Purchase orders and backlog
Key in a customer's purchase order and follow it until it ships. The open backlog shows what is booked but not shipped.
How do I enter a customer purchase order and track the backlog?
- Press New, pick the customer and the manufacturer, and the date they need it.
- Add one line per part: what it is, how many and the price each. Totals add up as you type. Save.
- Send it to the manufacturer: say how it went out and the number they gave back. A sent order locks.
- When goods ship, record what went out, line by line. Leave a line empty if nothing shipped.
Good to know
- An order locks once sent so your copy never drifts from the factory's. To change it, unlock it and write down why — your name goes on it.
- Partly shipped orders show what is still on backorder.
Where to find it
- Orders › All orders — try it in the demo (opens in a new tab)
Read the video transcript
When a customer sends a purchase order, you key it in here and follow it until it ships. This is the open backlog — booked, but not shipped yet. Cedar Rapids Industrial ordered fasteners from Cutler. They need it by October 15.
One line per part: what it is, how many, and the price each. The amounts add up as you type. Save the order. There it is, open, and the backlog went up by $8,877.50.
Next, send it to Cutler. Say how it went out and what number they gave back. Once it is sent, the order locks. Why lock it?
If our copy quietly drifts from the factory's, nobody notices until the wrong parts arrive. To change it, you unlock it and write down why. Your name goes on it too. A week later, Cutler ships the bolts and nuts.
The anchors are on backorder. Type what went out this time, line by line. Leave a line empty if nothing shipped. Four of the ten anchor kits went out too.
The order is now partly shipped, with the rest on backorder. And the open backlog dropped by what shipped. Only the six anchor kits are left to chase — $2,056.50 still to ship on this order.