3. When stock is short: purchase orders

An order short of stock is in Sourcing until it is on a purchase order and arrives. Get it ordered, keep the supplier’s date right, and receive it.

Where it is

Purchasing → Purchase Orders
Orders desk → Sourcing — Orders short of stock

Settings for this

Settings → Orders — Draft POs for what’s short
Settings → Purchasing — Purchase order approval and receiving rules

Who this is for: whoever orders stock and whoever receives it.

How you know

An order moves to Sourcing when some of its lines aren't in stock. If nothing is on order for them, it carries a red Short, nothing ordered flag and the next step is Order the short lines.

Step by step

Open the order (the desk's Open link, or the sales order) and press Order missing. On the sales order the Purchase Orders panel also has + Create PO.
In Order Missing Items, check the Supplier on each line (or use "Set unassigned to…" and Apply). Set the Expected Delivery Date and press Create PO (or Create N POs for several suppliers). Lines for a supplier that already has an open draft or approved PO are added to it.
Open the PO (Stock › Purchasing › Purchase Orders) and press Approve, then Send to Supplier. In the box, tick Email — letterhead & PDF, or Record as ordered without emailing if you ordered by phone, and press the button.
Keep the date right. The Expected date on the PO is what the Orders desk, and the customer's "on backorder" email if you send those, go by. When the supplier gives you a new date, change it here.

What happens by itself

The order shows Waiting on supplier, the supplier's move, with the ETA on its clock.
If that date passes, the next step becomes Chase the supplier and the order carries Supplier late.
If you've switched on Draft POs for what's short, accepted orders arrive with their draft POs already made. You just check, approve and send them.

When it arrives

On the PO press Receive Stock. Enter the quantity under Recv, choose where it goes under Receive into, then Confirm Receipt.

What follows is automatic:

The stock goes on hand and is held for the order it was bought for.
The order moves to Ready.
Its owner (or whoever is on duty) gets a Stock is in bell, so it gets picked today.

Drop-ship and sublets

A drop-ship PO has Mark Shipped to Customer instead of receiving. A sublet (outside work) has Mark Collected.

Where it ends

Everything received: the PO is Received, and the order carries on from Ready (lesson 9).

Lesson 3 of 10 in Orders, start to finish. Previous: 2. Staff orders: quote to paid. Next: 4. Shopify orders.