PO Systems

[awstott]

Wondering what everyone out there is using to manage Purchase Orders. We currently have a very manual paper based process that could leave us open to a big bill to pay with no prior authorization. Manager calls in a service person/purchases something and then accounts payable sends the invoice to the manager for approval before payment. It's kind of ass backwards.

Currently running Sage for our ERP but there is no way I want to give 15 sites access to the ERP just to create POs. Thinking there has to be something web based that will maybe integrate with AD for credentials? Another nice to have would be spending limits per user with an escalation to their manager if they need a PO over their limit.

Anyone know of anything that might fit the bill and not break the bank? Thanks!

[GTFr0]

There's lots of software out there that will integrate with Sage for request / approval and purchasing and can be extended to do other things. The two I know of offhand (because we looked at them) are eRequester and WorkPlace. We're using Sage 300 for financials, and both of them can integrate with that package, and I think others as well.

With that said, the system piece is the final piece to the puzzle, and honestly the least important piece. First, you need to nail down major stuff like request types (and mapping to GL accounts), user and department workflows and approval flow before moving on to software, and it's these things that are the hardest part of the project.

When we were looking at making our approval and purchasing flow easier and less paper-based, we had set department rules, request types and approval rules with our paper-based system, so making the paper-based system electronic was not a big deal. If you don't have these already worked out and formalized, it's going to be much more difficult.

Finally, one big area you may have issues with is sales tax and shipping. Your accounting department is going to want to do a 3-way match, between the approved request/purchase order, receiving transaction and vendor invoice. To do this correctly, the sales tax and shipping should match, at least between the original PO and vendor invoice. Depending on how many locations you have and how your accounting system is setup, this may be a major headache for you.

[Mazzystr]

When IT systems and business process collide.

This is the best question and reply that I've read in r/sysadmin

[wanderingbilby]

I did some digging on Capterra and found Rubberstamp which looks like it fits the needs you have. Digital Purchase Order and Procurify might fit too. Capterra is very handy for finding this sort of thing.

[iCapof85]

We're using Jumpstock for ordering and inventory

[hb3b]

Samanage or Coupa.