Sending and receiving purchase orders for multiple locations

Streamline your ordering workflow with multi-location ordering. If you receive stock at a central location and then transfer it to your retail stores, you can send purchase orders for multiple locations, receive full or partial orders at your central location, and transfer products to stores.

Creating a purchase order

To create a purchase order in Retail POS:

1. Navigate to Inventory > Stock control > Orders.

2. Click Order stock.

   

3. Enter the following information:
   • Supplier: Choose the supplier for the order from the dropdown. This will dictate which supplier code and cost price is used for products added to an order with multiple suppliers.
   • Ordering for: Click the dropdown and select the outlets the stock will be ordered for.

     

   • Deliver to: Choose the outlet where the order will be received.
   • Delivery date: Select the expected date of delivery for the order.
   • Order number: The order number is generated by Retail POS when you select the outlet. You can edit this number to help you identify your orders.
   • Supplier invoice number: If you have a supplier invoice number, enter it here for your supplier’s reference.
   • Note: Add custom information to your orders, like personal reminders or approval notes.

     

Adding products using Choose products

When ordering for multiple locations on one purchase order, you can't add products using a CSV file or from recommendations.

To add products to your purchase order:

1. Type the product name into the search bar or scan the product barcode.

   

2. Enter the quantity of the product you would like to order for each location you are ordering for. If a product has variants, you can select the variants and quantity from the selection modal, then click Add variants to order.

   

   You can view current product inventory levels across all your outlets by clicking the product arrow to show the expanded product details and see products in stock, on order, on transfer, and how much of each product was sold in the last 30 days.

   

3. Record any discounts, freight charges, or duties you will incur as part of the purchase order. These amounts can be edited while receiving a purchase order and will not appear on the purchase order you send to your vendor.

   

4. At the top of the page, click Save.

Sending a purchase order

Once you've created and populated your purchase order, you can send it to your supplier to order the products.

To send a purchase order:

1. Navigate to Inventory > Stock control > Orders and locate the order, using filters if needed.

   

2. Click Email Order and enter the supplier name, email address, and a message if needed.

   

3. Click Send. The status will change to Sent.

   Trial accounts can't send receipts or stock orders via email. Emails sent by trial accounts will not be delivered.

4. Once your supplier confirms the order, click the Mark Order as... dropdown to Mark as Dispatched.

   

5. If known, enter the delivery date or select I don't know when and click Next.
6. Click Change status to dispatched.

Receiving and distributing purchase orders for multiple locations

You can receive purchase orders and distribute immediately so stock is moved where needed and your warehouse doesn't get backlogged with orders awaiting transfers.

1. Navigate to Inventory > Stock control > Orders and locate the stock order to receive, using filters if needed.
2. Click on the receive order icon on the right of the purchase order information.

   

3. On the Receive and distribute delivery page, under Delivery details, select a Delivery date. Optionally, add a supplier invoice number or delivery note.

   

4. In the Product table, under Received quantity, click Receive all ordered products to receive a full order. For partial orders, enter the quantity in the Received quantity field and follow the steps in the next section.

   

5. Update the cost, discounts, shipping, or duties fees as needed.
6. At the top of the page, click Receive and distribute delivery.
7. Review the warning information and click Receive and distribute delivery. This can't be undone.
8. Click Mark as received.

The entire order will be received and closed, creating transfers for each location in the purchase order that can be viewed by clicking the order row to expand > Distribution tab. No changes can be made to the purchase order once closed.

Managing partially received orders for multiple locations

The partially received orders workflow rollout is in progress and may not be available on all accounts. You can also learn more about partially received orders and the consignment API in What’s new with partially received orders.

When you haven't received all items in an order, you can mark the order as partially received. When you mark an order as partially received, a partial delivery will be linked under the existing order and can be accessed on the Stock control page under the purchase order by clicking to expand the row.

To mark an order as partially received:

1. Navigate to Inventory > Stock control > Orders and locate the stock order to receive, using filters if needed.
2. Click on the receive order icon on the right of the purchase order information.

   

3. On the Receive and distribute delivery page, enter the quantity in the Received quantity field.
4. Update the cost, discounts, shipping, or duties fees as needed.
5. Review the entered information and click Receive and distribute delivery.
6. If you've ordered stock to fulfill customer orders through the add products from recommendations workflow, you'll be prompted to set those items aside. Click the arrow next to the product name for customer and sale receipt details. Once you have noted the items to put aside, click Next to finish receiving the order, then navigate to Inventory > Fulfillments to complete the unfulfilled sale.

   

7. Click Mark as partially received.

   

The order and deliveries can be accessed on the Orders page by locating the order and clicking the row to expand for more information. The Order breakdown tab will show what has arrived and what is expected to arrive per delivery.

You can also click the order number or delivery dates to access the View order page to review the Order Details and Delivery Details tabs.

When the remaining stock arrives you can click Receive delivery in the Order breakdown tab and receive the stock against the partial order.

The received date on the purchase order will be generated once all the products in the order and deliveries have been received or cancelled.

Cancelling partially received orders

Should any outstanding products no longer be available from the supplier or you’ve decided the products are not needed, you can cancel outstanding deliveries on the Orders page. This will mark the order as received but the products won’t be added to your inventory.

To cancel a partial order:

1. Navigate to Inventory > Stock control > Orders.
2. Click the order number to expand the row.
3. In the Order breakdown tab, click Cancel next to the outstanding delivery.

   

4. Review the warning information and click Cancel order. This can't be undone.

The partial order status will change to Cancelled and will remain accessible in the Order breakdown tab so you can see what inventory had been ordered and received and what was outstanding at the time of cancellation.

You can also cancel an order by clicking the order number or delivery date to open the View order page and clicking the Cancel order button.

Managing distribution transfers

After receiving a delivery, transfers will be automatically sent for distribution. You can view transfer references and receive transfers from the Orders page.

To view transfer references and receive transfers:

1. Navigate to Inventory > Stock control > Orders.
2. Locate the order and click the row to expand.
3. Click the Distribution tab.

   

4. Click the transfer reference to view more details or click Receive transfer to receive the transfer.

For more information on stock transfers, refer to Transferring stock in Retail POS (X-Series).

What's next?

Transferring stock in Retail POS (X-Series)

Transfer stock between outlets.

Learn more

Partial inventory counts

Maintain accurate stock with inventory counts.

Learn more