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Purchasing

Order from a supplier with a numbered purchase order, check each delivery against it with a goods received note, and count your stock with a count sheet that suggests what to reorder.

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How purchasing works here

Buying from a supplier starts with a purchase order (PO): your written request for specific items, in specific quantities, at agreed prices. The supplier quotes your PO number on its own paperwork, so every delivery and every bill can be matched to the order. When goods arrive, you check them against the order line by line on a goods received note, and from time to time you count what is on the shelves.

Document Who writes it When What it holds
Purchase order You, the buyer Before you order Buyer, Supplier, Delivery date, supplier item codes, quantities and agreed prices
Goods received note You, the buyer, made from the PO For each delivery that arrives Ordered, Received before, Received now, Damaged, Rejected, Accepted, Outstanding and a status per line
Inventory count sheet You, when you count stock At a full inventory count or cycle count Expected, Counted, Variance, and reorder suggestions from the Min and Target you type

The supplier’s own paperwork is different: the delivery note or packing slip comes with the goods and says what the supplier sent. The goods received note is the buyer’s record of what actually arrived and what was accepted. Type the supplier’s document number under Delivery note no. so the two can be matched.

Step by step

  1. Write the order. Fill in the purchase order with the supplier’s Item code for each line; codes are kept as text, so 00412 stays 00412. A long list can come from a spreadsheet with the CSV item import. Type a tax rate only if you want tax shown; it starts at 0.
  2. Send it. Download the PDF and email it, or print it. The PDF has an Authorized by line and a Date line for a signature.
  3. Check what arrives. Open the order and choose Create goods received note. Each line starts with its Ordered quantity; enter what came off the truck under Received now, and broken or refused units under Damaged and Rejected. Accepted and Outstanding are calculated, and each line shows Complete, Short, Over or Pending.
  4. Follow up the rest. When the next delivery comes, choose Create next goods received note on that note. What was accepted moves into Received before, and Received now starts at what is still outstanding.
  5. Count your stock. On the inventory count sheet, list items by location, print the sheet in walking order with Sort by location, and type the counted quantities. Give a Min and Target for items you restock, and the sheet suggests how many to order on your next purchase order.

The order itself is never changed by these steps, so it stays a record of what you asked for.

Common mistakes

  • No PO number, or a repeated one. Without a unique number the supplier cannot quote it, and you cannot match the bill to the order.
  • Paying for what was ordered rather than what arrived. Compare the supplier’s bill with the accepted quantities on the goods received note; Outstanding shows what has not arrived yet.
  • Counting damaged units as received. Enter them under Damaged; they stay outstanding until the supplier replaces or credits them.
  • Losing leading zeros in a spreadsheet. Format the item code column as text before you save the CSV.
  • Entering 0 for a line you have not counted. Leave Counted empty instead; 0 means you looked and the shelf was empty.

What this does not do

Nothing updates stock levels in other software; the count sheet’s reorder suggestions follow the min and target you type, not a forecast. There is no connection to accounting software. Nothing is sent to the supplier for you, and no purchase terms are added; write your own under More options.

Your data

Orders, goods received notes and counts are built in your browser and nothing you type is uploaded. Tick Keep my documents on this device to keep them in this browser, and download a backup file for documents you need to keep. If a printout comes out cut off, see Fix print cut-off.