TABLE OF CONTENTS
What is a Purchase Order?
A purchase order (PO) is a document issued by a buyer to a supplier that specifies the details of a purchase. It includes product descriptions, quantities, agreed prices, delivery schedules, payment terms, and other conditions.
Once the supplier approves it, the PO becomes a legally binding contract. This protects both the buyer and the seller in case either party fails to meet their obligations.
For tips on managing purchase orders, please visit our blog post.
How to Create a Purchase Order in Precoro
Step 1: Create a New Document
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Open the Purchase Order module from the left menu.
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Click "Create" on the right side and select the form.
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Enter details like delivery date, location, budget, and any custom fields your company uses.
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Click "Create" to finalize.
💡 Pro Tip: When adding a supplier, you can either select an existing supplier from the drop-down list or create a new one by clicking "Add new Supplier."
Step 2: Add Items to the Document
After creating your PO document, add items using these methods in Precoro:
- Click the Catalog button to select items from the existing catalog.
- Press the Add button to enter item details manually.
- Bulk upload or update items using Excel.
- Click Add Shipping to include shipping and tax costs without triggering approval or matching processes.
💡 Pro tip: You can add items from your purchase order directly to the Catalog to save time on future data entry. See how to set it up in this article.
Step 3: Add Notes, Comments, and Attachments
You can also include additional details or specify important information in your purchase order. In Precoro, you can do this in several ways:
- Add Notes: Include delivery times and other critical details. These notes will appear on the printed document and will be visible to the supplier.
- Add Comments: Communicate directly with your team by tagging users with “@” to notify them and keep all discussions within the document.
- Add Attachments: Upload relevant files such as images or documents. Internal attachments are visible only to users and approvers and are included with the PO PDF, but not shown to vendors. External attachments are sent to vendors along with the PO PDF and are also accessible to users.
For more detailed information on managing attachments, visit this guide. To learn more about how to work with notes and comments, please follow this link.
💡 Pro tip: When creating a PO from purchase requisition or requests for proposal, you can view related attachments by clicking the "Show Requests" button, located above the items line.
Step 4: Confirm the Document
Review the document to ensure all required information is included. When you’re ready, click the Confirm button on the action panel.
💡 Pro tip: If the Confirm button is inactive, hover over it to see which fields need to be filled out before you can proceed.
If your company uses the Approval Workflow feature, the PO status will change to Pending. Once approved, you can send the PO to the supplier manually by clicking the Send to supplier button on the right panel.
Alternatively, you can enable automatic PO sending to suppliers. Learn more about this feature here.
Step 5: Download the Created PO
To download the created document, choose from the available options to save it as either a PDF or XLSX file.
If you want to download a PO when it is still pending approval, ask your admin to enable this feature. They can do so by going to Basic Settings → Document Setup → Purchase Orders → Order Printing Configurations. Check the Download while Purchase Order Pending box and click Save.
Frequently Asked Questions
❓ How do I repeat a purchase order?
To repeat a PO, click the Repeat button on the right action panel. This option is available for purchase orders with Pending or Approved statuses only. Note that you cannot repeat purchase orders with related documents.
❓ How to delegate a purchase order to another user?
To assign a purchase order to another user:
- Open the purchase order.
- Click the Edit Purchase Order button on the right action panel.
- Select the new Purchaser from the drop-down list.
Please note that only users with Configuration roles can edit the purchaser field. The new purchaser must have the purchase order role and access to the Location and Department/Project specified. Purchasers cannot be changed for purchase orders with Matching status.
❓ How do I reject items in a purchase order?
If the supplier cannot deliver the full order and you do not expect the remaining items to arrive later, you can mark those items as Rejected.
To mark items as rejected:
- Open the purchase order.
- Click the edit action for the item.
- Enter the quantity of rejected items.
Note: You can only reject items if the purchase order is in the Draft, Approved (if in Revision), or Pending status.
❓ Can I split expenses in a PO into multiple time periods?
Yes, you can use the Budget Breakdown feature that allows users to separate a single budget into different time periods. It is particularly useful when your company has consistent monthly deductions from the budget, or when recurring expenses are represented as a singular item in purchase orders and invoices.
To use the Budget Breakdown function:
- Add a budget to your purchase order.
- Press the Budget Breakdown button below the item lines. This button appears in documents with Draft, Approved, and In Revision statuses.
To learn more about the Budget Breakdown feature, please visit this article.
❓ Can I pay for purchase order items using a credit note balance?
Yes, you can pay using a credit note balance directly on the purchase orders page. In the Payment Type field, select Credit Note to see the current supplier credit balance. Payments will be recorded in the purchase order and displayed in the Previous Payments section of the related invoice.
❓ How to track revision history in a purchase order?
To see the Revision history:
- Open the purchase order document.
- Click the Revision History button on the right action panel.
- Mark two revisions you want to compare.
- Press the Compare Revisions button at the bottom.