What Purchase Orders are
A Purchase Order (PO) is a formal order sent to a supplier for materials, preliminary items, or subcontract work. POs track the ordered quantities and values, and act as the parent record for Delivery Notes, Goods Return Notes, and Invoice Checking.
Viewing Purchase Orders
Open a project and click Purchase Orders in the sidebar under Procurement. The table shows all POs with their number, description, status, supplier, order value, delivered value, outstanding value, and who created them.
Filter by Status, Supplier, Order Type, or Created By.
Creating a Purchase Order
- 1
Click Create Purchase Order in the top-right corner.
- 2
Select a Supplier from the dropdown.
- 3
Select the Order Type:
Type What it covers Material Physical goods and materials Prelim Preliminary items — site facilities, welfare, etc. Subcontract Subcontracted work - 4
Enter a Description for the order.
- 5
Select a Date Type for the expected delivery:
Option Meaning On Delivery on a specific date Before Delivery before a specific date No Later Than Delivery by a deadline ASAP As soon as possible To Be Confirmed Date to be agreed Date and Time Slot Specific date with a delivery window (not before / not after times) Per Item Delivery dates set per item - 6
If applicable, set the Delivery Date and optional time window.
- 7
Optionally enter a Reference and Notes. If no reference is provided, it defaults to "No Reference Provided".
- 8
Tick For Collection if you are collecting the goods rather than having them delivered. When ticked, the delivery address field is hidden.
- 9
If not for collection, select a delivery Address.
- 10
Click Create.
Adding items
From the PO detail page, you can add items in two ways:
- From the buying list — click Add from Buying List to select items from the project's buying list. Enter quantities for each item you want to order, then click Add Items to Purchase Order.
- Free-type items — click Add Purchase Order Item to add an item not on the buying list.
You cannot add items when the PO status is Firmed, Revised, or Cancelled.
Status workflow
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
Pending | Order created but not yet issued |
Firmed | Order confirmed and issued to the supplier — items are locked |
Revised | A revision has been created from a firmed order |
Cancelled | Order cancelled |
Cap badge
If the PO has a value cap, a badge in the header shows the remaining budget available on the order.
Other actions
From the Actions dropdown you can:
- Duplicate — create a copy of the Purchase Order
- Revise — create a new revision from a firmed order
Next steps
- Delivery Notes — record deliveries against firmed Purchase Orders.
- Invoice Checking — verify supplier Invoices against POs and deliveries.