1. Create a Purchase Order
A Purchase Order documents what you've ordered from a vendor before the items arrive. POs don't affect your inventory, inventory only updates when you create a bill to receive the items against the PO. This article walks through enabling the Purchase Orders feature, creating a PO with a vendor, items, quantities, and expected arrival date, and understanding the PO statuses (Open, Partial, Manually Closed, Closed).
2. Link a Bill to a Purchase Order
When your items arrive, link the bill to the original PO so ConnectStock tracks what was ordered, what was received, and what's still outstanding. You can link multiple POs to one bill, receive items partially across several bills, or keep one master bill per PO, whichever fits how your vendor ships.
3. Set Up Your Company Info and Ship To Address
Before sending POs to vendors, set up your Company Info and Default Ship To Address so they automatically appear on all POs going forward. This is a one time setup that saves you work later. You'll also set up your vendors in Lists so their details flow onto the PO.
4. Add Your Company Logo
Upload your company logo from File Settings → Company Info so it appears automatically on every PO and Invoice PDF you generate. PNG or JPG works best.
5. Email POs Directly to Vendors
Once your POs are built and your company info is set up, send POs straight to your vendors from ConnectStock. This article covers adding vendor email addresses, configuring your email greeting and reply to address, adding CC recipients, previewing the PDF, and using Ignore Email to skip older POs you don't want sent.
6. Track PO Status with Workflow Tags
Workflow Tags are a simple way to track the status of your POs as they move through your purchasing process. Use them to flag a PO as positive (for example, Shipped) or as needing attention. You can also filter the PO list by tag, and manage your tags from ConnectStock → Lists → Workflow Tags.
7. Create POs in Bulk from the Forecasting Report
Once you're comfortable creating POs, skip the manual process and let the Inventory Forecasting Report do the work. Select items directly from the report, click Create Purchase Order, and the system generates draft POs grouped by preferred vendor (and by region, if regions are enabled). Review them in the Restock PO Review section before approving. Just make sure every item has a preferred vendor assigned first.
8. Auto Populate Your PO Numbers
Want your PO numbers to follow your own sequence or match your internal system? ConnectBooks can auto generate PO numbers for you, incrementing by one from wherever you left off. You can use a plain number (1001, 1002, 1003) or a custom format (PO500, PO501, etc.).
9. Set Up Units of Measure
If you purchase items in cases, packs, or boxes (instead of single units), set up Units of Measure. Define the base unit and any variations (e.g., a Case of 24, a Pack of 12), and ConnectStock will automatically calculate the right quantities when you create POs and bills. This is especially important if you plan to create POs in bulk from the Forecasting Report.
10. Map Vendor Items
Vendors often use different names or UPCs for the same product. Vendor Items lets you map vendor specific item numbers to your ConnectStock items, so when you add a vendor item number to a PO or bill, the system automatically pulls in the right inventory item, cost, and unit of measure.
11. Add Item Descriptions to the PDF
Want item descriptions to automatically appear on every PO and Invoice PDF? Toggle on Export with Description in Company Info and you're done.
12. Add Line Item Notes
Need to include specific details or instructions on individual line items? Turn on Line Item Notes from File Settings to add a notes field to each line on your POs, bills, and invoices.