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ravindu93
Level 2

Purchase Order

I use quickbooks online. How to use item unit in the purchase order?

Solved
Best answer February 10, 2018

Best Answers
lynda
Community Champion

Purchase Order

First you have to enable the purchase order feature. Here is the info on how to create them straight from the support article:

 

Enabling purchase orders:

Purchase orders are available in QuickBooks Online Plus and in our older QuickBooks Online Edition products (with optional Sales package enabled). To see if the feature is enabled in your company, go to the Plus Sign Icon and click on Purchase Order. If you don't see this, click Show more at the bottom. If you get "We're sorry! Purchase Orders is turned off.", you'll need to enable the feature before you can use it. Purchase orders aren't available in QuickBooks Online Essentials or Simple Start.

Choose Gear Icon > Company settings.
In the left sidebar, click Expenses.
To the right, click on the pencil next to Purchase Orders.
Check the Use Purchase Orders box.
Enter titles for up to 3 custom fields (optional).
Enter a Default Message to vendors/suppliers on purchase orders (optional).
Click Save at the bottom of the page.
Right now you aren't able to customize purchase orders further with different content, layout and style options that are customizable on invoices and estimates. The Purchase Order will default to the Master sales form in your Custom Form Styles.

 

Entering a purchase order:

Choose Plus Sign Icon > Purchase Order. If you don't see this, click Show more at the bottom.
Use the Vendor/Supplier drop-down arrow to select or add a vendor/supplier.
If shipping a product directly to a customer instead of to yourself, use the Ship To drop-down arrow to select the customer.
If you're using custom fields, fill them in as needed.
Use the Item Detail section and/or the Account Detail section to enter the purchases.
Note: If selecting the Item Detail section the Product/ Service must be marked to 'I purchase this product/ service from a vendor." to appear in the drop down list to select from.
Click Save and Send, Save and Close or Save and New to complete the entry.

As you enter a purchase order, you'll see that the Status in the upper-left corner is automatically set to Open. This status will be automatically changed to Closed when all quantities and/or amounts on the purchase order are indicated to be received and/or paid across all linked transactions. You can also edit an existing PO at any time to change its overall status, or the status of its individual lines.

Note: When adding a purchase order, you can select a customer for each line item. To make these items billable to the customer(s), you must mark the Billable box after adding the PO to a vendor/supplier transaction.

 

Applying a purchase order to a vendor/supplier transaction:

If a PO is accepted and the product/service is provided by the vendor/supplier, you'll need to record a bill, a check/cheque, or Expense (a credit card charge, or a cash transaction showing what you paid (or what you owe)) to the vendor/supplier.

When you select a vendor/supplier on any of these transaction types, a Purchase Orders section will appear on the right hand side of the screen. To add a PO to the transaction, just click Add on the purchase order displayed. The PO will be added on the first available line in the Item Detail, Product/Service or Account Details section below.
A purchase order is automatically closed when all quantities and/or amounts on the purchase order are accounted for across all of its linked transactions.
If the wrong PO is added to a transaction by mistake, you can remove it by clicking the Trash can on the far right of the line item, if this is done before saving the transaction, the PO will stay open. However, if you save the PO to the transaction and then have to edit the transaction by deleting the PO, the PO will remained close and must be manually changed back to Open.
Note: QuickBooks Online doesn't have a way for you to add negative line items from a purchase order onto a bill / check / expense. If you'd like to record a potential refund, the best option is to record a vendor credit.

Receiving or paying part of a purchase order:

If you are receiving a partial amount on a purchase order, or making a partial payment, you can add part of a purchase order to a transaction, and link multiple transactions to a single purchase order.

Choose Plus Sign Icon > Bill, Check, or Expense
Use the Vendor/Supplier drop-down arrow to select or add a vendor/supplier. A purchase order section will appear on the right hand side of the screen.
To add a PO to the transaction, click Add on the purchase order displayed. Details from the purchase order will be added on the first available line in the Item Detail, Product/Service or Account Details section.
Edit the quantity or amount for each line to reflect the portion that you would like to record as partially received or paid.
Tip: You can link multiple transactions to a single purchase order.

QuickBooks automatically closes a purchase order when all quantities and/or amounts on the purchase order are accounted for across all of its linked transactions. You can manually close the purchase order by changing the status on the purchase order, or by manually closing individual lines on the purchase order.

Purchase order reports:

QuickBooks Online has a number of reports that will help you with with your purchase orders.

To view these, choose Reports > All Reports, then click Review Expenses and Purchases.
In the Review Expenses and Purchases reports area, you will find the Open Purchase Order List and Open Purchase Order Detail report and various Purchase Detail reports.

View solution in original post

30 Comments 30
lynda
Community Champion

Purchase Order

First you have to enable the purchase order feature. Here is the info on how to create them straight from the support article:

 

Enabling purchase orders:

Purchase orders are available in QuickBooks Online Plus and in our older QuickBooks Online Edition products (with optional Sales package enabled). To see if the feature is enabled in your company, go to the Plus Sign Icon and click on Purchase Order. If you don't see this, click Show more at the bottom. If you get "We're sorry! Purchase Orders is turned off.", you'll need to enable the feature before you can use it. Purchase orders aren't available in QuickBooks Online Essentials or Simple Start.

Choose Gear Icon > Company settings.
In the left sidebar, click Expenses.
To the right, click on the pencil next to Purchase Orders.
Check the Use Purchase Orders box.
Enter titles for up to 3 custom fields (optional).
Enter a Default Message to vendors/suppliers on purchase orders (optional).
Click Save at the bottom of the page.
Right now you aren't able to customize purchase orders further with different content, layout and style options that are customizable on invoices and estimates. The Purchase Order will default to the Master sales form in your Custom Form Styles.

 

Entering a purchase order:

Choose Plus Sign Icon > Purchase Order. If you don't see this, click Show more at the bottom.
Use the Vendor/Supplier drop-down arrow to select or add a vendor/supplier.
If shipping a product directly to a customer instead of to yourself, use the Ship To drop-down arrow to select the customer.
If you're using custom fields, fill them in as needed.
Use the Item Detail section and/or the Account Detail section to enter the purchases.
Note: If selecting the Item Detail section the Product/ Service must be marked to 'I purchase this product/ service from a vendor." to appear in the drop down list to select from.
Click Save and Send, Save and Close or Save and New to complete the entry.

As you enter a purchase order, you'll see that the Status in the upper-left corner is automatically set to Open. This status will be automatically changed to Closed when all quantities and/or amounts on the purchase order are indicated to be received and/or paid across all linked transactions. You can also edit an existing PO at any time to change its overall status, or the status of its individual lines.

Note: When adding a purchase order, you can select a customer for each line item. To make these items billable to the customer(s), you must mark the Billable box after adding the PO to a vendor/supplier transaction.

 

Applying a purchase order to a vendor/supplier transaction:

If a PO is accepted and the product/service is provided by the vendor/supplier, you'll need to record a bill, a check/cheque, or Expense (a credit card charge, or a cash transaction showing what you paid (or what you owe)) to the vendor/supplier.

When you select a vendor/supplier on any of these transaction types, a Purchase Orders section will appear on the right hand side of the screen. To add a PO to the transaction, just click Add on the purchase order displayed. The PO will be added on the first available line in the Item Detail, Product/Service or Account Details section below.
A purchase order is automatically closed when all quantities and/or amounts on the purchase order are accounted for across all of its linked transactions.
If the wrong PO is added to a transaction by mistake, you can remove it by clicking the Trash can on the far right of the line item, if this is done before saving the transaction, the PO will stay open. However, if you save the PO to the transaction and then have to edit the transaction by deleting the PO, the PO will remained close and must be manually changed back to Open.
Note: QuickBooks Online doesn't have a way for you to add negative line items from a purchase order onto a bill / check / expense. If you'd like to record a potential refund, the best option is to record a vendor credit.

Receiving or paying part of a purchase order:

If you are receiving a partial amount on a purchase order, or making a partial payment, you can add part of a purchase order to a transaction, and link multiple transactions to a single purchase order.

Choose Plus Sign Icon > Bill, Check, or Expense
Use the Vendor/Supplier drop-down arrow to select or add a vendor/supplier. A purchase order section will appear on the right hand side of the screen.
To add a PO to the transaction, click Add on the purchase order displayed. Details from the purchase order will be added on the first available line in the Item Detail, Product/Service or Account Details section.
Edit the quantity or amount for each line to reflect the portion that you would like to record as partially received or paid.
Tip: You can link multiple transactions to a single purchase order.

QuickBooks automatically closes a purchase order when all quantities and/or amounts on the purchase order are accounted for across all of its linked transactions. You can manually close the purchase order by changing the status on the purchase order, or by manually closing individual lines on the purchase order.

Purchase order reports:

QuickBooks Online has a number of reports that will help you with with your purchase orders.

To view these, choose Reports > All Reports, then click Review Expenses and Purchases.
In the Review Expenses and Purchases reports area, you will find the Open Purchase Order List and Open Purchase Order Detail report and various Purchase Detail reports.

ravindu93
Level 2

Purchase Order

thanks for your reply. I need to add the 'unit of measurement' for my items in the purchase order. example : when i order paint, i need to put 'litres' as the unit of measurement in purchase order. but i cant find an option to do that in quickbooks online. please assist me with that

Rustler
Level 15

Purchase Order


wrote:

thanks for your reply. I need to add the 'unit of measurement' for my items in the purchase order. example : when i order paint, i need to put 'litres' as the unit of measurement in purchase order. but i cant find an option to do that in quickbooks online. please assist me with that


There is no unit of measure in QBO. Best you can do is put that in the item description

ie
Paint, enamel, red - sold by the litre

lynda
Community Champion

Purchase Order

You might also click the gear>feedback and request this feature.  There is a lot of amazing things happening soon in QBO and you may see that feature added.

ravindu93
Level 2

Purchase Order

yeah this feature is very important specially for construction enterprises. please add this feature ASAP. I am sri lanka and if QBO gets these features it would be very helpful for us. Thanks alot for your support. I am still using the trial version and i have decided to move into QUICK BOOKS DESKTOP version because i need these features for my work

Statuesque
Level 2

Purchase Order

The above is perfect. except.....

 

The Purchase orders that appear on the right side for the supplier are in no particular order. If you have hundreds of PO's [Like I do} you will literally spend an absolute eternity scrolling through them looking for the PO or PO's you want.

 

There's no search box to filter them down at this stage.

 

If you receive an item(s) earlier than the date you have on your PO this will cause issues.

 

Having just spent over an hour adding PO\s from the right side to my bill [A task that should to be honest take no more than 5 minutes] I then hit save and close only for it to throw errors about dates.

 

I had to therefore close the bill without saving and go through each and every PO I was paying for and adjust the dates accordingly so the date is before the bill date [Who would have though something would arrive a day or 2 earlier than planned!!!!]

 

The PO system is an absolute after thought, completely painful and I regret using it

 

One invoice containing 23 PO's to pay has so far taken 2 hours - That is BAD

 

 

AR33
Level 1

Purchase Order

Hi, if there is a partial payment of the PO is it possible to see the remaining balance of the purchase order? How much do we owe to the vendor? I am using QB Enterprise 18.0. Thank you for the reply.

ez7
Level 2

Purchase Order

they will never add this feature. i was waiting for it for 3 years. moving out from quick books is the fastest way to get this feature 

JanyRoseB
QuickBooks Team

Purchase Order

Hello there, @ez7

 

Thanks for taking the time to reach out to us. Allow me to address your concern, so let me get this straightened out. 

 

As of now, setting up a unit of measurement for items in the purchase order is currently unavailable in QuickBooks Online. For the meantime, you can add a description for the unit of measurement when creating purchase order transaction. 

 

I can see how this feature would be helpful for you, I recommend sending feedback directly to our product developers for the future update. 

 

Here's how you can send feedback: 

  1. Click the Gear Icon.
  2. Select Feedback
  3. Click Next and choose Feedback under Category option.
  4. Select Save.

For additional reference, you can check this article: Enable and use Purchase Orders in QuickBooks Online.

 

Please know that you're always welcome to post here in QuickBooks Community if you have any other concerns. Have a good one. 

123146175636639
Level 1

Purchase Order

I designed a PO form under "custom form styles" but I cannot select it . When I select "more" at the bottom of the screen, the form is not available for selection. 

Can you assist?

FritzF
Moderator

Purchase Order

Greetings, @123146175636639.

 

It's nice to have you here in the Community. I can share some information about customizing form styles in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

 

Currently, customizing Purchase Order comes directly from the Master Form Type template, regardless of which template you have set as default.

 

Here's how:

 

1. Click the Gear icon at the top, then pick Custom Form Styles under Your Company.
2. Choose Edit on the right side of Master form type (or Standard form name) under Action.
3. Make the necessary changes.
4. Select Done.

 

 

While QBO doesn't have the option to add a new style for Purchase Orders, I encourage you to submit feedback. These requests and suggestions are forwarded to the Product Development Team for consideration in future updates. This can be done directly through your account by clicking the Gear icon in the top right corner, then select Feedback or by going to the following link: QuickBooks Online Feature Requests. I'm going to submit feedback from my side as well.

 

 

That's it! Thanks for being a part of our QuickBooks family. I'd be glad to answer should you have any follow-up questions. I'm always here to help. Enjoy the rest of the week.

123146175636639
Level 1

Purchase Order

Thank you for the information but that is not what my issue is about.

Specifically, when I enter a PO, I then go to the "more" tab at the bottom to select the form, but the "customize" option is not there as it is for invoicing. For some reason, the PO form I have created does not match up to the PO as it relates to the email tab. 

 

Can you assist on this specific issue?

 

Thanks.

IamjuViel
QuickBooks Team

Purchase Order

Glad to hear again from you, @123146175636639.

 

Indeed, what my colleagues have shared with you is correct! The ability to use customize form or customize Purchase Order are currently not available in QuickBooks Online.

 

Are you perhaps referring to a different form in the system? The forms you can customized in the system are:

 

Invoices

 

 

Estimates

 

 

Sales Receipts

 

 

If you're having difficulty creating purchase orders on your end, I’d recommend reaching out to Customer Care team. A specialist will be able to look up your account securely and further assist you via remote access.

 

Here's how to contact us:

  1. Click this link https://help.quickbooks.intuit.com/en_US/contact.
  2. Choose the QuickBooks Online.
  3. Select your Search something else.
  4. On the question box, type in phone support.
  5. Click Search.
  6. Hit on Get Phone Number button to see the support number.

If you're referring to something else, please feel free to let me know how it works on your end. I’m always here to help you with creating purchase orders. Have a great day!

SB66
Level 1

Purchase Order

Lets be very clear about this.

 

Quickbooks Online is a massive backwards step from Quickbooks Desktop.

 

Quickbooks Online costs a lot more but fails to provide many of the basic features found in Quickbooks Desktop.

 

People have been asking for the ability to customise  Purchase Orders and other forms for at least 12 months. If Quickbooks was committed to customer support they would tell you when this feature was going to be available, not ask you to submit Feedback.

 

 

 

 

bettyevansant
Level 2

Purchase Order

Thanks

 

ASH_T123
Level 1

Purchase Order

Hello,

 

I deleted a bill and unlinked it from a purchase order. The purchase order on the right hand column is still showing as "closed" so when I go to re-enter the bill there are no line items to chose because they are all "closed". How do I uncheck this column and start entering the bill for this PO fresh?

 

Thank you,

 

Ashley

MirriamM
Moderator

Purchase Order

Hi there, ASH_T123, It's good to see you here in the Community.

 

Let me get the help you need concerning Purchase Order.

 

In your case, upon deleting the Bill, maybe the Bill being deleted is not the one linked to the Purchase Order.

 

To further isolate the issue, you can check the Purchase Order and verify the specific Bill linked to it.

 

Here's what you'll need to do:

  1. Click Expenses in the left navigation menu.
  2. Go to Vendors tab, then click the name of the specific vendor.
  3. In the Vendor profile page, go to the Transaction List tab and locate the Purchase Order.
  4. In the Purchase Order window, click 1 linked transaction link found below the Vendor's name.
  5. Click Bill link.

From there, you'd able to know the Bill link to that Purchase Order.

 

Moreover, in order to make the Purchase Order open again, make sure to delete the correct Bill link to it.

 

Additionally, I wanted to provide this article for more information: Apply a purchase order to a vendor transaction.

 

If you have further questions in managing your transactions, please feel free to visit the Community again, Have a great day!

Bindya CPA
Level 1

Purchase Order

What if I don't see my purchase order (which is Open) listed on the right? 

ChristieAnn
QuickBooks Team

Purchase Order

 

Hi there, Bindya CPA.
 

Thank you for posting here in the QuickBooks Community.
 
If you don't see your P.O listed on the right when you try to link to a bill, this issue is under investigation. We've notified our engineers about this and they're working for the nearest solution.
 
In the meantime, I suggest contacting our Support Team to add you to the list affected users.
 
Here's how to contact our Customer Support Team:
 
1. Open your QuickBooks Account.
2. At the top right, click the Help icon.
3. Click Contact Us.
4. Under What can we help you with?, enter any concerns.
5. Click Let's Talk.
6. You'll be routed into the Choose a way to connect with us page.
7. Select how you want to contact them and fill in the information.
 
I also recommend to create a new P.O and new Bill as workaround.
 
Please check these articles on how to enter PO/Bill and additional information about these two types of transactions:
 
I'll be glad to help you if you have any other questions.​ Have a good day!
Bindya CPA
Level 1

Purchase Order

Thanks ChristieAnn! I have a call set with them right now. 

IASJeri
Level 1

Purchase Order

I'm using Quickbooks Desktop - Contractor 19.0.  I've been a QB user for 24 yrs.  I have 2 issues, the major one being the Quickbooks to Outlook loop being broken when trying to email out PO's, or Invoices, or basically anything from QB to anywhere.  I've tried tech support, I've tried online helps, and nothing fixes it. It just gets me back to where I can use it until it breaks again.  Okay, now the minor thing.  I create an estimate for a job in QB.  Then from the estimate form, I create PO's for the various vendors.  When I create the estimate, I put my cost in there.  When I create the PO, that cost is off by a penny or two.  What's up with that nonsense?  Shouldn't the PO that I create from that estimate, show the same cost as is on the estimate for that vendor?  Frustrating if I don't catch it before attempting to email it out, I get my PO kicked back for incorrect pricing.  

IamjuViel
QuickBooks Team

Purchase Order

Let’s re-sort the list used in both estimate and purchase order, @IASJeri.

 

This resolves any unexpected behavior such as different total amount when converting estimates.

 

Here’s how:

  1. Go to the Lists menu.
  2. Select the Item list.
  3. Place a check-mark in the Include Inactive (or Show All) tickbox.
  4. Click the List button.
  5. Choose the Re-sort List.
  6. Click OK on the message “Are you sure you want to return this list to its original order?".

You can refer to this article for more detailed steps: Re-sort lists.

 

Once completed, let’s run the Verify and Rebuild tool to resolve recurring data damage issues. 

 

1. Create a back-up copy of your company’s file.

2. Verify the integrity of the company file.

  a. Click File.

  b. Choose Utilities.

  c. Select Verify Data.  

  d. If a problem is detected:

     i. Go to File.

     ii. Select Utilities. 

     iii. Choose Rebuild Data.

     iv. Run the Verify Data from step 1 one more time.

     v. If it still fails, restore a backup or contact technical support.

 

You can perform the Rebuild Utility Tools for at least 3 times. Also, this will resolve For more detailed instructions, you can check this article: Fix data damage on your QuickBooks Desktop company file.

 

On the other hand, I'd suggest contacting our Technical Support Team to further assist you with the recurring Outlook issue. They have the tools to investigate the root cause of this issue using a secured remote access session.

Leave a comment below if you have other questions. I’m always here to help.

Yannick M
Level 2

Purchase Order

Hello. Does anyone know if QuickBooks has the ability to store customer POs. I would also like to know if it is at all possible to generate a balance report from the POs obtained from the customer. 

 

thanks,

GlinetteC
Moderator

Purchase Order

Thank you for posting here in the Community, Yannick M.

 

You got me here to help you with generating a report to keep track of outstanding Purchase Orders in QuickBooks Desktop. This also allows you to get an overview of your purchase order history. Here's how:

 

  1. Go to the Reports menu.
  2. Hover your mouse to Purchases and select Open Purchase Orders.

From there, you can Customize the report and use the Filter tab options on what information you want to appear on the report. 

 

You can check out this article to learn more details on how to customize your report: Customize reports in QuickBooks Desktop.

 

You can always get back to me if you need anything. I'll be glad to help you out.

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