Procurement tracks a purchase from the first request to the goods arriving. A request is raised, approved, ordered and finally marked received, and when it is received the items are added to your stock in Inventory automatically.
- Where Operations → Procurement
- Who can use it Anyone whose role includes Procurement. Anyone with access can raise, approve, order and receive, so give the module only to the people who should do all of these.
- Set up first Nothing. It helps to have your stock items in Inventory already.
The Procurement screen
Four boxes across the top give a quick picture: Pending Approval, Approved/Ordered, Received and Total Received Value (the total cost of everything received so far, in GHS).
Below them, the Purchase Orders table lists every request, newest first, with its item, quantity, supplier, total cost, status and the buttons for the next step.
Raise a purchase request
- Click Raise Request.
- Type the Item Description, for example Exercise books (pack of 10). As you type, names of items already in Inventory are offered; pick one if it is something you already stock.
- Enter the Quantity and the Unit Cost (GHS), for example 20 at GHS 45.00. The total cost is worked out for you.
- Add the Supplier (optional) and any Notes.
- Click Raise Request. You return to the list and the new request shows as Pending.
The item description is required and the quantity must be more than zero.
Move a request through its stages
Each row only shows the buttons that make sense for its current status. Every click asks you to confirm first.
| Current status | Buttons you see | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Pending | Approve, Reject, delete (bin icon) | Approve records who approved it and when. Reject closes it. |
| Approved | Mark Ordered, Cancel | Use Mark Ordered once you have placed the order with the supplier. |
| Ordered | Mark Received, Cancel | Mark Received when the goods arrive. This adds them to Inventory. |
| Received, Rejected, Cancelled | None | The request is finished and stays on the list as a record. |
You can only delete a request while it is still Pending. Once it has moved on, it stays as part of the paper trail.
How received goods reach Inventory
When you click Mark Received, the app looks in Inventory for an item with exactly the same name as the request’s item description:
- If it finds one, the received quantity is added to that item’s stock.
- If it doesn’t, a new Inventory item is created with that name, the quantity received and the unit cost as its price.
Tip: To top up existing stock, pick the name from the suggestions when you raise the request rather than typing it fresh. Exercise Books and Exercise books (pack of 10) are treated as two different items.
Good to know
- Every request and every stage change is written to the audit log.
- Stock is added in whole units. If you raise a request for a fraction, such as 2.5, only the whole number is added to Inventory.
- Marking a request received does not record an expense or a payment to the supplier. Record the payment in Expenses.
- A received purchase can’t be deleted. If the stock figure is wrong, correct it in Inventory.
- There is no edit button. If a pending request is wrong, delete it and raise it again.