The xMatix Procurement module runs your buying cycle from start to finish. Someone asks for items, the request becomes a purchase order, the goods arrive and are received into stock (inspected first when an item needs it), and the supplier's bill is recorded and linked back to what was ordered and received. Next to that chain of documents, rules-based auto-ordering suggests what to buy from your own stock and consumption figures, and keeps the calculation behind every suggestion on the suggestion itself.
This page maps the module: the app and its menu, how the documents connect, who can do what, and what an administrator sets up. Every task has its own page, linked in In this section.
Overview
A purchase order shows what you committed to buy. A goods receipt shows how much arrived and in what condition. A bill shows what you owe and the tax on it. Each document line keeps quantity counters for the documents that follow it, so you can compare the three yourself. Nothing holds a bill automatically because of a difference: see Match orders, receipts and bills.
Procurement shares its masters with Sales and Inventory: items, accounts (your suppliers), branches, price lists, tax groups and discount groups. Goods you receive land in the inventory ledger, and the bills you post write to the general ledger in Finance.
The Procurement app
Open Procurement from the app launcher. It appears when your administrator has given you the app and the module is switched on. Apps and their menus are metadata, so your organization's menu may differ. The shipped Procurement app has these entries, in this order:
| Entry | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Home | A dashboard for the module |
| Requisitions | Internal requests for items, released into purchase orders or stock transfers |
| Auto Orders | Worksheets of rules-based purchase suggestions |
| Purchase Orders | Orders to suppliers, the hub every later document links back to |
| Shipments | Inbound consignments on their way to a branch |
| Goods Receipts | What actually arrived, received into stock |
| Bills | Supplier invoices, posted to the ledger and paid |
| Bulk Conversion | The batch conversion screen, set up for goods receipts |
| Reports, Dashboards | The reports and dashboards you have access to |
| Settings | The masters the module runs on (below) |
The Settings entry opens the Procurement setup list: Items, Item Groups, Accounts, Account Groups, Branches, Price Lists, Tax Groups and Discount Groups, plus the Recycle Bin. Every procurement document refers to these, so set them up first. In the shipped setup, only the System Admin profile can open this list.
Each list opens the saved document. Its tabs (Lines, Details and tabs specific to the document) are where you do the work described in this section, and its header buttons run the actions.
How xMatix handles it
The document chain
| Document | What it is |
|---|---|
| Requisition | An internal request for items. It is released into a purchase order, or into a stock transfer when another of your branches can supply the items. |
| Auto order | A worksheet of rules-based purchase suggestions that you review and turn into purchase orders. |
| Purchase order | Your commitment to a supplier, and the record every later document links back to. |
| Shipment | An inbound consignment, released from a purchase order or created by a sister company's invoice or delivery order. You can post it as in-transit stock, and you release it into a goods receipt when it arrives. |
| Goods receipt | What actually arrived, received into stock. Items flagged for inspection go through an inspection step first. |
| Bill | The supplier's invoice, posted to the general ledger and paid. |
Which action creates what
Documents are created from one another by release actions, the buttons in each document's header. Most have a Selective version that releases only the lines you tick, at quantities you enter.
| On this document | Button | Creates |
|---|---|---|
| Requisition | Release Order / Selective Release Order | A purchase order |
| Requisition | Release Transfer / Selective Release Transfer | An outward stock transfer from the requisition's From Branch |
| Auto order | Purchase Order / Selective Order | Purchase orders from the reviewed suggestions |
| Purchase order | Add Requisition / Selective Requisition Lines | Lines pulled into this order from open requisitions |
| Purchase order | Release Shipment | A shipment |
| Purchase order | Release Receipt / Selective Release Receipt | A goods receipt |
| Purchase order | Release Invoice / Selective Release Invoice | A bill |
| Purchase order | Dealer Order | A sale order at the supplier's branch, when the supplier is another organization on the platform |
| Shipment | Release Receipt / Selective Release Receipt | A goods receipt |
| Goods receipt | Receive | Stock postings for the received quantity |
| Goods receipt | Inspection, then Inspection Complete | Inspection lines that hold flagged items, then their release to stock |
| Goods receipt | Release Bill | A bill |
| Bill | Post Inventory, Post General Ledger | Inventory and general-ledger postings |
On the shipped purchase-order page, the release buttons show only while the order's Status is Draft. Once a shipment has been released, you release the goods receipt from the shipment instead.
Quantities and progress
Every line counts what has happened to it downstream: received, billed, sent as a dealer order, cancelled and still pending. The release actions offer only pending quantity, so the same units can't be released twice. On a purchase order, Receipt Quantity is the quantity placed on goods-receipt lines. It shows what is staged for receipt, not proof that Receive posted it. To check that goods physically arrived, open the goods receipt. The counters are explained in The purchase order lifecycle.
Prerequisites
- The Procurement module is licensed and switched on for your organization (see Configuration).
- Your security profile gives you the Procurement app and access to the documents you work with (see Permissions).
- The masters exist: supplier accounts, items, your branches, a purchase price list and the tax groups your documents use.
Procedure
Step 1 — Raise the need
Create a Requisition for the items a branch needs, or open Auto Orders and let an auto order suggest what to buy. See Requisitions and Auto-order.
Step 2 — Order from the supplier
Release the requisition or the auto order into a Purchase Order, or create the order directly. Check prices, taxes and quantities on its Lines tab. See The purchase order lifecycle.
Step 3 — Track the goods on their way (optional)
When you follow consignments in transit, choose Release Shipment on the order and work in Shipments. See Track inbound shipments.
Step 4 — Receive the goods
Release a Goods Receipt from the order or the shipment, enter what arrived and choose Receive. Items that need inspection go through Inspection and Inspection Complete. See Receive goods and Inspect received goods.
Step 5 — Record and post the bill
After the goods are received, choose Release Invoice on the purchase order. Each bill line is then linked to both the order line and the receipt line, so the counters on both documents move. Release Bill on the receipt also creates a bill, but it moves only the receipt's counters. Bill the same goods from one place only. Then check the bill against the order and the receipt and post it. See Supplier bills and Match orders, receipts and bills.
Business rules
- Release, don't retype. A released document copies the branch, partner account, supplier, items, SKUs and unit costs from its source and keeps a link to the source line. The link is what keeps quantities and matching correct.
- Pending quantity limits every release. A release takes only what the source line still has pending. Lines with nothing pending are skipped.
- Document State records the last action. Purchase orders, shipments, goods receipts and bills have a read-only Document State field, written only by the lifecycle actions. A purchase order goes through Draft, Dealer Order Created, Shipment Released, Receipt Released, Received and Billed. Receive and Release Bill on a goods receipt also move its purchase order to Received and Billed. The field is not on the shipped screens, but an administrator can add it to a list or form.
- Status is separate. Each document also has its own Status, which the list cards and the stepper show. Each page explains how its Status changes.
Example
A distributor's central warehouse runs low on packing tape. A storekeeper raises a requisition for 200 rolls. The buyer opens it and chooses Release Order, which creates a purchase order to the usual supplier at the price-list cost. The supplier sends 150 rolls first. The receiver releases a goods receipt from the order, enters 150 and chooses Receive. The order's line still shows 50 pending. The accounts clerk opens the purchase order and chooses Release Invoice. The bill line comes out at 150, linked to both the order line and the receipt line. They check that the quantity and price agree, then post the bill. When the last 50 rolls arrive, a second receipt and a second bill close the order.
Training
Practice exercise
In a sandbox with the Procurement app, create a requisition for one stock item with a quantity of 10 at one branch. Release it into a purchase order. On the order, use Selective Release Receipt to receive 6, then choose Receive on the goods receipt. Go back to the purchase order and choose Release Invoice.
Expected result: the purchase order line has 4 pending to receive. The goods receipt shows 6 received. The new bill has one line for 6, with both Purchase Order Line and Goods Receipt Line filled. Because nothing received is left to bill, the order line still has 4 pending to bill.
Quick reference
- Settings first: suppliers, items, branches, a purchase price list and tax groups.
- Requisition → Release Order → purchase order.
- Purchase order → Release Receipt → goods receipt → Receive.
- Use Selective releases for part quantities; they never exceed pending quantity.
- After Release Shipment, release the receipt from the shipment.
- After receiving, bill with Release Invoice on the order: it links both the order line and the receipt line.
- Never bill the same goods from both the receipt and the order.
- Receipt Quantity on the order means "staged", not "posted". Check the goods receipt.
Permissions
Access is set on security profiles:
- The app. The shipped System Admin, Standard User, Sales Manager and Sales Executive profiles can open the Procurement app. Home is granted to all of them except Sales Executive. Only System Admin can open the Settings list and the Bulk Conversion page.
- The documents. The same four profiles have full access to requisitions, purchase orders, goods receipts and bills and to their lines.
- The actions. Each button is granted separately. Standard User and Sales Manager hold most releases and postings. Sales Executive holds a few, such as Dealer Order, Add Requisition and Cancel Shipment. Each page lists the grants for its own document.
- The Procurement profile. A shipped profile named Procurement exists, but it does not include the Procurement app or the procurement documents. Grant them before you assign it to buyers.
Without the grant, a user can't use that app, page or action.
Configuration
| What | Where | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Module switch and settings | Setup → Feature Hub → Procurement → Settings | Enable Procurement (on by default) is the master switch. When it is off, the Procurement app leaves the launcher for everyone. The same page holds the supplier credit-limit and receipt batch-number settings. See Procurement configuration reference. |
| Masters | Procurement app → Settings | Items, item groups, accounts, account groups, branches, price lists, tax groups and discount groups |
| Item flags and planning attributes | Item record, Item Inventory Attributes | Inspection on receipt, lot and asset tracking, SKUs and the auto-order parameters. See the configuration reference. |
| Bulk conversion | Sales app → Settings → Conversions | The Procurement Bulk Conversion page shows Conversion not available until an active conversion definition exists for it. None is shipped. Conversion definitions belong to Sales, so the screen also needs the Sales product license. See Conversion definitions. |
| Numbering, approvals, layouts | Standard administration | Document numbering, approval processes, business rules and layouts work on procurement documents as on any other. See Administration. |
Mobile
The Procurement app is part of the mobile field app as well. Its entries are set to show on both web and phone, and its mobile Home shows a dashboard, a chart, recent activity, quick actions and a product catalogue. See Mobile.
Common questions
Why can't I see the Procurement app?
Either your security profile doesn't include it, or Enable Procurement is switched off for your organization. The shipped System Admin, Standard User, Sales Manager and Sales Executive profiles include the app. The profile named Procurement does not, so a buyer given only that profile sees nothing. Ask your administrator to check the profile, and the module switch under Setup → Feature Hub → Procurement → Settings. A license alone isn't enough: when the switch is off, the module is unavailable even to licensed users.
Does the purchase order change status when I release a goods receipt?
Not its Status. Releasing a receipt or a bill writes the order's read-only Document State, and the order's line counters change. The order's Status moves on through the shipped business rules when nothing is left to receive or to bill, or when you step it on yourself. The rules are explained in The purchase order lifecycle.
Do I have to use requisitions and shipments?
No. You can create a purchase order directly and release the goods receipt from it. Requisitions are for internal requests that need a buyer to act on them. Shipments are for following goods in transit or posting them as in-transit stock. Leave out the steps your process doesn't need.
In this section
- Requisitions: from request to purchase order: raise a requisition and release its lines into an order or a stock transfer.
- The purchase order lifecycle: full and selective releases, pending quantities, dealer orders, supplier schemes.
- Track inbound shipments: in-transit posting, releasing the receipt on arrival, and cancelling what won't come.
- Receive goods against a purchase order: receiving, goods inspection, and releasing the bill.
- Inspect received goods: the stock hold, recording damage, PDI service orders and Inspection Complete.
- Supplier bills: where bills come from, posting, and how they stay matched to orders and receipts.
- Auto-order: rules-based purchase suggestions: the suggestion engines and the calculation stored on every line.
- Match orders, receipts and bills: checking a bill against the order and the receipt, and the Unbilled Receipt account.
- Frequently ordered item suggestions: the ranked shortlist offered while you build orders.
- Procurement configuration reference: the admin settings that shape all of the above.
- Troubleshooting procurement: refused releases, stuck receipts, bills that don't move the order, surprising suggestions.
Related topics
- Bulk conversion and conversion batches: the screen behind the Procurement Bulk Conversion entry
- Stock transfers: what a requisition's Release Transfer creates
- Credit limits: the supplier credit limit checked on new purchase orders
- Security profiles
- Procurement product overview
- Inventory product overview: stock levels, warehouses and transfers that procurement replenishes
- Getting started with xMatix