Getting Started with Purchases

Purchases in Brightpearl covers everything from "requisitions" to orders and invoices. This quick start guide will run you through the process of working with purchases.

You will learn how to:

1. Add a new purchase order
2. Add line items to the order
3. Send your order to the supplier
4. Receive in the goods
5. Receive the purchase invoice
6. Record a payment to your supplier
7. Create a purchase order status

Before you start...

...if you haven't already worked through the Getting Started with Sales guide, you will need to create a product record, use the following data and steps to create a stocked product:

1. On the left-hand side of the screen click the Quick Add icon and select Product.
2. In the Product info tab enter the item name and category.
3. (Retail companies only; if you are on a Services subscription you will not see this tab) In the Stock/Inventory tab make sure that "Manage inventory levels for this item?" is set to Yes.
4. In the Prices tab select the COST tab and enter the price. Do the same for the RETAIL price list.
5. Click the Save changes button to add the product.
6. To increase the stock level go to Products > Add inventory.

1. Add a purchase

Generally most workflows in Brightpearl start with a contact. In case you haven't already added contacts, let's add a customer now.

Use the following data and steps to add your supplier:

1. On the left-hand side of the screen click the Quick Add icon and select Supplier.
2. Enter the supplier Company, Firstname, Lastname.
3. In the Info tab enter the email address.
4. In the Addresses tab enter the supplier address.
5. That's all you really need at this stage. Click the small drop-down arrow on the Save changes button and select Save & order.

2. Add line items to the order

Use this data and the steps below to add line items to the order:

This is where things really start to save you time. Your Brightpearl database can store everything from labour and delivery charges to products with SKUs and full multi-warehouse stock control. There is a full Getting Started guide on products / inventory, which you might want to read later. But let's crack on with this guide for now.

1. In the purchase order you can use the Quick Add or Batch Add of product items.
   • Quick Add - in the Item code field begin typing your product name, SKU or ID.
   • Batch Add - click the Batch add price list item link. Search for your products and enter the quantity of each to add. Click the Add button to add them all.
2. Click Save changes.

You'll see that the order now contains your Mug. Using predefined items will let you track purchases much better.

3. Send your order to the supplier

1. Whilst in the purchase order, click the Email/Print button at the top.
2. Your document is displayed. Click the Email link at the top.
3. Select your supplier's email address and click Send.
4. Click Close to return to the order.

The order is emailed to your supplier. The order status is automatically updated and details of the order can be seen on the supplier communication history (timeline).

4. Receive in the goods

When your supplier has dispatched your order and it arrives at your storage location, you will need to mark the items as received.

1. In the order click the Receive inventory button at the top.
2. Confirm you have received the same quantity and you order.
3. Click the Submit button.

This increases your stock levels and posts the transaction to accounting.

5. Receive the purchase invoice

When you supplier invoices you, you will need to post it into the system to recognise that you owe them money.

1. In the order, click the Receive invoice button at the top.
2. Enter the supplier's invoice number - use 8874522.
3. Enter the invoice date - use today's date.
4. Enter the date payment is due - click the 30 days button to auto-calculate.
5. Click the Receive Invoice button.

This locks the order and updates the supplier record to indicate that you owe them money. The transaction is also posted to accounts.

6. Record a payment to your supplier

You can use this method to record a payment already made to your supplier.

1. Scroll to the bottom of the purchase order.
2. Click the Allocate Payment button.
3. Select the bank account payment was made from.
4. Enter the date the payment was made, let's say today.
5. Enter the payment reference, this will be a cheque number or statement reference, let's say 698477.
6. Click the Allocate payment button.
7. Click the link to return to the order.

The order is marked as paid and the supplier's account balance is reduced indicating that you no longer owe them money. This transaction is also posted to accounts.

7. Create a purchase order status

Your Brightpearl account is set with a number of predefined statuses, which of course you can edit if you want to.

1. Go to Setup > Purchases > Purchase statuses.
2. Click the Add a new status button
3. Enter "Items dispatched" into the Order status name.
4. Set the number of remind days to 3, which means that you'll get a reminder if purchase orders on this status are not updated within 3 days.
5. Select a colour for the status using the colour wheel.
6. Click the Add new status button.
7. The screen refreshes with the new item added to the list of statuses. You can rearrange the statuses by clicking the green arrow in the left and dragging it into place.

You can now see this extra status in your menus.

Finishing up

Hopefully this has give you a good overview of some of the basics. We go into more detail on each of the topics within their own section of our free online support documentation.

If you want to reset your data and start over, then read about resetting your data here