V9 - Purchase orders (POs) and the Purchase orders list
A purchase order, or PO, is a form used to request that a vendor provide a good or service to you in exchange for payment. The purchase order will typically define payment terms, delivery, and so on. Purchase orders in SOS Inventory will synchronize with purchase orders in QuickBooks Online if the Sync purchase orders setting is enabled on the Purchase orders settings page (Tools & settings > Configuration > Purchasing > Purchase orders). This option is enabled by default.
A purchase order is a non-posting transaction, meaning that it does not affect your financial reports directly. A purchase order closes automatically when all items have been received, but you can close it manually at any time.
Purchase orders list
The Purchase orders list (Operations > Purchasing > Purchase orders) houses the records of all POs in SOS Inventory.
The Mark as confirmed and Mark as unconfirmed actions allow you specify whether the vendor has confirmed receipt of your purchase order. Only one of them will appear on the Actions menu: the opposite of the PO's current confirmation status. The Confirmed column on the Purchase orders list displays a Yes when a PO has been marked as confirmed. When items on a purchase order arrive, the Receive action on the PO record can be used to generate an item receipt, while Create invoice generates an invoice.
If your organization requires administrator pre-approval of purchase orders, the action and batch action Approve is the SOS Inventory's tool that allows the administrator to authorize the order's submission to the vendor.
For a general overview of how lists work in SOS Inventory, refer to List functions. See Action and batch action descriptions for more information about the actions available on lists. View the V9 video tutorial, Purchasing and receiving inventory, for a basic introduction to the purchasing and receiving workflow in SOS Inventory.
To create or modify an existing PO, see Adding and editing purchase orders.
Specifying a blanket PO
Blanket POs are open-ended purchase orders, meaning that they specify an agreement to purchase a certain item at a certain price, without a specific quantity. To create a blanket PO, enter the purchase order as normal and check the Blanket PO box on the form.
A blanket purchase order must be manually closed to have it show that it is no longer affecting the system. Leaving the PO open will affect your available-for-sale quantities if you have enabled the Include incoming in available setting (Tools & settings > Configuration > Sales > General). To close your blanket PO, select Close from the Actions dropdown of the purchase order record on the Purchase orders list (Operations > Purchasing > Purchase orders).