Using Recurring Purchase Orders

Recurring Purchase Orders can be used whenever the same, or nearly the same, Purchase Order is issued over and over again. These are commonly used for direct GL expenses, especially when allocations to multiple GL codes are used, but can also be used for material Purchase Orders, when the same materials are repeatedly purchased from the same Vendor. The use of the Recurring Purchase Order type in these situations allows users to create Purchase Orders quickly and more accurately.

Configuration

Refer to the Entering Purchase Orders landing page for configuration information.

Process

There are two steps involved in using the Recurring Purchase Order process. First, the creation of the Recurring Purchase Order, and second, the use of the Recurring Purchase Order to create a new Purchase Order that will be received and invoiced normally. This second step is handled by a separate transaction within the system and the path to navigate to this area is indicated in the section covering this step.

Entering the Recurring Purchase Order

  1. Purchasing > Order Entry.
  2. Set the Order Type to "Recurring".
  3. On the Dates tab, the "Order" date will default to the current date and can be left unchanged. The remaining dates should be left empty. If filled in, they would copy to the generated regular Purchase Order, which would not normally be useful. All additional fields are filled in the same way as they would be on a regular Purchase Order. The data in these fields will be used to provide defaults for the regular Purchase Orders that will be generated from the recurring Purchase Order template.
  4. Enter the lines on the Purchase Order as usual.
  5. Save all changes to generate a Purchase Order number.

Entering regular Purchase Orders from the Recurring Purchase Order template

When the time comes to enter the regular Purchase Order, navigate to Purchasing > Recurring Orders > select the Recurring PO template > click "Apply". In the Purchase Order Entry form, some fields will be pre-populated based on the template selected. Enter the details as necessary, using the Process steps listed in the Using the Order Entry Function Best Practice page as a reference, then save to generate the Purchase Order number.

Note: Recurring Orders may be used in connection with Blanket Purchase Orders. When copying the Recurring PO into a new PO, the system checks if any of the parts are part of a Blanket Purchase Order. If a match is found, the system will apply the price based on the appropriate blanket order. The blanket order quantity will be also be updated. If the Price Type (pu_pricetyp) is set to Manual on the Recurring Order, the system will not change the price of the newly created Purchase Order when using the Recurring Purchase Order transaction.