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Purchase orders

Purchase orders that follow the goods all the way to the bill.

Raise a purchase order, get it approved, receive the goods in part or in full against a numbered goods receipt, bill only what arrived, and send back what is wrong with a return and a debit note. One order, one trail.

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  • Approval before an order goes out, if you want it
  • Goods receipts with partial and over-receiving
  • Billing held to what was actually received
  • Returns to supplier and debit notes

What is Purchase orders in Flowyana?

Flowyana purchase orders are the ordering side of its purchasing software, for businesses that buy stock or services from suppliers and want to know what was ordered, what arrived and what they owe. You raise the order, have it approved if you want, receive the goods against it, bill only what arrived, and send back anything wrong. It suits retailers, distributors, restaurants and manufacturers in India, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and beyond.

The trouble with purchase orders is the gap between the order and the bill. The supplier sends 25 of 40, the invoice says 40, and someone pays it. Flowyana keeps ordered, received and billed on the same order, shows each per line, and refuses to bill beyond what was received, so a short delivery does not become a short payment.

Approval is yours to switch on. With a workflow in place, an order cannot be approved by an ordinary save, only by the approvers you named, and the record shows who approved it. After approval the lines and tax stand as they are, so the supplier’s copy and yours stay the same.

When goods go back, the order carries on: a purchase return reverses the stock, and a debit note brings down what you owe or claims it from the supplier.

What it does

Purchase orders, in practice.

Purchase orders by supplier

Supplier, items, quantities, prices, discounts, tax and delivery date, numbered and printable, and shared with the supplier by email, WhatsApp or link.

Optional approval

Add an approval workflow and an order cannot become approved by a simple save: it goes to the approvers you name, and the outcome is recorded.

Receive stock against the order

Receive into a branch and location, with the supplier’s delivery note number. Each receipt gets its own goods receipt number.

Partial and extra deliveries

The order shows ordered, received and remaining per line, and warns when you receive more than was ordered.

Bill what arrived

Convert the order to a purchase invoice. A bill cannot go beyond what was received unless the supplier is set to bill in advance.

Close short, reopen

Close an order when the rest is never coming. What was received can still be billed, and a closed order reopens while nothing has been billed since.

Low stock to order

Load products below their reorder level into a new order, with suggested quantities.

Serials and batches on receipt

Serial numbers are entered as the goods are received, one per unit, and batch and expiry are recorded on the receipt.

Returns and debit notes

Return received items to the supplier against the order, then raise a debit note to reduce what you owe or claim from the supplier.

Edits locked after approval

Once an order is approved its lines and tax stand as they are. Move it back to draft, or cancel it, to change them.

Only need this module?

Get Purchasing in the plans for the product you run — two or three plans per product, users and branches included. Add one more user or branch any time.

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How it works

Purchase orders, step by step.

  1. 1

    Raise the order

    Pick the supplier, add items and quantities, or load products that are low on stock. Set the delivery date and save it as a draft.

  2. 2

    Get it approved

    If you use an approval workflow, submit it. The approvers decide, and the outcome is recorded on the order.

  3. 3

    Send it to the supplier

    Share the order by email, WhatsApp or a link, or print it.

  4. 4

    Receive the goods

    Receive what has arrived into a branch and location, with the supplier’s delivery note number. Receive again when the rest comes.

  5. 5

    Bill what arrived

    Convert the order to a purchase invoice. Billing is held to the quantities received.

  6. 6

    Return or close

    Return faulty goods and raise a debit note, or close the order short if the rest is not coming.

In depth

A closer look.

Approval and order status

An order moves through draft, pending approval, approved, ordered, partly received, received, closed and cancelled. Approved is never set by choosing it from a dropdown: it comes from the approval workflow, or from an Approve action by someone with permission. Receiving moves the order to partly received or received by itself, and closed only comes from the Close action. A cancelled order receives and bills nothing more.

  • Optional approval workflow
  • Approved only by approvers, never a plain save
  • Received statuses set by receiving
  • Cancelled orders cannot be reopened

Goods receipts against the order

Receive stock from the order into the branch and location where it arrives. The screen shows ordered, received and remaining for every line, takes the supplier’s delivery note number, and gives each receipt its own goods receipt number, listed on the order’s Receipts tab. Stock that is serial-tracked takes its serial numbers here, one per unit. Custom lines with no catalogue product are marked not received, because there is no stock to receive. You can print labels as you receive.

  • Ordered, received and remaining per line
  • Numbered receipts with the supplier’s delivery note
  • Serials, batches and expiry on receipt
  • Print labels while receiving

Billing held to what arrived

Convert the order to a purchase invoice when the bill arrives. Each line shows how much has been billed and how much is left to bill, and the order shows unbilled, partly billed or billed. A bill cannot go beyond the quantity received, so a short delivery is never paid in full. Suppliers that invoice before they deliver can be marked as billing in advance, which bills against the ordered quantity instead.

  • Billed and left-to-bill per line
  • Refuses billing beyond received
  • Bills-in-advance suppliers supported
  • Order shows unbilled, partly billed, billed

Returns, closing short and debit notes

If goods are wrong, return them against the order or its goods receipt: stock is reversed, and units that were never billed simply reverse the receipt, while billed units can raise a debit note against the supplier. A debit note either corrects a bill or claims a flat amount, can be applied against open bills, and can be refunded by the supplier. If the rest of an order will never arrive, close it short; it can still be billed for what came, and reopened while nothing has been billed since.

  • Purchase return reverses the stock
  • Debit note from the return
  • Apply debit notes to bills or take a refund
  • Close short and reopen

Who it’s for

Businesses that run on Purchase orders.

Retailers and supermarkets

Order from suppliers when stock is low, receive deliveries in parts and pay only for what arrived.

Distributors and wholesalers

Approval above a value, goods receipts per shipment and bills matched to received quantities.

Restaurants and food businesses

Order ingredients, receive with batch and expiry, and send back damaged deliveries with a debit note.

Manufacturers and workshops

Order raw materials, receive partial shipments, and close short when a supplier cannot deliver the rest.

Electronics and appliance dealers

Enter serial numbers on receipt, so every unit is tracked from the supplier.

Questions

Asked about purchase orders.

What is purchase order software?

Software for raising purchase orders to suppliers, tracking what has been delivered, and matching the supplier’s bill to the order. In Flowyana it is part of the Purchasing module.

Does it support approval of purchase orders?

Yes. Set up an approval workflow for purchase orders and an order cannot be marked approved by an ordinary save. It is approved by the people you assign, and who approved it and when is recorded. Without a workflow, orders go straight on.

Can I receive a purchase order in parts?

Yes. Receive whatever has arrived, and the order shows ordered, received and remaining for every line. Each receipt has its own goods receipt number and the supplier’s delivery note reference, and the order moves to partly received and then received.

What if the supplier delivers more than I ordered?

You can still receive it. The receiving screen flags the lines over-received so the extra is visible, rather than stopping the goods at the door.

Can I be billed for more than we received?

Not by mistake. A purchase invoice cannot bill more than was received on the order, unless you have marked that supplier as billing in advance.

What does closing a purchase order do?

It stops receiving and drops the quantities still to come, for when the supplier will not deliver the rest. What was received can still be billed. You can reopen it as long as nothing has been billed since.

Can I return goods to a supplier?

Yes. Create a purchase return against the order or its goods receipt, enter how many go back, and the stock is reversed. Returned units that were billed can then become a debit note, reducing what you owe the supplier.

What is a debit note in purchasing?

The supplier-side counterpart of a credit note. It corrects a bill, or claims money the supplier owes you, and can be applied against open bills or refunded by the supplier.

Can I change a purchase order after it is approved?

Not its lines or tax. Once approved they stand as they are; move the order back to draft or cancel it to make changes. Cancelled orders cannot be reopened.

Does it work with VAT and GST on purchases?

Yes. Purchase tax is worked out per line from your tax rules and the supplier’s location, for GST in India and VAT in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere.

Can I create purchase orders from low stock?

Yes. Load the products at or below their reorder level into a new order, with a suggested quantity worked out from the reorder quantity or maximum stock level.

One platform

Plays well with the rest.

Purchasing shares its records with every other module you switch on — no connectors, no re-typing.

PurchasingInventoryAccountingApprovalsInventoryInventoryInventoryAll features →

Put Purchase orders to work.

Tell us what your business runs. We’ll show you this module live — on its own or alongside the rest — and recommend the plan that fits.

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