Purchase Order & Record
Quick Summary
A Purchase Order (PO) is a document sent by the business to a supplier to formally request goods before they are received. It records what is being ordered, in what quantity, and at what agreed price. It serves as a binding commitment between the buyer and supplier before any physical exchange takes place.
What Is This Feature
What It Is
A Purchase Order (PO) is a document sent by the business to a supplier to formally request goods before they are received. It records what is being ordered, in what quantity, and at what agreed price. It serves as a binding commitment between the buyer and supplier before any physical exchange takes place.
When To Use This Feature
When & Who
Used by retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers, and any business that procures stock from suppliers in advance. A PO is raised when the business wants to formalize an order before goods are dispatched by the supplier. Common in formal B2B procurement where documentation is required at every step.
Step-by-Step Flow
🔁 Flow for creating the Purchase Order
- From the dashboard, swipe right to left to find the Purchase Order section.
- Tap Create Purchase Order → fill in client and item details → Save.
- Status: Pending (order accepted, not yet delivered/invoiced).
🔁 Flow for creating the Purchase Order to Purchase Record
- When ready to deliver: tap the Purchase order → Make Purchase Record → save.
- Once payment is paid, Purchase order status updates to Completed.
Fields Explanation
Key Fields
| Field | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Buy Rate / Purchase Rate | The agreed price per unit with the supplier at the time of ordering. |
| Discount | Any price reduction agreed upon with the supplier for this order. |
Purchase Order Statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pending | Order has been created and sent but goods have not yet been received. |
| Completed | Goods have been received and a purchase record has been created against this PO. |
| Manually Completed | You force-close the PO manually, even if it’s not fully fulfilled or completed. |
| Cancelled | The purchase order is completely cancelled and will not be processed. |
Underlying Concept (Accounting / Logic / Calculation)
Concepts
Purchase Order vs. Purchase Record: A PO is a request — it is created before goods arrive and does not affect inventory or accounts. A purchase record is the accounting entry made after goods are physically received. Many small businesses skip POs entirely and go straight to purchase records. Formal procurement workflows use both.
Why use a Purchase Order: A PO protects both parties. The supplier has a documented commitment to fulfill. The buyer has a record of what was agreed — price, quantity, items — which can be verified when goods arrive. Discrepancies between the PO and what is received are caught at the point of entry.
Reference Number on Purchase Record:
When you create an purchase record from a purchase order, the purchase record is automatically assigned the corresponding purchase order reference number. This helps you easily track and search for purchase linked to a specific purchase order from the purchase list. Using two purchase orders with same supplier we can create a single purchase record.