Purchase orders

Purchase orders (POs) are the supplier-side mirror of quotes: a formal request to a supplier before the bill arrives. Like quotes, a PO never posts to your ledger — it exists to be sent, accepted, and converted into a bill.

Create a purchase order

1. Go to Purchase Orders → New Purchase Order.
2. Set the Supplier, Currency, Issue Date, and an optional Expected Date (when you expect delivery).
3. Add line items — pick products/services to auto-fill the purchase details, or type each line: Qty, Price, Discount, Account, Tax.
4. Click Create Draft Purchase Order.

POs get a sequential number with your org’s prefix (default PO-0001).

The workflow

Identical shape to quotes:

DRAFT ──Send──▶ SENT ──Accept──▶ ACCEPTED ──converted fully──▶ CLOSED
                 │                                                   │
                 └──Decline──▶ DECLINED        VOIDED ◀──Void───────┘

Send marks the PO as sent to the supplier. You can then email it directly from the PO, or deliver the Print / PDF copy yourself. Accept records that the supplier agreed to fulfil it. A PO can’t be voided once some of it has been converted.

Convert to a bill

On a Sent or Accepted PO with a remaining balance, click Convert to Bill. Each line shows Original Qty · Already Billed · Remaining · Qty to Bill; set the quantity to bill per line and choose Create Draft Bill or Create & Approve Bill.

You can convert partially — bill part of the order when a partial delivery arrives, and bill the rest later. The PO tracks how much has been billed and auto-moves to Closed when fully converted. Voiding a bill that came from a PO releases its quantity back to the PO.

Worked example: partial delivery

You raise PO-0011 to a supplier for 100 units at $5 each ($500). They accept and ship 60 units immediately.

1. Open PO-0011 → Convert to Bill.
2. Set Qty to Bill = 60 (the other 40 stay at 0).
3. Create & Approve Bill → BILL-0042 for $300. PO-0011 is 60% billed, still Accepted.
4. When the remaining 40 arrive, convert again → BILL-0051 for $200. The PO auto-moves to Closed.

Each bill is a real posted payable; the PO just remembered what was left.