Purchase Orders

Purchase Orders

Use Purchase Orders to create, approve, and track a purchase order before an invoice arrives. A purchase order approves a spend limit with a vendor. More than one invoice can draw that amount down. Spending under the limit is allowed. Spending over the remaining balance is blocked unless a user with Manage AP Settings allows a tolerance on Purchase Orders & Matching settings.

Purchase Orders and PO Matching are separate pages on the same navigation line. They are available when purchase orders are turned on for the company.

This release does not include 3-way matching, receipts, ERP receipt sync, imported purchase orders, credit memos, purchase order reporting, currency conversion, invoices matched to more than one purchase order, purchase order amendments, or custom match rules.

Access

In Emburse Spend, select Accounts Payable in the left navigation, then select Purchase Orders.

The Purchase Orders page is available to users with Emburse AP access who are assigned the Manage AP Settings permission. You need Submit Invoices to create a purchase order. If you only have Submit Invoices, you see the purchase orders you created. See Get Started with Accounts Payable.

Purchase Order List

The list shows purchase orders for your organization. Search by PO number, vendor, or description. Filter the list by status.

Purchase Orders list with status filters, CREATE PO, and matched invoice counts

Status Meaning
Draft The purchase order is saved and is not submitted. You can edit it, delete it, or submit it for approval.
Pending Approval The purchase order is submitted and waiting for an approver. A PO number is not assigned yet.
Open The purchase order is approved and eligible for matching.
Partially Billed Matched invoices have used part of the purchase order amount. A remaining balance is still available.
Fully Billed Matched invoices have used the full purchase order amount.
Rejected An approver rejected the purchase order.

The list includes the PO number, description, vendor, total, who created it, when it was updated, the current approver, the status, and the number of matched invoices.

Create a Purchase Order

The vendor must already exist. See Vendors Overview.

  1. On Purchase Orders, select Create PO.
  2. Under Basic Information, select the Vendor.
  3. Verify Vendor email and Payment terms fill in from the vendor record.
  4. Enter the PO Description.
  5. Enter the Department.
  6. Enter a Business Reason when approvers need more context. Business reason is optional.
  7. Select a Delivery Date.
  8. Select Save as Draft to keep the purchase order in Draft on the list.
  9. Select Next to add line items.

    10. Create Purchase Order basic information with Vendor, PO Description, Department, Delivery Date, Save as Draft, and Next

  10. Enter the line Description.
  11. Enter the line Quantity.
  12. Enter the line Unit Price.
  13. Select the line GL Code.
  14. Enter or change the line Department.
  15. Select Add line item when the purchase order covers more than one item.
  16. Select Submit for Approval.

    17. Create Purchase Order line items with Coffee for Office, quantity 10, unit price 50, and Submit for Approval

The entity defaults to your company entity. The PDF preview on the left updates as you enter the header on the right. Before approval, the preview displays PO number not assigned.

From the list you can edit a draft, delete it, or submit it later. Add at least one line before you submit. Quantity and unit price set the line amount. The line department fills in from the header when you add a line.

Submit for Approval sends the purchase order to the approver in your purchase order route. That route is separate from the invoice route. See Invoice Policies Overview.

Submitted for Approval confirmation with Pending Approval, View Purchase Order, and Back to List

Approve or Reject a Purchase Order

The person who submitted the purchase order cannot approve it. An approver named in the route opens the purchase order and decides.

  1. On Purchase Orders, open a purchase order in Pending Approval.
  2. Review Details.
  3. Review Audit History.
  4. To reject the purchase order, select Reject.
  5. To approve the purchase order, select Approve PO.

Details include the submitter, the current approver, the submitted time, and the vendor rule, plus the header and line items.

Approval assigns the PO number, sets the status to Open, and places the number on the purchase order PDF. Download the PDF from the approved purchase order. The purchase order is then eligible for matching.

Purchase Order Detail

Open an approved purchase order and select Summary. Summary displays the PO number, status, vendor, description, business reason, entity, department, total, billed amount, remaining balance, and delivery date. It also displays who created, updated, and approved it, and when.

When no invoice is linked, Summary displays "No invoices matched yet." Select Upload Invoice on an Open or Partially Billed purchase order while balance remains. Continue in PO Matching.

Open purchase order Summary with no invoices matched yet and Upload Invoice

After you confirm a match, Summary lists each matched invoice and its amount. The billed amount and the remaining balance update from those invoices. The invoice count on the purchase order list includes them. When the matched invoices use the full purchase order amount, Summary shows Fully Billed and a remaining balance of zero.

Purchase order PDF and Fully Billed Summary with PO number and zero remaining balance

Select Audit History for the purchase order record. Entries are listed in time order. They include when the purchase order was created, when the route assigned the approver, when it was approved or rejected, and when the PO number was created.

What to Do Next

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