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User guide › Running projects › Chapter 13

Purchases and subcontractors

Buying for your projects. Vendors are your suppliers and subcontractors. A purchase order tells a supplier what to send and at what rate; when it arrives you record the delivery, and the cost goes into the project's costing. Work orders are for labour given to a subcontractor and paid by measured work.

The screens

Vendors

The suppliers and subcontractors you buy from.

  1. The cards: how many vendors you have, how many are active, how many are suppliers, and how many are contractors and labour.
  2. The list: each vendor's name, type (supplier, contractor, labour, transport, service), phone, city, payment terms and rating. Tap the phone to call.
  3. Search by name, contact or city, or pick a type. The pencil edits a vendor; the bin deletes one.
  4. New vendor adds a supplier or contractor.
Where in the menu
Procurement > Vendors
Who can open it
Company Admin, Project Manager, Accounts, Viewer
Plan
Needs Vendors, purchase orders and materials

Read about this screen: How do I add a supplier or contractor?

Purchase orders

What you have ordered, from whom, and what has arrived.

  1. The cards: live orders, orders awaiting delivery, the value ordered, and how much you owe vendors.
  2. The list: order number, vendor, project, date ordered and date expected, value, balance still to pay, and status (Draft, Sent to vendor, Part received, Received, Cancelled).
  3. Filter by status or search by order or vendor. Press an order number to open it.
  4. New order raises a purchase order.
Where in the menu
Procurement > Purchase orders
Who can open it
Company Admin, Project Manager, Accounts, Viewer
Plan
Needs Vendors, purchase orders and materials

Read about this screen: How do I raise a purchase order?

One purchase order

A purchase order with its lines, deliveries and payments.

  1. The cards: order value with its tax, how much has been received, the balance payable and paid, and the date it is expected.
  2. Items: each line with the quantity ordered, received and still pending, its rate and amount. Add item puts in another line.
  3. Deliveries: every arrival on site, with challan and vehicle details. Received quantities above update by themselves.
  4. Record delivery at the top right notes material that has reached the site. All orders goes back to the list.

Read about this screen: How do I raise a purchase order? · Material arrived on site. How do I record the delivery?

Materials

Stock on hand and material used on each project.

  1. The cards: how many materials are listed, in how many categories, how many have a known rate, and how many have a preferred vendor.
  2. The list: each material with its unit, brand, the last rate you paid and your preferred vendor. Search by material, code or brand.
  3. New material adds one. Purchase orders and site deliveries pick from this list.
Where in the menu
Procurement > Materials
Who can open it
Company Admin, Project Manager, Accounts, Viewer
Plan
Needs Vendors, purchase orders and materials

Read about this screen: What is the Materials list for?

Work orders

Work given to subcontractors, and what you owe them.

  1. The cards: how many work orders there are and how many are running, their total value, the work certified so far, and what is due to subcontractors.
  2. The list of work orders, with search by number, work or vendor, and a status filter. Press one to open it and certify measured work.
  3. New work order gives work to a subcontractor at agreed rates. You then certify the work they finish, and pay against it, with any retention kept back.
Where in the menu
Procurement > Work orders
Who can open it
Company Admin, Project Manager, Accounts, Viewer
Plan
Needs Vendors, purchase orders and materials

Read about this screen: How do I give work to a subcontractor and pay them for measured work?

How to

How to

How do I add a supplier or contractor?

Open Vendors and press New vendor: name, type (supplier, contractor, labour), contact, GSTIN, payment terms, bank details and a rating.

Where in the menu
Procurement > Vendors
Who can open it
Company Admin, Project Manager, Accounts, Viewer
Plan
Needs Vendors, purchase orders and materials

On screen: Vendors

  1. Open Vendors and press New vendor.
  2. Fill in the name, type, contact person, phone, email, GSTIN, city and state, payment terms (for example 30 days), address and bank details. A rating out of 5 helps you choose next time.
  3. Save.

Purchase orders and work orders are raised against vendors. Press Call on a vendor's row to ring them from a phone. Vendors can be added offline.

How to

How do I raise a purchase order?

Purchase orders > New purchase order: choose the vendor and project, then add items on the next screen. Press Mark sent once it has gone to the vendor.

Where in the menu
Procurement > Purchase orders
Who can open it
Company Admin, Project Manager, Accounts, Viewer
Plan
Needs Vendors, purchase orders and materials

On screen: Purchase orders One purchase order

  1. Open Purchase orders and press New purchase order.
  2. Choose the vendor, the project, the order date, expected on date, tax % and where to deliver. Save; items are added on the next screen.
  3. Press Add item for each: Pick from materials fills the name, unit and last paid rate. Change the quantity and rate.
  4. Press Mark sent once you have sent it to the vendor.

The order shows its value, what has been received and the balance payable. Linked to a project, it counts in that project's cost.

How to

Material arrived on site. How do I record the delivery?

Open the purchase order and press Record delivery. Enter how much of each item arrived, the challan and vehicle number, who received it and its condition.

Where in the menu
Procurement > Purchase orders
Who can open it
Company Admin, Project Manager, Accounts, Viewer
Plan
Needs Vendors, purchase orders and materials

On screen: One purchase order

  1. Open the order from Purchase orders.
  2. Press Record delivery.
  3. Enter how much of each pending item arrived. Leave a line blank if it did not come.
  4. Fill in received on, challan number, vehicle number, received by and the condition.
  5. Save.

Received quantities update by themselves, and the order moves to partly or fully received. Every arrival is listed under Deliveries. The project's Materials tab shows the new stock on site.

With Inventory, choose where the stock goes to. Left empty, it goes to the project site, or to the main godown when the order has no project. Damaged pieces are not added. Changing or deleting the delivery corrects the stock.

How to

How do I give work to a subcontractor and pay them for measured work?

Work orders > New work order: subcontractor, project, scope, value, rate basis and retention %. As work is done, press Certify work with the quantity measured; record payments with Mark paid.

Where in the menu
Procurement > Work orders
Who can open it
Company Admin, Project Manager, Accounts, Viewer
Plan
Needs Vendors, purchase orders and materials

On screen: Work orders

  1. Open Work orders and press New work order.
  2. Give the work title, the subcontractor (a vendor), the project, dates, order value, rate basis (for example per sq.ft. of work), retention %, the scope and terms.
  3. As work is finished, open the work order and press Certify work: date, work measured, quantity, unit and rate. The certified value adds up by itself.
  4. Pay what is due and press Mark paid on each.

The work order shows the order value, certified, retention held and balance payable. Money due to subcontractors also shows on the project's Site tab.

Good to know

Explained

What is the Materials list for?

Your list of what you buy regularly, with unit, brand, last rate, preferred vendor and reorder level. Purchase orders, selections and project material plans pick from it.

Where in the menu
Procurement > Materials
Who can open it
Company Admin, Project Manager, Accounts, Viewer
Plan
Needs Vendors, purchase orders and materials

On screen: Materials

Add each material once on Materials: name, code, category (plywood, hardware, paint), unit, brand, last known rate, preferred vendor and reorder level.

Then purchase orders, project material plans and client selections pick from it, filling the name, unit and rate. On its own it is a list of what you buy, not a stock count; quantities on site are shown per project on its Materials tab.

With Inventory, the same list is your stock items: Stock items adds templates, sizes, units, barcodes and the stock in every godown and site.

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