Purchase Orders

Purchase Orders let you raise, approve, and track supply orders directly within StationOne. When items are received, linked stock quantities are updated automatically.

Prerequisites

• Brigade admin role (or brigade user with stock manage permission)
• Stock module enabled for your unit
• At least one stock item created (optional but recommended)

Purchase Order Lifecycle

A purchase order moves through the following statuses:

Status	Description
Draft	Being prepared — can be edited or deleted
Pending Approval	Submitted and waiting for an approver
Approved	Approved and ready to send to supplier
Partially Received	Some items have been received
Received	All items fully received
Cancelled	Cancelled at any stage before full receipt

Creating a Purchase Order

1. Navigate to Purchase Orders

1. Log in to StationOne
2. Click Stock in the main navigation
3. Select the Purchase Orders tab
4. Click New Purchase Order

2. Enter Order Details

Supplier (optional)

• Name of the supplier you’re ordering from
• Example: “ABC Safety Supplies”

To Address (optional)

• Supplier address — appears on the PDF version of the PO

Expected Delivery Date (optional)

• Estimated date stock will arrive

Notes (optional)

• Notes that will appear on the PO document sent to the supplier

Internal Notes (optional)

• Private notes visible only to your unit — not included on the PDF

3. Add Line Items

Each line item represents one product being ordered.

Description (required)

• What you’re ordering
• Example: “Nitrile Gloves — Large”

Link to Stock Item (optional)

• Select an existing stock item to link this line to
• When items are received, the stock item’s quantity will be updated automatically

SKU (optional)

• Supplier’s product code for ordering reference

Quantity (required)

• Number of units to order

Unit Price (optional)

• Cost per unit — used to calculate the order total

Click Add Item to add more lines. You can add as many items as needed.

4. Link Actions (optional)

If you have open stock-related actions (e.g. low stock alerts), you can link them to this PO. Linked actions can be resolved automatically when items are received.

Select one or more actions from the Linked Actions list at the bottom of the form.

5. Save the Draft

Click Create Purchase Order to save as a draft.

A PO number is generated automatically in the format PO-YYYY-NNNN.

Submitting for Approval

Once the order is ready:

1. Open the purchase order
2. Click Submit for Approval

The PO status changes to Pending Approval and an email notification is sent to the configured approvers (or brigade admins by default).

Note

You cannot edit a PO once it has been submitted. If changes are needed, an approver can reject it to return it to draft.

Approving or Rejecting a Purchase Order

Approvers (brigade admins, organisation admins, and super admins) see Approve and Reject buttons on a pending PO.

• Approve — moves the PO to Approved status, ready to be actioned
• Reject — returns the PO to Draft so it can be revised and resubmitted

Note

The person who created the PO cannot approve it. A different team member must approve.

Sending the PO to a Supplier

Once approved, you can share the PO with your supplier in two ways:

Download PDF

• Click Download PDF to generate a formatted document
• Print or attach to an email

Email PO

• Click Email PO
• Enter the supplier’s email address
• Click Send Email — StationOne sends the PDF directly

Receiving Items

When stock arrives, record what was received against the PO:

1. Open the approved PO
2. In the Receive Items section, enter the quantity received for each line
3. Leave blank any items not yet received
4. Click Record Receipt

If the PO has linked actions, a confirmation step will ask whether to resolve them now that items have arrived. Check the relevant actions and click Confirm Receipt.

What happens automatically:

• Stock item quantities are updated on receipt
• A restock history entry is recorded on each linked stock item
• Low stock actions are resolved if quantity reaches the target
• PO status changes to Partially Received or Received accordingly

Cancelling a Purchase Order

To cancel a PO that is no longer needed:

1. Open the purchase order
2. Click Cancel PO
3. Confirm the cancellation

A PO can be cancelled at any status except Received or already Cancelled.

Configuring PO Approvers

By default, any brigade admin (other than the creator) can approve a PO. To restrict approval to specific people:

1. Go to the Purchase Orders tab in Stock
2. Click PO Approver Settings
3. Select the members who should receive approval requests
4. Click Save

Only the selected members will receive approval notification emails and see the approve/reject buttons.

Tips

Link Stock Items to Line Items

Linking each line item to an existing stock item ensures quantities update automatically on receipt — you won’t need to manually restock each item.

Use Internal Notes for Context

Internal notes are not included on the PDF sent to suppliers. Use them to record budget codes, decision rationale, or delivery instructions for your team.

Partial Deliveries

If a supplier delivers part of an order, record only what arrived. The PO moves to Partially Received and you can record further receipts when the remainder arrives.

Create POs from Actions

When a low stock action is triggered, you can create a PO directly from the action detail page. The action is automatically linked to the new PO.

Related Guides

• Manage Stock Items — Creating and managing stock
• Stock Actions — Understanding low stock actions
• Actions — Managing and resolving actions