Create Purchase Order
Overview
The Create Purchase Order screen is accessed via the Purchase Order List and clicking + New Purchase Order. Please view the parent page for more information about Purchase Orders.
Screen Guide
This screen is divided into two collapsible sections at the top, the individual PO lines in the body, and the buttons at the bottom:
General Section
Depends on the settings of the control parameter PO Numbering Source by Administrator, you can see one of these values:
Location
Numbering - uses Location on setting “Next Purchase Order Number” (or next number by Finco or Global, if By Location is not set)
PO Profit Centre = User’s Profit Centre (not visible from the UI)
Profit Centre or Job Profit Centre
Numbering - uses Profit Centre on setting “Next Purchase Order Number” (or next number by Finco or Global, if not set for the Profit Centre)
PO Location = Profit Centre’s Location (not visible from the UI)
Contact may be selected from the dropdown list of People associated with the Supplier if previously entered in the system. New contacts cannot be entered here, but they can be added via People. Adding a contact in this field will bring their contact details automatically into the printed PO report.
Approver is available once the PO is saved. The list of approvers is determined by their User settings: the total Purchase Order value must be within their set PO Approval Limit. If the user you anticipate does not appear in this list, try to determine if they have appropriate authorities from the system admin.
Address Job is useful in situations where the Job Site Address has been populated in Job Maintenance. By selecting a job in this field, you can find the Job Site Address in the "Address Title" dropdown. You will not be able to add a job address default in this field, but you can manually replace the address field with the desired delivery address.
Address Title will display the user's company address for delivery by default. This can be changed via the above Address Job field, selecting another address from the dropdown, or manually overwriting the address field below.
Reference is a manual field that is not required, but can be utilised for quote numbers, key identifiers, or any other situation where the company requires another field of data for analysis.
PO Number is automatically applied once the PO is saved for the first time, and will choose the next number in the sequence. Number sequences can be modified by the system admin in the Setup Wizard.
PO Date defaults to today's date but may be changed. This field is meant to be when the PO is created, but in certain situations, the company may need this to change. Please be aware of PO accruals and period cutoff dates if changing this field.
Reqd (Required Date) defaults to the next day. This should be changed to the desired date if applicable.
Comments is a free-text section that can be utilised in a variety of ways. Keep in mind that this field is displayed on the printed PO document. This field can include delivery instructions, handling instructions, notes for the supplier's project management or administration teams, etc.
Other Section
Purchaser defaults to the logged-in user. Changing the Purchaser is useful when entering a PO on behalf of personnel who call in or email a request. The Purchaser and their details will be displayed in the printed PO report.
Entered By defaults to the Full Name of the logged-in user and is not editable.
Approved by is populated when an approver is assigned and/or the approval button is clicked.
Complete may be ticked if no more deliveries or invoices are expected from the Supplier related to this PO, the PO was created in error or is being cancelled, or any other reason that the remaining balance of the PO will not be used. During normal processing, receiving an AP Invoice and fully allocating costs to the PO will complete it automatically.
Log No is auto populated with a Service Log No when a PO is created from a Service Log.
Currency displays the currency set for this supplier in Company maintenance.
FC Rate is the default rate derived from the Currencies screen. It can be modified and after saving or using the Recost button, the local currency value is recalculated and updated. This can be seen from Job Inquiry, Orders tab.
Fixed FC is a flag that indicates what FC Rate to use on an AP Voucher, AP Invoice, Inwards Goods transaction. The FC Rate on these documents linked to a PO with Fixed FC ticked will be using the rate on the PO, otherwise, FC Rate will be sourced from Currencies.
PO Type By default, this field contains no items. PO types can be added via Statuses → PO Types by the system admin if the company has use for this field.
Docket PO indicates if the PO is to be processed in the context of a Docket Cost Schedule. It is auto-ticked if the PO is created from a Docket Cost Schedule. Note PO lines cannot be a mix of standard and docket schedule based. And PO Lines must have a Docket Cost Schedule item (it is mandatory).
Follow Up, Expected, and Revised date fields are optional fields that can be used to manage POs in a team.
Standing PO is a checkbox that, when ticked, prevents the PO Lines from being consumed when AP Invoice Enquiry are processed against the PO. This is useful for administrative recurring expenses such as rent and utilities, but less useful for projects where accurate forecasts are needed as the expected cost value will remain indefinitely until the PO is closed.
Purchase Order Lines
Lines can be manually added or copied from an existing Purchase Order. This is useful for that kind of purchase that are created often with very similar items. To copy enter the original PO number on the Copy Lines from Purchase Order text box (or alternatively you can search for it using the lookup and filters), then specifying the Job Code that these copied lines will have to be coded to on the Use Job field. The Copy Lines button will create the additional lines. Note that only lines with valid combination of Activity and Workcentre for the Job defined on the Use Job field will be copied accross, any other invalid ones will be ignored. No error will be displayed, but if no lines are created then make sure to check the Job has the correct Activities and Workcentres defined in its Activity Group and Job Work Centres.
Job The Jobs listed are restricted to those with a Profit Centre belonging to the Profit Centre Group of the logged in User. A further restriction is that the Financial Company on the Profit Centre on the Job equates to that of the logged in User. If a job was entered in the "Address Job" field in the General section, that job will be automatically populated in this field, but can be overwritten to select a subjob.
Line Code is optional field and has been removed in this example. Line Codes are derived from Catalogue Lines which are maintained through Catalogues and Schedules by the system admin. Listed codes are restricted to those sharing the same Currency Code as the Purchase Order Header. If the Docket PO indicator is ticked this field is mandatory and then the LineCode results are filtered so there is no mix of Docket Cost Schedule lines (Docket PO) and other catalogue line (std POs).
Activity includes all 'Purchase' and 'Stock' Type Activities that are included in the Job Activity Group, if present. Job Activity Groups are derived from Job Maintenance and cannot be edited here. If you cannot find what you are looking for, the group may need to be changed or your selection is not allowed on this job. In the unlikely event that the Job Activity Group was not populated, all 'Purchase' and 'Stock' Type Activities will be listed. Any Activities in the Control Parameter ''Hidden Activities' will never be listed.
Line Description default is sourced from the Catalogue Lines if a Line Code is entered, or the Activity's description otherwise. This field is freely editable if the default is not accurate for the purchase.
Details is optional free text and appears as subtext below the description when printing the PO. This is useful for specifications of the PO line if needed to aid the supplier in identifying what is required.
Reference hidden by default.
Work Centre defaults to the one set up in the Activity Group activity, so long as it is allowed as a Work Centre on the Job (this can be modified in Job Maintenance).
Unit is meant to be used as a unit of measurement, e.g. m/m3/kg/etc. It can be manually entered as free text.
Unit Rate is the cost per item being purchased on this line. It is updated automatically if a value is entered in the Cost column.
Quantity is the number of items being purchased on this line.
Cost by default is the product of Unit Rate x Quantity. It can be manually entered/changed, and will affect the Unit Rate.
Outstanding Quantity is the net quantity expected to be processed against the purchase order line by way of Goods Receipt/AP Invoice.
Outstanding Cost is the net value expected to be processed.
GST defaults from the Activity and is hidden by default.
GST Type defaults from the Activity and is hidden by default.
Complete will designate that this line is no longer required or the goods have been processed without using the PO. Do not tick this if you are simply finished with entering the data in the line!
Line Ref is hidden by default. Can be used to enter a reference for the Supplier.
Required Delivery Date is hidden by default. This date will be populated with the Required Date on a Purchase Requisition line when the PO is created from a PR.
On new POs, if control Parameter ‘Default PO Required Date’ is = yes, this date will be autopupulated to tomorrow’s date. Required date on header and lines can be made mandatory using control parameter 'Mandatory PO Required Date'.Follow up Date is hidden by default. Can also be populated from a Purchase Requisition line if this PO was created from a PR. This field can still be edited after PO approval (and an incomplete PO).
Expected Date is hidden by default. Can also be populated from a Purchase Requisition line if this PO was created from a PR. This field can still be edited after PO approval (and an incomplete PO).
Line Details is a link to a Purchasing summary for this PO lIne. The pop-up screen will display any AP Invoices, AP Vouchers and Receipts related to this line. This column is hidden by default on Grid management.
Budget displays the name of the Budget from where this PO was created. It is a hyperlink to this Budget in particular. If the PO line was not generated from a Budget, there will be no link displayed. This column is hidden by default.
Budget Details with the info icon displays on a pop-up screen the Budget info for the Job + Activity + WOrk Centre on the line, so the purchaser can see if there is budget left or if it has all been consumed. This is hidden by default.
Total Budget is the sum of matching budget lines in local currency and only included if in a ‘… In Forecast’ budget type and Approved.
The double-box icon will Duplicate the selected line in its entirety. This is useful for creating multiple similar lines with small changes between them. Duplicate is hidden by default.
Delete is selected when a line is to be deleted. Deletion will occur once the box has been ticked and the "Save" button has been clicked. Multiple lines can be deleted at once.
New Line creates a new line for the Purchase Order. Alternatively, a new line can be created by tabbing through each field until you reach the next row. If you mistakenly create an additional line, use the Delete checkbox to remove it before saving or the system will present an error.
Pagination - for POs with a multitude of lines, the system will create pages to move through for ease of use. Be sure to save before moving between pages.
Note: Columns can be added or removed from this screen by the System Administrator using Grid Management.
Function Buttons
Import allows you to import data from a .csv or excel file. Note that the columns and fields must match exactly what the system is expecting.
Report Text allows for header and footer data to be entered.
Print results in the default PO report to be generated. The arrow allows for alternative formats to be used. Please submit a customisation request if none of the default reports match your expectations. Note: the report will read "Requisition Only" if the document has not been approved. Use the Send button after clicking print to email the PO report to the supplier and other stakeholders.
It is recommended to set up Contacts for each supplier, with an email address where the PO can be emailed to. This way, if you select a contact on the PO, the email address will be auto populated with the Contact's email address on the email screen were the PO is sent out.Attachments allows documents to be attached to the PO, such as specifications, emails, or quotes. These attachments remain attached to the PO indefinitely unless the PO is deleted.
Messages allow for communication inside Workbench between enterers, purchasers, and approvers. These conversations remain on the system indefinitely for auditing purposes.
Workflow approvals buttons:
Cancel can be used when the PO has not been approved yet. It prompts for comment a comment from the user to explain the reason why it is being cancelled. These comments are saved in the Details section. The status of the PO changes to Cancelled. Outstanding values are set to zero and completes the PO header and all lines. There is also the benefit of audit tracking if the client was to get audited for that particular area of the system/process, which the Delete option on Standard Approvals does not have.
Assign can be used to assign to any other Workbench user to assist with the details of the PO (prices, supplier, specs) before it is submitted into the Workflow for Review and Approval.
Submit will send the PO into the workflow approval and it will be either assigned for Review & Approval or only for Approval depending on the steps of the Workflow approval. Once the PO is In Progress the Review and Approve buttons will become available to the users that have the right permissions and limits to do so.
Standard Approval buttons:
Delete is used to delete the PO in its entirety. The PO cannot be deleted if it has been used in areas such as AP Invoice Enquiry or Inwards Goods. Do not use this if you simply want to delete one line - refer to the section above if this is your intention.
New PO will bring up an empty Create PO screen and is useful for creating multiple POs without having to go back to previous screens.
Complete will complete all lines in the PO. This is used when a PO in its entirety is no longer required or the outstanding amount will never be used. Do not use this when you are finished entering data, use "Save" instead!
Approve will, if your user has a correct approval limit set, approve the PO under your name. If you have assigned an approver in the General section, and your user has the ability to approve on behalf of others, this button will approve the PO under that person's name. Once a PO is approved, it can be unapproved by an authorised user using the Unapprove button.
Unapprove removes the approval from this document, allowing it to be modified. This can be restricted in the Roles settings on a user basis.
Save will commit the data entered to the system. If data is missing or is incorrect, an error will be displayed in red and the document will not be saved. The PO Number will not be generated until the document is saved. POs can be saved without lines, but must have data in the General section.
Next Steps
Once a Purchase Order is sent via the Print window, the goods can be received via Inwards Goods, and once the invoice is received it can be processed via AP Invoice Enquiry or AP Vouchers.