A Purchase Order (PO) is a list of items, quantities and prices that are being ordered from a specific vendor. The PO serves as formal notice to the vendor, and can also be used as a receiving document with which to compare goods and invoices as they arrive.
To make a Purchase Order, select either the system-supplied (Blank Order) template or a user-defined PO template from the Form Selection page. If you choose a blank template, you must supply the vendor name on the Header tab along with an Order Number.
The Purchase Order form has two tabs: The Header tab and the Details tab. When you complete the form, a Summary page appears containing any critical issues or warnings affecting the processing of the form. The Close, Pause, Complete and Template buttons are found on both tabs.
The Header tab normally includes fields for the vendor's name, transaction dates, the personnel involved in the transaction, and comments.
Help on the Header tab fields
Vendor
This is a drop-down list of the vendors currently in your system that you have permission to buy from. Procurement data entry forms that require a vendor display a list of vendors that is filtered based on the current user's Profit Center access. By default, a vendor is assigned to all Profit Centers in the site. Vendors that are assigned to "All Profit Centers" (box is checked on editor) are displayed for all users with permission to procurement data entry forms.
Order Number
FOOD-TRAK automatically inserts a unique order number. The format is of an "O" for "Order" and a number. If necessary, you can change this number by clicking into the field and typing a new one. This is not recommended, however.
Order Date
This field refers to the date the original order was made. By default, today's date is placed on a newly opened form. You can change this date by using the calendar icon at the right of the field.
Estimated Receive Date
This is the date when delivery of the order is expected. By default, today's date is automatically inserted in this field. To change the date, click the calendar icon next to the field and click the correct expected delivery date.
Ordered For, By, From
These 3 fields are optional and can be completed by any information appropriate to them, or simply left blank. For example, if you are placing a special order for material a visiting chef has requested, you can put his name in the Ordered For field. If you are ordering goods through someone other than your regular vendor contact, you may want to note that in Ordered From.
Comments
This field is reserved for any notes you may want to take on this transaction. If the Invoice was created by one of FOOD-TRAK's automatic utilities, then information regarding this conversion will appear in this field.
The Details tab contains the items that are placed on the Purchase Order. A copy of the information from the Header appears at the top of the Details tab. This information can only be altered by going back to the Header and changing it there.
Aside from the New, Pause, and Complete buttons mentioned above, the Details tab has 3 more buttons:
Set Location
Sets a selected item to a particular Purchase Location.
Set Location to Default
Sets all items to a selected Purchase Location.
Find
Searches the invoice for a specific item.
Click Find. The Search Form window appears.
Use the Search By drop-down list to search for listed items by Name or by Item Code.
Type the name, or a partial name of the item into the Search For field. If you are searching by Item Code, you can type in the entire Item Code or a portion of it.
Click Search.
In the Results drop-down list, occurrences of the search criteria will appear. Select the item you want on the drop-down list, then click Jump To. The item list will scroll so that the search item is at the top of the list.
Items with potential order issues
Upon initially opening a Purchase Order form which contains line items where the quantity is not a whole number associated with the Ordering/Purchase unit will display in orange text color indicating to the user that they need to be addressed before this order is placed with the vendor.
The main part of the Details page consists of the item list. Information about each item is also displayed, such as the Item Code, Name, the Quantity and Units to be purchased, the Cost, etc.
When you have finished with your Purchase Order, click Complete. Before it closes the form, FOOD-TRAK displays the Summary page. This page identifies some general information about your PO, and any Critical Issues or Warnings that may apply.
Critical Issues lists major problems that appear in the form. These problems must be resolved before the form can be completed.
Warnings list less severe problems with your form, and can be resolved by either fixing the problem listed or ignoring the problem by clicking Yes to the Warning message.
Click Complete again once all issues are resolved.
Other helpful information about this form:
Editing Item Information
To change any of an item's information, click the item to select it. An edit panel opens at the bottom of the page with active fields, which allow you to change any of the existing data for an item. This is the Edit window.
Although you can change the information in most of the fields, the Quantity field is the default field that is selected. This makes it easy for you to quickly change an existing quantity for an item. Make the change, press ENTER or click Update. The changes are made and FOOD-TRAK automatically scrolls to the next item on the list. You can move from field to field on the Edit window by pressing TAB.
Inserting a New Item into the List
Select the item that will be followed by the item you are inserting.
When the Edit window opens, click the Insert button next to Update. An item list opens up above the Edit window.
Scroll to the item you wish to insert and click it. To shorten the list, you can use filtering. The item is then added to the Edit window.
Type in a Quantity and press ENTER or click Update. The item is added to the form.
NOTE! You must either press ENTER or click Update or the item will not be added. Clicking Back or Next will not add the item to the Invoice.
Adding an Item to the Top of the List
At the top of the item list and just below the headings is a link that reads, Click Here to Insert A Detail to the Beginning of the Form. Click this text to open the Edit window.
When the Edit window opens, an item list appears. Scroll through the list until you find the item you wish to add to the top of the list. To shorten the list you can use filtering.
When you find the item you want, click it and it is moved into the Edit window.
Enter a Quantity for the item.
To add the item to the top of the list, press ENTER or click Update.
NOTE! You must either press ENTER or click Update or the item will not be added. Clicking Back or Next will not add the item to the Invoice.
Adding an Item to the End of the List
Adding an item to the end of a list is virtually automatic. When you arrive at the bottom of a list while entering data, the form automatically enters Add Mode. The Item Search menu opens at the foot of the Details tab, which allows you to search for an item by Item Code, Name, etc.
If you have a list of Item Codes handy, you can add items to the end of a list by typing the Code into the Item Code field and pressing ENTER. The new item is added to the end of the list, and the Search menu again becomes blank, enabling you to type in the next search criterion. Using this feature, you can easily enter multiple items to the list using only the number pad on your keyboard.
Removing an Item from the List
To remove an item from your form, click the item to select it. The Edit window then opens.
Click the Remove button at the bottom of the Edit window. The item is deleted from the Details page.
Using the Back and Next Buttons
Click an item to open the Edit window. At the bottom left side of the Edit window are the Back and Next buttons. These are used to scroll through the item list while keeping the Edit window open.
The Back and Next buttons do nothing but scroll through the items listed on the Invoice. They do not perform any save function. If you make changes to an item's information, these changes will not take effect until you press ENTER or click Update, and not by clicking Back or Next.
Finding on-hand amounts of an item
To find out how much of an item you have on hand, select the line item and then click the yellow clock icon. The estimated on-hand amount of that item then appears.
More information about Purchase Orders:
Advanced Procurement - Purchase Order