Overview
Purchase orders can be created and edited from multiple entry points across Factory, so the work can be started from wherever it begins (a search result, a supplier record, the Dashboard, the Purchase Orders page, or even directly from a sales order). The form structure is the same whether starting fresh or modifying an existing order, so the experience is consistent across both actions.
Creating a new purchase order uses the Create purchase order button and ends with Submit as Purchase (for a Purchase Order) or Submit as Bill (for a Bill). Editing an existing purchase order uses Edit Purchase or Edit Bill and ends with Update Purchase or Update Bill.
👥 Access permissions
Only users with permission to access Purchasing can create or edit purchase orders. Review user roles before granting access.
📍 Location in the app
To create a purchase order:
Dashboard >
Create purchase orderPurchasing>Purchase Orders>Create purchase orderA supplier's Purchase history >
Create purchase orderGlobal Search > search the supplier name >
Create purchase orderFrom within a sales order via
Options>Purchase Products
To edit a purchase order:
Global Search > search and select the order
Purchasing>Purchase Orders> select the orderPurchasing>Suppliers> select a supplier > select an order
Create a purchase order or bill
A purchase order can be started from any of the entry points listed above. The opening steps differ, but once the new order form opens, the rest of the process is the same.
For creating a purchase order directly from a sales order, see Purchase Products on a Sales Order.
Edit a purchase order or bill
An existing purchase order must be in Draft status to edit. Orders in any other status (Submitted, Partially Received, Received, or Billed) must first be returned to Draft by selecting Edit Purchase or Edit Bill.
📝 Note
Selecting
Edit BillorEdit Purchaseon a Billed, Submitted, Partially Received, or Received order reverts it to Draft status for editing.
Purchase order or bill form sections
A purchase order or bill is made up of three sections, all available on the same form whether the order is being created or edited:
Order information: System-generated identifiers, key dates, and the current status of the order.
Contact details: Contact, billing address, delivery / pickup address, reference, and notes.
Products and pricing: Add and manage line items, plus delivery fees and discounts.
📝 Note
For the field-by-field reference of every section on the Purchase Details page, see Purchase Order Details.
Add products to a purchase order
There are several ways to add products to a purchase order. The methods are similar to adding products to a sales order.
Start typing search
Begin typing in the search field at the bottom of the order. Factory matches products from the catalogue by name or by any value in an attribute column, and presents matching products in a dropdown for selection.
Add product
Select Add product to open a dropdown with the following options:
Product Catalogue
Adds products from the product catalogue to the purchase order.
Select
Add Product>Product Catalogue.Products saved with I buy this item enabled appear in a pop-up. Use search, or expand a category with
+, to find the product.Click the product to view its variants.
Select
Show all price suppliersto view all price levels.Choose the required colour (if applicable or Material is set for the selected product).
Click the required pricing to add the product to the order.
📝 Notes
The Preferred Supplier is indicated with a green tick above the supplier's name, and the default pricing is displayed. Click
Show all suppliersto select pricing from a different supplier.New products are added to the bottom of the order. Use the ⋮ (more options) menu to drag and drop products to a different position.
A stock-level indicator appears next to each product with
I track stock for this itemenabled.
Basic product, Lineal metre product, and Square metre product
These add blank fields to the order that can be completed inline, useful for ad-hoc or one-off products.
Once added, a Basic product can be saved to the Product Catalogue for reuse:
Select the ⋮ (more options) menu next to the line item.
Select
Save to Catalogue. The product is added to the Miscellaneous category of the Product Catalogue.
Notes (Internal and External)
Internal and external notes can be added to the purchase order as line items:
Internal notes: Visible to the team only. Do not appear on PDFs or the supplier's online view of the order.
External notes: Appear on all pages and PDFs produced for the order, including the supplier's view.
Duplicate an existing line item
Select the ⋮ (more options) for a product already on the order.
Select
Duplicate.Edit the pricing or other details on the new line as needed.
Pricing
The bottom of the order summarises pricing across all line items, with a few fields that can be adjusted directly.
Adjustments
Delivery fee: Add a delivery fee to the order if required.
Discount: Add a discount to the order if required.
Calculated totals
Sub total: The order total before tax or GST.
Tax: Calculated per line item.
Total: The full order amount including tax.
⋮ (more options) menu
The ⋮ (more options) menu next to each line item on the order provides the following actions:
Edit: Modify the line item. For Basic, Lineal metre, and Square metre products, this option is
Save to Catalogue.Duplicate: Add a copy of the line item to the order.
Exclude from tax / Include in tax: Toggle whether the line item is included in tax calculations.
Delete: Remove the line item from the order.
📝Note
A product configured as tax-free under Product is bought/sold appears as tax-free on the order. This can be overridden per order via the ⋮ (more options) menu. However, if the linked accounting item code is set up as tax-free, the line will still appear as tax-free in the accounting package, regardless of the per-order override.