A purchase order can only be created for an entity we call a Sub-Consultant.
Sub-consultants and contractors are managed and linked to jobs (projects) in Abtrac through the tasks module.
Before creating purchase orders, you will need to have created Sub consultants within Abtrac. For more information on Sub consultants and sub consultant invoices, please refer to this knowledgebase article.
There’s a process to follow when creating purchase orders in Abtrac:
- Set up a Sub-Consultant
- Create a Purchase Order
- Viewing Purchase Orders All, Outstanding or Filtered
- Claims on a Purchase Order
What is the difference between a subconsultant purchase order and a purchase order?
Subconsultant purchase orders are approval numbers that you generate and give your contractors, so they can bill you for one of the jobs that they did for you.
In Abtrac, you can have also have a purchase order number (PO #) associated with a job. This purchase order is an approval number that your client supplies you, to use as a reference for billing when you invoice the client, these can be stored can be stored at the client, job or task level.
Sometimes these are called claim numbers or requisition numbers. See more on client purchase orders in this knowledgebase article – Client, Job and Task Purchase Order Numbers
How to create a Purchase Order
From the menu Clients, Contacts & Jobs >> Search Clients and Jobs, click on the relevant job code. From the Job Details (aka Project Details) page, click on Tasks. (Tasks may also be called stages, phases, matters, or something else according to how your system administrator has defined them).
When you have finished entering and saving your tasks, click on the ‘Subconsultants’ button.
One or many subconsultants can be entered against each task.
When the subconsultant record is saved, you can select the subconsultant and raise the Purchase Order.
The information for the various fields will appear on the Purchase Order, in as much as it has been entered elsewhere (within the client, task, and administration screens).
If anything needs to be changed, you can change or edit it on the purchase order page. Be sure to save the record after editing anything.
The ‘Print’ button allows you to preview and print the purchase order. To customise your Purchase Order design, the process is the same as your invoice design and uses the AbtracOnLine Report Designer.
You can also designate certain fields in this page as ‘required’ from user control settings.
From Administration >> Settings >> User Control Settings select ‘Form Pages’ on the right and choose ‘Purchase Order’ from the dropdown.
Here, you can click on the pencil edit button on the left, tick the necessary field as required and save.
If the ‘required’ field is not filled in before saving the purchase order, a warning appears that the field is required.
See the example below for ‘GL Account Code’ field.
Viewing Purchase Orders All, Outstanding or Filtered
The menu option Time & Disbursements >> Subconsultants Purchase Orders allows you to see all, or a filtered selection of purchase orders, according to your permissions within Abtrac, and according to any filters you may apply in the grid header row.
As with other ‘Grid’ pages in Abtrac, you can change the columns you can see, the order in which they appear and the column widths via the menu Administration >> Settings >> User Control Settings. Then choose ‘Subconsultants Purchase Order’ from the drop down list.
Back in the ‘Subconsultants Purchase Order Management’ screen, within the constraints set by the administrator, you can modify the layout to suit yourself, changing column widths, interchanging columns and you can also enter your name in the Job Owner filter, then click on the ‘Apply’ button in the Grid Layout box. So the next time you choose this page, your custom settings will be applied for you.
Claims on a Purchase Order
As each sub consultant invoice is processed through Abtrac, once approved, the sub consultant invoice data ends up as an Office Disbursement.
Your purchase order details are then linked to the newly created disbursement, and available to view along with other disbursements as unbilled costs associated with the job.
If you are not processing sub consultant invoices in Abtrac, then the Purchase Order claims can be processed by creating a simple office disbursement entry. They will also link automatically to disbursements imported from your accounting system with a matching purchase order number.
When using purchase orders in Abtrac, you will need to enable the purchase order column as visible in the office disbursements screen.
As with other ‘Grid’ pages in Abtrac, you can change the columns you can see, the order in which they appear, and the column widths via the menu Administration >> Settings >> User Control Settings. Then choose “Disbursements – Office ” from the drop down list.
Abtrac KB# 2091