Creating a New Purchase Order

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The easiest way to create a new purchase order is to select Inventory —> New Purchase Order from the menu. You can also click the New button in the Purchase Order browser, or click New Purchase Order when creating a work order. In all these situations, MainBoss displays a window that contains the following.

• Summary: A brief description of this purchase order.
• Order: This section provides basic information about the purchase order, the supplier and where the goods should be delivered.
  • P/O Number: An identification number to be assigned to this purchase order. If you leave this field blank, MainBoss will automatically assign a number to the PO; if you want the purchase order to have a specific number, you can type this number into the field.

  Note: You can use the Administration menu to control the format of the identification numbers that MainBoss creates. For example, if you want numbers of the form ABC-00000, you can specify this format. You can also specify a starting value for numbers; for example, if you want the numeric portion of the purchase order number to start at 10000, you can use the Administration menu to set this up. For more information, see Purchase Order Preferences.

  • Required by: The date by which you require the goods to be delivered.
  • Vendor: The vendor who will supply the goods. The drop-down list for this field shows your Vendor table. If the appropriate vendor isn't currently in your Vendor table, click New Vendor to add the vendor to the table. For more about the Vendor table, see Vendors.
  • New Vendor: Lets you add a new vendor to the Vendor table. MainBoss opens a window where you can record information about the vendor.
  • Cost Ctr.: The cost center associated with this purchase order; for example, you might specify a general ledger number or budget code to which the purchase will be charged. For more on cost centers, see Cost Centers.
  • Ship via: How the goods should be shipped (regular mail, courier, direct freight, etc.). The drop-down list in this field shows your Shipping Modes table; for more information, see Shipping Modes.
  • Payment Terms: How you will pay for the goods. The drop-down list in this field shows your Payment Terms table; for more information, see Payment Terms.
  • Deliver to: The building where the goods should be delivered. The drop-down list in this field shows your Buildings table; for more information, see Buildings. If the Buildings table contains an address for the specified building, the address will be printed in the "Ship To" box of the purchase order.
  • Comments to Vendor: This area lets you type in any comments that should appear on the printed purchase order that you send to the supplier.

  Note: You can use Administration —> Preferences —> Purchase Orders to set up standard "Comments to Vendor" that you want printed on every purchase order. This might include invoicing instructions, preferred delivery hours, etc.

  • Items: This section specifies the items that you want to order. Items that have already been placed on the purchase order are listed in the central area of the section.
    • Add Item: Adds one or more items to the purchase order. When you click this button, MainBoss opens a window where you can specify which item(s) to add. For more information, see Items on a Purchase Order.

      If you have to add a lot of items to the purchase order, it is usually faster to use Add Quick than Add Item. For more about Add Quick, see below.

    • Edit Item: Lets you change information about an item already in the list. Click the item that you want to change, then click Edit Item. MainBoss opens a window showing the current ordering information for that item; you can then change the information as desired. The window used has the same format as the window you get when you click Add Item.
    • Delete Item: Lets you delete an item from the list. Click the item that you want to delete, then click Delete Item.
    • Add Quick: Provides a quick way to add multiple items to the list. MainBoss can check current stock levels and automatically determine which items need to be re-ordered; it can then place all these items on the purchase order. After this set of items has been placed on the purchase order, you can edit individual item entries if they need to be changed.

      For more information on the facilities available through Add Quick, see The Add Quick Facility.

  • Extras: This section lets you specify any extra charges that might be associated with the purchase order. These "extras" might include sales tax, delivery fees, surcharges for expedited delivery, and so on. Extra charges might also include labor and material costs from an outside contractor as part of a work order.

    At the time you create the purchase order, you may include an estimate of the extra charges you expect to pay. However, it is often difficult to predict certain types of extra charges in advance; for example, shipping costs may depend on the weight of the goods shipped, which may only be possible to determine once the goods have been packaged. MainBoss therefore allows you to add the actual cost of extras after you've prepared the original purchase order; for example, when you are closing the purchase order after receiving the goods, you can add the extra charges that you actually paid.

    When a purchase order is printed, the print-out only contains estimates on extra items. Both estimates and actual costs may be printed in the Purchase History Report (as described in Purchase History).

    The extras that you add to this purchase order are listed in the central area of the section. Each line in this area begins with a code; the following codes are used:

    • UE: An estimate added by clicking Add Estimate.
    • ME: An estimated cost for material purchases from an outside contractor, created by clicking Add Extra Estimate in the Material section of a work order.
    • LE: An estimated cost for outside contractor labor, created by clicking Add Extra Estimate in the Labor section of a work order.
    • U: An actual charge added by clicking Add Actual.
    • M: An actual cost for material purchases from an outside contractor, created by clicking Add Extra Actual in the Material section of a work order.
    • L: An actual cost for outside contractor labor, created by clicking Add Extra Actual in the Labor section of a work order.

  For more about extra charges specified during work order creation, see Creating and Editing Work Orders.

  • Add Estimate: Lets you add estimates for one or more extra charges to the purchase order. If you click this button, MainBoss opens a window where you can record information about these extras. For more information, see Extras on Purchase Orders.

    If the selected entry in the Extras list specifies a work order, Add Estimate can be used to add extra materials or labor costs to that work order—when MainBoss opens the window to record the extra cost, click Labor or Materials and the cost will be added to the associated work order.

    If the selected entry in the Extras list is not a work order, Add Estimate will only let you add "other" extras to the purchase order (i.e. extras that are not specific labor or materials costs for work orders).

  • Receive: Used to specify the actual cost corresponding to a previous estimate. To use this button, click the line for the original estimate and then click Receive. MainBoss opens a window where you can modify the estimate with the actual final information. When you return to the purchase order window, you will see the new actual information has been added to the list of extra charges. (The old estimate remains on the list, so that you can easily compare estimates to actual costs.)
  • Add Actual: Lets you add actual costs for one or more extra charges. If you click this button, MainBoss opens a window where you can record the appropriate information. This information has the same format as the one used for Add Estimate.

    Note that Add Actual should only be used for costs with no corresponding estimates. If there is an existing estimate for a particular cost, you should use Receive instead of Add Actual.

    If the selected entry in the Extras list specifies a work order, Add Actual can be used to add extra materials or labor costs to that work order—when MainBoss opens the window to record the extra cost, click Labor or Materials and the cost will be added to the associated work order.

    If the selected entry in the Extras list is not a work order, Add Actual will only let you add "other" extras to the purchase order (i.e. extras that are not specific labor or materials costs for work orders).

  • Link W/O: Specifies that this purchase order covers materials and/or labor for an existing work order. When you click the button, MainBoss opens the Work Order browser to let you specify the appropriate work order. Select the work order in the browser, then click the browser's Ok button. MainBoss will return to the purchase order; you will see the work order specified in the list of the Extras section.
  • Edit Item: Lets you edit an item that is already in the extra charges list. Click the line that you want to edit, then click Edit Item. MainBoss opens a window that lets you edit the information in that line. (This window has the same format as the one used for Add Estimate.)
  • Delete Item: Lets you delete an item from the extra charges list. Click the line that you want to delete, then click Delete Item.
  • Unlink: Unlinks a work order that has been linked to this purchase order.
• Receiving: This section is used when you receive goods specified in this purchase order. The central area of the window lists information on the shipments that delivered the goods. Each line in this area gives the date that a shipment arrived, a waybill identification for that shipment, and the total amount of any extra charges associated with that shipment.
  • Vendor's Order Number: In many cases, suppliers assign their own customer order number to a purchase order, instead of (or in addition to) your own purchase order number. If so, you can record the vendor's order number in this field, in case you need it for future communications with the supplier.
  • Next Shipment: This field is useful when a purchase order is split over several shipments. When one shipment is received, the supplier may give you a date when you can expect the next shipment. By recording that date in this field, you can keep a record of what the supplier has promised.
  • New Shipment: Lets you record information about a new shipment, including the items received and any extra charges associated with the shipment. When you click this button, MainBoss opens a window where you can record this information; for more about this window, see Recording Shipment Information.
  • Edit Shipment: Lets you edit an entry that is already in the shipments list. Click the line that you want to edit, then click Edit Shipment. MainBoss opens a window that lets you edit the information in that line. (This window has the same format as the one used for New Shipment.)
  • Delete Shipment: Lets you delete an entry from the shipments list. Click the line that you want to delete, then click Delete Shipment.
• Summary: This section summarizes figures for the purchase order.
  • Ordered line items: The number of line items that appear in the Items and Extras sections. This is typically the number of different types of items ordered.
  • Order Cost: The cost of the order as it was originally created. To calculate this cost, MainBoss uses all the item costs from the Items section, plus all the estimated costs from the Extras section.
  • Fully received: The number of line items for which you have received the full number of items ordered. For example, if you ordered four tires for a forklift and you have received all four, the "tires" item is considered fully received.
  • Partially received: The number of line items for which you have received some but not all of the items ordered. For example, if you ordered four tires for a forklift but have only received two, the "tires" item is considered partially received.
  • Received Cost: The cost of the goods that you have received so far. This includes the cost of the items, plus any actual costs that you have entered in the Extras section.
  • Not received: The number of line items for which you have received none of the items order. For example, if you ordered four tires for a forklift and have not received any tires yet, the "tires" item is considered not received.
  • Receiving Extra Charges: The sum of all extra charges applied to the shipments that have been received so far.
  • Total Receiving: The total of all charges in the "Total" column.
• Issue & Save: Saves all the current information in the window and marks the purchase order as issued. You click this button when the purchase order has been finalized and approved—the purchase order is ready to be sent to the vendor.

  Note that the Issue & Save button is not present if the purchase order has already been issued.

• Withdraw & Save: Withdraws the purchase order. For further information on what it means to withdraw a purchase order, see Purchase Orders.

  The Withdraw & Save button only appears after the purchase order has been issued. If you withdraw a purchase order, the Summary section will contain a note indicating when you originally issued the PO.

• Close & Save: Closes the purchase order. You do this when you have received everything that was ordered, or when you have cancelled anything that has not yet been received.

  The Close & Save button only appears after the purchase order has been issued.

• Reopen & Save Reopens a closed purchase order. Typically, you only do this if the closed purchase order contains errors that you want to correct.

  The Reopen & Save button only appears after the purchase order has been closed.

• effective: The effective date/time of the accompanying action, whether the action is Issue & Save, Withdraw & Save, or Close & Save. If you leave this blank, MainBoss fills in the date and time that you performed the action.
• Comments: Any comments that you want to record in connection with this purchase order. Note that these comments are not printed on the purchase order that you send to the vendor; these comments are for your internal use only. For example, you might use this "Comments" area to make a record of the approval process (the date/time the PO was submitted for approval, the date/time approval was received, and who actually approved the purchase).

  If you have comments that you want the vendor to see, record them in "Comments to Vendor" area of the Order section.

• Select for Printing: Checkmark this if you want to print this purchase order the next time you are printing a batch of purchase orders. (You can print a purchase order even if you haven't checkmarked Select for Printing, but Select for Printing makes things easier.)
• Clone: Copies information from this purchase order and creates a new purchase order containing the copied information. For example, if you tend to order the same sort of items from a particular supplier on a regular basis, you can clone your last order from the supplier, then make any appropriate changes. This often saves you typing in a lot of the same information on each order.
• Void: Cancels the purchase order entirely. For information on what happens when you void a purchase order, see Browsing Purchase Orders.
• Save & Print: Saves the current purchase order and immediately opens a window that lets you print purchase orders (see Printing Purchase Orders). The window for printing purchase orders is set up to print the purchase order that you just saved.
• Save: Saves all the information currently recorded in this purchase order. Note that clicking Save does not close the window; therefore, you can record some information, save it, record some more, save it, and so on.
• Cancel: Closes the window. MainBoss discards any changes you may have made since the last time you saved.

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