How to Create Purchase Orders for Items Below Their Reorder Point in QuickBooks Desktop

Before you start

• Purchase orders are in QuickBooks Desktop Pro, Premier and Enterprise.
• Turn them on at Edit > Preferences > Items & Inventory > Company Preferences, then select Inventory and purchase orders are active.
• Give each Inventory Part item a Reorder Point and a Preferred Vendor. Go to Lists > Item List and double-click the item to edit it.
• QuickBooks reminds you to reorder when stock reaches the Reorder Point. It can't flag an item that has no reorder point.
• With Advanced Inventory in Enterprise, you can also set a reorder point for each site. Go to Lists > Inventory Site List, then Activities > Set Reorder Points.

New to this? Start with our guide to setting reorder points.

Step 1: Find the items below their reorder point

1. 1Go to Reports > Inventory > Inventory Stock Status by Item.
2. 2Look for items flagged for reorder. Each line also shows the stock you have on hand.
3. 3To group the list by supplier, run Reports > Inventory > Inventory Stock Status by Vendor instead.
4. 4If you build assemblies, check the For Assemblies column. It shows components tied up in pending builds, and you can order any of them.
5. 5Note the vendor and the quantity to order for each item that needs it.

With Advanced Inventory, the Inventory Stock Status by Site report shows each site's reorder point, quantity on hand and quantity on order. The Manufacturing and Wholesale edition of Premier or Enterprise also has an Inventory Reorder Report by Vendor.

Step 2: Create the purchase order

1. 1Go to Vendors > Create Purchase Orders. You can also select Purchase Orders on the Home page.
2. 2In the Vendor dropdown, choose the supplier. Select Add New if they aren't set up yet.
3. 3Fill in the header fields your team uses, such as the date and the purchase order number.
4. 4Add a line for each item and enter the quantity. QuickBooks fills in the purchase description from the item record.
5. 5Check each rate against the supplier's latest price.
6. 6If the supplier gave you a delivery date, enter it in the Expected field.
7. 7Select Save & Close, then repeat for the next vendor on your list.

A purchase order doesn't change stock or what you owe. Quantity on hand goes up when you receive inventory against a purchase order.

Other ways to start a purchase order

• From a sales order or an estimate. Premier and Enterprise can create a purchase order from either form, so the items carry over.
• From a linked sales order in Enterprise 24.0 R9 and later. Turn on Link and track sales order line items with purchase orders at Edit > Preferences > Items & Inventory > Company Preferences.
• Then open the sales order and select Create Purchase Order, for all allowed items or only the ones you pick. Each linked line points to its purchase order.
• Run Reports > Sales > Sales Orders Linked to Purchase Orders to see which customer lines are ordered and how many have arrived.
• Intuit's Enterprise 24.0 guide also lists a feature called Auto POs, which puts reorder quantities you specify onto purchase orders. We found no Intuit help article with steps for it.

If a build is short of components, our guide on how to set up a bill of materials and build assemblies covers the shortage view.

If an item isn't showing as due

• Check that it is an Inventory Part item with a reorder point above zero.
• A duplicated inventory item starts with On Hand and Reorder Point at 0, so set the reorder point again.
• With Advanced Inventory, the item's overall reorder point is separate from its site reorder points, so set both.
• Old purchase orders that will never arrive still count as on order until you close them.

Our guide on how to follow up on late supplier orders shows how to find and close those.

Where QuickBooks Desktop leaves the work to you

• Someone has to run the stock status report and decide what to order.
• QuickBooks flags the item. Your team still picks the quantity and the supplier.
• Reorder points go stale as demand changes, and someone has to review them.
• Customer orders still sitting in email aren't in the file, so they don't count against stock.
• Once the purchase order goes out, nothing in QuickBooks chases the supplier for a confirmed date.

How Logistify helps after the purchase order goes out

Logistify doesn't create or approve purchase orders, and your team keeps the buying decisions. The Procurement Service follows up with suppliers on open purchase orders, captures confirmed dates and quantities, and routes exceptions to your team. The Sales Order Service enters customer orders into QuickBooks Desktop as sales orders, so the demand you reorder against is in the file.