Purchase Orders

The Process

Creating a Purchase Order

To create a purchase order:

Click on the Purchasing tab

Click on the Create a Purchase Order link

Complete the generic purchase order information:

Enter the Job Number under which the main purchase is being made 

Select the Supplier from which the purchase is being made 

If the supplier doesn’t exist, jump to the notes below to create them

Select the Supplier Contact applicable for the purchase

Set the Delivery Date to the anticipated date of receipt of the purchase

This is important, as it will drive the accrual of costs by the Finance team at month end

For each item being purchased:

Click the Add Line link

Complete the details relating to the item you’re purchasing:

Set the Group to the most appropriate high-level category for the purchase being made

Set the Type to the most appropriate description of the purchase being made

Set the Description to the details of the item you’re purchasing from the supplier

Set the Quantity to the quantity of the item that you require

Set the Unit to the units that tie in with the quantity (optional)

Set the Unit Price to the expected unit price of the item

If you’re raising the PO on behalf of someone, enter their name in the Requested By box 

Complete the details relating to where the costs of the purchase should be allocated

If the costs are against a different project number, click the Specify link to enter that project

Select the Activity it is to be costed to from the list shown

Leave the Reimbursable flag at Non-Chargeable

Click the Add button to add the line to the PO and generate a new Add Line template

Click the Cancel button on the pop-up once all lines have been added

Check the Deliver To address to make sure it is correct – it can be amended using the Pick link if needs be

Click the Create PO button

This generates a pop-up that sends the purchase order to your selected supplier once it has been approved:

If you wish to send an email enclosing the PO, select the recipient(s) and add any message you choose

If you don’t want to send an email to the supplier, just close the pop-up

The Project Approval may automatically be completed with your name, but if not click on the link under the heading:

If you are able to approve your own purchase orders, enter your four-digit PIN number where indicated

If you’re not sure what this is, see the next section for details on how to set it

If you are not able to approve your own purchase order, click on the name of an approver

The Manager Approval will need to be completed, so click on the link under the heading:

If you are able to approve your own purchase orders, enter your four-digit PIN number where indicated

If you’re not sure what this is, see the next section for details on how to set it

If you are not able to approve your own purchase order, click on the name of an approver

Once the purchase order is approved, the email (if created) will be sent to the supplier attaching your purchase order.

Supporting Information

Setting your PIN number

To approve a purchase order or a sales invoice, you must enter your unique four-digit PIN.  You can create this yourself as follows:

Click on the Maintenance tab

Select Personal Preferences under the Personal Settings heading

Click the General tab

Enter your four-digit PIN under the PIN heading

Click Save Changes to save your PIN
 

Creating a new supplier 

To create a basic supplier record:

Click the Maintenance tab

Click the Approved Supplier List link under the Purchasing & Suppliers heading

You may want to search to make sure the company doesn’t already exist on our system

To create a new supplier, click the Create button on the left of the grey bar in the middle of the screen

On the General tab, complete the following fields:

Name should be set to the formal company name

Address, Post Code and Country should be set to the address at which the company is registered

VAT Location should be set, presumably to UK

Contact details need not be logged here, as they are done on the Contacts tab later

On the Provisions tab:

Scroll the Available Provisions and select the most appropriate provision(s) from this supplier

Use the single arrow beneath it to move across to the list of current provisions

You’re welcome to add more details under Scope of Supply if appropriate

If you have company/VAT registration details, you can add those on the Accounts tab:

Company Reg No should be recorded, if known

Company VAT No should be recorded if the supplier is VAT-registered, if known

Payment Category should be set to External Company

Click Save 

Once the basic record has been created, you can then add additional information like their contact details and their bank details:

If you have contact details for the supplier, be they individuals or teams, add them on the Contacts tab 

Click the Create button

Populate their contact details, with Name and Email being the bare minimum required

Select the Primary Contact checkbox if they are your main contact at the supplier

Click Save

You’re welcome to add as many contacts as you like through these same steps

On the Accounts tab set the bank details:

Bank Name should be the name of the bank – it’s optional though, so can be left blank

Bank Account Name should be set to the name of the bank account being paid

Bank Sort Code should be set to the sort code of the bank account being paid (format XX-XX-XX)

BACS Reference should be set to match the code at the top of the screen

IBAN Number and Swift Code are optional fields if you have them, but not required

Click Save to update the supplier record

Keeping track of your Purchase Orders

You can keep track of your purchase orders on your Home page by enabling a dashboard box to show your outstanding tasks.

Click on the Maintenance tab

Select Personal Preferences under the Personal Settings heading

Click the Dashboard tab

Select the Tasks Outstanding widget

Click Save Changes to save your PIN