Table Of Contents

Overview

As in all of the BMS modules, the flow of processing is outlined on the menus themselves. If you need further help, there are help screens available in each screen. The following pages have examples of the help screens available in the order entry module. The help screens will be referred to throughout the course of this manual. In most screens, there is additional on-line more detailed help available. This will be indicated by a statement at the bottom of the screen such as Press F1 for more detailed help.

There are also examples of various screens found in Purchase Order included in this manual. These will help you become more familiar with the look of BMS module screens. Since the modules are integrated, the purchase order manual will refer to other modules. To find more information on those modules, check the appropriate manuals.

As in most of the BMS modules, a few basic "rules" or keystrokes are in effect for order entry. They are the following:

All functions must be performed in CAPITAL LETTERS

<F1>=Help
<F9>=Clears screen
<Esc>=Exit
<Tab>=Find
<Backspace>=Clears the line

This manual is intended to be used as a guide in learning the Purchase Order program. It is not a replacement for a manager's direction. Some processes in the Business Management System are subjective and require specific instructions from a manager as to how your company would like a particular situation handled. Executive Computer Systems is not responsible for any actions taken based upon information found within this manual.  Top.

Accessing Purchase Orders

Note: Your system may be a customized system. Therefore, the menus may not have exactly the same order or options. Nor may you have all of the same programs listed in this manual.

From the Master Menu, choose P/O - Purchase Order System. This will bring you into the following menu:

Choose Enter Purchase Orders

You will then see the following screen:

Enter the password in capital letters. Press Enter when done. The password comes from the Company Setup file. See the discussion on passwords in the Company Setup manual. The operator code corresponding with the password prints on all quotes, orders, purchase orders, picking lists, invoices and credit memos, so you can track who worked on the order.  Top.

Purchase Order Screen

The following is a sample Purchase Order screen.

You will see in the upper left-hand corner the word "Entry". This means that you have gone into purchase order entry screen. If you had gone into the received program, there would have been the word "Receive".

The Purchase Order screen is divided into three sections. The top section, where all of the vendor and shipping information is located, is referred to as the header or bill-to area. The middle section, where the items ordered are entered, is referred to as the line-item area. The bottom section, where the tax information and status bar are located, is referred to as the footer area.  Top.

On-Line Help

In the purchase order screen, if you need to know any of the function key assignments, pressing Help <F1> will bring up a help screen. Notice that it shows you the function key layout depending on what point you are on the screen. The Bill-to or header, Line-item and Footing areas are the three main areas of the order entry screen. The following are examples of those help screens.

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Vendor Search

When you first go into purchase order, your cursor will be in the "vendor" area. You must select your vendor. There are several methods of pulling up a vendor.

Searching for vendor by name:
You can type in the first few letters of the customer's name and press the <FIND> (tab) key. If it is a close match, but not quite, press the Page Up or Page Down to find the next closest match.

Searching for vendor by ID #:
If you know the vendor's account id, simply hit Enter when you get into purchase order. Your cursor moves over to the ID field. Just type in the id and press the find (tab) key. The screen will fill in the vendor name and address. If the vendor id is not correct, the system will bring up the vendor closest in alpha id to what you entered. Page Up or Down to find your vendor or press <F9> to clear the screen and try another method.

Using Vendor Search Feature:
You can have the system show you a "list" of your vendors and choose which one you want from that list. Press the <F3> key while your cursor is in the "bill-to" field. The screen will look like this:

Type in the name you are looking for and <tab>. You will then see the following screen:

You will see a list of vendors that match the closest. Keep hitting Enter to see more vendors. When you find the vendor you are looking for, hit <Esc>. You will then be asked which line number you want to look at. Enter the line number that corresponds with the vendor you want to view, and press Enter. You are then brought back to the purchase order screen and that vendor's information is filled in. If you do not want any of the vendors you see, press <Esc> without selecting a line number.

Editing or adding a vendor while in Purchase Order:
There is a point in Purchase Order where you can add a new or edit an existing vendor file.  This saves time, because you do not have to exit out of Purchase Order, go into Accounts Payable to the vendor maintenance screen, change the specific information, and go back into Purchase Order.

You can bring up the specific vendor first by the methods we have already covered or <F7> at a blank purchase order screen and bring up the vendor from within the vendor file maintenance screen.

While your cursor is in the "vendor" field, press <F7>. This will take you to the vendor file maintenance screen. You can edit the vendor profile or add a new vendor at this time.  Top.

Enter/Edit Vendors

The following is an example of the Accounts Payable Vendor screen. This is where you enter or edit the purchase order vendor information.

If editing, type in the vendor id and use <tab> to find your vendor. You can also type in the vendor name and use <tab> here to find your vendor. You may also search for a vendor by pressing <F7>. This will bring up a list of all entered vendors. If you type in the first character of the vendor's name and enter, you will be brought to that portion of the vendor list. For example, you know your vendor begins with "R", type "R" and enter and the system will bring you to the first vendor with the beginning letter of "R".

Once you have found the correct vendor, use your Enter key until you get to the field you want to change. Edit the field and then <F10> to Save the information. The only field that cannot be edited is the vendor id.

If you are adding a vendor, you must fill in the appropriate information. The following is a description of each field.

Vendor ID: Vendor ID: This number is determined by you. You can use part of the vendor name or something that is meaningful for you. You can use this field to find existing record. Type in your vendor id or part of your vendor id and press <tab> to find it. You can also use<F5> at a blank vendor screen to look up vendors already entered. If you find the one you want to bring up, Enter on that vendor and it will bring you into the vendor screen with that account up.

As you can see from this help screen, there are a lot of valuable features available from the "List of Inventory Items" screen. Please check your inventory manual for further descriptions and information.

(C) To look for an inventory item number from within Purchase Order
If you are not already in the line-item section of the order, (A)dd a line to the order. Type in the item number, or part of it and press <tab>. Or, you can bypass the item number by pressing Enter, and go right to the description field. Type in the first few letters and press <tab>. Press PgUp or PgDn, if needed, to find the item you want.

Once you have found the item you want
Again, you will note that the top of the purchase order screen gives you some information about this item. It tells you ordered this product from this vendor before, purchase order number, quantity, and cost. You also see the last 12 months purchase history, the different costs, and the stock levels on this item.

Press Enter to add the item to the order. Enter the number ordered and the cost. The system then calculates the cost times units ordered and puts that figure in extended amount.  Top.

Other Features In Purchase Order

Most of the following features that will be discussed can be accessed through the help screens. See the on-line help section for samples of these screens. These are just a few of the options available. Check the help screen for more options.

More than six line items on a purchase order:
If there are more than six lines on an order, the order splits into additional screen "pages" (see the lower left corner of the order for the page number you are on). To see the first page of the order, while your cursor is in the footer section of the screen, press the up-arrow key. Use up-arrow and down-arrow to get to the page you want. When you get to the second page, the line item numbering starts over.

To cancel the line you are working on:
While your cursor is on the status field, press <F2>.

To delete a line that has already been added to the order:
While your cursor is on the status field, page up or down to get to the page the item is on. When you are on the right page, type D for Delete, type in the line number to delete, and press Enter. The item is removed, and the purchase order is recalculated. However, the line is not re-used. New line items will be appended.

To edit an amount ordered or change the cost:
While your cursor is on the status field, type E for Edit and type in the line number. The cursor jumps to that line. If the item is an inventory item the cursor will jump to the "ordered" field. You cannot edit the received field from this option. Make the appropriate changes and Enter through. The order is then recalculated. If the item was not an inventory item, you will have access to all parts of the line.

To edit an amount ordered, received or change the cost on a received item:
While your cursor is on the status field, type R for Edit a Received item and type in the line number. The cursor jumps to that line. If the item is an inventory item the cursor will jump to the "ordered" field. Make the appropriate changes and Enter through. You may edit the received field from this option. The order is then recalculated. If the item was not an inventory item, you will have access to all parts of the line. This can only be done before you receive the purchase order through the change status option. See Receiving Purchase Orders on for details.

To add a note to a purchase order:
While your cursor is on the status field, type N for Note. You will get a window where you can add your notes. Press <F10> when done. This note will only print on this particular order. It will not print on this order when it is invoiced. See the section on P/O Messages for information on how to have messages print on every order. Only four lines of notes will print on an order.

To change data in the heading of the purchase order:
While your cursor is on the status field, press H for Heading. The cursor jumps to the top of the screen where you can change any and all information in the heading area. This includes ship-to information (even from a ship-to table).

If you want to add a non-inventoried item to a purchase order:
While your cursor is on the status field, press A to add a line to the order. Type in a made-up item number, or use the item number "SPECIAL". Your cursor goes to the description field. Type in the description of the item, press Enter to get to the amount ordered and shipped. You then must fill in the price. You will then be prompted for the item cost and whether it is taxable.  Check with a manager for your company's policy in this situation.

To insert an item into a purchase order:
While your cursor is on the status field, type I for Insert and enter the line # where you wish to insert your item. This will insert your item before the line # that you choose.

Adding "freeform text" after a line item:
After entry of an item, you can go to the next line, Enter to the description field, type in what you want and hit Enter. Do not enter an item number or hit Tab, as the system will think you want to search for an "item". This "freeform text" will print on the purchase order and when it is invoiced. You can type in as many "freeform text" lines as you wish.   Top.

Vendor Account Activity

View Vendor Account Activity
While in purchase order, you can look at the vendor's account in detail. Press <F8> from the status field on the bottom of the purchase order screen. The following screen will appear.

This screen lists all invoices under this vendor. It shows information about each invoice and whether it is paid or open at this time. There are totals at the bottom of the screen for all that is paid and open to date.

The <F8> key from this screen will give you a purchase history for this vendor. This will show all purchases month by month, year by year. You may also add vendor notes from this screen by pressing <F2>.   Top.

Finding And Editing Purchase Orders

If you want to look up any purchase order regardless of status, you can pull it up several ways--listing all, or searching through individual purchase orders by vendor. To look up an order that has not yet been posted, you must be at a blank purchase order screen.

1. To list all unposted purchase orders:
Hit the <F6> key. This will bring up the following screen:

To see all open items at this time, press Enter and it will list all open and unposted purchase orders. Cursor is at (S)tatus, which will allow you to select orders by status code. The codes are:

(I)nvoiced purchase order
(E)ntered purchase order
(R)eceived purchase order
(B)ack order
(O)rder printed with pricing

Type in the code you want and hit Enter. This will bring up a list of purchase orders under that code. To select the order you want to see, type in the line number of the order you want to see and hit Enter. The purchase order will then be brought up. Any purchase order except those with a Status I or V can be edited unless it has been completely received. Status I or V purchase orders can only be viewed. Invoices, purchase orders with a status I, cannot be voided at this point.

2. To search through individual orders:
This can be done in two ways - you can just pull up the order number (if you know it), or you can pull up a vendor and then show any purchase orders for this vendor.

If you know the order number:
On a blank purchase order screen, press <F8>. Your cursor jumps to the purchase order number field. Type in the purchase order number and press <tab>. The order comes on the screen. At this point you can enter through the heading information and make changes if you need to or you can press <F7> to bring your cursor to the status field to work from here. If you have brought up the wrong purchase order number, use PgUp or PgDn to "scroll" through other orders.

If you know the vendor, but not the order number:
On a blank purchase order screen cursor is in the vendor field in the bill-to section. Enter the vendor, and hit <tab>. (PgDn will also work here.) You may also use any of the other search options previously discussed. Once your vendor is up, it will display at the bottom of the screen how many purchase orders are in process for the vendor. Press <F6> and this will list all open items for this vendor. Type in the line item of order you wish to see and press Enter. This will put you in that purchase order.

3. Editing a Purchase Order:
Once you have found your purchase order, you can edit it as needed. While your cursor is in the status field, type E for Edit. Choose the line you wish to edit and Enter. This will bring you to that line. Edit as necessary. If you have already received the purchase order and wish to edit, see the following section for details.  Top.

Receiving A Purchase Order

Receiving a purchase order is a two-step process. It is very important to understand this concept. This should be done under a manager's direction. The first step is you must receive the items. This means having the received numbers appear in the received column of this purchase order. This can be done in one of two ways.

Receiving All Items At Once
If you have several items to be received, the easiest way to receive the items is to receive them all at one time. To do this you must be in the purchase order you are receiving. Your cursor should be in the status field. At this point, press <F7> to receive the complete order. You may now edit any received amounts.

Receiving Items Individually
To receive an item individually, your cursor must be in the status field at the bottom of the screen. Type R for edit received and Enter. This will bring your cursor to the Ordered field. Enter from there to enter the amount received. Again it is easier to choose <F7> to receive all when you have several items.

Editing a Received Purchase Order
After you have received your purchase order via the above methods, you may then edit the received items. To do this you cursor should be in the status field. As found in the help screen, you may edit received items by typing in R for received items. You must use R instead of E to edit because these items have already been received.

When you are done editing the received items in your purchase order, When you are done editing the received items in your purchase order, you must then proceed to the second step of the receiving your purchase order. While your cursor is on the status field, type S for Status. The following four choices will appear. You want to choose the fourth option.

1) (E)ntered -Your purchase order will have a status of E until you "receive" or "invoice" it.

2) (V)oid - You cannot void a Received Purchase Order. Only Entered Purchase Orders can be voided. This completely wipes out the purchase order, even if you have already printed it. The purchase order number is not reassigned. After post to P/O is run, all reference to this order will be gone.

3) (I)nvoice - This turns the purchase order into an invoice and updates inventory simultaneously. This means you can no longer edit the order. You must receive the purchase order before you can invoice it. To print the invoice from the purchase order screen type P when your cursor is on the status field. The Vendor file will be updated when you run the Post to Purchase Order program.

4) (R)eceive - This is the second step in receiving a purchase order. Once you have changed the status of the received purchase order to an R through this program, you cannot edit the ordered and received numbers. Make sure all of your changes have been made before you complete this step.

Once you have changed the status of the purchase order to an R, you will be asked the following question.

Make the appropriate selection and Enter. This completes the receiving process. You may still edit the cost by typing E in the status field. It will only allow you to edit the cost - nothing else may be edited.

The next step would be to change the Received Purchase Order into an Invoice. While your cursor is in the status field, type S for status. That will bring into the status selections. From here you would select I for invoice.

As you enter through the fields as you invoice, you may make several entries. The cursor will stop at the discount, tax and freight fields. Make any appropriate entries here. The following list of questions will then appear.

Make the appropriate selections and enter. Enter the Vendor's invoice number as it should appear in the Accounts Payable program. The purchase order will then show a status of I and "View Only" will appear at the bottom. The cursor will be in the status field and you can type P to print this invoiced purchase order (make sure you have forms in the printer to do this). The following is an example of a fully completed purchase order, with the Status of "I".

Accessing Back-Orders
A back-order is created when the second step in Receiving a purchase order occurs. The back-order will have the same purchase order number as the original order, but it will now also have a back-order number. Therefore, you can have as many back-orders for a purchase orders as necessary. You can then bring up the back-order via the same methods as finding a purchase order.   The same features are available for back-orders as for purchase orders. Once the merchandise comes in, you would receive and invoice same as a purchase order.

You cannot edit this invoiced purchase order now.  That is why the system lets you keep open purchase orders until you are sure they are correct. You control when the purchase order is invoiced.  Top.