Purchase order management in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central lets you create purchase orders directly from the requisition or planning worksheet, send the request to the vendor by email, and track the status in a dedicated purchase management journal. This means you don’t have to manage the back-and-forth with vendors manually.
When you accept a need in the requisition worksheet, the system creates the order, sends the email to the vendor, and adds the purchase line to the purchase management journal in one step.
If a vendor replies with a different quantity or delivery date than you requested, you register the change in the journal and send a new request. You can keep sending requests back and forth until you and the vendor agree on the terms.
Creating purchase orders from the requisition or planning worksheet
Some purchasers use the requisition journal or the planning journal to create their orders. These worksheets calculate the needs based on demand, and from there you decide which of them to accept.
You don’t have to leave the worksheet to get the order out the door. From the requisition worksheet you can handle the journal, send the email to the vendor, and create the orders directly. Once that’s done, the orders exist, the email is on its way to the vendor, and the purchase lines are placed in the purchase management journal at the same time.
Why purchasing is not as simple as send and accept
In theory, once the purchase order is created, the only job left is to send the request to the vendor and get the vendor to accept it. Then the order is fine.
But it often isn’t that straightforward. If the vendor doesn’t accept your request as it stands, you have to resend the request with your changes and accept the new answer from the vendor. Purchasing involves a lot of other tasks beyond a single send-and-accept exchange, and those tasks are easy to lose track of without support from the system.
Tracking vendor confirmations in the purchase management journal
After you create the orders and the emails go out, you wait for the vendor to confirm the delivery date and the quantity. The purchase management journal is where you handle this.
For example, you may request a certain quantity and the vendor replies with 110 pieces, while another order comes back exactly as ordered. You register the changed quantity on the order in the journal, so the order reflects what the vendor actually confirmed.
If you want to change the quantity again, you simply send another request to the vendor. The request can go back and forth as many times as needed until you both agree on the terms.
Q&A
How do you create a purchase order from the requisition worksheet in Business Central?
You accept the needs the requisition worksheet has calculated, then handle the journal and create the orders directly from the worksheet. The system creates the orders, sends the email to the vendor, and places the purchase lines in the purchase management journal in one step.
What happens if a vendor confirms a different quantity than you ordered?
You register the changed quantity on the order in the purchase management journal so the order matches what the vendor confirmed. For example, if you order a quantity and the vendor replies with 110 pieces, you update the order accordingly.
Can you negotiate with a vendor more than once on the same order?
Yes. If you want to change the quantity again, you send another request to the vendor. The request can go back and forth as many times as needed until you both agree.
Where do you track the status of purchase orders waiting for vendor confirmation?
You track them in the purchase management journal. After the orders are created and the emails are sent, the purchase lines appear in the journal, where you wait for and register the vendor’s confirmation of delivery date and quantity.