Purchase Orders

A Purchase Order is a non-posting purchasing transaction which specifies the products and quantities you are ordering from a vendor. A Purchase Order can go through various purchase order statuses such as a Entered, Request For Quote, Pending Review and Issued. Once issued, a purchase order can be received, and the purchase invoice can be entered.

Purchasing List

The Purchasing list can be found by clicking Purchasing in the left menu of Acctivate. The Purchasing list window is made up of four primary sections:

  • Search Bar, Sort and Filters
  • List of Purchasing Orders
  • Purchase Order Attributes
  • Purchase Order information.
Tip

When viewing the list of purchase orders, this window is commonly referred to as the Purchasing list. It's also acceptable to refer to this window as the Purchase Order window when viewing a single purchase order. The Enter Purchase Order window, previously mentioned, is a separate window that is used when entering a new purchase order or editing an existing purchase order. In order to eliminate any confusion, it's best to use the appropriate name when referencing either of these windows.

Search Bar and Sort

The upper left hand corner of the Purchasing list contains a Search bar which will filter down the Purchasing list as you type. The following fields are searched:

  • PO number
  • Vendor name
  • Vendor city
  • Vendor state
  • Vendor zip
  • Vendor country
  • Drop ship or special order's related sales order number
  • Status ("Overdue", based on the purchase order's requested date)

You can also sort the Purchasing list by clicking the "Sort" text. The arrow next to the text will point up or down to indicate whether the list is sorting ascending or descending.

Filters

Above the search bar is a drop down menu allowing you to select standard or custom filters. The Purchasing list has two standard filters which are visible to all users:

  • Open Only: Displays all the purchasing orders which are open.
  • All Purchasing Documents: Displays all open and closed (completed and canceled) purchase orders.

You can also create custom filters:

  1. Click the Filter button.
  2. In the Filter Editor window, click the + symbol to add filter expressions.
  3. Once you've added all the filter expressions, click one of the buttons:
    • OK: This will apply your filters and close the Filter Editor. This filter will not be saved, but it will remain in place until you select another standard or custom filter. The filter menu will display "Custom Filter..." to indicate a custom filter is applied.
    • Apply: This will apply your filters, but it keeps the Filter Editor open so you can further adjust the filters.
    • Save As: This allows you to save this filter for use again in the future. When you choose this option you must enter a Filter Name and you have the option to select the Available for all users checkbox. If left unchecked, this filter will only be available for the user who created it.

Edit, delete or share an existing filter
Once you've created a filter, you can edit, delete or make the filter shared with everyone.

  1. In the saved filter drop down list, select your filter.
  2. Click the Filter button to open the Filter Editor.
  3. Click the downward arrow next to the Save button to see a list of options:
    • Save as New Filter...: Use this to copy this filter as a new filter. You can add additional filter expressions before or after this step.
    • Share filter with everyone: This option is available if the filter is not already shared with everyone. If a filter is shared with everyone, the text Shared will appear next to the Save button.
    • Rename Filter...: If this option is selected, you will be prompted to enter the new filter name.
    • Delete Filter: This will delete the saved filter.
Note

Once a filter is shared with everyone, it cannot be un-shared. However, you can copy the shared filter as a new filter that is not shared, then delete the original shared filter.

List of Purchase Orders

There are four key pieces of information on display in the list of purchasing.

  • Purchase order number
  • Vendor name
  • PO status (Entered, Quote, Pending Approval, Issued)
  • Shipments that are late

Toolbar

The Toolbar of the Purchasing window allows you to perform various actions, such as copying PO, printing and emailing PO documents, perform PO processing actions, creating related PO records, and attaching documents.

Purchasing Attributes

The right pane of the Purchase Order window includes primary attributes for the purchase order, including the vendor, PO Status and Shipping information.

Purchase Order

The Purchase Order tab displays the header and detail information for the purchase order.

Details
The toolbar above the details allows you to search the Product ID and Description fields.

Use the Columns button to show or hide optional columns (requires system administrator permissions).

Purchase Orders in a status other than Issued will only show the Ordered quantity since the Received, Invoiced, Outstanding are not relevant for those statuses.

Timeline

The Timeline tab gives a list of all activity for the purchase order, sequenced by date. You can use the Type list and Look for search box to filter the list of activity.

Purchase Order Entry

Purchase orders can be created in various ways; however, most users will find the following methods are the most common way to start the creation of a purchase order in Acctivate:

  • Start with the Vendor List:

    1. Using the Vendor List in the left menu, search for and select the Vendor you want to create a Purchase Order for.
    2. Use the +Create... menu to select Purchase Order
    3. The Enter Purchase Order window will appear with the vendor added to it.

  • Start with the Purchasing list:

    1. Open the Purchasing list in the left menu.
    2. Click the +New Purchase Order button in the bottom of the list.

Once the Enter Purchase Order window appears, use the Purchase Order Fields Guide to fill out the necessary purchase order fields.

In addition to the above steps, there are additional ways to enter a purchase order:

Purchase Order Fields

Header Section

The purchase order header section is visible at all times and includes information such as the purchase order number, requested delivery date, and vendor.

Field Field Type/ Length Definition
PO Number Text / 40 Characters Required. The PO Number field will automatically assign the next Purchase Order number when you Save the purchase order. The PO number assigned will be based on the PO sequence in the Company Numbers section of the Configuration Manager. You can enter your own purchase order number before or after saving as long as it isn't a duplicate.
Vendor Text / 50 Characters Required. Use the Magnifying Glass to lookup and select a vendor. Alternatively, you can type in the vendor name. Vendors are managed in QuickBooks.
Requested Date The Requested date is the requested delivery date. This fields defaults to a date that is calculated by adding the Days to Ship to the date the PO was created.

The Additional Info tab of the Enter Purchase Order window will show how many days are left until the purchase order is due to arrive. If it's a Drop Ship purchase order, the related sales order's Promised Date will be used as the PO's Requested Date.
Warehouse List The Warehouse the purchase order is to be shipped to. The Ship To Address field will default based on the selected warehouse's configured address.
Related Doc Text / 30 Characters The Related Document field is a searchable reference field to store the number of a related document, such as a BOL number.
Ship Name Text / 50 Characters The Ship to Name defaults to the Warehouse Name.

Detail

The Detail section of the Purchase Order includes the Vendor's Address, Purchase Order Ship To Address, and Vendor Contact information.

Field Field Type/ Length Definition
Vendor Address Text / Up to 5 lines, 41 Characters per line (500 for QuickBooks Online) The Vendor's Address is managed in QuickBooks. This field can be manually overridden per purchase order, but any permanent changes should be made in QuickBooks. Acctivate uses the vendor's Ship From address if supplied, otherwise the Billed From address is used.
Ship To Address Text / Up to 5 lines, 41 Characters per line (500 for QuickBooks Online) The Ship To Address comes from the Warehouse. This field can be manually overridden.
Contact Name Text / 41 Characters (500 for QuickBooks Online) The Primary Contact for the Vendor in QuickBooks. If a Primary Contact is not defined, then it will use the Salutation, First, Middle, and Last Name from the Additional Info tab of the Edit Vendor window in QuickBooks.
Contact Phone Text / 30 Characters The vendor's Main Phone in QuickBooks.
Contact Fax Text / 30 Characters The vendor's Fax number in QuickBooks.
Contact Email Text / 253 Characters (100 for QuickBooks Online) The vendor's Main Email in QuickBooks. This will be the email used for any documents emailed from the purchase order window.
Terms List The Terms code will default to the terms code assigned to the vendor in QuickBooks. If no terms code assigned to the vendor then the Terms Code field will default to the purchasing terms code default.
Ship Via List The Ship Via for the purchase order. It will default based on the purchasing Ship Via default. Ship Via's can be configured in the Ship Via section of the Configuration Manager.
Reference Text / 30 Characters An additional reference field which prints on the default forms.
Requested by Text / 25 Characters A text field which can be filled in by a user who is requesting approval on a purchase order with a Pending Approval status.

If this field is blank and a Requested by Date is set first, the Full Name of the user editing the PO will be automatically populated.
Requested by Date Date A user can set this date field to the date a purchase order was put into a Pending Approval status.
Approved by Text / 25 Characters If a purchase order is in a Pending Approval status, the full name of the user who Approves and Issues the PO will automatically fill in here.

Alternatively, if this field is blank and a Approved by Date is set first, the Full Name of the user editing the PO will be automatically populated.
Approved by Date Date The date a user Approved and Issued a purchase order.

Detail Grid

The Detail grid is where product details are entered.

A row of buttons appear above the right side of the grid:

  • Move: The Move button allows you to insert rows, move the selected row up or down, or delete the selected row.
  • Options: The Options button contains a menu of options for the grid:
    • Find: When the purchase order is not in edit mode you are able to search the order lines. Using the Find option will filter down the rows to show only those that match the Find text.
    • Send to Excel: Exports the order grid as an Excel file.
    • Restore Grid Settings: Restores the grid back to its default columns and sizing.
    • Show Columns: Lists the optional columns which can be hidden or shown. Requires a System Administrator to change and the selected columns apply to all users.
Field Field Type/ Length Definition
Type List
  • P = A product setup in Acctivate (inventoried, non-inventoried, shipping, labor, other charges)
  • N = Non-standard Product. This allows you to enter a product that does not exist in Acctivate while still recording the purchase expense.
  • D = Drop Ship product.
  • S = Special Order product
  • * = Note (not a product but a note line on the purchase order)
Product ID Text / 159 Characters Use the ... lookup button to open the product lookup window, or type in the Product ID.
Vendor Product List/Text / 25 Characters If vendor Product ID's exist on the Vendors Tab of the Edit Product Window you will be able to choose them from a list in this field. Otherwise, you can type in the vendor Product ID for this Purchase Order line.
Description Text / 4095 characters The description of the product being ordered.
Instructions Text This field is used to enter line level special instructions. Use the ellipsis button (...) to "pop-out" this field for easier viewing and authoring of the text.
Ord Numeric The total ordered quantity.
Unit List The unit you are ordering from your Vendor. This will default to the purchase unit on the Vendors Tab of the Edit Product Window if there is one defined for the Vendor. If not, Acctivate will use the product's default Purchasing Unit.
Recvd Numeric The total quantity Received for this line. Not editable. This will update automatically after posting an inventory receipt and will display the total quantity received for this line.

This field only shows when the PO is Issued, or if the PO is in another status but has a non-zero value for this field.
Outst Numeric The Outstanding quantity that has not been received yet.

This field only shows when the PO is Issued, or if the PO is in another status but has a non-zero value for this field.
Inv Numeric The Invoiced quantity from entered Purchase Invoices.

This field only shows when the PO is Issued, or if the PO is in another status but has a non-zero value for this field.
Price Numeric Acctivate will go through a hierarchy of pricing rules until one of the following conditions is met:
  • If Use Mgmt Cost as PO price purchasing option is enabled, Warehouse Mgmt Cost is non-zero and the product's default Purchase Unit is the same as its Stocking Unit, use the Mgmt Cost.
  • If the Price on the Edit Product's Vendors tab is non-zero, use it with the Unit from the Vendors tab.
  • If the Last PO Price for this product and vendor is non-zero, use it with Last PO Unit
  • If the Last Receipt unit cost for this product and vendor is non-zero, use it with Last Receipt Unit.
  • Use default Purchase Unit with 0.00 price
Drop Ship Purchase Orders are different than Standard or Special Order purchase orders. The method for selecting the default PO price for drop shipments is:
  • If the Price on the Edit Product's Vendors tab is non-zero and in the same unit as the sales order unit, use it
  • If the Last PO Price for this product and vendor is non-zero and in the sales order unit, use it
  • If the Last Receipt unit cost for this product and vendor is non-zero and in the sales order unit, use it
  • Use the sales order unit with 0.00 price
Expense Acct. Lookup
  • Inventoried products being received into a warehouse: These products will not have anything in the GL Expense Account field, instead those lines will use the warehouse's Purchases GL account.
  • Non-inventoried and Drop Ship products: The GL Expense account for these products will default to the COGS's account associated with their Product Class (if Income/COGS are not linked to Product Classes, then you will need to select the GL Expense account for this line).
Line Amount Numeric This field displays the extended line amount.

While on a purchase order detail line, a Detail tab will appear in the footer of the purchase order window. This footer contains read-only information such as the Product image, Product ID, Primary UPC, Primary Alt Product ID, and Description. The Vendor Product ID, Outstanding quantity, and Invoiced quantity for the PO line are also visible here if they are not included as columns in the grid.

Buttons and Links will also appear for the following information:

  • Product Vendor Information: Click the Product Vendor Info link to view and edit the vendor product information for the line.
  • Sales Order links: Opens the related Sales Order window for this line.

The purchase order footer is visible at all times and displays Special Instructions and Purchase Order totals.

Field Field Type/ Length Definition
Special Instructions Text Special Instructions for the Purchase Order can be entered in here. These instructions will print at the bottom of the standard Acctivate Purchase Order forms.
Ordered Numeric The Ordered amount refers to the total amount of ordered products.
Outstanding Numeric The Outstanding amount represents the amount of the Purchase Order that has not been received in yet.

VAT Editions
In VAT companies (e.g., QuickBooks Canada, QuickBooks UK), the footer will include a Price inc tax checkbox which will change the PO detail line amounts to be tax inclusive. The Outstanding Amount will also be toggled to show the outstanding amount with or without tax.

The footer will also display a Subtotal amount which is the tax exclusive amounts for the lines. The total tax amount will show below the Subtotal, with an option to implement a Tax Override, which will apply the selected tax code to all the detail lines.

Additional Info

The Addition Info tab includes additional shipping dates, the PO's timeline and Custom Fields.

Field Field Type/ Length Definition
Requested Date This is the same Requested Delivery date that is displayed in the header of the purchase order. The Additional Info tab will display how many more days until the shipment is to arrive or how many days overdue the shipment is.
Promised Date The Promised date represents the date the vendor promises the shipment will arrive. The number of days left (or overdue) is based on the Promised date, if filled in.
Not before Date If you need to convey to your vendor that a shipment can't be received before a certain date, use the Not before date.
Not after Date If you need to convey to your vendor that a shipment can't be received after a certain date, use the Not after date.
FOB Text / 25 Characters If a default FOB has been configured for purchase orders it will default here.

Invoices

The Invoices tab shows purchase invoices (which sync to QuickBooks as a vendor bill) entered into Acctivate for this purchase order. From this window you can void a purchase invoice by click on a purchase invoice in the grid and then clicking the Void Invoice button.

Field Field Type/ Length Definition
Invoice Text / 20 Characters (21 for QuickBooks Online) The purchase invoice number.
Inv Date Date The purchase invoice date.
Tran Date Date The date the purchase invoice was entered into Acctivate.
Terms List The payment terms code assigned to the purchase invoice.
Invoice Total Numeric The total amount of the purchase invoice.

Notes

The Notes tab allows saving purchase order specific notes. These notes can be used to document something, or a note can be assigned to a user for follow-up. You can also add a Note to a purchase order by opening the Purchasing list in the left menu, locating the purchase order and clicking +Create...→ Note.

Activities

The Activities tab of the Enter Purchase Order window displays all the Business Activities which have this purchase order as a "Related Item". Use the "Look for" search box to search the list of related business activities. This data is read only and cannot be edited from this window. To edit the business activity, double click the Activity ID to open the Enter Business Activity window.

Field Field Type/ Length Definition
Activity ID Text / 40 Characters The Business Activity ID which has this purchase order as a related item.
Priority List The Priority of the business activity.
Opened Date The date the business activity was created.
Status List The current Status of the business activity. A completed business activity will have an "X" in the far-left column.
Description Text / 255 Characters The description of the business activity, used to summarize the activity.
Type List The Type of the business activity.
Code List The current Code for the business activity.
Due Date The due date of the business activity.
Promised Date The date the business activity is promised to be completed.
Closed Date The date the business activity was set to a completed Status.
Assigned To List The Acctivate user that the activity is assigned to.
Contact Text / 120 Characters The Name from the Contact section of the Activity.
Phone Text / 50 Characters The Phone from the Contact section of the Activity.

Email

The Email tab of the purchase order will show all emails sent from this purchase order.

Create Drop Ship / Special Order POs

Sales order lines that have a D (Drop Ship) or S (Special Order) Line Type will have their purchase order created using the Create Drop Ship POs or Create Special Order POs window. The review of Drop Ship / Special Order lines to be ordered can be initiated three different ways:

  • From the Enter Sales Order window
    Any sales order with a D or S line type will have Create Vendor PO(s) as its next suggested action. Clicking that button will open the Create Drop Ship POs window if only drop ship lines exist on the order; otherwise, it will open the Create Special Orders POs if only special order lines exist on the order, or both drop ship and special order lines exist on the order. You can use the Action... menu of the Enter Sales Order window to access this option as well.

  • From the Sales Order window
    From the Sales list in the left menu of Acctivate, select an order with a drop ship and/or special order line and use the Create menu to select Drop Ship POs or Special Order POs.

  • From the Purchasing Menu
    The Purchasing menu at the top of Acctivate has a Create Drop Ship POs and Create Special Order POs menu item.

The Create Special Order POs and Create Drop Ship POs share the same window. To switch between the two, click the Switch to... button in the upper left hand corner. Next to this button in parenthesis you will see the number of rows in the other view. E.g., "Switch to Drop Ship (112)" means there are 112 rows to review in the Create Drop Ship window.

Review and edit Drop Ship / Special Order lines

Once products have been loaded into the Create Drop Ship / Special Order window, products can be reviewed and updated prior to creating purchase orders.

The right pane of the window shows the Product info, Preferred vendor (if one exists), and Sales Order information.

In the grid, you can edit the PO Vendor, Vendor Product ID, and PO Price.

PO Vendor
The PO Vendor dropdown shows the Vendor, Vendor Name, Vendor Prod ID, Price (for the PO Unit), and Lead Time in days.

Acctivate supports the same vendor being associated with a product multiple times as long as each vendor record has a unique Vendor Product ID. When multiple Vendor Product ID records exist for a product, the PO Vendor dropdown will show "multiple" for the Vendor Product ID. Likewise, "Multiple" will be shown if multiple prices exist for the PO Unit.

If multiple prices and lead times exist, then the range of prices and lead times will be displayed from low to high.

After selecting the vendor, use the Vendor Product ID dropdown to select a specific Vendor Product ID record, or type one in.

PO Price The hierarchy below is used to default a PO price. If the first row's conditions do not result in a match, then the next row's conditions are tried, etc.

  • If a preferred vendor was selected or defaulted, and the preferred vendor's price is in the same unit as the sales order unit, then the vendor's price will be used.
  • If a preferred vendor was selected or defaulted, and the preferred vendor's last purchase is in the same unit as the sales order unit, then the vendor's last purchase price will be used.
  • If a preferred vendor was selected or defaulted, and the last receipt associated with the preferred vendor is in the same unit as the sales order unit, then the unit cost fro the receipt will be used.
  • (Special Order only) - If the sales order unit is the same as the stocking unit, use the Last Cost for the special order warehouse.
  • (Special Order only) - If the sales order unit is the same as the stocking unit, use the Average Cost for the special order warehouse.
  • 0.00 will be used as the price.

Restore Defaults
If you've made changes to any fields in the grid but want to revert back to the default values, use the Restore Defaults menu to restore the default for all, all selected, or all unselected rows.

The Create Drop Ship and Create Special Order POs fields are the same with one exception, the Create Special Order POs window includes a warehouse column since a Special Order product is received into your warehouse. This field, as well as others, can be used to group, filter, and sort.

Creating Drop Ship / Special Order POs

After reviewing and finalizing the purchase order information, use the Create POs button to generate purchase orders for the selected products.

Only rows which have been checked off and are visible (i.e., they are not hidden by the Find search box) will be included in the Purchase Order creation process.

When you create purchase orders from the Create Drop Ship window, a PO will be created for each vendor and customer order. When you create Special Order POs, a PO will be created for each vendor and warehouse.

Users must have the Maintain permission for Purchase Order to create POs.

The Create Drop Ship/Special Order POs window windows allows you to review and modify the data, therefore once you choose Create POs the purchase orders will be created with an Issued Status regardless of the default Purchase Order Status

Tip

After creating purchase orders, you can use the Purchase Order Manager to batch print or email them.

You can quickly locate these POs by creating a custom button that includes your default PO status and Printed = No

You can also filter on Type = Drop Ship or Type = Special Order or Type is any of Drop Ship, Special Order

Print / Email purchase documents

Once a Purchase Order has been entered, you can print or email the purchase order document. Depending on the purchase order's status, the document title and information displayed may change. For example, the form for a purchase order in the Request for Quote status will not include prices. Instead, there is a space for the vendor to write their quoted price. There are three ways to generate a Purchase Order form:

  • Print or Email from the Enter Purchase Order window In the Enter Purchase Order window, click the Printer Icon to print the Purchase Order document. Alternatively, click the downward arrow next to the printer icon and choose Email Purchase Order to open the email window with the Purchase Order document attached as a PDF.

  • Print or Email from the Purchasing list Open the Purchasing list from the left menu and locate the purchase order you would like to print or email. Click the Print icon to print the Purchase Order document or click Email to open the email window with the Purchase Order document attached as a PDF.

Editing a Purchase Order

There are two ways to edit an existing purchase order in Acctivate:

  • Start in the Purchasing list found in the left menu.
    1. In the left menu of Acctivate, click on Purchasing to open the Purchasing list.
    2. Search for the purchase order you want to edit.
    3. Click the Edit button.
    4. The Enter Purchase Order window will open in edit mode allowing you to edit data.
  • Start in the Enter Purchase Order window.
    1. Using the top menu, navigate to Purchasing> Enter Purchase Order.
    2. The Enter Purchase Order window will appear, type in the PO Number or use the magnifying glass lookup to find and select your purchase order.
    3. Click Edit.
    4. You will be able to edit the purchase order data.

Change Purchase Order Status

A new purchase order will use the default status defined in the Purchasing Options section of the Configuration Manager. You will be able to progress the PO statuses to any of the enabled Advanced Purchase Order Statuses.

The Next Suggested Action button at the top of the purchase order will suggest the next status based on enabled PO statuses and the user's "Issue Purchase Orders" permission settings. Clicking the button will move the purchase order into the status displayed on the button. The possible statuses of a purchase order are:

  • Entered
    This is the first possible status that can be selected for the purchase order. It is effectively a "draft" of the purchase order and does not affect the "On PO" quantity for the product.

    • If a user has permissions to issue a purchase order, they will see a button for the next enabled advanced PO status (e.g., "Request Quote (RFQ)" or "Request Approval") and an "Issue PO" button.
    • If the user does not have permissions to issue PO's then the Next Suggested Action button will only show the next enabled advanced PO status (e.g. "Request Quote (RFQ)" or "Request Approval").

  • Request for Quote
    The Request for Quote status is used when you would like to request a quote from your vendor. The purchase order form printed in this status includes a space for the vendor to write in pricing.

    • If a user has permissions to issue purchase orders, the Next Suggested Action button will display "Issue PO" allowing them to bypass the Pending Approval PO status (if enabled). Optionally, the user can use the Action... menu and choose "Request Approval" to put the PO into a Pending Approval status. (if the Pending Approval status is enabled).
    • If the user does not have permissions to issue a PO, the next suggested action button will display "Request Approval" if the Pending Approval status is enabled.

  • Pending Approval
    The Pending Approval status is an internal status that indicates the purchase order must be approved by a user in your company (the user must have the permission to Issue a Purchase Order. Users who do not have permissions to issue a PO can only go as far as this status. A user with permissions to issue a PO can then use the Approve and Issue Next Suggested Action button to approve and issue the PO, which will also update the Approved text field and date with the approving users name and date of approval.

  • Issued
    A purchase order must be in an Issued status in order to receive or enter a purchase invoice against. A PO should be moved to the Issued status when the PO is ready to be sent to the vendor. Only users that have permission to Issue a Purchase Order can change a purchase order to this status.

  • Completed
    When creating a purchase invoice, you will be asked if you want to mark a purchase order as completed if the purchase order has been received in full and the purchase invoice will invoice it in full. If a purchase order has been received and invoiced for a quantity less than ordered but you will not be receiving the outstanding quantities, you can manually change the purchase order status to Completed by using the Action menu: Action → Mark as Completed. This will change the outstanding quantity to zero for any quantities not received.

  • Cancelled
    At any stage, a purchase order can be canceled by using the Action menu: Action → Mark as Completed. This will change the outstanding quantity to zero for all lines.

Receive a Purchase Order

When a vendor's shipment arrives, you will receive the inventory against the purchase order.

There are two ways to receive a purchase order in Acctivate:

  • Start in the Purchasing list found in the left menu.
    1. In the left menu of Acctivate, click on Purchasing to open the Purchasing list.
    2. Search for the purchase order you want to receive.
    3. Click the +Create... button and choose Receipt.
    4. The Enter Receipts window will open in edit mode allowing you to edit data.
  • Start in the Enter Purchase Order window.
    1. Using the top menu, navigate to Purchasing> Enter Purchase Order.
    2. The Enter Purchase Order window will appear, type in the PO # or use the magnifying glass lookup to find and select your purchase order.
    3. Click Receive.
    4. The Enter Receipts window will open in edit mode allowing you to edit data.

Once the Inventory Receipt matches exactly what was received, you can click Save and then Post. Posting the receipts adds the products and quantities into inventory.

Refer to the Transactions documentation for more information on the Inventory Receipt fields.

Tip

If the Receive POs in full option is enabled, the Enter Receipt window will be created with the Outstanding products and quantities to be received. You can (and should) remove inventory receipt lines that were not received and edit quantities to match what was physically received.

If the Receive POs in full option is disabled, the Enter Receipts window will have no detail information populated. Instead, you will need to add the products and quantities received so that the inventory receipt matches what was physically received.

Note

Only inventoried products can be received. Non-inventoried products, N lines, and Drop Ship lines are not received; instead the purchase invoice is entered for those lines and once they are invoiced in full they are automatically marked as completed.

Invoice a Purchase Order

When a vendor's invoice arrives, you will enter the Purchase Invoice against the purchase order. The purchase invoice will be synchronized to QuickBooks (as a Vendor Bill) where you can pay it when due.

Entering the purchase invoice into Acctivate is essential because it eliminates accounting discrepancies and ensures accurate costing. Additionally, if a purchase order has been received in full, when you enter the final purchase invoice you will be prompted with the message "Should this PO be marked as Completed?".

There are two primary ways to enter a Purchase Invoice in Acctivate:

  • Start in the Purchasing list found in the left menu.
    1. In the left menu of Acctivate, click on Purchasing to open the Purchasing list.
    2. Search for the Purchase Order you want to invoice.
    3. Click the Invoice button on the toolbar.
    4. The Enter Purchase Invoice window will open.
  • Start in the Enter Purchase Order window.
    1. Using the top menu, navigate to Purchasing → Enter Purchase Order.
    2. The Enter Purchase Order window will appear, type in the PO # or use the magnifying glass lookup to find and select your purchase order.
    3. Click Invoice.
    4. The Enter Purchase Invoice window will open.

Once you've entered the required purchase invoice information you can click Create Invoice in the Enter Purchase Invoice window to finalize the purchase invoice.

If the purchase invoice price for a line is different than the receipt cost for the same line, you will be notified with a message that the receipt will be updated to match the invoice:

One or more receipts have already been entered for line 1, product "YourProduct", of this purchase order.

However, the unit cost and/or amount for one or more of the receipts does not match the price and/or amount on the purchase invoice(s).

In order to post this invoice, the details on the following receipts must be changed:

Session 58 from 2/18/2021: change Cost from 2/Ea to 3/Ea change Amount from 4.00 to 6.00

Change the details on the receipt(s)?

Yes No

Click Yes to proceed. This message may appear for each line that has a discrepancy. The purchase invoice will be synchronized to QuickBooks during the next sync.

Purchase Invoice Header Fields

The Enter Purchase Invoice window will default based on the purchase order information.

The PO Number, Vendor, and Vendor address cannot be changed in this window.

Enter in the required information.

  • Invoice #: The purchase invoice number. Up to 20 Characters for QuickBooks Desktop and 21 for QuickBooks Online.
  • Invoice Date: The purchase invoice Date.
  • Terms: The Terms code will default to the Terms Code assigned to the Vendor in QuickBooks. If no terms code assigned to the Vendor then the Terms Code will default to the purchasing terms code default.
  • Due Date: The purchase invoice due date will default based on the invoice date and the vendor's terms code, but can be overridden.

If the Terms includes a discount date calculation, then the Discount Date will be displayed as well as the discount amount.

If the vendor uses a foreign currency, then the exchange rate will appear to below the other header fields.

In Acctivate companies integrated with QuickBooks Desktop, if more than one Accounts Payable account exists for the vendor's currency, an AP Account dropdown displaying the accounts will appear below the other header fields.

Purchase Invoice Detail Grid

The Detail grid is used to record the quantities and amounts that were invoiced.

  • Qty: This is the quantity you are being invoiced for. It will default to the quantity received for the line, but should be changed to match the invoice.
  • Unit Cost and Amount: You can enter the unit cost (purchase price) from the vendor. Alternatively, you can enter the Amount, which will calculate the Unit Cost based on the invoiced qty.
  • Expense Acct.: If a non-inventoried or non-standard line exists, an Expense Acct. column will appear which is used rather than Accrued Purchase Receipts. See the Accounting Resource Guide for more information.

While on a purchase order detail line, a Detail tab will appear in the footer of the window. This footer contains read-only information such as the Product image, Product ID, Primary UPC, Primary Alt Product ID, and Description. The Vendor Product ID and Received quantity for the PO line are also visible here if they are not included as columns in the grid.

Add Expense

The Add Expense button allow you to enter other expenses included on the purchase invoice, such as shipping and handling fees.

Additional expenses can be expensed against any GL Account or they can be added as a Landed Cost. To add an additional expense:

  1. Click Add Expense
  2. Enter a description of the Expense.
  3. Enter the Amount of the expense.
  4. something
    • Check Add expense as landed cost (See the Accounting Resource Guide for more information.)
      • This option will only appear if inventory has been received against this Purchase Order.
      • The Landed Cost transaction uses the Landed Cost GL Account therefore the Expense Acct field in this window will become hidden.
    • Enter an Expense Acct. If you don't add the expense as a Landed Cost, you can expense the amount against a GL Account of your choosing.

When adding additional expenses as a Landed Cost, you'll be prompted to save your progress before going to the Enter Landed Cost window.

Once the Purchase Invoice information is entered and the Total matches the invoice from your vendor, lick Create Invoice.

Vendors List

The Vendors List can be found by clicking Vendors in the left menu of Acctivate. The Vendor List window is made up of four primary sections:

  • Search Bar, Sort and Filters
  • List of Vendors
  • Vendor attributes
  • Vendor information.
Tip

When viewing the list of vendors, this window is commonly referred to as the Vendors List. It's also acceptable to refer to a this window as the Vendor window when viewing a single vendor. Adding vendors or editing vendors is done in QuickBooks.

Search Bar and Sort

The upper left hand corner of the Vendor list contains a Search bar which will filter down the vendors as you type. The following fields are searched:

  • Vendor name
  • Billed From Address Line 1
  • Billed From City
  • Billed From State
  • Billed From Zip
  • Billed From Country
  • Vendor Type
  • Phone
  • Vendor Status ("inactive")

You can also sort the Vendor list by clicking the "Sort" text. The arrow next to the text will point up or down to indicate whether the list is sorting ascending or descending.

Note

When setting up vendors in QuickBooks, you can provide a Billed From and Shipped From address. The search bar will search the Bill From address where noted above.

Filters

Above the search bar is a drop down menu allowing you to select standard or custom filters. The Vendor List has two standard filters which are visible to all users:

  • Active Only: Displays all the active vendors.
  • All Vendors: Displays all active and inactive vendors.

You can also create custom filters:

  1. Click the Filter button.
  2. In the Filter Editor window, click the + symbol to add filter expressions.
  3. Once you've added all the filter expressions, click one of the buttons:
    • OK: This will apply your filters and close the Filter Editor. This filter will not be saved, but it will remain in place until you select another standard or custom filter. The filter menu will display "Custom Filter..." to indicate a custom filter is applied.
    • Apply: This will apply your filters, but it keeps the Filter Editor open so you can further adjust the filters.
    • Save As: This allows you to save this filter for use again in the future. When you choose this option you must enter a Filter Name and you have the option to select the Available for all users checkbox. If left unchecked, this filter will only be available for the user who created it.

Edit, delete or share an existing filter
Once you've created a filter, you can edit, delete or make the filter shared with everyone.

  1. In the saved filter drop down list, select your filter.
  2. Click the Filter button to open the Filter Editor.
  3. Click the downward arrow next to the Save button to see a list of options:
    • Save as New Filter...: Use this to copy this filter as a new filter. You can add additional filter expressions before or after this step.
    • Share filter with everyone: This option is available if the filter is not already shared with everyone. If a filter is shared with everyone, the text Shared will appear next to the Save button.
    • Rename Filter...: If this option is selected, you will be prompted to enter the new filter name.
    • Delete Filter: This will delete the saved filter.
Note

Once a filter is shared with everyone, it cannot be un-shared. However, you can copy the shared filter as a new filter that is not shared, then delete the original shared filter.

List of Vendors

There are two key pieces of information on display in the list of vendor.

  • Vendor name
  • Vendor balance

Vendor Account

The Account tab shows primary vendor information grouped into different cards for easy viewing of vendor information.

The Vendor Summary always shows the number of Issued Purchase Orders and the ordered amount.

Additionally, the total number of Purchase Orders and ordered amounts will show or the Entered, Request for Quote, and Pending Approval POs depending on whether or not those advanced purchase statuses are enabled.

If any Drop Ship or Special Order purchase orders exist for this vendor then the totals for those PO Types will also be displayed. These count and amount of these POs will also show in their respective status totals. E.g., if a Special Order PO has an Issued status, it will be reflected in the Issued and Special PO totals.

QuickBooks Desktop companies will display a Billed From address card as well as a Shipped From address card. The Shipped From address in QuickBooks Desktop will be used if set, otherwise it will default to the Billed From address.

QuickBooks Online companies only support a single address field for vendors and therefore a single Address card will be displayed.

Timeline

The Timeline tab gives a list of all activity for the vendor, sequenced by date. You can use the Type list and Look for search box to filter the list of activity.

Bills entered in QuickBooks will appear as a Vendor Bill in the timeline, while a purchase order invoice entered in Acctivate will be appear as a Purchase Invoice.

Products

The Products tab displays all the products associated with this vendor.

System administrators can use the Columns button to choose which columns should be displayed at a company level.

Add a Vendor Product

  1. Select Vendor Product from the Create menu at the top of the Product window.
  2. Type in or lookup the Product ID associated with this vendor.
  3. Optionally, fill in additional information:
    • Vendor Product ID: The Vendor Product ID which can be displayed in the Enter Purchase Order window. The same vendor can be listed multiple times as long as each row has a unique Vendor Product ID.
    • Preferred Vendor: One vendor can be marked as the preferred vendor, which is used as the default in the Create Reorders window.
    • Lead Time: The Lead Time in days, which is used to generate a minimum stocking level on the Insights tab.
  4. Fill out any other fields, then use Save & Close or select Save & New from the sub-menu.

Edit or Delete a Vendor Product

  1. Mouse over a row in the Product grid. In the far left column you will see a pencil icon, click it to open the window.
  2. Make any necessary changes and click Save & Close (or Save & New), or you can delete the product by clicking the Delete button in the lower left hand corner.

The right pane of the Vendor window includes the last three Purchase Orders based on the Entered Date, the last three Purchase Invoices based on the Invoiced Date, and the date the vendor was created and last updated.