Things to Consider When Creating Purchase Orders
Before creating Purchase Orders in BuildOps, make sure the following are properly set up and understood:
Accounting & Settings
Sales Tax, Purchase Order Types, and Payment Terms must be configured in Accounting Settings.
Add a description for your Purchase Order Terms and Conditions in Company Settings.
Set up a Purchase Order External Message Template in Company Settings.
Confirm that your Purchase Order Tags are added in Custom Fields.
Purchase Order Types
Standard Purchase Order (Non Auto-Receive):
You’ll need to generate a Receipt in BuildOps once the PO is received. This ensures the Invoice reflects the total amount and fulfilled items.Purchase Order with Auto-Receive Enabled:
Receipts are automatically generated with all Purchase Order Items marked as fulfilled.Mobile App POs:
All POs created from the mobile app will be generated as a Field Order.
Items Setup
Ensure all Items are set up in your Item List.
Depending on your accounting integration, each item may require Sales & Expense Accounts or an Item GL Group to avoid sync issues. (Some integrations don’t require both Sales & Expense accounts.)
Create separate items for Freight and Tax.
Vendor Setup
Confirm all Vendors are added in Vendor Settings so they are available for selection in the PO workflow.
Purchase Orders
Purchase Orders are created by the office to order items from vendors. These are only visible to technicians in the mobile app.
Only the office can add a Receipt to a Purchase Order.
In the mobile app, technicians can interact with Field Orders:
Permissions may include the ability to view, create, receive, or add receipt line items to a Field Order.
Technicians can view Purchase Orders in their visits but cannot interact with them. They can only interact with Field Orders.
The Purchase Order Table
To view a list of all Purchase Orders, hover over Operations → click Purchase Orders.
By default, the table sorts Purchase Orders in descending order, showing the most recent at the top of the list. Just like other tables in BuildOps, you can use saved Table Views for quick access to specific Purchase Orders.
Available Columns on Purchase Orders
When viewing Purchase Orders in BuildOps, you can customize which columns are displayed. Below is a list of available columns and what each one means:
PO Number – The unique identifier automatically assigned to each Purchase Order.
Status – Shows the current state of the Purchase Order (e.g., Draft, Ordered, Partially Fulfilled, Fulfilled, Void, Closed).
Field Order – Indicates if the Purchase Order was created as Field order on the web or was created from the field (mobile app).
Vendor – The supplier or vendor associated with the Purchase Order.
Description – A short description of the Purchase Order or its items.
Department – The department the Purchase Order is tied to.
Job / Project – The job or project linked to the Purchase Order.
Total – The total cost of the Purchase Order.
Tags – Any labels or tags applied for easier tracking and filtering.
Assigned To – The person responsible for the Purchase Order.
Expected By – The date the ordered items are expected to arrive.
Required By – The deadline by which the items are needed.
Direct Payer - Sales Tax – Indicates if the vendor is directly handling sales tax.
Created By – The user who created the Purchase Order.
Created On – The date the Purchase Order was created.
Above the Purchase Order table, you will see color-coded status filters.
Click a status label to filter the table and only show Purchase Orders with that status.
To export all Purchase Orders, click EXPORT in the upper-right corner. An Excel file will automatically download.
Overall Total Cost represents the total dollar amount of all Purchase Orders.
PO Status | Description |
Draft | PO has been started in BuildOps but not submitted to the vendor. |
Ordered | PO has been placed and marked as ordered, but no items received. |
Partially Fulfilled | A portion of the PO items have been received. |
Fulfilled | All PO items have been received in full. |
Void | The entire PO has been canceled. |
If you want to export all Purchase Orders, click EXPORT in the upper right corner and an excel document will download.
‘Overall Total Cost’ is the total dollar amount of all Purchase Orders.
How To Create A Purchase Order
We recommend creating a new Purchase Order directly from the Job or Project. This saves time and ensures the Purchase Order is automatically associated with the correct Job/Project.
From the Job/Project page, click the Parts & Purchasing tab.
Select ADD PURCHASE ORDER.
2. Fill in the General Information.
PO Type (required) – Select the Purchase Order type.
Date (required) – The date of the Purchase Order.
Department (required) – Choose the department associated with the PO.
Vendor (required) – Enter the vendor or subcontractor name.
Assign To – Select the employee who will pick up the items or be responsible for the PO.
Job/Project – This will auto-populate if you create the PO/Field Order from a Job or Project page.
Project Manager – Select a Project Manager, if applicable.
Description – This text appears in Purchase Order tables where line item details are not shown.
Recommendation: Always fill this out, even though it is optional.
Required By – Indicate the date you need the items by (for your vendor).
Tags – Add relevant tags, if applicable.
Tax Rate – Select the applicable tax rate for the Purchase Order.
Direct Payer – Sales Tax – Check this box if the purchaser is directly responsible for paying sales tax.
3. Scroll down to fill in the Shipping Information.
Ship To – Choose where the items should be shipped:
Manually Enter Shipping Info – Enter the full address details manually.
Vendor Location – Ship directly to the vendor’s address.
Warehouse Location – Ship to a designated warehouse.
Job/Project Site – Ship directly to the job or project site.
If you select Vendor Location, confirm and update the vendor address (default is usually the billing address) to ensure the PO is shipped or picked up at the correct location.
Ship to Contact – Select the contact person who will receive the delivery.
Address Line 1 & 2 – Enter the full shipping address.
City / State / Zip Code – Provide complete location details.
Shipping Instructions – Add any special instructions for the vendor or delivery team.
Click “NEXT STEP” (lower right corner).
4. Add items to the order. Start by typing the item name, then click on the item name to edit the details.
Update the item Description, Quantity, and Unit Cost.
You must verify that there is a cost code, cost type, and revenue type associated with every item to ensure accurate reporting.
Check the taxable box☑️if the item is taxable. The final tax rate and cost can be adjusted once you have received the order.
To edit or delete an item, “X” on the right side of the line item.
When you have finished adding all items to the Purchase Order, click Next Step (lower right corner).
5. Review the Purchase Order Summary.
If you need to make any changes, click General Info or Add Items To Order at the top of the screen to go back.
6. Click “SAVE” or “Mark as Ordered” (upper right corner).
If you click SAVE, the Purchase Order status will be in draft.
We recommend that you select “Mark as Ordered” on this step if you have already ordered the items, or if you will be ordering the items at the time of creating the Purchase Order in BuildOps.
If you’ve saved a Purchase Order (PO) as a draft and later need to mark it as ordered, you will have to generate the PDF first and then select Mark as Ordered.
The Purchase Order Page
Once you click “Save” or “Mark as Ordered,” you will be directed to the Purchase Order page.
At the very top of the page, you’ll see the Purchase Order number, status, and tags.
On the left side, you’ll find the Vendor and shipping information.
Across the top section, you’ll see the general Purchase Order information.
You can also add office notes by clicking “View/Edit all office notes” in the top section.
By default, you will land in the Order tab of the Purchase Order. You will also see the Receipts and Bills tabs.
Once you have received your Purchase Order items, you can view PDFs of the receipt(s) and bill(s) within those sections.
To edit or delete Purchase Order items, scroll to the right side of the Purchase Order item, click the three dots and select an option.
You can add additional items to the Purchase Order by clicking + ADD PURCHASE ORDER ITEM (middle of page on the right side).
To edit the Purchase Order, Vendor, or shipping information, click “EDIT” in the upper right corner.
Click “SAVE” to save any changes.
How To Share A Purchase Order
1. To email a Purchase Order to your Vendor, click “GENERATE PDF” (upper right corner).
2. You will be able to view a PDF of the Purchase Order before sending it to your vendor.
Across the top of the PDF, you’ll see options to download, print, or zoom in/out.
If the document has multiple pages, click the three lines on the upper left side to view thumbnails of all pages.
⚠️ Note: Any files saved in the Attachments section of the PO page will automatically be included as attachments when emailing the PO.
3. Click “SHARE PDF” (upper right corner) to email the Purchase Order PDF to your Vendor.
4. Email the Purchase Order to your customer.
The Purchase Order PDF will be added as a viewable attachment.
The Email To field will auto-populate with the email associated with your vendor (this can be updated under Vendor Settings).
Click the X to remove an email address.
Type to add a different email address if needed.
You can adjust the subject line (it will auto-populate by default).
Add a description to populate the email body.
Click “Send Email.”
⚠️ Important: If you did not mark the Purchase Order as ordered during creation, click “Mark as Ordered” in the upper right corner.
How to Receive Purchase Order Items
💡 Important: Once the Purchase Order items arrive, you must record this information in BuildOps. If items are not received in BuildOps, Job/Project costing reports will not be accurate.
⚠️ Partial Shipments: If items arrive in multiple shipments, you can partially receive Purchase Orders by generating multiple receipts.
⚠️ Accounting Integrations: The Vendor Document Number must be unique. A receipt will not sync if the Vendor Document Number matches the Invoice Number.
Steps to Receive Items
Access your Purchase Order from the Job/Project page, Purchase Orders table, or Global Search. Click the Purchase Order number to open it.
Keep the packing slip, vendor invoice, or vendor document nearby to ensure accurate receipt entry.
Before generating a Purchase Order receipt in BuildOps, cross-check the Unit Cost (including tax) for each line item. Edit each line item so it matches the actual cost from the vendor-supplied document.
Scroll to the right of each line item, click the three dots, and select Edit.
Update the Unit Cost accordingly and click “SAVE”.
2. Once the Purchase Order total mirrors the total of the packing slip, click “GENERATE RECEIPT” (upper right corner).
Click GENERATE RECEIPT again.
3. Update the receipt information
Add an image of the packing slip (optional).
This field may already have an image attached if the technician has received a Field Order.
That’s okay — multiple documents can be uploaded if needed.
Add the Vendor document number (receipt/packing slip number).
Issued By Date (required): Enter the date the items were received.
Payment Terms (required).
Update the Quantity Received for each item.
✅ Tip: If you received all items, quickly select them by clicking the checkbox in the gray table header.
Then click RECEIVE ALL (upper right corner).
The Item status will change to Fulfilled.
If you received only part of this order, click the checkbox to select the line item and update the quantity received field.
The Purchase Order status will be Partially Received. You will be able to generate another receipt at a later time to receive the rest of the order.
Click “GENERATE RECEIPT” (upper right corner).
4. You will be redirected to the Receipt page where you can see the receipt information, Vendor information, shipping information, and line items. You will see that the receipt status is pending, and the accounting software sync status is not synced.
⚠️NOTE: If you need to edit a Purchase Order, edit the Items on the Purchase Order page if the Items have not yet been received.
If the items have been received, you can edit them directly on the Receipt page by clicking the three dots next to the Item total.
💡 Note: Job costing relies on the Receipt section.
5. Post the Receipt
Click “Post Receipt” to record it.
If this purchase has already been recorded in your accounting software and you don’t want it to sync, you can bypass posting:
Click the three dots next to “Post Receipt.”
Select “Bypass Posting Receipt.”
6. Preview a PDF of the receipt by clicking PREVIEW RECEIPT (upper right corner).
7. From this window, you can download, print, or email the receipt. You also have the option to post the receipt if you do not need to bypass posting.
Once you have clicked “POST RECEIPT” (or Bypass Posting Receipt), the Receipt Status and the Accounting Software Sync Status will update to Posted/Synced or Bypassed.
How to Create a Field Order
A Field Order is created when a technician needs to pick up materials from a vendor while out on a Visit.
With the appropriate settings/permissions enabled, all orders made in the app are considered Field Orders. The office can also create a Field Order on behalf of the technician if needed.
Unlike a Purchase Order, a technician can receive items directly in the mobile app by adding the items purchased, along with their quantities, costs, and receipts.
A Field Order can be created in 4 ways:
From the Dispatch Board
From the Job/Project page
From the Purchase Orders table
From the Mobile App (depending on technician roles and access rights)
Creating a Field Order from the Dispatch Board
Click on the Visit card to open the Visit side panel.
Click the three dots in the upper-right corner.
Select “Create Field Order.”
To create a Field Order from the Job/Project page, click the Parts & Purchasing tab → click the carrot next to “ADD PURCHASE ORDER” → click “Add Field Order”.
To create a Field Order from the Purchase Orders table, hover over Operations → click Purchase Orders → click the carrot next to “ADD PURCHASE ORDER”, then click “Add Field Order”.
1. Add the General Information.
● PO Type (required)
● Date (required)
● Department (required)
● Vendor (required)
● Assign To - select the technician who will pick up the items
● Job/Project - will automatically populate
● Description
● Required By
● Tags (if applicable)
2. Click ASSIGN Field Order (in the upper right corner).
Once you assign the order, you will be directed to the Field Order page.
Notice that the status is in “draft”.
3. To change the status to ordered, click GENERATE PDF (upper
right corner).
4. Click MARK AS ORDERED (upper right corner).
5. Click the X in the upper-left corner to return to the Field Order page. You’ll see that the status has been updated to Ordered.
The technician will see this Field Order in the Purchase Orders section of the associated Visit report in the Mobile App. From there, they can update the Field Order by adding the items purchased, quantities, costs, and receipt(s).
Note: Depending on the settings/permissions enabled in your account, the technician will follow one of the following workflows to manage Field Orders in the Mobile App :
1. If Procurement Usage is turned OFF:
a. The technician is only responsible for:
i. Taking a photo of the Receipt
ii. Entering the Item Quantity received
iii. Uploading the Receipt image to the Field Order on the
Mobile App Visit Report.
b. Once the technician has uploaded their Receipt after picking up the Field Order, the office may need to wait for the Vendor Invoice to arrive.
i. After the Vendor Invoice arrives, an office user can:
Upload the Invoice PDF to the Receipt page in BuildOps.
Enter the final pricing according to the invoice.
Post/Sync the Receipt to your accounting software (if applicable).
2. If Procurement Usage is turned ON:
a. The technician is still responsible for taking a photo of the Receipt and entering the Item Quantity.
b. In addition, they will have the opportunity to enter the Unit Cost and Unit Price.
FAQs
I created a PO. Why can’t the technician upload a Receipt?
By design, Purchase Orders are read-only in the Mobile App.
If you want the technician to upload a receipt, create a Field Order instead of a Purchase Order.
What’s the difference between a Standard Purchase Order and an Auto-Receive Purchase Order?
Standard PO: Used when you are ordering something that needs to be shipped and are waiting for a Vendor Invoice to confirm pricing.
Auto-Receive PO: Used when you are not waiting for a shipment.
📌 Example: Permit costs can be created as Auto-Receive because you already know the final price, you’re not waiting on paperwork, and the cost can hit your Job/Project right away.
What happens when I create an Auto-Receive PO?
A Receipt will be generated immediately, and the costs will hit your Job/Project right away.
What should I do if I need to return items from the PO?
Add a line item to the PO with a negative quantity to reflect the returned item.
Double-check that the pricing matches the Vendor Invoice.
Can I split a PO across different Jobs/Projects?
We do not recommend this workflow because job costing will not be accurate.
Instead, create a separate Purchase Order for each Job/Project.
Why doesn’t the full list of PO items appear in the dropdown?
The PO item selector is designed as a search-first dropdown. Instead of loading every item in your catalog, it shows a small set of top matches first. To view more options, simply start typing the item name and the full results will appear.
This design keeps the page fast and responsive, especially for customers with very large catalogs. Loading thousands of items all at once can slow down the page, so type-ahead search ensures quick, accurate results without affecting performance.
How to correct the Vendor name on a Receipt?
When you notice an incorrect Vendor name or no vendor name at all on a receipt.
Vendors on receipts cannot be edited as they are directly tied to the Vendor on the PO.
To correct a mistaken vendor you will first need to remove the receipt from the Purchase Order and then edit the PO.
Open the Affected PO: - Navigate to the "Receipts" tab within the PO.
Remove the Receipt: - Locate the receipt, click the three dots (kebab menu), and select "Remove." This action will revert the PO status to draft.
Edit the Vendor: - At the top of the PO screen, click "Edit." Update the vendor to the correct name and click "Save Changes."
Generate a New Receipt: - After saving changes, create a new receipt to reflect the updated vendor information.