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You can use the requisition worksheet in Business Central to create purchase orders directly from sales orders that have been set up as special orders. A special order links the purchase order and the sales order together, so the specific item you buy is picked and delivered to the right customer.
To do this, open the requisition worksheet, choose the special order function, and retrieve the relevant sales orders. Set the message to New and the accept action message to true, then run Carry Out Action Message to create the purchase order.
The link between the purchase order and the sales order is respected by the planning system. The purchase order stays connected to the original sales order even if it could cover another earlier demand.
You cannot use the special order functionality if the item is reserved. On the item card, the Reserve field must not be set to Always.
Creating purchase orders from special orders using the requisition worksheet
When a sales order has been marked as a special order, the purchase and sales order are linked. This ensures that the specific item you purchase is picked and delivered to the customer who ordered it, rather than being used to cover other demand in the meantime.
You start by searching for the requisition worksheet and opening it. From here, you choose the special order option and get the sales orders.
You can then decide whether to pull in a specific sales order or all sales orders for a specific customer. If you don’t need to narrow it down, you can simply confirm with OK. The worksheet now retrieves all sales orders that have been set to be special orders.
Running carry out action message to generate the order
Before creating the purchase order, check that the message is set to New and that the accept action message is set to true. Then go to Process and select Carry Out Action Message.
At this point you have the option to print the order if you want to. Once you confirm with OK, the purchase order is created.
How the link between purchase order and sales order works
If you open your purchase orders, you can mark the line and choose Order, then Special Order, and See Sales Order. This shows you that the purchase order and the sales order are linked together.
The planning system respects this link as it balances demand and supply. The purchase order remains tied to the original sales order even if it could supply another, earlier demand. That’s exactly the point of a special order: the item goes to the customer it was bought for.
Limitation: special orders and reserved items
One thing to be aware of is that you cannot use the special order functionality if the item is reserved. On the item card for any item you want to sell as a special order, make sure the Reserve field is not set to Always. Otherwise the special order function won’t work as expected.
Q&A
What is a special order in Business Central?
A special order links a purchase order and a sales order together, ensuring that the specific item you buy is picked and delivered to the customer who ordered it, rather than being used to cover other demand.
How do I create a purchase order from a special order?
Open the requisition worksheet, choose the special order option, and get the sales orders. You can filter by a specific sales order or customer. Set the message to New and the accept action message to true, then go to Process and run Carry Out Action Message to create the purchase order.
How can I see that a purchase order and sales order are linked?
Open the purchase order, mark the line, and choose Order, then Special Order, and See Sales Order. This shows the linked sales order.
Does the planning system keep the special order link?
Yes. The planning system respects the link, so the purchase order stays connected to its original sales order even if it could supply another earlier demand.
Why can’t I use the special order functionality on an item?
You cannot use special orders if the item is reserved. On the item card, make sure the Reserve field is not set to Always.