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

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.
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.
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.

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 ID 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.
Ordered Numeric The total quantity you are ordering.
Received Numeric Not editable. This will update automatically after posting an inventory receipt and will display the total quantity received for this line.
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.
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
Line Amount Numeric This field displays the extended line amount.
Checkbox Checkbox The checkbox is used to denote a completed line. You can check this box to complete or cancel a line (as opposed to just deleting it) as long as the line hasn't been received yet.
Description Text / 4095 characters The description of the product being ordered.
Outstanding Numeric The quantity that has not been received yet.
Invoiced Numeric The quantity from entered Purchase Invoices.
GL Expense Account 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).
Special 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.

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.

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.

Drop Ship / Special Order Purchasing Wizard

Sales order lines that have a D (Drop Ship) or S (Special Order) Line Type can have their purchase order made using the Drop Ship or Special Order wizard. The Purchasing Wizard can be accessed three different ways:

  • From the Enter Sales Order window
    Any sales order with the presence of a D or S line type will have its Next Suggested Action button displaying Create Vendor PO(s). Clicking that button will open the Drop Ship Wizard, Special Order Wizard, or both depending on which line types exist on the order. You can use the Action... menu of the Enter Sales Order window to access this option as well.
  • From the Purchasing Menu
    The Purchasing menu at the top of Acctivate has a Drop Ship Wizard and Special Order Wizard option.

In the Purchasing Wizard window, click Edit and make any necessary changes to the Vendor, Vendor Product ID and Requested Price. Click Created POs to create the Purchase Orders.

When you create purchase orders from the Drop Ship Wizard, a PO will be created for each vendor for each customer. When you create Special Order PO's, a PO will be created for each vendor. The Purchase Wizard 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

Purchasing Wizard fields

The Drop Ship and Special Order Purchase Wizard fields are the same with one exception, the Special Order wizard has a Warehouse filter since a Special Order product is received into your warehouse.

Field Field Type/ Length Definition
Order Text The sales order Number this product is on.
Order Date Date The date of the sales order.
Req Date Date The Requested Ship date from the sales order.
Customer Text The Customer on the sales order.
Vendor List/Lookup Use the list to select a vendor that is already associated with this product. Or, use the lookup button to choose a new vendor to purchase this product from. The vendor will default to the Product's Preferred Vendor.
Vendor Product Text The Vendor Product ID for the selected vendor.
Product Text The Product ID.
Description Text The product's description.
Lead Time Numeric The lead time in days for the selected vendor.
Quantity Numeric The quantity to order, based on the sales quantity.
Unit Text The purchase unit, based on the sales order unit.
Req Price Numeric The purchase price for the PO.

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 PO

When a vendor's shipment arrives, you will receive the inventory against the purchase order. Review the Receive POs in full.

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. Whenever you post an inventory transaction you will be prompted to print out a report of the transaction. You can print it or cancel it (you are able to reprint it at any time).

Inventory Receipt Header Fields

Field Field Type/ Length Definition
Session Numeric Acctivate will automatically assign a unique inventory session number.
Transaction Date Date The date in which the transaction will be added into inventory.
Warehouse List The Warehouse will default to the Ship To warehouse of the purchase order.
Transaction Numeric A session can be made up of multiple transactions. To add a new transaction to a session, click Save and then click + Add Transaction.
Purchase Order Text / 40 Characters If the receipt is initiated from the Enter Purchase Order window or Purchasing list, the PO number will be populated automatically. For a receipt to be counted towards a Purchase Order it must be associated with a PO.
Vendor List The Vendor the inventory is received from. When the receipt is initiated from the purchase order this field will be filled in to reflect the vendor on the purchase order.
Document Date Date A reference date field. This could be the date of the document (e.g. BOL, Pack List) that was included in the Shipment for reference. This date has no impact on inventory.
Reference Text / 20 Characters A reference field to record information related to this inventory receipt.
Receive Document Text / 15 Characters A reference field to record a related document (e.g. BOL or Pack List).
Description Text / 50 Characters A reference field for this receipt.

Inventory Receipt Detail Fields

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.

Field Field Type/ Length Definition
Product ID Lookup/Text / 41 Characters When receiving from a purchase order, only inventoried products that are on the purchase order can be on the inventory receipt.
Vendor Product ID Text / 25 Characters The vendor Product ID will display here for reference.
Location Text / 80 Characters The inventory warehouse locations the product will be stocked in.
Received Numeric The quantity field will default to the Outstanding quantity on the purchase order. This quantity should be changed to reflect the actual quantity received. The quantity corresponds to the unit field.
Unit List The Unit of measure corresponding to the Received quantity.
Unit Cost Numeric The unit cost in relation to the quantity and unit received.
Amount Numeric The total amount of the inventory to be received.
Description Text / 4095 Characters The description of the product received.
Note Text The note field can be used to record specific information about this inventory receipt line.
Lot / Serial Number Text / 40 Characters If the product is a Lot or Serial Numbered product, you will be required to enter in the Lot/Serial number for the quantity received.
Expiration Date Date The Expiration Date for the Lot or Serial Number.
Reference Text / 50 Characters The Lot or Serial Number Reference field allows storing reference information specific to the Lot or Serial Number received.
Specification Text The Lot or Serial Number Specification field allows storing lengthy Specification information specific to the Lot or Serial Number received.

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 beneficial 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 +Create... button and choose Invoice.
    4. The Enter Purchase Invoice 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 Invoice.
    4. The Enter Purchase Invoice window will open in edit mode allowing you to edit data.

Once you've entered the 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.

Field Field Type/ Length Definition
PO Number Text / 40 Characters Required. The PO Number that this invoice is associated with.
Vendor Text / 50 Characters Required. The vendor associated with this purchase invoice.
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.
Warehouse List The Warehouse the purchase order is to be shipped to. The Ship To Address field will default based on the warehouse selected.
Status List Changing the status in this window will change the Status of the purchase order.
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 will default to the purchasing terms code default.

Detail

The Detail section of the purchase invoice includes the vendor's address and purchase order's Ship To Address.

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.
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.
Invoice # Text / 20 Characters (21 for QuickBooks Online) The purchase invoice number.
Date Date The purchase invoice Date.
Due Date The purchase invoice due date. This will default based on the vendor's terms code but can be overridden to match the invoice due date.
Ship Via List The Ship Via of the purchase invoice. It will default based on the purchase order.
FOB Text / 25 Characters The FOB from the Additional Info tab of the purchase order.

Detail Grid

The Detail grid is used to record the quantities and amounts being invoiced for a product. The Red rows represent the received quantities and amounts and cannot be edited, they are just for reference. The green rows can be edited and should be changed to match the Purchase Invoice received from your vendor.

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 income.
  • D = Drop Ship Item
  • S = Special Order Item
  • * = Note (Not a product but a note on the order)
Product ID Text / 159 Characters The Product ID from the purchase order.
Vendor Product ID List/Text / 25 Characters The vendor Product ID from the purchase order.
Outstanding Numeric The quantity that has not been received yet.
Received Numeric Not editable. This will update automatically after posting an inventory receipt and will display the total quantity received for this line.
Rec'd Price Numeric The unit cost of inventory receipts related to this PO Line.
Rec'd Amount Numeric The total amount from inventory receipts related to this PO Line.
Checkbox Checkbox You can check this box to complete or cancel the PO line as long as the line hasn't been received yet.
Description Text / 4095 characters The description of the product being ordered.
Unit List The unit of measure from the purchase order.
Approved Numeric The quantity that you are being invoiced for.
Price Numeric The Invoice Price. It will default to the PO Price, but should be changed to match the invoice price.
Amount Approved Numeric The total line amount from the Invoice. It will default to the PO lien amount but should be changed to match the invoice line amount.
Special Instructions Text Special Instructions from the purchase order line.
GL Expense Account Lookup For Non-Inventoried and Non-standard lines you can specify which GL Account the purchase invoice amount should sync to.

The purchase invoice footer is visible at all times and displays special instructions as well as purchase order and invoice totals.

Field Field Type/ Length Definition
Special Instructions Text Special Instructions from the purchase order.
Approved Numeric The total invoice amounts for purchase order lines on the Detail tab.
Other Numeric The total invoice amounts for charges entered on the Other Amounts tab of the purchase invoice.
Discount Numeric If the terms code associated with this purchase invoice includes an early payment discount, the discount available to take will show here, however it will not be deducted from the purchase invoice total.
Total Numeric The total amount of the purchase invoice. This is the sum of the amounts from the Detail tab and Other Amounts tab of the Enter Purchase Invoice window. It is strongly recommended that you ensure this matches the purchase invoice sent by your vendor before you create the invoice in Acctivate. If it doesn't match, then you should review the entered purchase invoice information.
Received Numeric The value of inventory received in from the PO. Displayed for reference purposes, the received amount will update to match the invoiced amount when the purchase invoice is created.

Additional Info

The Additional Info tab includes information from the purchase order.

Field Field Type/ Length Definition
Trans. Date Date The created date of the purchase invoice.
Disc Date Date The date by which payment must be made in order to receive the Payment Terms discount. The terms code discount days are calculated from the Invoice Date.
Reference Text / 30 Characters The Reference field from the purchase order.
Requested Date The Requested Delivery date from the purchase order.
Promised Date The Promised date from the purchase order.
Not before Date The Not before date from the purchase order.
Not after Date The Not after date from the purchase order.
Requested by Text / 25 Characters The Requested by from the purchase order.
Requested by Date Date The Requested by date from the purchase order.
Approved by Text / 25 Characters The Approved by from the purchase order.
Approved by Date Date The Approved by date from the purchase order.

Other Amounts

The Other Amounts tab of the purchase invoice allows you to enter other charges included on the purchase invoice, such as shipping and handling fees. Multiple other charges can be added here and will be included in the purchase invoice total.

Field Field Type/ Length Definition
Description Text / 4095 Characters The description of the other charge. For example, "Freight".
Amount Numeric The amount of the other charge. Will be added to the purchase invoices'Total amount once you save the entered purchase invoice.
Landed Cost Checkbox Checking the Landed Cost checkbox will open the Landed Cost window and you can choose how to allocate the Amount to the products received against this purchase order. When using Landed Cost, the value is added to the Inventory Asset account as opposed to a GL Expense account.
Session Numeric If you've created a Landed Cost, the related Landed Cost session number will appear here.
Expense Account Lookup If you are not using Landed Cost, you will need to choose which GL account the amount should sync to.

Previous Invoices

The Previous Invoices tab shows the purchase invoices that have already been entered into Acctivate for the related Purchase Order. From this window you can Void a purchase invoices by click on a purchase invoices in the grid and then clicking the Void Invoice button.

Field Field Type/ Length Definition
Invoice Text / 20 Characters The purchase invoices number (the QuickBooks's Vendor Bill).
Inv Date Date The purchase invoices date.
Tran Date Date The date the purchase invoices was entered into Acctivate.
Terms List The payment Terms Code assigned to the Purchase Invoice.
Invoice Total Numeric The total amount of the purchase invoices.

Notes

The Notes tab allows saving purchase invoices specific notes. These notes can be used to document something, or a note can be assigned to a user for follow-up.

Notes in the Purchase Invoice window cannot be edited once the Invoice has been created.

Activities

The Activities tab of the Enter Purchase Invoice window displays the same Business Activity information as the purchase order's Activities tab.

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.

Use the Columns button to choose which columns should be displayed at a company level.

To associate a product with this vendor or edit the information, open the Edit Product window for the product and make the changes on the Vendors tab.

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.