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Create and edit a purchase order

Create a purchase order to record what you intend to buy, from whom, at what price and where it should arrive. Save it as a draft first so you can check the saved quantities, currency and destination before sending it to the supplier.

If you are combining demand across products, comparing suppliers or ordering in packs that differ from your inventory unit, start with an Order plan. Applying a reviewed plan creates draft purchase orders for you.

Before you start

You need an active supplier, materials linked to that supplier, and a receiving location. Confirm the supplier SKU, unit of measure and price on each product mapping. A supplier SKU identifies the supplier's product; it is not necessarily the same as your material SKU or a Shopify variant SKU.

Check the destination's address before sending. Zapstra Inventory Management can save a draft while an address needs attention, but the selected stock pool needs a complete, resolved shipping address before the order can be sent.

See suppliers, supplier products and locations and stock pools if these records are not ready.

Create the draft

  1. Open Purchase orders and select Create purchase order.
  2. Review PO number. Zapstra Inventory Management provides a date-based starting value; replace it if you use your own numbering convention.
  3. Select the Supplier, then check Ship to (stock pool). Confirm the actual receiving location, such as Main Warehouse, even if a destination is already selected.
  4. Review Payment terms, Currency and Requested delivery. If the supplier's default currency is preselected, use the confirmation button, such as Confirm USD, to confirm it for this order.
  5. Under Add products, search by product name, material SKU or supplier SKU. Select a product to add its line.
  6. Check Qty, UoM and Unit cost together. Enter a positive quantity and the price for the unit shown. Repeat for each product and remove lines you do not intend to buy.
  7. Review Additional details and Cost summary, then select Save as draft in the save bar.
  8. On the saved PO, check the supplier, location, currency, dates, lines and total. Continue with sending and managing orders when the draft is ready.

Saving a draft records the order in Zapstra Inventory Management. It does not notify the supplier or add stock to inventory. Use the Submit menu on the saved PO to choose how the order should proceed.

Check quantities and prices in the same unit

For an order line using each, 72 Kraft mailers (MAILER-KR6) at USD 1 per each have a merchandise total of USD 72. If Northwind Packaging ships them in cases of 24, those 72 each represent three physical cases.

Do not enter 3 against an EA line when you mean three cases. Equally, do not enter a case price of USD 24 against a line priced per each. The UoM column is part of the quantity and price meaning; it is not an editable conversion control.

For a supplier mapping sold in cases while inventory is held in each, use the reviewed Order plan conversion workflow. It preserves the supplier quantity and the corresponding inventory quantity. If a direct order rejects the unit of measure, review the material and supplier mapping before proceeding; changing a unit label does not convert its quantity or price. See units, packs and barcodes.

Add notes and charges

Note to supplier is intended for the supplier. Use it for delivery instructions or an agreed purchasing reference. Internal notes are not visible to the supplier. Keep information that should remain within your team in that field.

The cost summary supports shipping estimates, tax and adjustments. An adjustment can be an addition or deduction, entered as a value or percentage. Give it a description that explains the charge or discount. Review the saved amounts before sending, especially when combining tax with adjustments. A purchasing estimate is not a final supplier invoice or a final landed cost.

All line prices must match the PO currency. Selecting a different currency does not convert a supplier's prices. If Zapstra Inventory Management reports a mismatch, choose the correct transaction currency or remove and correct the mismatched product pricing before saving.

Edit an existing order

Open the PO and select Edit when that action is available. Drafts allow broader changes than orders already submitted. Review the editable fields, make your changes and select Save.

The receiving destination is fixed after creation. To use another stock pool, create a new draft with the correct destination. The currency can also become locked once the order contains prices or other economic information. Do not recreate or overwrite agreed economics just to remove a warning.

After a supplier proposes changes, use the supplier review workflow. Adding a new product to an acknowledged PO is not supported; order the additional product on a separate purchase order.

Downloads and recovery

Use More actions on the saved PO for the available PDF, Excel and CSV downloads. Check the saved PO before sharing a downloaded copy; a file is a snapshot, not a live update for its recipient.

If suppliers, products, destinations or currency options are unavailable, use the page's Check again action or refresh. An unavailable list does not mean your records were deleted. If saving reports an error or times out, look for the original PO number in Purchase orders and inspect any saved draft before creating another one. Creation can save part of the order before a later step fails.