Purchase orders let you request inventory directly from a brand, communicate with that brand about substitutions or quantity changes, and track the full history of an order from creation to submission. Instead of managing these requests over email or phone, you can build a purchase order from your retail catalog or a brand's own product menu, add notes about specific items, and review a version history of every change made to the order.

Before you begin

• Purchase orders move through four statuses: action needed, open, closed, and draft. You can filter your purchase order list by any of these statuses.
• You can also filter the purchase order list by brand, date created, and the user who created the order.
• You are responsible for entering the email address associated with the purchase order. The system does not populate this field for you.

To reach the purchase order screen from the Dutchie POS Backoffice go to Products > Purchase Orders.

Purchase order statuses and filters

From the purchase order list, you can filter your view by status (action needed, open, closed, or draft), by brand, by the date the order was created, and by the user who created the order. If you have approval permissions, this view also shows you the approval status of each order.

Create a purchase order

1. From the purchase order list, start a new purchase order by clicking on the “Create purchase order” button
2. Select a brand using the search dropdown. Type the brand name to narrow the list, then select the brand from the results.
3. Enter the email address for the purchase order. You are responsible for entering this address.
4. Review the shipment address. Dutchie Backoffice populates this field by default, but you can edit it if you need the shipment sent to a different address.
5. Add items to the order. You can add items from the brand's own menu or from your retail catalog. Adding items from the retail catalog works the same way as it does in the existing purchase order experience.
6. Select a product to review its details, including the product description.
7. Add a note to the brand on any item if needed. For example, you can ask the brand to substitute a similar item or remove the item entirely if it is unavailable.
8. Enter an Estimated Price Per Unit if you already have pricing information from the brand. This field is optional. The brand ultimately enters the final price per item on their end.
9. Save the order as a draft, or submit it to the brand.

Once saved, a draft order shows a draft status. You can open a draft at any time to continue editing it and submit it to the brand when you are ready.

Review changes from a brand

After you submit a purchase order, the brand may make changes, such as replacing an item that is out of stock. When a purchase order returns to you with changes, it shows an action needed status.

1. Open the purchase order marked action needed.
2. Review any highlighted rows. A highlighted row indicates the brand made a change, such as replacing one product with another.
3. Check the notes icon. A notification indicator on the notes icon means the brand left a note about that item. Select the icon to read the note and, if needed, respond with a note of your own.
4. For each changed item, choose one of the following actions:
   • Confirm: Accepts the brand's change. The row turns white and the highlight disappears, indicating the item is resolved.
   • Reject: Removes the item from the purchase order. The system displays the item with a strikethrough to indicate it was rejected.
   • Edit: Lets you adjust the order quantity for that item. This is the only field you can change from this screen.

View version history

You can review a version history of any purchase order to see how it has changed over time. The system saves a new version after every action taken on the order, so you may see multiple timestamps on the same date if several actions occurred close together. Open version history to compare an earlier version of the order against its current state.

Submit a purchase order

Once you have reviewed and confirmed the changes you want, submit the purchase order to the brand. The order status updates to reflect that it has been submitted.

Troubleshooting

Why do I see multiple version history entries with the same date and time? The system saves a new version of the purchase order after every action, so a busy editing session can produce several timestamps within the same day.

What happens if I reject an item the brand changed? The system removes the item from the purchase order and displays it with a strikethrough.

Can I change the product or price on an item the brand already updated? No. When editing a changed item, you can only adjust the order quantity.

Do I need to enter a price when creating the purchase order? No. The Estimated Price Per Unit field is optional. The brand enters the final price per item.

Related Articles

• Learn how to add items to a purchase order.
• Learn how to manage purchase orders.