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Purchases & Procurement

Creating a purchase order

Start a new purchase order with your vendor and order details.

Jul 11, 2026
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A purchase order is a formal request to a vendor for goods or services. It establishes the quantity, price, and delivery terms before you receive items into inventory. Using purchase orders helps you track what you've ordered, verify invoices against orders, and manage vendor relationships.

Before you start

  • Permission required: You need the ability to create purchase orders. Your system administrator assigns this permission to your user account.
  • Data needed: Have the vendor's name ready, as well as the products or services you want to order.
  • Reference data: Check the warehouse or location where you plan to receive the goods.

Steps

  1. Go to Purchase Orders → New Purchase Order
    Open in Usystems

  2. In the Vendor field, search for and select the vendor you are ordering from.

  3. The purchase order number is auto-generated. Review the Date (defaults to today) and adjust if needed.

  4. Add the items you want to order. Click the Add Line button or similar option to add each product or service with its quantity and estimated unit cost.

  5. Review the subtotal and any document-level discounts or taxes (if your company uses them).

  6. Fill in the Memo or Notes field if you want to include internal comments or special instructions for this order.

  7. Click Save or Submit to create the purchase order. The vendor reference or your internal tracking number can be added in the Vendor Reference field if needed.

Accounting impact

When you create a purchase order, no accounting transaction occurs yet. The purchase order is a planning document. Once you receive goods against the order, the system creates a corresponding bill or receipt entry that is posted to accounts.

Tips & common mistakes

  • A purchase order is a commitment to buy, but it does not create a liability until you receive the goods and the vendor sends an invoice.
  • If the vendor's currency differs from your company's base currency, you can set an exchange rate when creating the order (see the foreign currency article).
  • You can edit a purchase order before it is finalized, but once confirmed by the vendor or system, editing may be restricted.
  • Always verify the vendor name and product quantities before saving to avoid costly errors.

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