Creating a Purchase Order

Before You Begin

To create a purchase order you will need:

• The supplier already added as a Contact in CrafterBy (see Creating a Supplier or Customer)
• The materials you are ordering already created in your Materials list
• The agreed unit price for each item

Steps

1. Go to Purchase Orders in the main navigation.
2. Click Create PO.
3. In the Supplier field, type the supplier's name and select them from the dropdown. Only contacts with type Supplier or Both will appear.
4. Set the Order Date — the date you placed the order with the supplier.
5. Set the Expected Delivery Date — your best estimate of when the goods will arrive.
6. Add the first line item:
   1. Click Add Item.
   2. Select a Material from the dropdown — your existing materials list will appear.
   3. Enter the Quantity you are ordering.
   4. Enter the Unit Price agreed with the supplier.
7. Repeat step 6 for every material in the order.
8. Review the Total calculated at the bottom of the line items.
9. Set the initial Status:
   • Draft — if you have not yet formally placed the order with the supplier
   • Sent — if the order has already been communicated to the supplier
10. Add any Notes (optional) — e.g., "supplier confirmed via email 14 Jan, ref #FR-0042".
11. Click Save.

When the Delivery Arrives

When you receive the goods:

1. Open the purchase order.
2. If everything arrived, change the status to Received.
3. If only some items arrived, change the status to Partial and note what is still outstanding.
4. Click Save.

Marking as Received triggers an automatic stock update: the quantity of each material in the PO is added to your current stock levels. The unit price from the PO is also used to update the cost price of that material, keeping your cost calculations accurate.

Example

You run a leather goods workshop and order a batch of supplies:

• 2m of vegetable-tanned leather at EUR 45.00/m
• 50 solid brass rivets at EUR 0.30 each
• 1 bottle of leather conditioner at EUR 12.00

Create a PO for your leather supplier contact, add three line items, set status to Sent, and save. When the delivery arrives, open the PO and mark it Received. Your leather, rivet, and conditioner stock levels all increase automatically.