Manage Purchase Orders

For: Parts and inventory staff, office staff · Permission: Manage Parts on your role · Time: ~4 minutes

Quick summary

1. Open Parts & Inventory → Purchase Orders to see every PO, newest first.
2. Click + Create PO, pick a vendor, and add the parts. Click Create PO to submit it, or Save as Draft to finish it later.
3. Click Receive Items as parts arrive. Choose where the stock goes and who pays the vendor.
4. Click Create Vendor Bill for the lines the vendor will bill you for. Click Mark bill paid when you pay.

Before you start

• A vendor on file. To add one, open Parts & Inventory → Vendors and click + New vendor. You can also click + New beside the Vendor field on a new PO.
• The parts in your catalog. Each PO line must match a catalog part before you can receive it.
• The vendor's invoice number, if you have it. You can add it now or later.

Open the Purchase Orders list

Go to Parts & Inventory → Purchase Orders. Each row shows the PO number, vendor, status, line count, total, linked service orders, and the date it was created.

Search by PO number, vendor, or part. Then narrow the list with the status filter, From receipts (POs that started from a technician's receipt), Drafts from service orders (drafts made for a job), or Show archived (archived POs are hidden by default). A draft with no costs yet shows a Needs costs tag.

Export CSV is greyed out. You can't export the purchase order list from this page.

What the statuses mean

Create a purchase order

Click + Create PO. Fill in these fields:

1. Vendor: pick the vendor you're ordering from.
2. Vendor invoice # (optional): type the number printed on the vendor's invoice. Leave it blank until the invoice arrives if you need to.
3. Expected delivery (optional): pick the date you expect the parts.
4. Brand (optional): pick the brand the order belongs to. The brand decides which QuickBooks connection the bill posts to. Keep Default brand (tenant identity) if you're not sure. For how bills reach QuickBooks, see How Vendors, Bills and Purchase Orders Map to QuickBooks.
5. Line items: click ＋ Add line item, pick a part under Part, and enter the Qty. The unit cost fills in from the part. Use Linked SO to tie a line to a service order.

Enter Freight and Tax under the lines if the vendor charged them. The Total includes both.

To fill the lines from a vendor's document instead, see Snap a Receipt → Draft Purchase Order.

Then choose how to save:

• Click Create PO to submit the order. It opens with the status Submitted, ready to receive.
• Click Save as Draft to keep the order unsubmitted. You can come back to it later.

If another PO already has the same vendor and invoice number, MetaFleet asks This receipt may already be on a PO first. Click Cancel to go back, Create anyway to save the new PO, or Open PO-… (it shows the existing PO's number) to open the existing one.

If QuickBooks is connected and purchase order sync is on, MetaFleet sends the order to QuickBooks shortly after you submit it. You don't need to click Sync now. An order that reads Goes on the next sync on the list goes with the nightly QuickBooks sync. For details, see Receive Parts and Bill Purchase Orders with QuickBooks.

MetaFleet doesn't send the PO to the vendor. Place the order with the vendor yourself. Create PO and Place Order only record it in MetaFleet.

Work with a draft

Open a draft to finish it. A draft shows Edit PO, Cancel PO, Place Order, and Delete. Click Place Order after you've placed the order with the vendor. That locks the PO so you can receive against it. Click Delete to remove a draft you don't need. Place Order is greyed out until every line has a catalog part. Hover over it to see Every line needs a part first. Open Edit PO to pick one.

If QuickBooks takes your purchase orders and a line costs $0.00, Place Order opens Some lines have no cost first. It says "This line will go to QuickBooks at $0.00" and lists the lines. Click Add costs to open Edit PO, or Place anyway to place the order as it is. Drafts made from a job start at the vendor's cost for the part, or the catalog cost. A part with no cost on file stays at $0.00 and shows Needs cost.

Drafts started from a job (the work-item Create PO or Order from vendor action) land here already linked to that service order. Cancel PO voids the order and clears the On order · PO tags on its job parts.

Receive parts

When parts arrive, click Receive Items at the top of the PO. You can receive part of a line. The rest stays open on the PO. If the PO is linked to a service order, the parts are held for that order wherever you receive them.

1. Receive into: pick the location for the stock. To send lines to more than one location, click → Split across destinations.
2. Receive now: enter the quantity that arrived for each line. A line with no catalog part shows Match a part first instead. Close the panel and click Match a part on that line in the PO's line table. Pick the part, or create a new one. The line keeps its quantity and unit cost.
3. Billing: choose one for each line before you receive: Vendor will bill us if the vendor will send a bill, We already paid if you paid at pickup, or Already in QuickBooks if the vendor's bill is already entered in QuickBooks, so MetaFleet won't bill that line. No option is picked for you. Under the buttons, the vendor's usual choice shows with a Use this link. Click it to take that choice.
4. Click Confirm Receipt. It stays disabled until you pick a location and a Billing option for every line. The message beside it tells you what's missing.

The PO shows Partially Received until every line is in. Then it shows Fully Received. The header's money summary shows Total, Received (with a % complete), Billed and Paid.

Receiving needs a catalog part. Click Match a part on each unmatched line in the PO's line table before you receive it. The Receive Items panel says Match a part first on those lines, and the other lines still receive. This keeps stock and accounting accurate. Lines on receipt-based POs often start unmatched.

Create the vendor bill

Click Create Vendor Bill after you receive parts. The dialog asks for the Vendor invoice #, Bill date, Due date, and Notes. The invoice number you type is kept when you click Create bill. It bills the received lines marked Vendor will bill us. Lines marked We already paid are not billed again. Their share of the PO's freight and tax counts in the Billed and Paid amounts.

Click Create bill. The PO status changes to Partially Billed or Fully Billed, and the header shows the Billed amount.

If you have the vendor's invoice as a file, click Bill from invoice instead. Drop or choose the invoice (PDF, JPG or PNG). MetaFleet reads it and matches it to the PO. The bill covers only the lines the invoice matched. If a line's price on the invoice differs from the PO, pick Bill at invoice price (already picked) or Bill at PO price, each shown with its amount. The PO price keeps the line flagged, so you still need Make the bill anyway. A line you remove in the review stays unbilled for the vendor's later invoice, even with Make the bill anyway. The exception is an invoice that matched no PO line: then Make the bill anyway bills the whole PO.

When you pay the vendor, click Mark bill paid. The app shows the open bills and their total and asks you to confirm. Then the status changes to Paid, and the Paid amount fills in. To cancel a bill you created by mistake, click Void bill. The app asks you to confirm first. You can't void a bill once any bill on the PO is paid. The button still shows, but the app refuses it. If you marked one paid by mistake, contact support.

Record the vendor's invoice number

In the panel on the right, type the number from the vendor's invoice in Vendor Invoice #, then click Save. This is the vendor's invoice number, not the PO number MetaFleet gives the order.

Archive or delete a PO

Delete is available until parts are received or the PO is sent to QuickBooks. After that, click Archive. Archive appears once parts are received or the PO is billed. Archived POs are hidden from the list. Turn on Show archived to find them.

Troubleshooting

FAQs

Can I receive part of an order?

Yes. Enter any quantity for each line. The PO shows Partially Received until every line is in.

Why does my new PO show Submitted?

Click Create PO to submit the order. Use Save as Draft if you aren't ready to submit it. With QuickBooks purchase order sync on, a submitted order goes to QuickBooks on its own shortly after you submit it.

How do I see only receipt-based POs?

Tick From receipts on the list.

What happens to job parts if I cancel a PO?

The "On order · PO" tags it placed on those parts are cleared automatically.

Can I export for accounting?

No. Export CSV on the list is greyed out.

Related articles

• Receive, Issue & Adjust Stock
• Create a PO from a Work Item or Service Order
• Receive Parts and Bill Purchase Orders with QuickBooks
• Add & Manage Vendors
• Snap a Receipt → Draft Purchase Order