft

1. Open Purchases, then Purchase orders.
2. Select New Purchase Order.
3. Choose Vendor. Select an existing vendor if you will later convert the order to a bill.
4. Enter Order Date.
5. Enter Expected Delivery if needed, on or after the order date.
6. Enter Shipping Address if needed.
7. Enter a description, expense account, quantity and unit price for each line. Use Add Item for another line.
8. Review the tax rate, Notes and Terms & Conditions.
9. Select Create Purchase Order.

You land on the saved order. Each line needs a description of at most 500 characters, a quantity of at least 0.0001 and a nonnegative price. The tax rate accepts 0 to 100. Notes and terms each allow 2,000 characters; the shipping address allows 1,000.

Approve and mark sent

1. Review the draft's lines and total.
2. Select Approve.
3. Complete the approval request if a workflow applies.
4. After approval, select Mark as Sent.

Approval needs at least one line and a total greater than zero. When no workflow request is required, approval changes the order directly to approved. Marking sent records its status and time; it does not email the vendor or create a bill.

Change or cancel an order

Only drafts offer Edit. Select it, change the order and select Update Purchase Order. Saving replaces the draft's lines. Opening edit after the draft stage returns you to the order with a message.

Cancel Purchase Order asks for confirmation and is available for draft, pending approval, approved or sent orders. Once receiving has begun, this action is unavailable.

Next, receive goods, then bill the order.

Who can do this and what you need

Only business owners can use these actions.