> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.fieldpulse.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# How to Manage Purchase Orders
> Enable purchase orders in FieldPulse, create and email supplier orders, set order defaults, and replenish stock automatically as items run low.
> **Who uses this:** Admins for the **Company Settings** work — enabling purchase orders, setting purchase order defaults, and managing the supplier list. **Availability:** All regions.
A purchase order is the record you send a supplier to order parts and materials. FieldPulse builds the order, emails it to the supplier, replenishes your stock as items run low, and pulls several orders into one [estimate or invoice](https://www.fieldpulse.com/features/estimates-and-invoices) for your customer — so the supplier, the linked job, and the cost of the parts all sit on one record.
## Overview
Purchase orders let you generate an order for a supplier, send it by email, track inventory replenishment, and combine multiple purchase orders into a single estimate or invoice for your customer.
A purchase order gets created in one of two ways:
* **Manually** — you build the order on the web app or the mobile app and email it to the supplier.
* **Automatically** — you set an auto re-order level on an inventory item, and FieldPulse creates the purchase order when the quantity on hand reaches that level.
Purchase orders are turned on per account in **Company Settings**, and the same settings area holds your order defaults and your company-wide supplier list.
## Video walkthrough
## Before you begin
* Purchase orders must be enabled on your account before the **Purchase Orders** tab appears. Enabling it is the first task below.
* Every purchase order needs a supplier. Add suppliers in **Company Settings** ahead of time, or create one while you build the order.
* For automatic replenishment, set up inventory tracking on your items first. See [Setting Up Item List & Inventory](/inventory-materials/item-list/adding-items).
* Set your purchase order defaults before you start ordering if you want new orders to fill in the delivery address, contact details, and display number for you.
## On web
### Enable purchase orders
Purchase orders are turned on from the plugin list in **Company Settings**.
1. Select **Company Settings** in the left-side menu, then open the **Features & Plugins** tab.
2. Find the **Purchase Orders** tile and select **Enable**.
The **Purchase Orders** tab appears in the left-side menu, and you can begin ordering and tracking materials from your suppliers.
### Set purchase order defaults
Purchase order defaults fill in key fields on every new order, so there is less to enter by hand and less to get wrong.
1. Select **Company Settings** in the left-side menu, then open the **Orders** tab and the **General** subtab.
2. Set each default under **Purchase Order Default Settings**, then select **Save**.
| **Setting** | **What it controls** | **Options** |
| -------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Purchase Order Display Number** | How the purchase order number appears on the purchase order **PDF only** | Order Number, Customer Name + Order Number, Project Title + Order Number, Job Title + Order Number, or Job Number (the related job's number) |
| **Contact Name** | The contact name that appears on the purchase order **PDF only** | Assigned Team Member (whoever creates the record), Company Name, or Designate Name for free text |
| **Phone Number** | The number that fills the **Phone Number** field on new purchase orders | Assigned Team Member, or Designate Number for free text |
| **Contact Email** | The address that fills the **Email** field on new purchase orders | Assigned Team Member, or an email address you enter |
| **Delivery Address** | The address that fills the **Delivery Address** field on new purchase orders | Blank, Related Record Location Address (from the linked customer, job, project, estimate, or invoice), Company Address, or Specify Address for free text |
| **Display Customer on Order PDF** | Whether the customer's name appears on the purchase order PDF | On shows the name, off hides it |
| **Enable Purchase Order Creation Based on Item Vendors** | Whether FieldPulse automatically creates purchase orders for line items that have a supplier assigned | On creates them, off does not |
| **Next Order #** | The number the next purchase order you create will use | Any number — numbering auto-increments from there after you save |
| **Order Date Offset** | How many days after creation the **Order Date** is set | A number of days — an offset of 1 on an order created today sets the Order Date to tomorrow |
The **Phone Number**, **Contact Email**, and **Delivery Address** defaults apply to new purchase orders going forward, and you can still change them on any individual order.
To choose the email address used when purchase order records are sent, open the **PDF Emails** subtab on the same **Orders** tab and set the default *From*, *From Name*, *CC*, and *BCC* methods.
### Manage your suppliers
Your supplier list lives in **Company Settings**, so you can view, add, edit, archive, and import suppliers in one place without opening a purchase order first.
To get there, select **Company Settings**, open the **Orders** tab, then select the **Suppliers** subtab.
**Add a supplier.** Select **Create New**, fill in the supplier's name, email, additional emails (optional), phone number, and notes, then select **Save**. The supplier is immediately available in the supplier picker when you create a purchase order.
**Edit or archive a supplier.** Each supplier row has an edit icon (pencil) and an archive icon (trash) in the **Action** column. Edits you make here update every existing purchase order that references that supplier, including historical ones.
**Import a list of suppliers.** Select **Mass Import** to download the import template, fill it in with your supplier details, then upload it.
If you have active supplier integrations (like Reece, [The Granite Group](/integrations/suppliers/the-granite-group), or [City Electric Supply](/integrations/suppliers/city-electric-supply)), those suppliers appear automatically in the list as read-only entries.
### Create and send a purchase order
1. Select the **Purchase Orders** tab in the left-side menu, then select **Create Order**.
2. Add a supplier. Select the **Supplier** search box to see your saved suppliers, find the one you want, and select **Select Supplier**.
If the supplier does not exist yet, select **Create New Supplier**, enter the name, email, phone number, and any notes, then select **Create Supplier**. Suppliers created here are added to your company-wide supplier list, so they are available everywhere going forward.
3. Enter the vendor's order number in **Order Number**.
4. Choose **Delivery** or **Pickup**, then enter the address.
5. Set the **Expected Delivery Date** to at least 2 hours from the current time. FieldPulse will not save the purchase order until a later date and time is set.
6. Select the **Customer Name** field and choose an existing customer, or select **Create New Customer** to build one.
7. Set the **Assigned Team Member**. This field defaults to whoever is creating the purchase order.
8. Enter an **Order Title**.
9. Under **Link**, connect the order to an existing **Project**, **Job**, **Invoice**, or **Estimate**, or select **None** to create it as a standalone order.
10. Add your items. Select the item search bar to add items already in your system, or select **Create New Line Item** for an item that is not. Repeat for every item on the order.
11. Add tags under **Add Tags** if you use them. Type a custom tag and press **Enter** to create it, set its color if you want one, or pick a previously used tag. Any tags you add also appear alongside the purchase order details on the purchase order list view.
12. Complete any purchase order custom fields under **Additional Fields**.
To create or edit purchase order custom fields, go to **Company Settings** > **Orders** > **Custom Fields**. For custom fields on individual line items, see [Setting Up Custom Fields on Purchase Orders](/inventory-materials/purchase-orders/custom-fields).
13. Enter anything the supplier needs to know on the **Instructions** tab at the bottom of the page. Instructions appear on the purchase order PDF.
14. Add internal notes on the **Notes** tab (the mobile app labels this field **Notes (Internal)**).
15. Review the subtotal and total on the right, and adjust the **Tax(%)** rate if you need to.
16. Select **Save**.
17. Check the details on the order record and edit anything that needs changing.
18. When the order is ready, select **Send Email** to send it to your supplier.
19. To keep a copy, select **Download Order**.
The purchase order PDF opens in your browser, where you can save it to your computer.
### Set the order date
The **Order Date** field pre-populates with today's date when you create a purchase order. The field is optional — while you are still drafting the order, select the **X** next to the date to clear it and save the record without it.
You do not need to enter the **Order Date** by hand when you are ready to send. FieldPulse stamps it with the current date the moment you either select **Send Email** to send the order to your supplier, or change the purchase order status to **Ordered**. The **Order Date** therefore reflects when the purchase was dispatched rather than when the draft was created.
### Print receiving labels
Receiving labels route each part to the right tech as it arrives.
1. Switch the **Received** toggle on for each line item as it comes in.
2. Open the **Actions** menu on the purchase order and select **Print Receiving Labels**. FieldPulse prints one label per received line item.
Every label includes the part number, description, quantity, PO #, supplier order #, and received date. If the purchase order is linked to a job, the label also carries the job #, customer name, job location, assigned tech, and equipment, so it can go straight on the box. When no job is linked — a stock part, for example — those fields are left off.
Selecting **Print Receiving Labels** opens your browser's print dialog, where you choose the printer and label size. It works with a thermal label printer or a standard sheet printer.
### Set up automatic replenishment
Automatic replenishment creates a purchase order for you when an item's quantity on hand reaches the level you set.
1. Select **Invoices** in the left-side menu, then open the **Inventory** tab.
2. Select the pencil icon next to the inventory item you want to replenish automatically.
3. Open **Advanced** on the item and select the **Supplier** field.
4. Create a new supplier, or select an existing one.
5. Select the shopping cart icon next to the hub you want to replenish. If you use multiple hubs, repeat this for each hub.
6. Switch on **Automatic Replenishment via Purchase Order**.
7. Set the two levels that control reordering. The panel also shows your current inventory in that hub, or your overall inventory if hubs are not enabled.
* **Auto Re-order Level (Quantity On Hand)** — when the **Inventory On Hand** quantity reaches this number, FieldPulse initiates an automatic replenishment purchase order.
* **Replenishment Level** — the **Inventory On Hand** quantity the automatic purchase order restocks up to.
*Example* — **Inventory On Hand:** 4 units. **Auto Re-Order Level:** 5 units. **Replenishment Level:** 12 units. Because the **Auto Re-Order Level** is set at 5 units and **Inventory On Hand** has fallen below 5 units, FieldPulse automatically places a purchase order to reach the **Replenishment Level** of 12 units.
Your hub's inventory auto-updates once the purchase order status is marked **Received** or **Completed**. For more on hubs, see [Inventory Hubs Overview](/inventory-materials/item-list/inventory-hubs).
Stock moves the other way when you bill the work: once an invoice status is **Invoiced**, FieldPulse deducts the inventory listed on that invoice from the hub of the user who finalizes the invoice. For the full picture on when and how stock leaves your hubs, see [How to Deduct and Count Inventory](/inventory-materials/item-list/deducting-counting).
### Turn on auto-replenishment notifications
Admins can receive a real-time email, an in-app notification, and an optional push notification when auto-replenishment creates a purchase order. The email includes a direct link to the new purchase order, so you can open it right away.
1. Select the profile icon in the top-right corner, then select **My Settings**.
2. Set the **Email**, **In-App**, and **Push** options on the **Auto Replenishment Purchase Order Created** row.
### Combine purchase orders into one estimate or invoice
You can pull multiple purchase orders into a single estimate or invoice, so your customer receives one organized document instead of several. Reece maX users in Australia can pull in supplier invoices the same way — see [Reece maX (ANZ) Overview](/integrations/suppliers/reece-max/overview).
1. While in Edit Mode on an estimate or invoice, select **Insert PO Items**.
2. Search for the purchase order by connected customer, purchase order number, order title, connected estimate or invoice number or title, or connected job or project number or title.
3. Select each order you want, then select **Add Selected PO Items to Invoice**.
4. Choose how the items are laid out — **Insert Items Individually**, **Insert all items into one grouping**, or **Group items by Purchase Order**, which adds a grouping for each purchase order.
For the rest of the estimate and invoice workflow, see [How to Create an Estimate](/estimates-invoices/creating/estimate).
## On mobile
### Create and send a purchase order
1. Select the **Sales** tab at the bottom of the screen, then select **Purchase Orders**.
2. Sort existing purchase orders with the status tabs at the top: All, Compose, Draft, Ordered, Pending, En Route, Ready For Pickup, Received, and Completed.
3. Select **Create New** to start a new order.
4. Fill in the order details and attach an existing supplier, or create a new one with the **+** button next to **Supplier**.
5. Select **Add Line Item** to add items to the order.
6. Select **Save** in the top-right corner to send your purchase order.
## FAQs
### Can I resend a purchase order to a supplier after it has already been sent?
Yes. For Reece, The Granite Group, and City Electric Supply the order is integrated directly into the supplier's system, so contact that branch directly if you need to change an order. For a supplier without a purchase order integration, edit the order, change its status back to **Draft**, and resend it — confirm with the supplier first, because resending can leave them with two separate orders to fulfill.
### Can I manually change the next number of my purchase orders?
Yes. Go to **Company Settings** > **Orders** > **General**, edit the **Next Order #** field, and save — the next purchase order you create uses that number, and numbering auto-increments from there.
### How does FieldPulse generate purchase orders when auto-replenishment is triggered?
When an item reaches its **Auto Re-order Level**, FieldPulse generates the purchase order immediately, with no delay or batching. FieldPulse groups items that hit their threshold at the same time and share a supplier into a single purchase order, and appends them to an existing **Draft** purchase order for that supplier instead of creating a second one. Items with no supplier assigned always generate their own standalone purchase order.
## Related articles
* [Setting Up Custom Fields on Purchase Orders](/inventory-materials/purchase-orders/custom-fields)
* [Setting Up Item List & Inventory](/inventory-materials/item-list/adding-items)
* [How to Deduct and Count Inventory](/inventory-materials/item-list/deducting-counting)
* [Inventory Hubs Overview](/inventory-materials/item-list/inventory-hubs)
* [Material Lists Overview](/inventory-materials/material-lists/material-lists)
* [How to Create an Estimate](/estimates-invoices/creating/estimate)
* [How to Create Purchase Order Reports](/reporting/raw-data/purchase-order-reports)
Your purchase orders are working when the **Purchase Orders** tab is live, an order you create carries the right supplier and linked job, the supplier receives it by email, and stock replenishes on its own as items run low.
## Related topics
- [Material Lists Overview](/inventory-materials/material-lists/material-lists.md)
- [How to Create an Estimate](/estimates-invoices/creating/estimate.md)
- [How to Create an Invoice](/estimates-invoices/creating/invoice.md)
- [Purchase Orders](/inventory-materials/purchase-orders/index.md)