Retail Express can automatically create Purchase Orders when configured products are sold through POS. This is useful for special-order products, customised items or products that must be ordered from a supplier after a customer places an order.
This video explains how to configure products for automatic Purchase Order creation, process the customer sale in POS, customise product descriptions for the supplier and manage the resulting Purchase Orders in Back Office.
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Chapters
Timestamp | Chapter |
|---|
00:00 | Overview |
00:16 | Finding Products Configured for Automatic Purchase Orders |
00:59 | Updating Products in Bulk |
01:10 | Configuring Automatic Purchase Order Settings |
01:51 | Processing the Customer Sale in POS |
02:59 | Customising Product Descriptions |
04:16 | Finalising the Sale and Creating Purchase Orders |
04:58 | Finding Automatically Generated Purchase Orders |
05:36 | Reviewing Customer Details |
05:56 | Placing and Sending the Purchase Order |
Transcript
Finding Products Configured for Automatic Purchase Orders
Retail Express can be configured to automatically generate a Purchase Order when selected products are sold.
In Back Office, open the Inventory menu and access the Product Search and Management tool.
This tool allows you to locate products using a range of criteria. To find products currently configured to create Purchase Orders automatically, select the relevant automatic Purchase Order search option.
You can combine this setting with other criteria. For example, you could restrict the results to products belonging to the Furniture Product Type.
Select Search to display the matching products.
The results show the products that are currently configured to automatically generate a Purchase Order when sold.
Updating Products in Bulk
The automatic Purchase Order setting is displayed against each product in the search results.
You can change the setting directly from the results. For example, you can clear the option for products that should no longer create Purchase Orders automatically.
After making the required changes, select Save Changes from the action bar.
Configuring Automatic Purchase Order Settings
To review the configuration for an individual product, select the edit icon beside the product.
Open the product’s advanced options.
The automatic Purchase Order setting provides three options:
- Never: The product does not automatically generate a Purchase Order.
- Always: A Purchase Order is generated whenever the product is sold.
- Only when out of stock: A Purchase Order is generated when the product is sold and no stock is available.
Select the option that reflects how the product should be ordered from its supplier.
For example, a special-order product can be configured to always generate a Purchase Order whenever it is sold.
Processing the Customer Sale in POS
After configuring the products, open POS and begin a new sale.
Add the products the customer wants to purchase.
Where the products must be ordered from suppliers and collected later, change the transaction to a layby or another appropriate fulfilment method.
Complete the normal requirements for the transaction. For a layby, this includes adding the customer and entering the required payment or deposit.
Before finalising the transaction, confirm that the products are not being dispatched to the customer immediately.
Customising Product Descriptions
A key benefit of this workflow is that the product description can be changed for the current sale before the Purchase Order is generated.
Open the product details from the sale and update the description with any information the supplier needs.
For example, a standard outdoor setting could be changed to:
Outdoor setting in gloss white
A furniture item could also be updated to include requirements such as:
Large royal blue with chrome fittings
The changed description remains with the customer’s sale and is also transferred to the Purchase Order sent to the supplier.
This is useful when a generic or custom-order product is maintained in Retail Express and the exact colour, finish, size or configuration changes for each customer.
The change applies to the product on the current transaction. It does not permanently change the product’s standard description in Back Office.
Finalising the Sale and Creating Purchase Orders
When the transaction is ready, select Finalise.
Retail Express creates the required Purchase Orders according to the suppliers associated with the products.
For example:
- If the products are supplied by three different suppliers, Retail Express creates three Purchase Orders.
- If all products are supplied by the same supplier, Retail Express creates one Purchase Order.
The Purchase Orders are generated only the first time the sale is finalised.
Reopening and editing the sale later will not repeat the automatic Purchase Order process. Any further changes must be managed directly through the created Purchase Orders.
Finding Automatically Generated Purchase Orders
Return to Back Office and open Purchase Order Manager.
Automatically generated Purchase Orders are initially created with an Incomplete status. This allows the retailer to review them before placing the orders with the suppliers.
Search for Purchase Orders created on the required date with an Incomplete status.
The results display the Purchase Orders generated from the POS transaction.
Reviewing Customer Details
The customer’s invoice number is displayed against the automatically generated Purchase Order.
Open the Purchase Order to review:
- The customer’s invoice number
- The customer’s details
- The products being ordered
- Any customised product descriptions entered in POS
This connection helps staff identify which customer the Purchase Order relates to.
When the supplier delivers the products, staff can use these details to identify and contact the customer whose goods have arrived.
Placing and Sending the Purchase Order
Review the Purchase Order and make any necessary changes before sending it to the supplier.
You can:
- Add additional products from the same supplier.
- Place the Purchase Order on order.
- Email the Purchase Order directly to the supplier.
- Print a copy for internal processing or receiving purposes.
Once the Purchase Order has been reviewed and placed on order, continue with the normal purchasing, receiving and customer fulfilment workflow.