Purchase Orders
Purchase orders (POs) formalise your commitments to suppliers. EventWorks generates POs from your event costs, grouped by supplier, so you can send clear documentation of what you're ordering and at what price.
Getting There
- Event POs — Open an event and click the Purchase Orders tab (available after the event is contracted)
- All POs — Click Purchase Orders in the sidebar for a global list across all events
Purchase Order Lifecycle
| Status | Description |
|---|---|
| Draft | Initial state. Editable. No PO number assigned yet. |
| Authorised | Sent to supplier. PO number assigned. |
| Paid | The PO has been converted to a supplier invoice and paid. |
| Voided | Cancelled. |
Creating a Purchase Order
- Open the event and click the Purchase Orders tab.
- Click Create Purchase Order.
- Select a supplier — the page shows all costs assigned to that supplier.
- Tick the costs (and resource allocations) you want to include on the PO.
- Review the generated line items.
- Set the From Address (your company) and To Address (the supplier).
- Add any notes for the supplier.
- Optionally update the selected costs' status, secondary status, or reconciliation flag.
- Click Save.
The PO is created in Draft status with line items generated from the selected costs.
Sending (Authorising) a Purchase Order
- Open the PO.
- Click Send.
- A PO number is generated and the status changes to Authorised.
If you have an accounting integration, the PO may be pushed to your accounting system.
Download the PO as a PDF to send to the supplier via email or post.
PO Line Items
Each line item is generated from a cost and includes:
- Description — From the cost description
- Quantity — From the cost quantity
- Unit Amount — From the cost's unit cost (what you pay the supplier)
- Tax Rate — The applicable tax rate
Line items can be edited, added, or removed while the PO is in Draft status. Resource allocations can also be included as separate line items.
Converting a PO to a Supplier Invoice
Once goods or services have been delivered, you can convert a PO into a supplier invoice:
- Open the authorised PO.
- Click Convert to Invoice.
- Optionally attach the supplier's actual invoice document.
- Review the details.
- Click Create Invoice.
A new supplier invoice is created pre-filled with the PO's line items, and the PO status changes to Paid.
Custom Attributes
If your administrator has configured custom attributes for purchase orders, these appear as additional fields on the PO form.
Exporting Purchase Orders
From the global PO list, you can export all purchase orders as Excel or CSV files for external analysis.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How are PO numbers generated?PO numbers are auto-generated from a configurable pattern when the PO is authorised. Your administrator sets the starting number and format in Settings.
Q: Can I create a PO for costs from multiple suppliers?No. Each PO is for a single supplier. Create separate POs for different suppliers.
Q: Can I edit an authorised PO?Authorised POs have limited editing. For significant changes, you may need to void the PO and create a new one.
Q: Does converting a PO to an invoice delete the PO?No. The PO remains as a record with its status changed to Paid. A new supplier invoice is created alongside it.