> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developers.novala.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Manage purchase orders and vendor relationships in Novala

> Create POs, manage vendors, and receive stock against orders. Low-stock alerts trigger automatic reorder suggestions from your preferred suppliers.

The Purchasing & Vendors module handles everything between deciding you need parts and having them on your shelf. You create a purchase order, specify the vendor and line items, submit it, and then receive against it as goods arrive. Receiving a PO automatically updates inventory quantities at the destination location — no separate stock adjustment required. Novala also monitors your inventory levels and can flag when a low-stock alert should trigger a new order from a preferred vendor.

## Purchase order lifecycle

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Draft">
    Created and editable. Line items, quantities, and pricing can still change.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Submitted">
    Sent to the vendor. Visible on your open POs dashboard and counted toward your total on-order value.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Partially Received">
    Some line items have been received but the order is not yet complete.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Received">
    All items received. Inventory has been updated at the receiving location.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Cancelled">
    Closed without receiving. No inventory changes are made.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Create a purchase order

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the new PO form">
    From **Purchasing**, click **New PO**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select a vendor">
    Search for the supplier from your vendor directory. If the vendor doesn't exist yet, you can add them from the Vendors section first.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add line items">
    Add one or more line items. For each, enter the part or description, the quantity ordered, and the unit cost. Novala matches line items to parts in your catalog so receiving can update the correct stock records.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set an expected delivery date">
    Enter when you expect the goods to arrive. This populates the **Expected Delivery** column on your PO list so you can track what's due when.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save as draft or submit">
    Save as a draft to review before committing, or **Submit** the PO to move it to your open orders queue.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Receive a purchase order

When goods arrive, record the receipt against the PO to update inventory automatically.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the PO">
    Find the submitted PO in **Purchasing → Purchase Orders** and click to open it.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Receive">
    Click the **Receive** button on the PO detail page.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enter received quantities">
    For each line item, enter how many units arrived. You can receive a partial quantity — the PO moves to **Partially Received** and the remaining quantities stay open.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select the receiving location">
    Choose the warehouse or truck location where the stock is being put away. Novala will increase the quantity on hand at that location.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm receipt">
    Submit the receipt. Inventory levels update immediately and an immutable stock movement record is created.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  When all line items have been fully received, the PO status changes to **Received** automatically.
</Note>

## Vendor management

Your vendor directory lives under **Purchasing → Vendors**. Each vendor record stores contact details, purchase history, and vendor-specific part pricing.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Add a vendor">
    Click **New Vendor** and fill in the company name, primary contact, and payment terms. Vendors are shared across the Purchasing and Inventory modules.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Vendor-specific pricing">
    Attach vendor part records to a vendor to store the price each supplier charges for a given part. When you add a part to a PO from that vendor, Novala can pre-fill the vendor's price automatically.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Purchase history">
    The vendor detail page shows all POs ever raised for that supplier, including status and total spend — useful for evaluating vendor performance or negotiating better rates.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Low-stock suggestions

When an inventory item falls below its reorder threshold, Novala generates a low-stock alert. If that part has a preferred vendor configured, Novala surfaces a suggested PO so you can reorder in one click.

<Tip>
  Set a reorder threshold on each part in your inventory catalog to take full advantage of automatic reorder suggestions. See [Parts & Inventory](/finance/inventory) for details.
</Tip>

## Purchasing dashboard

The summary cards at the top of the Purchasing page give you a live view of your procurement position:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Open POs">
    Count of POs in Submitted or Partially Received status.
  </Card>

  <Card title="On Order">
    Total dollar value of all submitted POs.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Vendors">
    Total number of suppliers in your directory.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Pending Delivery">
    Number of POs that are partially received and still waiting on remaining stock.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Permissions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="View Vendors">
    Read-only access to the vendor directory.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Manage Vendors">
    Create and edit vendor records, contacts, and vendor-specific pricing.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="View POs">
    Read-only access to the purchase orders list and detail pages.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Manage POs">
    Create, edit, submit, and receive purchase orders.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>