Purchase Orders

When you want to request that a vendor supply something, and commit to buy it when delivered, this may be the place. In QuickBooks Pro, purchase orders can be issued for:

Inventory items

Non-inventory Items

Service items

A purchase to an expense account or an asset account will not go through the purchase order system. An item must be added to the items list, referring to this account. Then the item may be purchased, and will be charged correctly.

Purchase orders are turned on by File|Preferences|Purchases & Vendors or by Preferences|Inventory & PO’s.

Note the options available if Purchase Orders and Inventory are turned on. QuickBooks can warn you if you do not have stock to make a sale. You can also get a warning if you are duplicating a purchase order number, but checking takes time, if the file is large.

Purchase orders, once turned on, are initiated by clicking Activities|Create Purchase Orders, or found on the Purchases and Vendors tab of the QuickBooks Navigator.

The purchase order form will be readily recognized by anyone familiar with the invoice. Although the view is marked Create Purchase Orders, it is actually from editing them (below) and shows a little more information .

Receipts displays transactions receiving items against this PO.

Vendor Message permits entry of a line of text, which is not part of a list. The text on the example extends beyond the edge of the box, but it actually was printed onto the PO form.

Lists|Purchase Orders opens the list of purchase orders, so that they can be reviewed or edited. Purchase orders are also listed at the bottom of the Chart of Accounts, as a “non-posting” account. With the list displayed, clicking Purchase orders | Edit brings up the view shown above, with all the features of the screen for creating purchase orders, and these additional things:

RCVD column indicates count of items recorded as received, as the purchase order has been transferred to Enter bills.

Clsd column contains a check ( b ) when the line is closed.

Closed check box marks all items as closed, and stamps the PO closed (with electronic red ink.) Clicking again reverses this.