Important Ways In Which Small Businesses Can Benefit From Purchase Orders – A purchase order is a commercial source document that is issued by a business’ purchasing department when placing an order with its vendors or suppliers. The document indicates the details on the items that are to be purchased, such as the types of goods, quantity, and price. In simple terms, it is the contract drafted by the buyer when purchasing goods from the seller. Below, we discuss reasons why it’s a good idea to use purchase orders and to learn how much they can benefit your company or business:
Helps to avoid duplicate orders
Purchase orders bring several benefits to a company. The most important is that it helps avoid duplicate orders. When a company decides to scale the business, POs can help keep track of what has been ordered and from whom.
Also, when a buyer orders similar products, matching the invoices can be difficult. The PO serves as a check for the invoices that need to be paid.
Keeps track of incoming orders
In addition, POs help keep track of incoming orders, and a well-organized purchase order system can help simplify the inventory and shipping process.
Help with budgeting
If you’re planning a large project, purchase orders can help with budgeting. In order to generate accurate POs, you’ll have to calculate order quantities before the project begins. That also helps you get a better idea of how much to budget for the project.
Purchase orders don’t just help with big projects, though. Even when dealing with every-day purchases that come up in running the business, the price and quantity fields on purchase orders give you clues about how much your company needs to sell to make a profit.
Control spending
Implementing a purchase order system lets you control who is allowed to make purchases. By choosing who can access the purchasing system, you’ll prevent unauthorized people from placing orders without clearance.
Track spending
With an automated system keeping all your purchasing information in one easy-to-search place, it’s simple to track where the money is going. The system updates in real-time so you can always see exactly what purchases have been made. You’ll also have ready access to information about past purchases.
Improve inventory management
Making a purchase is the first step in procuring inventory. And when you have an easy-to-use purchase order system, it helps with inventory management. Purchase orders help you keep track of what products should be arriving at your company. You can then match them against the invoices to check for accuracy, so you know exactly what’s happening with your incoming inventory.
Understand vendors
Setting up a purchase order system gives you the tools needed to keep track of your vendors and suppliers. You’ll be able to easily store and sort information about vendors, as well as set up policies about which items should be ordered from each vendor.
The documentation that purchase orders provide also give you insight into which vendors are easy to work with and which ones are not. A purchasing system makes it easy to see if your vendors fill orders accurately and on time or if they’re behind schedule and prone to mistakes.
Save time
Taking a few extra minutes to generate purchase orders (POs) saves time in the long-run. Firstly, an established purchase order system simplifies the ordering process by using catalogues. Once you’ve set up the system it’s very easy to go in, find products approved for purchase, and place an order. For routine purchases, generating a PO happens automatically. And even for new orders, the extensive automation streamlines PO creation and order placement.
You’ll also save time when orders arrive since all you have to do is check the invoice against the purchase order to make sure the order is correct. The system puts all the purchasing records you need right at your fingertips.
Help with budgeting
If you’re planning a large project, purchase orders can help with budgeting. In order to generate accurate POs, you’ll have to calculate order quantities before the project begins. That also helps you get a better idea of how much to budget for the project.
Enable planning
Careful purchasing records help you anticipate and plan for the future. They provide key insight into company performance, which gives you the tools you need to examine product trends, market cycles, and company spending. Most purchase order systems will generate this information automatically.
Handle unexpected expenses
Using purchase orders can act as an early warning system for unanticipated expenses. Because everyone has to submit a PO for most purchases, there’s a record of any expense as soon as the need for it arises.
Conclusion
If you’re ready to start putting purchase orders to work for you, Robisearch Limited can help. Just reach us on 0716413386 or 0780655987 . We’ll be happy to give you a first-hand look at how our purchase order system can work for your business before you commit to a purchase. And if you do decide to get your purchase order system from us, we’ll be right there helping you through the entire setup process to make sure you get all the benefits that automated purchasing can provide.