> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://alius-docs.frimty.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Purchase orders

> Create, send, track and receive purchase orders — from the app or straight from chat

## Overview

A **purchase order (PO)** is what you send a supplier to buy stock. In Alius, one PO has:

* one **supplier**;
* one **destination** — the location the goods go to;
* a list of variants, each with a quantity and a unit cost.

[Stock](/features/stock) tells you *what* to reorder. A PO is how you act on it. The whole loop can run from chat: add to a PO from an alert, get told when it arrives, and receive it with one tap.

Open **Purchase orders** in the app menu. POs are numbered per shop, from **PO-1001** upward.

***

## Life of a purchase order

| Status | What it means |
| - | - |
| **Draft** | Being prepared. Everything is editable. Only drafts can be deleted. |
| **Ordered** | Sent to the supplier. Units show as **incoming** in Shopify. |
| **Partially received** | Some units have arrived. |
| **Received** | Every line has fully arrived. |
| **Cancelled** | Stopped. Units still to come are removed from incoming. |

***

## Creating a PO

There are three ways to start one.

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="From the PO page">
    Click **Create purchase order**, then pick a **Supplier** and a **Destination**.

    * **Search products to add** — pick variants. Each quantity starts at the Stock page's suggested reorder quantity (or 1).
    * **Add supplier's products** — adds every variant this supplier serves at the destination, from its [Suppliers](/features/suppliers) rows.

    A line the chosen supplier doesn't normally serve gets a **Usually from …** badge, so you notice before sending.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="From the Stock table">
    Select rows at **one location** that share **one supplier**, then click
    **Create PO**. Alius saves a draft with each row's **Reorder** quantity and
    opens it. If the rows are at different locations or have different
    suppliers, a hint says why the button is off.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="From a reorder alert">
    Tap **Add to PO** on a row of a reorder alert in Slack, Telegram or
    Discord. Alius adds the variant to the newest draft for that supplier and
    location — or starts a new draft — and replies with a link to review and
    send it. Tapping again for the same variant adds to its quantity.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

<Note>
  Untracked variants (inventory not tracked in Shopify) can't go on a PO. Alius
  leaves them out and tells you which ones.
</Note>

***

## Costs

| Part | How it works |
| - | - |
| **Unit cost** | In the **supplier's currency**. Prefilled from Shopify's cost per item when the currencies match. |
| **Taxes** | One amount. **Included** — shown, not added. **Added** — goes on top of the total. |
| **Adjustments** | Named amounts such as shipping or fees. Use a negative amount for a discount. |

A line with no unit cost counts as "unknown", not zero — the **Cost summary** then says the total is incomplete. Alius does no currency conversion.

### Purchase order details

**Your reference**, **Note to supplier**, **Internal note** (never shown to the supplier), **Expected arrival**, **Ship date**, **Cancel date**, **Payment terms**, **Supplier currency** and **Tags**.

***

## Sending

Save the draft, then click **Send to supplier**. A PO needs a supplier, a destination and at least one line.

When you send:

1. The supplier gets an email with the order and a **View and confirm order** button. Replies go to your shop's email.
2. Shopify shows the units as **incoming** at the destination.
3. The Stock page shows them in **On order**, and reorder alerts stop for variants the PO fully covers.

After sending, the supplier, destination, currency, costs and lines are **locked** — the supplier already has them. Notes, dates, payment terms and tags stay editable.

***

## The supplier's page

The link in the email opens a simple page for your supplier — **no login needed**, works on a phone. There the supplier can:

* **Confirm order** or **Decline order**;
* set a **Ship date** and **Arrival date**;
* add a **Tracking number** and **Tracking link**, then **Mark as shipped**;
* propose line changes — "I can send 8, not 10", or a new unit cost;
* leave a note for you;
* **Export to PDF**.

The supplier can never receive or cancel your PO — those stay yours.

Every answer shows up in **Supplier feedback** on the PO page and as a message on your Stock alert hubs.

### Proposed changes

A proposal waits for you. **Accept change** or **Reject change** — on the PO page, or with the buttons on the chat message.

* **Accept** updates the PO's lines and moves Shopify's incoming units to match.
* **Reject** keeps the PO as it was.
* Either way, the supplier gets an email with your answer.

### The supplier link

The **Supplier** card on a sent PO has **Copy supplier link** and **Preview as supplier**. If a link was shared with the wrong person, click **Reset link**: every old link stops working. Choose **Reset and email supplier** to send the new link, or **Reset only**.

***

## Receiving

When the goods arrive, open the PO. The **Receive** card lists **Ordered**, **Received** and **Left** for each line.

* **Receive all** — takes everything that is left.
* **Receive now** — type the quantity for each line, then click **Receive**. Use this for a partial delivery.

Received units move from **incoming** to **available** in Shopify at the destination. Each delivery is saved under **Receipts**. Alius never receives more than was ordered, and the same delivery is never counted twice.

<Note>
  If Shopify doesn't answer in time, the page shows **A receipt is waiting for
  Shopify to confirm** with a **Retry** button. Retrying is always safe.
</Note>

***

## Cancelling

Click **Cancel order** on an ordered or partly received PO. Units still to come are removed from incoming in Shopify; units already received stay. The supplier gets a "Cancelled" email listing what was still to ship.

***

## Chat messages

POs post to the same hubs you chose on the Stock **Alerts** page:

| Message | When |
| - | - |
| **PO-1004 sent to Acme** | A PO is sent — lines, units, total, destination, expected date. |
| **PO-1004 arrives today** | The morning of the expected arrival date, with a **Received all** button. |
| **PO-1004: 6 units received** | A delivery is received — in the app or from chat, and by whom. |
| Supplier updates | The supplier confirms, declines, ships or proposes a change. |

**Received all** asks you to confirm first. Tapping it on two hubs never receives the units twice.

<Tip>
  Move the expected arrival date and you get a new "arrives today" reminder
  for the new date.
</Tip>

***

## Plans

Creating, editing and sending POs needs **Pro** or **Max**.

| | Pro | Max |
| - | - | - |
| Open POs at once | 10 | Unlimited |

A PO is **open** while it is a draft, ordered, or partially received. Received and cancelled POs don't count, so your order history has no limit. At the limit you can still edit, send, receive and cancel the POs you have — you just can't create a new one until you receive or cancel one. This also applies to **Add to PO** from a chat message when it would start a new draft; adding to a draft you already have always works.

Moving from Max to Pro never touches your POs. If you have more than 10 open, they all keep working.

If you downgrade to Free, POs you already sent keep working: you can still open, receive and cancel them, answer supplier changes, and get the "arrives today" reminder. The goods arrive either way. See [Pricing](/guides/pricing).