--- title: Purchase Orders description: "Order stock and special-order items from vendors: the PO list, the Items to Order list, every field, status, and sidebar action explained." url: "https://theasst.com/docs/purchase-orders/" updated: "2026-10-13" category: Items --- # Purchase Orders Purchase Orders (POs) are how you order stock or supplies from a vendor. When the goods arrive, you enter the vendor’s [Bill](https://theasst.com/docs/bills/) against the PO, and that is what receives the items into [Inventory](https://theasst.com/docs/inventory/) — there is no separate receiving step to remember. If received goods turn out to be defective, you can send them back; see [Vendor Returns](https://theasst.com/docs/vendor-returns/). ## The PO List ![PO List showing status, PO#, vendor, order date, and total](https://theasst.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/po-list.webp) Columns: **Status**, **PO #**, **Vendor**, **Order Date**, and **Total**. Click a PO to open it. The sidebar has: - **Add new** — start a blank PO. Opened from a vendor, the vendor is filled in for you and its standard payment terms are applied. - **Find** — search by all text fields, PO #, vendor name, or order date. - **Status filter** — All POs, Open/Partial, or Received. - **Reload To-order List** — reopens the *Items to Order* dialog. - **New Browser Tab**. ### Items to Order When you open the PO list, TBA can show **Items to Order**: everything in your company that needs to be purchased but isn’t on a PO yet. It is a check-list. Each row shows: ![Items to Order dialog listing special-order lines with quantity, manufacturer, manufacturer SKU, the client they are for, the source order, and the vendor](https://theasst.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/items-to-order.webp) - **Checkbox** — tick the rows you want on a PO. The box above the list ticks or clears every row. - **Qty** — how many to order. - **Mfr** and **Mfr SKU** — the manufacturer and the manufacturer’s part number. TBA treats every vendor’s item record for the same manufacturer part as the same product. - **For** — the client the item is being ordered for, or blank for stock. - **Source** — where the need came from, such as *SO #77, line 2*. - **Vendor** — the vendor that sells the part. If only one vendor does, it is filled in. If more than one does, choose from the drop-down; the row is marked until you do. There are three kinds of row: - **Special-order lines** on a [Sales/Service Order](https://theasst.com/docs/sales-service-orders/) that are waiting to be ordered for a client. - **Special-order lines** on an [Invoice](https://theasst.com/docs/invoices/), the same idea. - **Stock shortages** — inventory items whose on-hand plus on-order quantity has fallen below the *Minimum* you set on the [item](https://theasst.com/docs/item-info/). Click **OK**. TBA opens a new PO per vendor with those lines filled in. Nothing is saved until you review it and click Save. Untick **Show this dialog every time** if you don’t want it on each visit; the sidebar link always brings it back. A long list scrolls inside the dialog, so the title and the **OK** and **Cancel** buttons always stay on the screen. Names with apostrophes, such as *St. Margaret’s Nursing Home*, display correctly. ## The PO Page ![PO detail with two line items, quantity/cost/received totals](https://theasst.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/po-detail.webp) ### Header Fields - **PO #** — assigned when you save (see [Next Numbers to Assign](https://theasst.com/docs/next-numbers-to-assign/)). - **Status** — see below. - **Vendor** (required) — choose with Find, or add a new [vendor](https://theasst.com/docs/vendors/) on the spot. - **Terms** — payment terms, filled in from the vendor’s standard terms (see [Payment Terms Setup](https://theasst.com/docs/payment-terms-setup/)). - **Order date** (required), **Need-by date**, and **Expected delivery**. - **Ship method** — how the vendor will send it; choices come from [Shipping Methods](https://theasst.com/docs/shipping-methods/). - **Site** — which [site](https://theasst.com/docs/sites-setup/) the goods are for (shown only if you have two or more). - **Drop-ship to client?** — choose Yes when the vendor should ship directly to your client. Select the client, then pick one of their shipping addresses (or add one): Ship-to location, Address, City, State, and ZIP. - **Notes** — printed on the PO. ### Line Items Each line has the **Vendor Part/SKU**, **Description** (the item’s ordering description), **Manufacturer**, **Mfr Part/SKU**, **Size**, **Color**, **Qty**, **UoM**, **Unit Cost**, **Total**, and **Notes**. Use Find to pick an item, the arrows to reorder, the delete button to remove a line, and the collapse buttons to show each line on one row. Two extras: - **For** — the client the line is being ordered for, if any. - **Sales Order Line** — once a client is chosen, you can link the line to that client’s open special-order line, so when the goods arrive, TBA knows the special order has been received. Make this link whenever you order for a client’s special order: it lets TBA match the received item to the order, which keeps the [Items to Invoice](https://theasst.com/docs/invoices/) list from offering the same unit twice. Totals at the bottom: **Qty total**, **Cost total**, **Recvd total** (received so far), and **Remaining**. ## Statuses - **Open** — ordered, nothing received yet. - **Partial** — some but not all quantities received. A PO can be received in several shipments. - **Received** — everything received. - **Closed** — won’t be completed, but should be treated as finished. - **Cancelled** — no longer being ordered. Open, Partial, and Received update themselves as bills are entered against the PO. They also move *back* when units are returned to the vendor: a [Vendor Return](https://theasst.com/docs/vendor-returns/) reduces the line’s received quantity, so a fully Received PO becomes Partial (or Open) again until the replacement is received. If a client cancelled their special order, the return also reduces the line’s ordered quantity so nothing more is expected. Users with the PO status permission can also use **Change Status** to set any of the five by hand. Be aware that a manual change only changes the header; it does not change the received quantities on the lines, so the two can disagree. ## Sidebar Actions - **List → PO List / List Previous Find**. - **Send → Print/Download** — makes a PDF of the PO. - **Send → Email PO** — choose recipients (the vendor’s emails and contacts, or your own), then edit the subject and message before sending. Recorded in the [Email Log](https://theasst.com/docs/email-log/). - **View → Attachments / Communications / Status Changes** — see [Attachments and Pictures](https://theasst.com/docs/attachments-and-pictures/), [Vendor Communications](https://theasst.com/docs/vendor-communications/), and the history of status changes with who made them. - **Refresh Data** — reloads the lists on the page (vendors, terms, ship methods) after you’ve added one elsewhere. - **Delete PO** — permanently removes the PO. ## On a Phone The PO page has a phone layout: header fields stacked, each line as a card (collapsible), and running totals for quantity, cost, received, and remaining. In the Items to Order dialog each row is a card (manufacturer and quantity on top, then SKU, client, source, and the vendor drop-down at full width) with a larger checkbox. The PO list also fits the screen. See [Using TBA on Your Phone](https://theasst.com/docs/using-tba-on-your-phone/).