All about purchase orders

Purchase Orders are used to record external costs against your job, such as materials from suppliers and costs from subcontractors. They can also be sent to suppliers or subcontractors as an order document and, when connected, can flow through to your accounting system.

The below video covers in details, we also have the individual steps down below.

The recommended way to create a Purchase Order is from the Actual Costs screen. Select the relevant estimate line and choose Order. This links the purchase to the existing cost line and makes it easier to track your estimated and actual costs.

You can also create Purchase Orders directly from the Purchase Orders section or use the dashboard Quick Links. When creating an order this way, make sure any new items are linked to the appropriate cost category or estimate line.

You can create multiple Purchase Orders against the same estimate line. For example, you might have several material deliveries, multiple subcontractor claims, or several waste bins throughout a project.

When creating the order, add the supplier or subcontractor, delivery details, instructions, dates and any other information they need.

You can choose whether to show the costs on the Purchase Order. This can be useful when confirming agreed pricing with a subcontractor, while you may prefer not to show costs when ordering from a supplier.

You can also set up standard Terms and Conditions for suppliers and contractors, which will be included on the relevant Purchase Orders.

Once you're happy with the order, you can save it to review or Send it directly by email. You can add a message and additional attachments before sending.

Once you receive the supplier invoice, subcontractor claim or other cost, mark the Purchase Order as Received. In Buildxact, receiving an order is essentially the process of recording the actual cost that was incurred.

You can enter the actual amount you paid rather than relying on the original order value. This is particularly useful when the final cost differs from the original estimate or Purchase Order.

You can also enter costs as a lump sum rather than matching the original quantities. Buildxact is ultimately interested in the actual cost recorded against the job.

You don't always need to receive the entire Purchase Order at once.

Use Part Received when a cost is being received or claimed in stages. A common example is a subcontractor who submits one claim for rough-in work and another for the final fit-off.

You can then receive the remaining amount when the next invoice or claim is received.

If you don't need to send a Purchase Order and simply want to record a receipt or invoice, the Quick Links on the dashboard provide a faster way to enter the cost.

You can enter the Purchase Order manually or use the receipt scanner to extract the information from a receipt or document.

After scanning, review the information and make sure each item is linked to the correct cost category or estimate line. This ensures the actual cost ends up in the right place.

There are several ways to find and manage your Purchase Orders.

You can access them from:

You can also generate an Order List to see your orders and their current status, including unsent, sent, part received, received and cancelled orders.

If you have an accounting integration set up, Purchase Orders can be sent from Buildxact to your accounting system.

When receiving a Purchase Order, you may also be prompted to select the relevant accounting information, such as the account or category where the cost should be recorded.

There are separate resources covering the setup and detail of accounting integrations, so this article focuses on the Purchase Order workflow within Buildxact.