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Inventory

Buy stock with purchase orders

Add vendors, raise a purchase order, receive the goods into stock, and record what you pay the vendor.

Updated 5 min read22 steps

Purchase orders (POs) record the stock you buy from your suppliers ("vendors"). You raise a PO, receive the goods into stock when they arrive, and record what you pay. StoreLine keeps each vendor's balance, so you always know how much you owe.

Before you start

  • Your plan must include vendors and purchase orders.
  • Seeing POs and vendors needs View purchasing. Creating, ordering, receiving and cancelling needs Manage purchasing. Paying vendors needs Pay vendors.
  • Amounts (costs, totals, balances) are shown only to members with See costs & profit.

Steps: add a vendor

5 steps · ~3 min

  1. Step 1

    Go to Operations → People → Vendors and click Add vendor.

  2. Step 2

    Enter the Name and Phone. Both are required.

  3. Step 3

    Optional: add the company, contact person, email, address, Payment terms (in days), tags and notes.

  4. Step 4

    If you already owed this vendor money before you started using StoreLine, enter it as the Opening balance.

  5. Step 5

    Click Add vendor.
    Screenshotvendors-add-vendor-form

Open a vendor to see what you ordered, received and paid, and what is Due. Under Products, click Link product to note the products you buy from them, with their Vendor SKU.

Steps: raise a purchase order

7 steps · ~5 min

  1. Step 1

    Go to Operations → Purchase Orders and click New purchase order.

  2. Step 2

    Choose the Vendor. To add a new one without leaving the page, click New vendor next to the field.

  3. Step 3

    Set the Order date and, if you know it, the Expected date.

  4. Step 4

    Under Items, search a product or SKU and add it. For a product with variations, add each variation you are buying, or use the Add all … variants button.

  5. Step 5

    Enter the quantity and check the unit cost. The cost fills in from the last price you paid this vendor (Vendor last cost), otherwise from the product's cost price (Catalogue cost).

  6. Step 6

    Optional: under Charges, click Add charge for freight or other costs. They are added to the cost of the stock you receive.

  7. Step 7

    Click Save & order to place the order now, or Save draft to finish it later.
    Screenshotpurchase-orders-new-po-form

A draft doesn't change anything yet. When you order it (Save & order, or Order on a draft), the total becomes payable to the vendor. Stock doesn't change until you receive the goods.

Steps: receive the goods

4 steps · ~3 min

  1. Step 1

    Open the purchase order and click Receive goods.

  2. Step 2

    Each line is filled with everything still to come. Change a quantity if less arrived. You can't receive more than is still to come.

  3. Step 3

    Optional: add a note, such as the invoice number.

  4. Step 4

    Click Receive. The items are added to stock.
    Screenshotpurchase-orders-receive-goods

If only part arrived, the PO shows Partial. Receive the rest later the same way. If the rest will never come, use Close short: the missing units are cancelled and the total drops to what arrived.

The FIFO costing question

The first time your store receives goods, StoreLine asks Enable FIFO costing? (unless FIFO costing is already on). From then on, order profit uses the cost of the oldest stock still on the shelf instead of the product's cost price. The stock you already have is valued at its current cost price; items with no cost price are valued at 0.

  • Click Enable FIFO and receive to switch and receive the goods.
  • Click Back if you want to set missing cost prices first.
Screenshotpurchase-orders-receive-fifo-prompt

Steps: pay a vendor

6 steps · ~4 min

  1. Step 1

    Open the purchase order and click Pay, or open the vendor and click Record payment.

  2. Step 2

    Under Paid from, choose the account the money comes out of.

  3. Step 3

    Enter the Amount (৳) and the Date.

  4. Step 4

    Choose the Purchase order it pays for. Leave it as On account to record an advance or a payment against the opening balance.

  5. Step 5

    Optional: add a Reference (bKash / bank transaction id) and a note.

  6. Step 6

    Click Record payment.
    Screenshotvendors-record-payment

A payment can't be more than what is still due on that purchase order. Pay the extra On account instead. To record money a vendor gave back, choose Refund as the Type.

Purchase order statuses

  • Draft: saved, not ordered. You can edit or delete it.
  • Ordered: placed with the vendor. The total is payable.
  • Partial: some of the goods have arrived.
  • Received: everything has arrived.
  • Cancelled: cancelled before any goods arrived.

Tips

  • Check costs of 0. StoreLine asks you to confirm when you click Save & order or Receive with lines that have a unit cost of 0, because their profit will look too high.
  • A vendor's Statement tab lists everything you owed and paid, with a running balance.
  • A product whose Track stock is off, or a combo product, can't be put on a purchase order.

FAQ

Open it and click Cancel order. This works for drafts and for ordered POs before anything is received. If payments are recorded on it, reallocate them to another PO (or on account) or refund them first.

Only if it has no purchase orders or payments. Otherwise, deactivate it. Deleted vendors can be restored from the Deleted tab.

Find the payment in the Payments list on the PO or vendor, open its menu, and choose Void (needs Pay vendors). The money goes back to the account and the balances are restored. The record stays in the history. To move a payment to a different PO, choose Reallocate.

Only until the vendor has purchase orders or payments. After that it is locked.

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