Suppliers and purchase orders
Purchasing turns “we are low on flour” into a record you can check a delivery against. The section sits under Catalog → Inventory → Purchasing.
- Plans
- Signature, Enterprise
- Can it be switched off?
- Yes — an owner or manager can turn it off under Setup → Features.
- Needs first
- Pantry inventory. This stays off until all of them are in your plan and switched on.
Suppliers
Section titled “Suppliers”New supplier takes a supplier name, a contact name, email, phone and notes.
Suppliers belong to a branch, not to the whole business. The form says why: “Keep ordering contacts with the location that uses them.” A branch that orders from a different greengrocer keeps its own contact, and nobody orders to the wrong kitchen.
Each pantry item can have a preferred supplier, which is what drives the reorder suggestions. Items without one show “No preferred supplier yet” there.
Raising a purchase order
Section titled “Raising a purchase order”New purchase order. The form’s own guidance: “Create a draft first, then review and submit it to lock in the order.”
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Supplier | Required. |
| Expected date | When you expect it. |
| Supplier reference | Their order number, if they gave you one. |
| Lines | Item, quantity and unit cost. |
The running Draft total updates as you add lines, so you see the number before you commit to it. Create draft saves it; Submit locks it in.
Capturing the unit cost is what makes valuation and food cost work later. An order received with no costs still updates your balances, but it leaves those items showing “Cost unavailable” and drags down your cost coverage — see Inventory value and food cost.
The statuses
Section titled “The statuses”| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| draft | Being built. Nothing is committed. |
| submitted | Sent. Awaiting delivery. |
| partially received | Some of it arrived. |
| received | All of it arrived. |
| cancelled | Abandoned. |
The purchase order list “Track[s] ordered, received, and outstanding quantities”, with a Progress column, so a part-delivered order is visible rather than being something you have to remember.
Receiving a delivery
Section titled “Receiving a delivery”Open the order and select Receive. For each line the form shows what is left — “8 kg remaining” — and you enter Received now. Add Receipt notes for anything the driver should not drive away from: the placeholder suggests “Delivery note, damage, or variance”.
Then Receive selected quantities. You must enter at least one, or the form refuses with “Enter at least one received quantity.”
Receiving in parts is normal and fully supported. A case short today is received as what came, leaving the rest outstanding; the order moves to partially received and the shortfall stays visible.
Cancelling an order
Section titled “Cancelling an order”Confirming asks “Cancel PO-1042?” and warns: “Received stock, if any, will remain in the ledger.” That is correct — stock that arrived is in your kitchen whatever happens to the paperwork. Cancelling closes the order, it does not reverse a delivery.
Suggested replenishment
Section titled “Suggested replenishment”Suggested replenishment lists items at or below their reorder point, each as “3 kg on hand · order 22 kg”, with the preferred supplier underneath. The quantity comes from the gap between the reorder point and the par level you set on the item.
Treat it as a shopping list to review, not an order to approve blindly — it knows your thresholds, not that you have a function booked on Saturday.