Most distributors track what they've bought in an email thread, a spreadsheet or a supplier's PDF. Until the truck shows up, Freshline doesn't know any of it is coming. Purchase orders fix that. Record what you bought, from whom and when it's due. It shows up as incoming stock, you can sell against it before it lands, and receiving it puts it on the shelf as lots, at the cost you actually paid.

What’s New

A purchase order for every buy. Supplier, their reference number, the warehouse it goes to, when it's expected and what's on it, numbered PO-1042.
Incoming stock in inventory. Every stock shows what's on the way and when, and late deliveries stand out in red.
Sell what hasn't arrived yet. Turn on Sell incoming stock, and buyers and staff can order against a purchase order for delivery on or after it's due.
Receive in one drawer. Fill as ordered, change what's short, add lot codes and best-before dates. Each item becomes a lot at its real cost.
Partial deliveries are fine. What didn't come stays expected on the same purchase order until it arrives.
Suppliers in one place. Contact, email, phone, address and notes, with a count of open purchase orders.

How It Works

A purchase order belongs to one supplier and one warehouse. Each line is a product you buy in packs, such as 30 bags of shrimp at 2 lb a bag, which Freshline turns into the stock's own unit.

From the order to the shelf

1
Order
Buyer
Create a purchase order with the supplier, warehouse, expected date and items.
2
Show incoming
Freshline
What's left on it appears as incoming on each stock, dated by the delivery.
3
Sell ahead
Customers
With Sell incoming stock on, orders for that date or later can count on it.
4
Receive
Warehouse
Enter what arrived. Each item becomes a lot, and waiting orders are filled.
5
Close
Freshline
Once every item has arrived, the purchase order is marked received.

Nothing reaches on-hand stock until someone receives it. Incoming stays incoming.

Setting Up

Purchase orders work with Freshline's own inventory, with tracking turned on. Every product you put on a purchase order has to be tracked, so it has a stock to receive into.

Suppliers are added as you go. Type a new name on a purchase order and it's saved when you save. Add contact details later under Inventory → Suppliers.
Warehouses are where stock is received. Choose one on each purchase order.
Sell incoming stock is under Store settings → Inventory, and it's off until you turn it on. With it off, purchase orders still show what's coming, but nothing is sold against them.

The Purchase Orders List

Purchase orders sits under Inventory, next to Suppliers and Warehouses. It opens on what's still to come, soonest first.

Purchase orders list with numbered callouts on the summary, buttons, tabs, filters and columns

Creating a Purchase Order

New purchase order form for Atlantic Harvest Seafood with three items totalling $971.00 — Delivery on top, items below. Each line shows what goes into stock.

Under Delivery, choose the supplier, add their order or quote number, pick the warehouse to receive into, and set the expected date. The form tells you the first fulfillment date these items can be sold for.

Under Items, add products by name or SKU. Enter packs, pack size and cost per pack, and each line shows the result, such as “60 lb into Black Tiger Shrimp 16/20”. Cost per pack starts at what you last paid this supplier, or the stock's average cost if you haven't bought it from them before.

You can edit a purchase order until everything on it has arrived. If a change would leave customer orders without stock they were promised, Freshline tells you how many orders are counting on it before you save.

Selling Incoming Stock

Fresh product is often sold before it lands. With Sell incoming stock turned on, what's on an open purchase order can be ordered for any fulfillment date on or after the day it's expected.

Black Tiger Shrimp 16/20 · Cold Storage

On hand40 lb available now
Nov 3+60 lb on PO-1001 · available for orders on Nov 3 or later
Nov 4 orderOrder 1090 · 80 lb: 40 from stock, 40 waiting on PO-1001

The part that isn't on hand waits as a backorder. Receiving PO-1001 fills it. A Nov 1 order sees only the 40 lb on hand.

When there's not enough, the order screen and the storefront cart say so plainly, for example “Only 40 available for Nov 1. More arrives Nov 3.” On the purchase order, Selling incoming shows how much of each item is sold and left, and Waiting on this delivery lists the orders counting on it.

When orders compete for a delivery, the one with the earliest fulfillment date gets the earliest purchase order. An order that can only be covered by a delivery after its date is marked “arrives late”.

PO-1001 showing items, selling incoming and the order waiting on this delivery — What's sold against the delivery, and the customer order waiting on it.

Receiving

Press Receive on a purchase order when the delivery is at the dock. The drawer receives into the purchase order's warehouse, and each item becomes a lot at the cost you enter.

Receive PO-1044 · into Cold Storage

Hass Avocados, count 48 case288 / 288
Lot AVO-48-1030 · best before Nov 20
Yukon Gold Potatoes, 50 lb sack500 / 500 lb
Honeycrisp Apples, 18 kg case72 / 144 kg
72 kg short. It stays expected on PO-1044 until it arrives or you reduce the quantity.
Cremini Mushrooms, 5 lb tray65 / 60 lb
5 lb more than ordered. The extra is available to sell.

The footer shows how many orders it fills, such as “Fills backorders on 3 orders”, then Receive 4 items.

Fill as ordered fills in everything still to come. Change what's different.
Cost per pack starts at the purchase order's cost. Change it if the invoice says otherwise. The purchase order shows the new cost with “was” and the old one.
Lot code is generated if you leave it blank. Best before sets the lot's expiry.
Receiving is all or nothing. Either every line goes in or none do, so a half-saved delivery can't happen.

Receive PO-1001 drawer with the shrimp line 40 lb short — The shrimp line is 40 lb short. What didn't come stays expected on PO-1001.

You can also receive from Inventory. In a stock's Receive stock drawer, choose which open purchase order it came in on, or “Not on a purchase order”.

Incoming in Inventory

The inventory list has an Incoming column, such as “+60 lb” with the delivery date under it, in red when the delivery is late. Filter by Incoming or Late delivery to see what's on the way or overdue.

Inventory filtered to incoming stock, with a late delivery shown in red — What's on the way, and when. A late delivery is shown in red.

Open a stock to see every purchase order bringing it in, with quantity, cost and date, and when it's next “Available from”.

Suppliers

Suppliers keep the people you buy from in one place: contact name, email, phone, address, and notes for cut-offs, minimums and payment terms. The list shows how many purchase orders are open with each one. Rename a supplier and their purchase orders follow. A supplier with purchase orders can't be deleted.

Cancelling

Cancel purchase order is under More actions. Its incoming stock comes off inventory straight away, and anything already received stays on hand. Before you confirm, Freshline lists the customer orders that were counting on it. They keep their backorders, so nothing on them is lost.

Quick Reference

Purchase Order Status

Status	What it means
Ordered	Bought, not all here yet. Can be edited, received or cancelled. What's left counts as incoming.
Late	Ordered and past its expected date. Not a separate status, just flagged in red.
Received	Every item has arrived. Set on its own after the last receipt.
Cancelled	Called off. Its incoming is gone. Anything received before stays on hand.

When Receiving

You enter	What happens
The full amount	The line is received. A new lot is added at the cost you entered.
Less than ordered	The rest stays expected on the same purchase order.
More than ordered	Everything goes in. The extra is available to sell.
Nothing	The line stays as it was, still expected.
A different cost	The lot uses your cost, and the purchase order shows what it was.

Who Can Do What

Role	Purchase orders
Owner, Manager	Create, edit, receive and cancel purchase orders. Manage suppliers.
Support	See purchase orders and suppliers.

Settings

Where	Setting
Store settings → Inventory	Track inventory, using Freshline's inventory
Store settings → Inventory	Sell incoming stock (off to start)
Products	Each item on a purchase order must be tracked
Inventory → Suppliers	Contact details and notes for each supplier

Getting Purchase Orders

We're turning purchase orders on account by account. If you'd like it for your team, email us at [email protected] and we'll help you set up your suppliers and first purchase order.

Introducing Purchase Orders