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Suppliers & Purchase Orders
Purchase orders give you an auditable way to buy stock: record who you buy from, what you ordered, and what actually arrived. Receiving an order updates your stock automatically, so you do not need a manual stock adjustment for deliveries.
Managing Suppliers (Admin Only)
Adding a Supplier
- Go to Suppliers from the sidebar.
- Click "Add Supplier".
- Fill in: Name (required), Contact Person, Phone, Email, Address, Payment Terms, Notes.
- Click Save.
Editing or Deleting a Supplier
Use the edit or delete action on a supplier's row to update their details or remove them.
WARNING
A supplier cannot be deleted if they have any purchase orders linked to them, even cancelled ones. This protects your audit trail. Simply stop creating new POs with that supplier.
Working with Purchase Orders
Creating a Purchase Order (Admin)
- Go to Purchase Orders from the sidebar.
- Click "New Purchase Order".
- Select a Supplier from the searchable dropdown.
- Add line items:
- Search for a product
- If the product has variants, select the specific variant (required)
- Enter the quantity and unit cost (what you pay the supplier)
- The line total calculates automatically
- Add optional notes and click Save as Draft.
Why orders start as a Draft
Every new order starts as a Draft so you can build it and check it over (add lines, fix quantities and costs) before committing. A Draft changes nothing: no stock moves and nothing is sent to the supplier, and you can edit or delete it freely. When the order is ready, Place Order locks it in.
Purchase Order Lifecycle
| Status | What It Means | What You Can Do |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | Order is being prepared | Edit, delete, or place the order |
| Ordered | Order has been sent to the supplier | Receive goods or cancel |
| Received | Goods have arrived and been counted | View and print only |
| Cancelled | Order was cancelled | View and print only |
Placing an Order (Draft to Ordered)
Open a Draft PO and click "Place Order". This marks it as sent to the supplier and locks the line items so they can no longer be changed.
Receiving Goods (Ordered to Received)
- Open an Ordered PO and click "Receive Goods".
- For each line item, enter the quantity actually delivered.
- Click "Confirm Receipt".
- Stock is updated automatically for every received item, and the cost price (WAC) is recalculated. See Cost Price & Margin.
Partial Deliveries
You do not have to receive the full ordered quantity. Enter what actually arrived on each line; only those quantities are added to stock, and a line received as zero does not change stock at all. If you received less than ordered, the order is still completed and flagged with an amber Partial badge so you can track the shortfall. The system never lets you receive more than was ordered on a line.
Cancelling a Purchase Order
A Draft or Ordered order can be cancelled if it is no longer needed: open it and click Cancel. Cancelling does not affect stock. Received and Cancelled orders are final and cannot be changed or reopened.
Printing a Purchase Order
Open any purchase order and click Print to produce an A4 document with your store header, the supplier's details, and the ordered line items (including variant names). Give or email it to your supplier as the official order.
Filtering the PO List
- Status tabs: All, Draft, Ordered, Received, or Cancelled (each with a count)
- Date range: From/To date pickers or quick presets (Today, Last 7 Days, This Month)
- Search: PO number, supplier name, or notes
FAQ
Q: Who can manage suppliers and purchase orders?
A: Admins have full access. Managers can view the PO list and details (and print them) but cannot create or modify orders.
Q: Why can't I delete a supplier?
A: A supplier that has any purchase orders, even cancelled ones, cannot be deleted, to keep your purchasing records intact. Stop using them simply by not creating new orders with them.
Q: What is the PO number format?
A: Sequential per store: PO-00001, PO-00002, etc. Generated automatically.
Q: Can I edit a PO after placing it?
A: No. Once a PO moves from Draft to Ordered, it becomes read-only. Only Draft POs can be edited.
Q: What if the supplier delivers fewer items than ordered?
A: Enter the actual quantity received. Only the received quantity is added to stock. The PO is marked as "Partial."
Q: What if the supplier delivers more than ordered?
A: The system caps received quantity at the ordered quantity.
Q: Does receiving a PO update stock automatically?
A: Yes. Each received line item creates a stock adjustment.
Q: What happens to cost prices when I receive a PO?
A: The system recalculates the Weighted Average Cost (WAC) for each received product. If the cost changed significantly, a price review prompt appears. See Cost Price & Margin.
Q: Can I reopen a cancelled PO?
A: No. Cancelled and Received are final statuses. Create a new PO if needed.
Q: I have a product with variants. How does the PO work?
A: Each PO line represents one product/variant combination. A variant selector appears when you add a variant product. You must choose a variant before the line can be saved. Stock is credited to the specific variant on receive.
Q: Can I order multiple variants of the same product in one line?
A: No. Each line is one variant. To order two sizes of the same product, add two separate lines, one per variant.
Q: What happens to the cost price (WAC) when I receive a variant PO?
A: WAC is recalculated at the product level across all variants combined. Per-variant cost tracking is not available in the current version. See Cost Price & Margin for more detail.
Q: The variant dropdown is not appearing for a product I know has variants.
A: The dropdown only appears if variants are set up for that product. Go to the Products page, click the variants icon on that row, and check that at least one variant is active.
Q: What if the supplier delivers a different variant than what was ordered (e.g. wrong size)?
A: Receive the actual quantity against the closest matching line. Then use a Stock Adjustment to correct the specific variant counts: add a Correction to the variant you actually received and a negative Correction to the one you did not.
Q: Is the variant name shown on the printed purchase order?
A: Yes. Each line on the printed PO includes the variant name so the supplier knows exactly which option was ordered.