Managing Purchase Orders
Purchase orders (POs) formalize your requests to suppliers for inventory replenishment. WareSquared supports the complete PO lifecycle from draft to receiving, including partial deliveries.
Creating a Purchase Order
- Go to Purchase Orders → click + New Purchase Order
- Select the Supplier and Destination Warehouse
- Set the Expected Delivery Date
- Add line items: search for products, set quantities and unit costs
- Use the + Add Item button to add more lines (or remove with the X button)
- The PO auto-calculates the total
- Click Create Purchase Order
Purchase Order Workflow
POs follow a structured status lifecycle with transition guards:
| Status | Description | Available Actions |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | Created, can still be edited | Submit for approval, approve directly, cancel |
| Pending Approval | Awaiting manager review | Approve, cancel |
| Approved | Approved for sending | Send to supplier, cancel |
| Sent | Emailed to supplier | Record received items, cancel |
| Partially Received | Some items delivered | Record more items, cancel |
| Received | All items fully delivered | (Terminal status) |
| Cancelled | Order cancelled | (Terminal status) |
Note: Only draft POs can be edited. Once a PO moves past draft status, its line items are locked.
Sending to a Supplier
Click Send to Supplier to email the PO. The supplier receives a formatted email with your order details including all line items, quantities, and expected delivery date. The supplier must have an email address on file.
Partial Receiving
WareSquared supports receiving items in multiple deliveries:
- Open a Sent or Partially Received PO
- Enter the quantity received for each line item
- Click Receive Items
- The PO tracks received vs. ordered quantities per line item
- Status automatically updates:
- Partially Received — when some (but not all) items have been received
- Received — when all line items are fully delivered
Auto-Generated Purchase Orders
If Auto-Reorder is enabled in your warehouse settings, WareSquared automatically creates draft POs when products fall below their reorder points:
- Products are grouped by preferred supplier
- Reorder quantities and lead times come from your product and warehouse settings
- Drafts appear in your PO list for review before sending
Cancelling a Purchase Order
Click Cancel on any PO that hasn't been fully received. Cancelling a partially received PO does not reverse items already received into inventory.
Searching and Filtering
Filter purchase orders by supplier, status, or date range. Search by PO number.
Tip: Create purchase orders when products hit their reorder point. This creates a clear paper trail from low-stock alert to supplier order to goods received.
See also: How Do I Manage Suppliers?, How Do I Receive Goods into My Warehouse?, Low Stock Alerts and Reorder Points