The Purchase module manages everything that happens before goods arrive at your door: sourcing suppliers, requesting quotes, locking in prices, receiving deliveries, and matching supplier invoices against what was ordered and received. It connects directly with Inventory (to update stock on receipt) and Accounting (to create vendor bills without duplicate data entry).
Adding vendors
Go to Purchase → Orders → Vendors and click New to create a supplier record. Fill in the company name, contact details, and address. In the Sales & Purchase tab, set:
- Payment terms — for example, Net 30, meaning payment is due 30 days after the bill date.
- Vendor lead time — how many days this supplier typically takes to deliver after receiving an order. This feeds into the scheduled delivery date on purchase orders.
- Currency — if you purchase from this supplier in a foreign currency, set it here so Vendra converts prices automatically.
You can also set vendor-specific pricelists (go to Purchase → Configuration → Vendor Pricelists) to define quantity-based pricing that applies automatically when creating an RFQ for this supplier.
Creating a Request for Quotation (RFQ)
An RFQ is a draft procurement document you send to suppliers to obtain pricing before committing to a purchase. Go to Purchase → Orders → Requests for Quotation and click New.
- Select the vendor from the dropdown.
- Set the expected delivery date.
- Click Add a Product and choose the item you want to buy. Enter the quantity and the price (or leave the price blank and let the supplier fill it in).
- Add more product lines as needed.
- Click Send by Email to deliver the RFQ to the supplier, or print it as a PDF.
Sending RFQs to multiple vendors for comparison
If you want to compare prices from several suppliers for the same goods, create a separate RFQ for each vendor. Once responses come in, review them side by side in the RFQ list view. Confirm the best one as a purchase order and cancel or archive the others. This keeps a full record of the comparative sourcing process.
Confirming a Purchase Order
Once you have agreed on price and quantity with a supplier, open the RFQ and click Confirm Order. The document becomes a Purchase Order (PO) with a PO reference number. The PO locks in the supplier, products, quantities, prices, and delivery date. Vendra automatically creates a corresponding receipt in Inventory so the warehouse team knows a delivery is expected.
If your purchase configuration requires manager approval above a defined amount, the PO will route to the designated approver before it is confirmed. This controls procurement spend without creating bottlenecks for smaller orders.
Receiving goods
When the delivery arrives, open the PO and click Receive Products (or navigate to Inventory → Overview → Receipts and find the linked receipt).
- The receipt form shows all expected products and their ordered quantities in the Demand column.
- Enter the actual quantity physically received in the Done column for each line. If the full quantity arrived, click Validate directly. If only a partial shipment arrived, enter the partial quantities and confirm.
- Click Validate. Stock levels update immediately at the receiving warehouse location.
- If some items were back-ordered (not yet delivered), Vendra creates a second receipt for the remaining quantity so you can receive it later.
Vendor bills and 3-way matching
When the supplier sends their invoice, open the purchase order and click Create Bill. Vendra pre-fills the bill with the ordered products and agreed prices from the PO — this is the three-way match between purchase order, goods receipt, and vendor bill.
- Compare the pre-filled bill against the paper invoice from the supplier.
- If quantities or prices differ, correct them before confirming the bill.
- Click Confirm to post the bill to accounting.
- Pay the bill via Accounting → Vendors → Payments when it is due.
RFQ to PO workflow
Start with a draft quotation request, get supplier pricing, then confirm the best offer as a binding purchase order — all in the same document.
Automatic receipts
Confirming a PO instantly creates a receipt in Inventory. The warehouse team sees expected deliveries without any separate communication from purchasing.
3-way match
Bills are pre-filled from the PO, reducing data entry errors. Discrepancies between ordered, received, and billed quantities are immediately visible.
Vendor pricelists
Define quantity breaks and date-ranged prices per supplier. The correct price populates automatically on the RFQ based on the order quantity.
Returns to supplier
If delivered goods are damaged or incorrect, open the validated goods receipt and click Return. Select the products and quantities to send back and confirm. Vendra creates a reverse stock movement (goods leave your warehouse back to the supplier's location) and generates a vendor refund record. You can either match the refund against an open bill to reduce what you owe, or request a cash refund from the supplier.
Automated reorder points and replenishment
Reorder rules eliminate the need to manually monitor stock levels. Go to Inventory → Configuration → Reordering Rules and click New for each product you want to automate.
- Set the minimum quantity — the level that triggers a reorder.
- Set the maximum quantity — the level to restock up to.
- Set the quantity multiple — the minimum order quantity from the supplier.
- Assign the route to Purchase Order so Vendra sends replenishment through the procurement workflow.
When the daily scheduler runs (or you trigger it manually via Inventory → Operations → Replenishment → Run Scheduler), Vendra checks all rules and generates draft POs for every product below its minimum. Review and confirm the suggested orders in the Replenishment screen.
Purchase analysis
Go to Purchase → Reporting → Purchase Report for an analytical view of all procurement activity. Group spend by vendor to identify your largest suppliers. Group by product category to see where most budget goes. Filter by date range to compare this month against last month or this year against last year. Use these insights to negotiate better terms with high-spend suppliers and identify where consolidation can reduce costs.