Create or Edit a Purchase Order

availability

Platform:	WebMobile
Plan Type:	BasicEssentialPremiumEnterprise
User Type:	RequesterFull UserAdministrator

This article explains how to create or edit purchase orders.

Purchase Orders vs. Purchase Order Requests

Administrators can create purchase orders, but Full Users have to create purchase order requests, which have almost all of the same information. Administrators approve requests to turn them into pending purchase orders. For details, see Purchase Orders vs. Purchase Order Requests.

Create a New Purchase Order or Purchase Order Request

Before you can save a new purchase order, you have to add at least one item and fill in any required custom fields (see Add Custom Purchase Order Fields).

To create a purchase order:

1. From the sidebar, select Purchase Orders.

   The Purchase Orders module opens.

2. Select + New Purchase Order (or + Request Purchase Order if you're creating a purchase order request).

   The New Purchase Order form opens.

3. If the custom title field is enabled for your organization (see Purchase Order Settings), enter a title for the purchase order.

4. If you want to use a custom ID number for the purchase order instead of an autogenerated one, select Customize PO Number, and enter the number in the Custom PO Number field.

5. Add the following information to complete the purchase order:

   • Vendor and vendor contacts
   • Order items
   • Taxes and additional costs
   • Shipping and billing information

6. Add the remaining purchase information in the Details section:

   Field	Description
   Due Date	The due date for the purchase order. If a purchase order isn't completed by its due date, it's marked Overdue and its details page displays a prompt to move it to the next step in the purchase order flow.
   Add Notes	Add any information that's relevant to the purchase order. The notes can be up to 4096 characters long (roughly 500-700 words).
   Files	Attach files to the purchase order. You can choose any files or photos on your computer.
   Custom Fields	If your organization has custom fields set up for purchase orders, they appear in the Details section. For more information about custom purchase order fields, see Add Custom Purchase Order Fields.

7. Select Create Purchase Order (or Create if you're creating a purchase order request).

The purchase order or purchase order request is created and ready for the approval flow:

• New full purchase orders have the status Pending.
• New purchase order requests have the status Requested.

For information about approving, fulfilling, and completing purchase orders, see Process a Purchase Order.

Automatic approvals

Your organization might have purchase order approval rules to automatically approve purchase orders that meet specific criteria. For example a total cost less than a certain amount. Automatic approvals apply to full purchase orders and purchase order requests. For details, see Set Up Purchase Order Approval Rules.

Add/Update a Vendor in a Purchase Order

Use the Vendor section of the purchase order to specify the vendor you're ordering from, and your contact from the vendor.

To add a vendor:

Do one of the following:

• Select a vendor from the list.

• Create a new vendor on the fly: Enter a name for the vendor in the vendor field, then select Create {VENDOR NAME}.

  The New Vendor form opens (see Create a Vendor). When you're finished creating the new vendor, MaintainX brings you back to the purchase order form.

If you want to email the purchase order to the vendor, you can also add a vendor contact.

To add a vendor contact:

If the vendor you added already has contacts in the system, select one from the list.

If the vendor you added doesn't have any contacts in the system yet, fill in the contact information fields to create a new contact. When you save the purchase order, MaintainX adds the contact to the vendor's contact list automatically.

Add/Update Items, Taxes, and Additional Costs in a Purchase Order

Use the Order Items section of the purchase order form to add parts and other items, taxes, and additional costs.

• A Subtotal appears under the list of parts and items.
• A Total appears at the end of the section, after the taxes and additional costs.

The subtotal and total update automatically as you add or remove things.

Add/Remove Items

Use the Order Items section of the purchase order form to add parts and one-off items to the purchase order.

• Parts are the parts in your organization's parts inventory.
• One-off items are items that aren't in your parts inventory that you add to the purchase order on the fly.

Add a separate line for each item in the purchase order.

• To add extra lines, select + Add Item.
• To remove a line select the (delete) icon for the line.

note

You can edit the line for any item until you fulfill, or partially fulfill the purchase order and confirm receipt for the item. After that, the item's line is locked.

If you need to edit a locked line, fulfill the purchase order again and set the Units Received to 0. The next time you edit the purchase order, the line will be editable.

Each line has the following information:

Field	Description
ITEM NAME	The item to order. To add a part from your parts inventory, select it from the list. Parts associated with the vendor you selected appear at the top of the list under Relevant Parts. tip The parts list shows you at a glance how many of each part you have in your inventory, and how many you've ordered. To add a one-off item that isn't in your parts inventory, enter the item name and select Create {ITEM NAME} One-Off Item.
PART NUMBER	The ordering part number from the vendor. If you added this number to the part's details in the parts inventory, it's added automatically. Otherwise, you can enter it manually.
UNITS ORDERED	The quantity of the item to order. This field is automatically set to the Minimum in Stock number, provided the part has one set, and the current quantity in stock is below the minimum.
UNIT COST	The cost per unit of the item. If you added the unit cost to the part's details in the parts inventory, it's added automatically. Otherwise, you can enter in manually. Only Administrators can see UNIT COST in purchase orders. If you're a Full User creating a purchase order request, you won't see them in the items list.
PRICE	UNITS ORDERED x UNIT COST This is the total pre-tax cost for the item. Only Administrators can see Price in purchase orders. If you're a Full User creating a purchase order request, you won't see them in the items list.

customization

Your organization can request to have specific fields added to purchase order line items. For more information, contact your MaintainX representative.

Add/Remove Taxes and Additional Costs

availability

Only Administrators can add taxes and additional costs to a purchase order. If you're a Full User creating a purchase order request, these options aren't available.

Add any taxes and additional costs for the purchase order at the bottom of the Order Items section. For example, you can add a line for sales tax or shipping costs.

• Costs can be taxable or not.
• Taxes are calculated for every taxable cost that you add.

To add taxes or additional costs to a purchase order:

1. In the Tax/Cost Label field, enter a name for the tax or cost.

2. In the $ % (percentage/amount) field, do one of the following:

   • Select $ (dollar sign) to add an amount, then enter the amount to add.

     If the amount is taxable, select the Taxable option.

   • Select % (percentage sign) to add a percentage, then enter the percentage.

3. To add another tax or cost, select Add Taxes & Cost, and repeat these steps.

To remove a tax or cost from a purchase order:

Select the (delete) icon for the tax or cost.

Add/Update Shipping and Billing Information to a Purchase Order

By default, MaintainX uses the same address for shipping and billing. To choose different addresses, clear the Use the same Shipping and Billing Address option.

Use Existing Addresses

For both the Shipping Address and Billing address, you can select any address you set up in the purchase order settings. For details, see Set Up Shipping and Billing Addresses. If you set an existing address as the default shipping or billing address, MaintainX selects it automatically.

Create a New Address on the Fly

To add a new shipping or billing address while you're creating the purchase order, select Add New Address. Then fill in the address details.

When you save the purchase order, MaintainX adds the new address to the list of addresses in the purchase order settings (see Set Up Shipping and Billing Addresses).

Edit a Purchase Order or Purchase Order Request

Organization Administrators can edit existing purchase orders or purchase order requests.

If a purchase order is already completed, you can still edit it, but you have to undo the completion first. For details, see Undo/Update a Completed Purchase Order.

To edit a purchase order:

1. From the sidebar, select Purchase Orders.

   The Purchase Orders module opens.

2. Select a purchase order to display its details. Then, select Edit.

3. Update any of the following information as needed:

   • Title: If the custom title field is enabled for your organization (see Purchase Order Settings), add or edit the title for the purchase order.

   • ID number: If you want to use a custom ID number for the purchase order instead of an autogenerated one, select Customize PO Number, and enter the number in the Custom PO Number field.

   • Vendor and vendor contacts

   • Order items

   • Taxes and additional costs

   • Shipping and billing information

   • Details: Add the remaining purchase information in the Details section:

     Field	Description
     Due Date	The due date for the purchase order. If a purchase order isn't completed by its due date, it's marked Overdue and its details page displays a prompt to move it to the next step in the purchase order flow.
     Add Notes	Add any information that's relevant to the purchase order. The notes can be up to 4096 characters long (roughly 500-700 words).
     Files	Attach files to the purchase order. You can choose any files or photos on your computer.
     Custom Fields	If your organization has custom fields set up for purchase orders, they appear in the Details section. For more information about custom purchase order fields, see Add Custom Purchase Order Fields.

4. Select Update.

The purchase order is updated. If your changes triggered any purchase order approval rules, MaintainX applies them now.

Other Ways to Create a Purchase Order

From the Parts Inventory Module

availability

This feature is available in both the web application and the mobile application.

When you order a part from the part details page, MaintainX creates a purchase order or a purchase order request.

Web

1. From the sidebar, select Parts > Inventory.

   The Parts Inventory module opens.

2. From the list, select the part that you want to make a purchase order for to view its details.

3. On the part details page, select (more options) and then select Order this Part.

   The New Purchase Order form opens, pre-populated with the vendor and part information.

4. Fill in the rest of the form as needed.

5. Select Create Purchase Order (or Create if you're creating a purchase order request).

Mobile

1. From the bottom navigation bar, select More.

2. On the More Options screen, navigate to Product Features, and select Parts Inventory.

3. On the Parts Inventory screen, select the part that you want to make a purchase order for to view its details

4. On the part details page, select (more options) and then select Order this Part.

   The Order Part options appear.

5. Enter the quantity of parts to order and select + Purchase Order (or + Purchase Order Request).

   MaintainX creates a purchase order or a purchase order request that you can access from the web application.

Learn More

• Video: Creating Purchase Orders