1. Create a Purchase Order against a job and send it to your supplier
When the time comes to send your supplier a list of expense items that you want to order, head up to the Create menu and click Purchase Order.
Another way to create a Purchase Order is from an Expense. So, you might have logged a Draft Expense, that needs to now be converted into a promise to the lucky supplier.
Simply convert the Expense to a Purchase Order and get going. Purchase Orders have the same status options as Expenses, with the same effect on the job's figures. You can refer to our article on Expenses here.
TIP: You may be thinking.. what is the difference between a PO and an Expense, Expenses are usually used when you're purchasing items, or hiring contractors - for example, a coffee run, ordering multiple posters, or using a photographer and a Purchase Orders allow you to add multiple expenses within one document - i.e. multiple different items from the same supplier.
2. Editing a Purchase Order
Here you can do all the detailed editing and refining of your PO. Add the supplier deatils, PO number, required date and supplier invoice number detail. Changing the PO name, creating multiple expense line items (from your expense list should you choose) and applying the agreed upon cost rate for the expense line are all actioned from this stage.
It is also possible to apply markups specific to each line item. These fields are displayed in grey to indicate that they are only visible to you and not your supplier when you send them the PO.
Using the checkboxes on the sidebar, decide which fields will be visible to your supplier.
Turning these on and off will affect what your supplier sees on the PO.
4. Language Settings
The globe icon on the sidebar takes you to the Language Settings, allowing you to customise the wording you use on your Purchase Orders. For example, you might change the 'Required' field to 'Due Date' so it is clearer for your supplier. Change the language settings to personalise your Purchase Order.
You're also able to adjust things like the email language sent from Streamtime here.
5. Adding a master expense or heading
Add additional headings or master expenses to your purchase order by clicking the add button on the left between items. Insert headings to create groups within your PO. You can also add a blank item to type an expense not present in your master list.
6. Merging and reordering
The black bar across the top give you your actions for the purchase order, including merging and reordering of items.
Tap Merge to merge expense items (simple, huh). You'll see checkboxes appear for each expense line item on the left. Select the items you want to merge. By default, the first item you select will be the item that 'catches' the rest, indicated by a blue checkbox. Once you click merge, the items will add together: the total will include everything selected, and your quantity and unit rates will merge.
If you want to reorder the way items appear, click Reorder. Then, simply drag and drop your items into the order you want. Once you're happy — save the sort order. Done!
Pro tip: When you're in either of merge or reorder mode, just hit the esc button if you want to cancel it all and return to editing mode without saving your changes. |
7. Sending a Purchase Order
Once you're ready to send this PO, tap the Preview and send button. You'll see the preview of the quote on the left.
Change the template of the PO by clicking the colour pallete icon and selecting from our two template layout options (Streamtime and To The Point), plus a number of font options.
Enter the address of the recipient, and change/adjust the pre-populated subject line here. You'll be able to add your custom message to the email here too.
Note you can download the PDF here yourself for your records, and if you prefer to attach it separately to an email, mark it as sent manually in the 3 dot menu here. Of course, we recommend using Streamtime to send your PO so this process is automated for you.
8. What your supplier sees
Once you've sent a PO, your supplier will receive the email, and be sent a link or have the PDF attached to the email if the option was selected on send.
Accounting Package Integrations
Yes. You can send Expenses and Purchase Orders directly into your connected accounting package.
Note: If your supplier offers you a refund on a PO, note that on credit notes - In Streamtime these are designed for when a client has paid, to offset their invoice, and not when a supplier has refunded some of the cost of expenses or PO's.
Our suggestion here would be to either decline or amend the PO depending on the value of the credit note
Purchases Order Statuses
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Sometimes plans change. You may intend to spend on one thing but end up not needing it. Or perhaps you've got several quotes from different suppliers that you'd like to keep on hand, but not formally attach to the job. That's where statuses come in handy. They help you differentiate between what's still in the planning phase and what's actually been executed—similar to how you track planned versus logged time. Simple, but effective, right?
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Draft
This is the default status when you add a new PO. This means the cost will be included in your Total Planned Cost, and the sell price will be included in the Total Planned Sell, but the PO won't be included in Total Used figures.
Approved
This means the cost will be included in your Total Planned Cost, and the sell price will be included in the Total Planned Sell, and Total Used figures.
Paid
Figures for Paid Expenses are included in the exact same way as Approved Expenses. However, you can now differentiate between expenses that have not yet been paid out. Note that if you have sent this PO to Xero, paid status will be pulled through from there and cannot be set in Streamtime.
Declined
Neither cost nor sell prices are included in any figures, but the information is still stored on the job. Good to keep track of alternate supplier quotes, things that fell through, or old budget figures.