A purchase order is a document that you, as the buyer, issue to a vendor to formally request the purchase of specific goods. The document contains information about the requested goods, quantity, prices and delivery terms. When the vendor accepts the order, it becomes legally binding.
In Sapera, purchase orders are used to register and manage the entire purchasing process: from planning and ordering to receipt and invoicing. Sapera does not automatically place the order with the vendor — the system is used to register the order you have placed yourself. For certain vendors (e.g. Yamaha), Sapera can generate an order file that can be uploaded at the vendor.
From the Financial app you select, in the menu, Purchasing and then Purchase orders.
If you cannot see the menu item, you most likely do not have permission for it. Contact support.
The list view shows all registered purchase orders in a table. You can double-click a row to open the document editor, or select a row and use the buttons in the top bar.
No.: The internal Sapera purchase order number. Assigned automatically when the order is saved the first time.
Vendor: The name of the vendor the order is created for.
Vendor purchase order number: The order number the vendor has stated for this order in their own system.
Org. unit: The organizational unit the order is created under. Controls, among other things, stock location suggestions and posting.
State: The order's current state — see the section on states below.
Receipt status: Only shown if stock management is enabled. Indicates whether the order is undelivered, partially delivered or fully delivered.
Invoicing status: Indicates whether the order is uninvoiced, partially invoiced or fully invoiced.
Subject: An optional subject you have specified on the order.
Date: The time the order was created.
Created by: The user who created the order.
Total: The total amount for the order.
You can show and hide columns via the column menu in the grid. The list supports filtering directly in the column headers.
Use the search field in the top bar to search across orders. Place a leading + (plus sign) before the search text to search only in the order number (e.g. +1042) — then matches are made only in the number field and not across the other columns. It is a partial match, so "+104" also finds order numbers that contain 104. See also How to search in lists for more about searching and filtering.
The buttons in the top right generally apply to the list:
New (+): Create a new purchase order.
Edit (pencil icon): Open the selected order in the document editor.
Report export (printer icon): Print or export, e.g., the "Purchase order overview" report for the selected order. Select the desired format in the dialog.
Help (?): Open this help article.
Refresh (reload button): Reload the list.
More menu: Contains two additional actions:
"Automatic ordering" — opens the reorder dialog, where you can see goods that need reordering, and create purchase order lines automatically based on stock balance and minimum levels.
"Show vouchers" — opens a summary dialog for all linked receipt and invoice vouchers on the selected order. The action is only active when the order has at least one line with delivered or invoiced quantity.
The buttons in the secondary button bar are only shown when they are relevant to the selected order's state:
Request approval: Sends the order for approval. Shown when the order is a draft with item lines and your user profile does not have the right to approve it yourself.
Approve: Approves the order and marks it as ordered. Only shown when the order is awaiting approval and you have approval permission.
Reject: Rejects the approval request and sends the order back. Shown under the same conditions as Approve.
Create receipt: Opens a dialog where you can create a receipt (goods receipt into stock) based on this order. Active when the order is in the Ordered state, the receipt status is not fully delivered, and stock management is enabled.
Create purchase invoice: Opens a dialog where you can create a purchase invoice based on the order. Active when the order is in the Ordered state and the invoicing status is not fully invoiced.
Order: Marks the order as ordered. Active when the order is a draft with at least one item line and you have approval permission.
Cancel: Cancels the order. Active when the order is in draft state and no lines have yet delivered or invoiced quantity.
Move to draft: Returns an ordered order to draft state so it can be edited. Active when the order is in the Ordered state.
Close: Completes the order manually, even though it is not fully delivered or invoiced. Undelivered/uninvoiced lines are marked as invoiced. Active when the order is ordered and not yet fully delivered and invoiced. A confirmation dialog is shown before the action is carried out.
Click New (+) to create a new order, or double-click an existing order in the list to open the document editor.
The editor opens either in full page or as a pop-up dialog, depending on the context it is called from.
Purchase order number: Read-only. The internal Sapera number is assigned automatically on the first save.
Org. unit: Required. The organizational unit the order belongs to. Used to suggest stock locations on the lines and to control posting at receipt and invoicing.
State: Read-only view of the order's current state.
Order date: The date the order was placed with the vendor. Filled in manually.
Vendor: Required. Autocomplete search on vendors registered in Sapera. When a vendor is selected, address, email and phone are filled in automatically from the vendor's master card.
Other payer: Optional. Specify an alternative payer (creditor) for the order if the payment should not go to the selected vendor. Filled in with autocomplete search.
Address: Filled in automatically from the vendor setup. Can be adjusted manually.
Email: The vendor's email address. Filled in automatically from the vendor setup.
Phone: The vendor's phone number. Filled in automatically from the vendor setup.
Vendor purchase order number: The vendor's own order number in their system. Free text, max. 50 characters.
Currency: Dropdown with the currencies set up under Setup. If a foreign currency is selected, an exchange rate is shown by the field's label. The currency can change automatically when the vendor is changed, based on the vendor's preferred currency.
Subject: Optional free-text field. The subject is shown on the printout of the order.
Click Save to save without closing, or Save and close to save and return to the list. Click Cancel to discard changes.
The Item list tab shows all item lines on the order and is always visible.
No.: The item number. Editable; use autocomplete to search for stock items.
Name: The item description. Editable.
Pack: The delivery size/pack quantity. Specifies how many units are delivered per pack.
Quantity: The ordered quantity.
Delivered: Delivered quantity (read-only). Only shown when the order is not new — updated automatically via receipts.
Invoiced: Invoiced quantity (read-only). Only shown when the order is not new — updated automatically via purchase invoices.
Price: Purchase price per unit.
Amount: Line amount calculated automatically (quantity × price).
Delivery date: Expected delivery date for this specific line.
Ordered on others: Quantity of this item currently ordered on other open orders. Highlighted if there are existing orders.
Reserved: Quantity reserved for sales orders or other purposes.
Stock location: Suggested or selected stock location for receipt. Can be edited directly in the grid.
Availability: Current stock balance for the item incl. tooltip with details from other locations.
Product locations: Shows the locations the item is registered at.
In addition, the following columns are available but hidden by default (can be enabled via the column menu):
Vendor item no.: The vendor's own item number.
Note: Free text per line.
Is currency primary: Boolean field — specifies whether a foreign currency is primary in the price calculation for the line.
Above the item line group, surcharges or discounts (e.g. freight costs or trade discounts) can be specified as percentages or amounts. These affect the order's total.
Below the item list grid, the order's total amount is shown.
Change location: Changes the stock location on the selected item lines. Shown when a location change is possible.
Generate YAMAHA file: Generates a vendor-specific order file for Yamaha. Only shown for orders with Yamaha as the vendor.
Up arrow / Down arrow: Changes the order of the selected lines.
+ (add line): Adds a new item line. Active when the order is editable.
- (delete line): Deletes the selected line. Active when a line is selected and the order is editable.
Right-clicking a line opens a context menu with relevant actions.
The Vendor history tab shows the vendor's previous purchase entries and item history — i.e. what has previously been ordered and received from this vendor.
You can filter between key figures and relevant data in the columns. Which columns are shown in the table is controlled via quick filters. The tab is loaded only when history data exists for the vendor.
A purchase order goes through the following states:
Draft: The order is being prepared. You can freely edit all fields and item lines. From here you can either order the order (if you have permission) or request approval.
Awaiting approval: The order has been sent for approval. In this state the order is locked for editing. A user with approval permission can now either Approve the order (which changes the state to Ordered) or Reject the approval request (which sends the order back to Draft).
Ordered: The order has been approved and marked as ordered with the vendor. From here you can create receipts and/or purchase invoices. It is still possible to edit delivery dates on the lines, even though the order is otherwise locked. You can also move the order back to Draft if necessary.
Completed: The order is fully delivered and fully invoiced. No further actions are possible.
Cancelled: The order has been cancelled. Neither receipts nor invoices can be created.
Order — active when: the order is Draft, has at least one item line, and you have approval permission.
Request approval — active when: the order is Draft, has at least one item line, and you do not have approval permission.
Approve — active when: the order is in the Awaiting approval state, and you have approval permission.
Reject — active under the same conditions as Approve.
Create receipt — active when: the order is Ordered, the receipt status is None or Partially delivered, and stock management is enabled. Opens a create dialog that pre-fills a receipt with the order's data.
Create purchase invoice — active when: the order is Ordered and the invoicing status is None or Partially invoiced. Opens a create dialog pre-filled with the order's data.
Cancel — active when: the order is Draft and no lines have delivered or invoiced quantity.
Move to draft — active when: the order is Ordered.
Close — active when: the order is Ordered and not yet fully delivered or invoiced. After confirmation, all undelivered and uninvoiced lines are marked as invoiced, and the order is completed.
Show vouchers — active when: the order has at least one line with delivered or invoiced quantity. Shown in the toolbar in the editor and in the More menu on the list screen.
Show deliveries — active in the editor, when the order is not new and you have access to purchase receipts. Opens a pop-up with linked receipts.
Show invoice — active in the editor, when the order is not new and you have access to purchase invoices. Opens a pop-up with linked invoices.
Repair delivered/invoiced state — administrator function. Only shown for administrators. Repairs inconsistencies in the delivery and invoicing state on the order.
From the More menu on the list screen you can open the Automatic ordering dialog. Here, goods that need reordering based on stock levels and configured minimum figures are shown. You can select the desired lines and create a new purchase order automatically.
If you have any questions, you are welcome to contact support.
Want to know more?
You can adjust how this area works under the settings:
Settings for purchase orders
Walkthrough of the available settings for purchase orders in Financial, including automatic status change on save.
