Purchasing
Role: adminRole: managerUpdated 2026-08-29
What this is
Purchasing is where goods come into the shop: what you order from a supplier, what arrives, what the supplier bills you, what you pay, and what you send back.
Everything hangs off one record, the purchase document. It carries the supplier, the warehouse the goods land in, the currency the price was agreed in, and the lines. Deliveries, invoices, payments and returns are all booked against it, so the document answers three questions at any time: what is still outstanding, what is still unbilled, and what is still unpaid.
What you use it for
- Order goods and track what has not arrived yet.
- Book a delivery — this is the moment stock and the purchase cost change.
- Record the supplier's invoice and pay it, in full or in parts.
- Let the system propose what to reorder, from consumption and stock cover.
- Send goods back to the supplier and settle the amount.
Key terms
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Purchase document | The record holding supplier, warehouse, currency and lines. |
| Draft | Saved but not ordered. Only a draft can still be edited. |
| Goods receipt | A booked delivery. Raises stock and the purchase cost. |
| Invoice | What the supplier bills. Only delivered, not-yet-billed quantity can be billed. |
| Payment | Money leaving a cash account against one or more invoices of the document. |
| Document currency | The currency the price was agreed in. The rate is captured once and stays put. |
| Return | Goods going back to the supplier, later collected and settled. |
Articles in this area
- Purchases tab — the list, filters, and creating a document.
- Reorder proposals — what to order, and why that number.
- Supplier returns — sending goods back.
- From order to payment — the whole flow across pages.
- How purchase prices are calculated — discounts, tax, currency, stock value.