Purchase Orders

For: People using the software to create and manage purchase orders

Purpose: Understand what the Purchase Order module does and how it helps your business

What This Module Does

A purchase order (PO) is a formal order you send to a vendor to buy goods or services. It shows the items, quantities, prices, and terms you are requesting. Once the vendor accepts (or you mark it as sent/accepted), you can convert the PO into a GRPO (Goods Received Purchase Order) to record receipt of goods, or into a Bill to record the vendor's invoice and what you owe.

The Purchase Order module lets you:

• Create and edit purchase orders (when the status allows).
• Attach documents (e.g. terms, specifications).
• See which POs have been converted to GRPOs or Bills.
• Change PO status (e.g. Draft → Sent → Accepted or Rejected).
• Send a PO to the vendor (mark as Sent).
• Delete or cancel a PO only when no GRPO or Bill has been created from it.
• When creating a GRPO or Bill, choose from Accepted or Partially Recorded POs and pick the items or quantities still to be received or billed.

Main Features (What You Can Do)

1. Create a New Purchase Order

When you create a PO you typically enter:

• Vendor: who you are buying from. The vendor must exist and be valid for the selected branch.
• Branch, division, and warehouse: where the order is raised and where goods may be received or tracked.
• Shipping address: your company's address or, if the PO is linked to a customer (e.g. drop-ship), the customer's main or additional shipping address. The system checks that the address is valid for the company or the selected customer.
• Items: products or services, quantities, rates, and amounts.
• Reference, date, delivery date, payment terms, customer notes, terms and conditions, and total amount.
• Attachments: you can upload files (e.g. PDF, specs). These are stored securely and shown with the PO.

Credit limit

• If the vendor has a credit limit and purchase orders are included in that limit, the system checks that creating this PO does not exceed the limit. The limit can be overall for the vendor or per branch, depending on how the vendor (or company purchase settings) is set up.
• If the limit would be exceeded, you get a clear message with the total limit, current usage, and remaining amount. You cannot save the PO until the total is within limit (or the limit is increased).

Overdue bills

• If your company restricts creating POs when the vendor has overdue bills, the system checks for any overdue bill for that vendor. If one exists, you cannot create the PO until the overdue bill is paid or the restriction is changed.

What the system does when you save

• It uses the purchase order number you provide or generates one (e.g. PO-001); the system ensures it is unique for your company.
• It records who created the PO and when.
• It stores your company's authorised signature and primary bank details (for display on the PO, if configured).
• It adds a short note in the PO's comment history (e.g. "Purchase Order created for ₹X").

2. View and Search Purchase Orders

You can list POs with:

• Date: a single date or a date range (from–to).
• Branch and division: filter by one or more branches or divisions.
• Status: e.g. Draft, Sent, Accepted, Rejected, Converted, Partially Recorded, Closed, Cancelled.
• Vendor: filter by vendor.
• Search: by PO number or vendor name (display name or company name). The list shows only POs that match your filters and search.

The list is paginated (shown in pages). For each PO you can see who added it and who last updated it, along with main details. For Partially Recorded POs, the list can show remaining quantity per item (ordered minus what has been converted to GRPO or Bill).

3. Open a Purchase Order (Full Details)

When you open one PO, the system shows:

• Header: PO number, vendor, branch, division, warehouse, dates, status, total.
• Vendor: name, code, phone, company name, and address details.
• Items: each line with item name, quantity, rate, amount, and (when applicable) remaining quantity (not yet converted to GRPO or Bill) and stock details for the warehouse.
• Shipping address: the address chosen for this PO (company or customer).
• Bank details: primary bank information (if set for your company), for display on the PO.
• Converted to: if this PO was converted, you see the GRPOs and Bills created from it (with their numbers, dates, totals, status).
• Comment history: who did what and when (e.g. "Purchase Order created", "Status changed from Draft to Sent").
• Attachments: list of attached files.
• Module tree: how this PO links to GRPOs, Bills, and payments (PO → GRPO → Bill → Payment Made, or PO → Bill → Payment Made).

This helps you see the full picture of the PO and what happened after it was accepted or partially converted.

4. Edit a Purchase Order

You can edit a PO only when its status is Draft, Partially Recorded, or Closed. Once the PO is Sent, Accepted, Rejected, Converted, or Cancelled, the system does not allow editing (so the record stays as it was when you sent or closed it).

When you edit an allowed status:

• You can change vendor, branch, division, warehouse, shipping address, items, dates, payment terms, total, and attachments.
• The same validations as on create apply: vendor must be valid for the branch; shipping address must be valid (company or customer); credit limit (if applicable) must not be exceeded; overdue bill check (if applicable) must pass.
• New attachments are added to existing ones; existing attachments stay unless you remove them.
• The system records who updated the PO and adds a line in the comment history (e.g. "Purchase Order updated" or "Amount changed from ₹X to ₹Y").

5. Send a Purchase Order to the Vendor

You can send a PO to the vendor. The system:

• Changes the status from Draft to Sent (only Draft can be sent).
• Records who sent it and when, and adds a note in the comment history.

Sending means "marked as sent to the vendor". How you actually deliver it (email, portal, print) may be handled elsewhere in the software or outside it.

6. Change Purchase Order Status

You can change the status of a PO according to the allowed flow. The usual flow is:

• The system only allows these transitions. For example, you cannot move from Sent directly to Draft; you would first Reject (or Cancel), then optionally move Rejected back to Draft.
• Partially Recorded and Converted are often set by the system when you create a GRPO or Bill from the PO (e.g. when some but not all items are converted, the PO becomes Partially Recorded; when all are converted, it may become Converted).
• When you change the status, the system records who made the change and adds a line in the comment history (e.g. "Purchase Order status changed from Sent to Accepted").

Cancelling a PO

• You can cancel a PO only if no GRPO and no Bill has been created from it. If any GRPO or Bill exists from this PO, the system will not allow cancellation and will show which document(s) were created from it. You would need to cancel or handle those documents first (as per your process).

7. Convert a Purchase Order to GRPO or Bill

Only an Accepted or Partially Recorded PO can be used for conversion. From the GRPO or Bill screen you can choose "Create from Purchase Order" and select a PO in one of these statuses. The system then lets you choose which items (and quantities) to include. The PO is linked to the new GRPO or Bill, and when you open the PO you see it under Converted to.

• Accepted → can be converted to GRPO or Bill (full or partial items).
• Partially Recorded → can be converted again to GRPO or Bill for the remaining quantities (ordered minus already converted).
• Draft, Sent, Rejected, Converted, Closed, or Cancelled are not used for conversion in this way.

Dropdown / partially converted list

• When creating a GRPO or Bill from a PO, you get a list of POs (by vendor and status) that have partially pending items: i.e. at least one item with remaining quantity not yet converted. You can also fetch the partially converted item list for selected POs to see, per item, ordered quantity, delivered/billed quantity, and remaining quantity, so you can pick what to receive or bill.

8. Delete a Purchase Order

You can delete a PO only if no GRPO and no Bill has been created from it. If any GRPO or Bill was created from this PO, the system will not allow deletion and will show the related document numbers. This keeps your records consistent: you cannot remove a PO that is already linked to a GRPO or Bill.

Summary Table (At a Glance)

Important Business Rules

1. Editing: Only a PO in Draft, Partially Recorded, or Closed status can be edited. Once it is Sent, Accepted, Rejected, Converted, or Cancelled, it cannot be edited.
2. Sending: Only a Draft PO can be sent (status becomes Sent).
3. Conversion: Only an Accepted or Partially Recorded PO can be converted to a GRPO or a Bill. You select which items and quantities to convert; remaining quantities can be converted in later GRPOs or Bills.
4. Cancellation: You cannot cancel a PO if a GRPO or a Bill has already been created from it. The system shows which document(s) block cancellation.
5. Deletion: You cannot delete a PO if a GRPO or a Bill has been created from it. The system shows which document(s) block deletion.
6. Credit limit: If the vendor has a credit limit and purchase orders are included, the PO total (create or edit) must stay within the remaining limit. The limit can be overall or per branch (vendor or company purchase settings).
7. Overdue bills: If your company restricts POs for vendors with overdue bills, you cannot create a PO for such a vendor until the overdue amount is cleared or the rule is changed.
8. Vendor and branch: The vendor must exist and be valid for the selected branch.
9. Shipping address: The shipping address on the PO must be valid for your company or for the selected customer (if the PO is linked to a customer for drop-ship or similar).