How to Split Freight and Other Costs Across Purchase Orders in Unleashed

Before you start

• Shared costs work on POs that aren't completed: Parked, Placed or Receipted. They can't be added to completed POs or to Warehouse Transfers.
• Adding costs to a PO in Receipted status isn't available on Lite. On Lite, add the shared cost before you receipt.
• The products on each PO must already have a landed cost above 0.01, or the shared cost won't apply.
• Set up the cost supplier first, such as your freight forwarder. It can be different from the PO supplier.
• Check that supplier's default Distribution Method, because it decides how the cost is split (see below).
• Have the invoice reference and total ready. Enter the cost excluding tax.

Step 1: Select the purchase orders

1. 1From the main menu, go to Purchases, Purchase Orders and select View Purchases.
2. 2Filter by Supplier, Supplier Reference or Order Number to find the POs on the same shipment. Split POs share a number with a suffix such as /1.
3. 3Tick the checkboxes on the left of each PO that shares the cost.
4. 4Hover over the Action Cog icon in the header above the checkboxes and select Add Shared Cost.

Step 2: Enter the shared cost

1. 1Supplier: the supplier who invoiced the cost.
2. 2Cost: the total value to split across the selected POs.
3. 3Taxable: tick it if tax applies to the cost.
4. 4Exchange Rate: fills in from your Currency Rates.
5. 5Cost Date: the date added to each PO's cost line.
6. 6Reference: the supplier's invoice number.
7. 7Comments: fills in with a list of the POs included. Keep it, so the cost is easy to trace.
8. 8Select Add.

Step 3: Check how the cost was split

1. 1Open each PO and look at the Cost Lines and each Order Line's Costing Total.
2. 2If you change the split by hand, update every PO that shares the cost, so the totals still reconcile.
3. 3If an orange exclamation icon shows, the line costs no longer add up to the Cost Lines total. Click it to redistribute using the Distribution Method.

Step 4: Complete the purchase orders

1. 1Once all costs for the shipment are in, complete each PO.
2. 2The shared cost updates each product's landed cost and stock value when its PO reaches Complete status.
3. 3If stock from a Receipted PO was shipped before you completed it, Unleashed posts a Recost Adjustment for the change.

How the Distribution Method decides each share

• Value: split by the value of each line.
• Base Quantity: split by the number of base units.
• Weight: needs a unit weight on each product record.
• Volume: needs the purchasing unit's width, height and depth on each product record.
• Unleashed uses the cost supplier's Distribution Method first. If the supplier has none, it uses the method in your Company settings.
• If Weight applies but the products have no dimensions, Unleashed uses Value. If Value applies but the products have zero average landed cost, it uses Base Quantity.
• To change the method on a cost line, delete the line, change the supplier's default or the Company setting, then add the cost again.

If something doesn't look right

• Add Shared Cost won't apply: check that every selected PO is below Complete status and its products have a landed cost above 0.01.
• The freight invoice arrived after you completed the PO: completed POs can't take more costs. Unleashed's options are a Supplier Return to reverse the PO and enter it again, or a stock adjustment to correct the value.
• Costs look uneven between POs: check the Distribution Method. Value, Weight and Volume give different results for the same shipment.

For the full purchase order flow, see How to create and receipt a purchase order. For how landed cost feeds into margins, see How average landed cost works in Unleashed.

Where Unleashed leaves the work to you

• Someone has to match each freight or other cost invoice to the POs on that shipment. Unleashed only splits the cost once you pick the POs.
• Late invoices are easy to miss. If a PO is completed before its freight arrives, the cost can't be added and the landed cost stays low.
• Choosing the Distribution Method is a judgment call. Value, Base Quantity, Weight and Volume can give each product a different share of the same cost.

Where Logistify fits

Logistify doesn't enter costs on purchase orders, so matching freight and other cost invoices to POs stays with your purchasing and accounts team. The Procurement Service follows up with suppliers on open purchase orders, captures confirmed dates and quantities, and routes exceptions to your team.