Purchase orders
A commitment to a supplier — what to receive, and what you'll be billed for.
A purchase order is a commitment to buy from a supplier. It may come from comparing supplier quotes or be raised directly, and it's the document receipts and supplier invoices reconcile against.
Why it matters
Like a sales order in reverse, a purchase order line keeps two independent counters — how much has been received, and how much has been invoiced — and only closes when both are satisfied. Receiving and billing advance the same order along separate axes.
Line fields
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Item | reference | What's being bought. |
| Purchase quantity | number | Ordered quantity. |
| Quantity received | number | Received so far; quantity to receive is the remainder. |
| Quantity invoiced | number | Billed so far; quantity to invoice is the remainder. |
| Conversion factor | number | Converts the supplier's purchase unit to the stock unit. |
Types
A purchase order is one of three kinds: a plain Purchase, a Return to the supplier, or Outside Processing — sending parts out to a vendor for a production step, where the line links to a job operation.
Status
The status is computed from the state of its lines, never set by hand.
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft / Planned | Being built, or suggested by planning. |
| Needs Approval | Held for sign-off (amount-gated); rejection lands on Rejected. |
| To Receive and Invoice | Confirmed; nothing received or billed yet. |
| To Receive | Fully invoiced, still owes receipt. |
| To Invoice | Fully received, still owes invoice. |
| Completed / Closed | Fully received and invoiced, or ended. |