Requisitions and purchase orders sit in front of a bill. Skip them if you record the supplier invoice as soon as it arrives. You still need a supplier and usually a product. The bill is what posts; see Record a bill.
Use these for an internal request or a locked order to the supplier. Expense, AP, Input VAT, and inventory wait until you finalize a bill.
Typical path: supplier and product → requisition (optional) → purchase order (optional) → bill → supplier payment. You can start at any step. The bill editor pulls from a purchase order, not from a requisition — so a request that should become a bill goes through a PO first.
Requisition vs purchase order vs skip both
| Use this | When |
|---|---|
| Requisition | Someone inside the business needs to request a purchase. Numbers seed as REQ-00001 |
| Purchase order | You want the supplier to confirm quantities or prices before the bill. Numbers seed as PO-00001 (Settings → Purchases → General) |
| Neither | The supplier invoice is already in hand. Create the bill directly |
Creating requisitions and purchase orders counts toward your plan (Free is 10 requisitions and 20 purchase orders after the Beta trial). Details are in Plan and billing.
Choose the supplier. Set the requisition date (required). Expiry, location, and payment terms are optional. Use Add address & contact and Add notes & terms only if you need them on the PDF.
Add lines the same way as a bill: pick a product (copies cost and tax) or type a description. Tax starts from the supplier VAT profile, then the product. Changing supplier can recompute line tax. On an existing requisition, Update keeps the current status; change status from the badge.
How to open it
| Step | Click |
|---|---|
| 1 | Purchases → Requisitions |
| 2 | New Requisition |
Save on a new requisition
| Button | Status it creates |
|---|---|
| Save | Open. Needs at least one line. Editable. You can pull this into a purchase order |
| Save as Draft | Draft. Lines can be empty. Editable. Email later moves Draft to Open. The PO picker does not list drafts |
Requisition status
| Status | What you can do |
|---|---|
| Draft / Open / Pending | Editable. Open, Pending, and Confirmed can be pulled into a PO. Badge moves Draft → Open or Cancelled |
| Confirmed | Not editable. You can still create a PO from it, or mark Partially Ordered, Ordered, or Cancelled |
| Partially Ordered / Ordered | Not editable. Ordered is set automatically when a PO is saved with this requisition as its source. Terminal for Ordered — you cannot convert it twice |
| Cancelled | Not editable. Badge can return it to Draft. You cannot delete a requisition that already has a linked PO |
Choose the supplier. Order date is required. Expected delivery, due date, payment terms, and location are optional. Lines and tax work like the requisition (supplier VAT profile).
To copy a requisition: on a new purchase order, use the source-requisition control and pick an Open, Pending, or Confirmed requisition. That replaces supplier, addresses, notes, tax, and lines. Confirm if the form already has data. There is no Generate PO action on the requisition list — you start from the PO.
Saving a purchase order that is linked to a requisition marks that requisition Ordered. One requisition can feed one purchase order. If that requisition is already linked, Seedflow blocks a second PO.
How to open it
| Step | Click |
|---|---|
| 1 | Purchases → Purchase Orders |
| 2 | New Purchase Order |
Save on a new purchase order
| Button | Status it creates |
|---|---|
| Save | Open. Needs at least one line. You can pull this into a bill |
| Save as Draft | Draft. Lines can be empty. Email later moves Draft to Open. The bill picker does not list drafts |
Purchase order status
| Status | What you can do |
|---|---|
| Draft / Open / Pending | Editable. Open and Confirmed can be pulled into a bill. Badge moves Draft → Open or Cancelled |
| Confirmed | Not editable. You can still bill it, or mark Partially Received, Received, or Cancelled |
| Partially Received / Received | Not editable. Received is terminal. This is a status you set — it does not receive inventory by itself. The bill picker does not list Received |
| Cancelled | Not editable. Badge can return it to Draft |
Open a new bill. Use the source purchase-order control and pick an Open or Confirmed order. That copies supplier, lines, tax, payment terms, and due date. One purchase order can feed one bill; a second bill from the same PO is blocked.
Then Save or Save & Finalize on the bill as usual. Finalizing is what auto-post can journal. Details are in Record a bill.
What converting does — and does not
| Action | Result |
|---|---|
| Requisition → purchase order | Copies header and lines. Requisition becomes Ordered. No journal |
| Purchase order → bill | Copies header and lines onto a new bill (draft or finalized). No journal until the bill is finalized |
| Delete the purchase order later | Does not reopen the requisition. Ordered stays ordered. You still cannot pick it for a new PO |
Open Preview from the document or the list. Download PDF or Excel. Send email needs a saved document (it needs an id). The message goes to the address you type, or to the supplier’s email if you leave it blank. Seedflow includes a share link so they can view or download.
Emailing a Draft requisition or purchase order sets it to Open. Email does not create a journal and does not create the bill.
Other guides in Purchases