Adding Warehouse Items to Purchase Orders Follow

When creating a Purchase Order, users have the option to either enter free-form item details or select inventory items from the warehouse. Inventory items are not automatically available for selection on Purchase Orders. Additional setup is required to make inventory items available for purchasing and to associate vendor-specific pricing.

Step 1: Enable the Inventory Item for Purchase Orders

  1. Navigate to Warehouse → Inventory.
  2. Search for and open the inventory item you want to purchase through Purchase Orders.
  3. On the Details tab, locate the PO Item checkbox.
  4. Select the PO Item checkbox.
  5. Click Save & Close.

Once enabled, the inventory item can be associated with vendors and selected when creating Purchase Orders.

Step 2: Associate the Inventory Item with a Vendor

The second step is to associate inventory items with vendors. For each vendor, you can specify which inventory items are available for selection on Purchase Orders and establish vendor-specific pricing so users do not need to manually enter pricing each time a Purchase Order is created.

  1. Navigate to the Purchasing tab.
  2. Open the Vendors section.
  3. Search for and select the vendor you wish to associate with the inventory item.
  4. Open the vendor record.
  5. Select the Frequently Purchased Items tab.

Select the inventory item you wish to associate with the vendor from the drop-down list. If you have a standard price that you pay for the item, you can enter that value on the line item; however, this field is not required. Once you have completed the setup, click the Save icon on the far right side of the line item to save the association and vendor-specific purchasing information.

After you have added all of the inventory items you wish to associate with the vendor, click the Save & Close action button on the Vendor screen to save your changes.

The next time a Purchase Order is created for that vendor, users will be able to select the configured inventory items from the item drop-down list rather than manually entering item descriptions. This helps improve consistency, reduces data entry, and streamlines the purchasing process.

As a best practice, associating inventory items with vendors should be considered part of your standard inventory setup process. Whenever a new inventory item is created, it is recommended that you also add the item to the appropriate vendor's Frequently Purchased Items list to ensure it is available for future Purchase Orders.

Associating warehouse inventory items with Purchase Orders also improves the receiving process within the Warehouse module. When inventory items are linked to a Purchase Order and the PO number is selected during receiving, Midnight can automatically identify the inventory items being received and populate the appropriate information. This reduces manual data entry, improves receiving accuracy, and helps ensure inventory quantities are updated correctly when materials are received into stock.

After inventory items are received against a Purchase Order, the employee performing the receiving process will have the option to close the Purchase Order. Whether the Purchase Order should be closed by warehouse personnel during receiving or remain open for review and closure by a purchasing agent should be determined as part of your organization's purchasing and warehouse workflow.

Establishing a consistent process helps ensure Purchase Orders are properly reviewed, accurately received, and closed by the appropriate personnel. Organizations should determine who is responsible for validating quantities, pricing, backorders, and vendor invoices before a Purchase Order is marked as complete and closed.

Related Webinar: Receiving Inventory Against Purchase Orders

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