Create and process subcontracting purchase orders
Purchase orders serve as a valuable tool for individuals across diverse organizational roles, enabling them to efficiently monitor and maintain up-to-date records of order statuses. For instance, the Purchasing Agent relies on purchase orders to meticulously track a comprehensive list of products being procured from a specific vendor. Essential details, including pricing, delivery information, and item specifications, are diligently captured within the purchase order, ensuring comprehensive documentation of the transaction.
Moreover, as part of the procurement process, the Purchasing Agent generates a purchase order confirmation document. This external document serves as official communication dispatched to the vendor, formally notifying them of the purchase and solidifying the agreement. By providing a clear and structured overview of the transaction, the purchase order confirmation document facilitates effective communication, establishing a mutual understanding between the purchasing entity and the vendor.
Overall, the utilization of purchase orders and subsequent creation of purchase order confirmation documents streamlines the procurement workflow, enhances transparency, and fosters efficient collaboration among relevant stakeholders. To see all purchase orders navigate to Procurement and sourcing > Purchase orders > All purchase orders.
When you create a purchase order, you must indicate which type of order it is. You can select one of the following order types:
Journal – Use this as a draft or template. You cannot process a journal because there are no inventory transactions for it.
Purchase order – Use when the vendor confirms an order.
Returned order – Use when you return goods to the vendor. The returned item number or the returned merchandise authorization number (the RMA number) that the vendor gives you must be entered on the Other tab.
A purchase order can have several statuses that indicate where the selected order is in the purchase order process. As part of the workflow and change management activation process, the purchase order approval status is implemented on the purchase order header, and it can be any of the following:
Open order
Received
Invoiced
Canceled
Additionally, each purchase order has a document status that indicates the status of the most recent document that has been completed for the order. These statuses include the following:
None – No documents have been processed for the order yet.
Purchase inquiry – A purchase inquiry has been generated, and the order is awaiting feedback from the vendor.
Purchase order – Confirmation has been processed on the order.
Product receipt – Product receipt has been processed on the order.
Invoice – An invoice has been accounted with the order.
Because the status and document status are calculated separately, different combinations of statuses and document status can help additionally identify the status of an order. For example, if the status of an order is Open order and the document status is Invoice, you can conclude that the order is partly received and invoiced.
To track the open purchase orders and other transactions as they continue to occur, you can run a report in Finance that shows open transactions for vendors. Go to the Accounts payable > Inquiries and reports > Vendor open transactions report. Here, you can specify a range of dates and filter on vendors.