Purchase Orders

Overview and permissions

Each Purchase Order shows the following fields in the PO list view:

• PO Number
• Created by / Submitted by
• Status: Draft, Ready to Review, Approved, Ordered, Received
• Last Updated
• Ship To / Vendor
• Pricing and cost information

You can also check whether an item has already been ordered before creating a new PO. Items with an active order display a shopping cart icon with a checkmark in Grid view, List view, Advanced Search, and the Low Stock Report. Hover over the icon to see the Ordered label.

View full PO history for any item on its detail page, in the Workflow tab, or directly from the Restock modal.

Permissions

By default, Owners and Admins have full access to Purchase Orders. Team Members can be granted access by going to Settings > Manage Permissions > Purchase Orders.

Create and manage a Purchase Order

Create a Purchase Order

1. 1Go to Workflows > Purchase Orders

   Navigate to Workflows and click Purchase Orders, then click New Purchase Order.

   

2. 2Enter the PO number, status, and dates

   Fill in the PO number, set the status, and enter the Submitted By, Date Expected, and Approved By fields.

   

   

3. 3Add items

   Search for items by name, or click Bulk Add Items to add many at once. The maximum is 100 items per PO. You can also add an item to a PO directly from its item card.

   

   

4. 4Add vendor and shipping details, then save

   Choose an existing vendor with Select Vendor or enter information manually. Fill in Ship To and Bill To, then click Save.

   

   

Add multiple items at once

Using Bulk Add Items — on the PO creation page, click Bulk Add Items instead of searching, select your items, then click Add to Purchase Order.

Via Advanced Search — apply filters, use the bulk-select checkboxes to choose items, then click Add To > Purchase Order. Choose a quantity for each item, then select a new or existing PO.

Via a Folder — open a folder, select items with the bulk-select checkboxes, and follow the same steps as Advanced Search above.

Edit or delete a Purchase Order

Go to Workflows > Purchase Orders and click the PO you want to update. Click the three-dot menu and choose Edit, make your changes, then click Save.

Restock using a Product Link

If an item has a Product Link saved (a web address to its vendor or supplier page), you can use it to restock and create a Purchase Order in one flow. Sortly opens the vendor page in a new tab so you never lose your place in the app.

How to add a Product Link to an item

1. 1Open the item and go to the Orders section

   Navigate to the item detail page and scroll down to the Orders section.

   

2. 2Click "Add Product Link" and paste the URL

   Click Add Product Link, paste the full vendor URL, then click Save. The link will now appear in the Orders section.

   

How to restock and track the purchase

1. 1Open Restock and select "Use Product Link"

   Click the Restock icon on the item card or from the item detail page. In the Restock options, choose Use Product Link.

   

   

   

2. 2Click "Continue"

   Sortly opens the vendor page in a new tab and immediately shows the "Want to track this purchase?" modal on your current screen.

   

3. 3Enter quantity and optional price, then click "Next"

   The quantity defaults to 1. The price is pre-filled if Sortly has it on file. Update either field, then click Next to continue to PO selection.

4. 4Select or create a Purchase Order

   Choose an existing open PO or create a new one. From here the flow works exactly like a regular PO.

Approvals, receiving, and closing

Submit for approval

Open the PO and click Edit. Change the status to Ready for Review and click Save. The approver can then log in, review the PO, and change the status to Approved.

Receive items

1. 1Click "Receive Items" on the Purchase Order

   

2. 2Choose whether to update quantity

   Select Update quantity or Do not update quantity. Updating quantity is recommended.

   

3. 3Choose receiving folder and confirm quantities

   Click Next, select the receiving folder, and enter the quantity for each item. If you receive only some items, the PO moves to Partially Received status. Repeat the process when the rest arrive.

   

   

4. 4Export the completed PO

   Once all items are received, export the PO to PDF to share with your supplier or for your records.

   

Close a Purchase Order

Once a PO is fully or partially received, you can mark it as Closed to indicate no further updates are needed.

• If the PO is in Ordered or Partially Received status, open the three-dot menu in the upper right and select Mark Closed.
• If the PO is already in Received status, click the red Mark Closed button on the PO page.

QuickBooks Online

Connect your QBO account

You only need to do this once.

1. 1Go to Purchase Orders and click Manage

   

2. 2Follow the prompts to connect your QBO account

   

Once connected, a Send to QuickBooks Online button appears on each PO.

Send a Purchase Order to QBO

1. 1Open the PO and click "Send to QuickBooks Online"

   Fill in the fields to match your QBO account and click Send to QBO.

   

2. 2Confirm the success notification

   A confirmation appears with a link to open the PO directly in QBO. The last-synced timestamp updates on the PO in Sortly.

   

Vendor management

Saving vendors in Sortly lets you pull their details directly into any Purchase Order without re-entering them each time.

1. 1Go to Settings > Vendors and click "New Vendor"

   Enter the vendor's contact and company information, then click Save.

   

   

2. 2Add the vendor to a PO

   Open a PO, click Select Vendor, choose your vendor, and click Save. The vendor will appear on the PO and in the main Purchase Orders list.

   

Purchase Orders on mobile

From the Sortly mobile app, you can add items to an existing PO, create a new PO (saved as Draft), and receive items — all from Workflows > Purchase Orders. Full PO management — editing, approvals, vendor details, and QBO export — is available on the web.