Purchase Process

Overview of the end-to-end purchasing workflow

Process Overview

The purchasing process in Numera handles procurement from order to payment. It integrates with inventory and accounting for complete visibility.

Purchase Workflow

Inbound Order

Create orders to suppliers for goods or services

Inbound Delivery

Receive and verify incoming goods

Inbound Invoice

Match and process supplier invoices

Payment

Process payments to suppliers

1. Inbound Order

Create purchase orders to request goods or services from suppliers:

Select supplier and delivery address
Add products with quantities
Confirm pricing and terms
Send to supplier for confirmation

Inbound Orders can be created manually or cloned from previously created Inbound Orders. Cloning is useful for recurring purchases and repeat supplier transactions, as it automatically copies supplier information, order lines, quantities, pricing, and other relevant data into a new Inbound Order. Users can review and modify the copied information before saving or confirming the new order.

2. Inbound Delivery

Receive and verify incoming goods:

Check quantities against order
Inspect quality
Record any discrepancies
Update inventory automatically

3. Inbound Invoice

Process supplier invoices:

Match to purchase orders and deliveries
Three-way matching validation
Handle price variances
Post to accounts payable

4. Payment

Process payments to suppliers:

Schedule payments based on terms
Create payment batches
Execute bank transfers
Record payment confirmations

Document Flow

Similar to the sales process, documents in the purchase process are linked together, creating a complete audit trail:

Document	Creates	Updates
Inbound Order	Outbound Delivery, Inbound Invoice	Planned inventory
Inbound Delivery	Inbound Invoice	Inventory, Inbound Order status, Accounting entries
Inbound Invoice	Inbound Delivery, Accounting entries	Supplier balance, VAT
Outgoing Payment	Bank reconciliation	Inbound Invoice status, Customer balance

Best Practices

Plan purchases based on inventory levels and demand forecasts
Verify supplier confirmations before scheduling deliveries
Record inbound deliveries promptly to maintain accurate inventory
Match supplier invoices against purchase orders and deliveries before approval
Monitor supplier lead times and delivery performance regularly