Purchases

A purchase is your record of buying stock from a supplier — what you bought, how many, and what it cost. When the goods arrive you receive the purchase, which adds the items into your stock and updates how much you owe.

Who uses itOwners and staff who order and book in stock.

How long it takesA few minutes to build and receive a typical order.

Where to find itOpen Purchase & Suppliers → Purchases in the sidebar.

Overview

A purchase moves through two simple stages. First it's a Draft — a list you're still building, with no effect on your stock. When the goods physically arrive, you receive it and it becomes Received. At that moment three things happen automatically: the items are added to your stock, your average cost per item is recalculated, and the purchase total is added to what you owe the supplier.

You can do both stages at once. If your delivery is already in hand, just create the purchase and click Save & receive — there's no need to save a draft first.

The purchase form with a supplier chosen and a table of items, quantities and cost prices — Building a purchase: pick the supplier, then add each product with its quantity and cost price.

Why it's useful

It keeps your stock honest. Receiving a purchase is what actually adds stock to the shelf in the system — no separate step needed. See Inventory.
It works out your real cost. Each receipt updates the average cost of each item, so your profit figures stay accurate even when prices change between deliveries.
It can set your selling prices for you. With markup-on-receive switched on, the system suggests new selling prices based on what you just paid.
It tracks what you owe. Every received purchase is added to the supplier's balance, ready to be cleared with a payment.

How to create and receive a purchase, step by step

Open the Purchases screen
In the sidebar, open Purchase & Suppliers and click Purchases, then choose New purchase.
Choose the supplier
Pick the supplier you're buying from. If they aren't on the list yet, you can add them first on the Suppliers screen. The date defaults to today, and a due date is suggested from the supplier's payment terms.
Add the items you're buying
Add a row for each product. For every line enter the quantity and the cost price (what the supplier charges you per unit). The line and overall totals are worked out as you type.
Record batch and expiry if needed
For products that track batches (common in pharmacy), enter the batch number, manufacture and expiry dates on the line. See Batches & expiry.
Save as draft, or receive straight away
If the goods haven't arrived yet, click Save as draft. If they're already here, click Save & receive to book them straight into stock.
Receive a saved draft when stock arrives
Open the draft and click Receive. Confirm the quantities that actually turned up (you can adjust them if a delivery is short), then confirm.

The receive screen confirming the quantities that arrived for each line — Receiving: confirm what actually arrived. This is the step that adds stock and updates your balance.

Markup on receive

There's an optional helper that can set your selling prices for you when you receive a purchase. If you turn on auto-apply markup on receive (in settings) and give a product a markup percentage, receiving the goods will set its selling price to the cost you just paid plus that markup.

For example, if you pay 100 for an item with a 40% markup, its selling price becomes 140. After receiving, the screen lists every product whose price changed, so you can check the new prices at a glance before they go live.

Cancelling a purchase

A purchase that hasn't been received yet — one that's still a Draft — can be cancelled with a reason. Because nothing was added to stock, cancelling has no effect on your inventory or your supplier balance, and the purchase is marked Cancelled.

If goods have already been received and you need to undo it, you don't cancel — you send the goods back with a purchase return instead. That correctly removes the stock and reduces what you owe.

Tips & best practices

Receive only what arrived. If a delivery is short, lower the received quantity on those lines so your stock matches the shelf exactly.
Enter accurate cost prices. Your average cost and profit reports are only as good as the costs you type in.
Use "Save & receive" for deliveries in hand. No point saving a draft for stock that's already on the counter.
Check the price-change list after receiving if you use markup, so no item goes on sale at the wrong price.

Notes & warnings

Receiving is what adds the stock. A draft purchase does not change your inventory — the items only land on the shelf (in the system) once you receive it.

Receiving increases what you owe. The full purchase total is added to the supplier's outstanding balance. Clear it later with a supplier payment.

You can't simply cancel a received purchase. Once stock has been booked in, the correct way to undo it is a purchase return, which reverses the stock and the balance properly. Cancelling is only for drafts.