Inventory Management: Purchasing Work List
Learn how to use the Purchasing Work List (PWL) window to manage Want List (staff requested) and Suggested items (based on item reorder settings). This includes viewing item stock levels, sales history, cost and other details, as well as adding items to orders. In addition, Multi-location inventory (MLI) practices can view details for items per location and transfer items to other locations.
Before you start
- Security access to related inventory functions Purchasing Work List, Want List, Order List and Order maintenance dialogs and corresponding reports (Want List, Reorder and On Order reports).
- Inventory defaults set for Want List items.
- Inventory location(s) and group(s) set up based on single location inventory (SLI) or multi-location inventory (MLI) configuration.
- Vendor(s) set up to place and receive orders.
- Invoice items set as inventory type.
- Maintain quantity on hand (QOH) with reorder information is required for Suggested Item functionality.
- Lot/exp date tracking optional.
Using the Want/Suggested list
Inventory > Purchasing Work List
- Apply any of the following filter options and click
to populate the Purchasing Work List:- Select or clear Suggested Items or Want Items.
- Groups: Multi-location Inventory (MLI) only.
- Location: Only for items tracking quantity on hand (QOH).
- Item Classification.
- Status (Want List items only).
- Adjust display.
- A. Select sort by and order by clicking any column header. A triangle will indicate which column and order (ascending/descending) are used.
- B. Set Results per page.
- C. click page navigation buttons to go to next, last, previous, or first page of results.
- Select an item row and do any of the following:
- A. View stocking and reorder information in the Item Details area on the right side of the window. MLI only: Location and group selections are available, as well as Go to Transfer.
- B. Click Sales History to view for the past 3 years (history data is cumulative for all locations).
- C. View or enter Notes in Add to order area.
- D. Click More Item Information for [item] at bottom of the window and select the appropriate tab to view item history, item information, and stock location details.
- Click add to Want List to add additional item(s) to the Want List.
- Add item(s) to a purchase order:
- A. Select an item or select multiple items:
- Use SHIFT + click for consecutive items
- Use CTRL + click for nonconsecutive items
- B. Select or modify the vendor, order quantity and click Add to Order.
- If an existing order for the vendor or a selected item is already on a purchase order, a message will display. Choose the applicable action to add to existing or create a new order.
- A. Select an item or select multiple items:
- Modify order details as needed (quantity, cost, item status) as needed.
- Click Save or Place Order to add order to the Order List and return to the Purchasing Work List.
Multi-Location Inventory features
For practices that are configured for MLI, there are two additional tabs at the top of the Purchasing Work list window. you can perform the same functions from either tab.
From either tab do any of the following:
- Select an item to:
- View Item Details, Sales History or More Item Information for [item]
- View or enter Notes in Add to order area.
- Click Go to Transfer or Add to Order
- Change the displayed item by using the item ID search (Locate an Item tab only)
- Add items to a purchase order:
- Select an item or select multiple items:
- Use SHIFT + click for consecutive
- Use CTRL + click for nonconsecutive items
- Select or modify the vendor, group, and click Add to Order.
- If an existing order for the vendor or a selected item is already on a purchase order, a message will display. Choose the applicable action to add to existing or create a new order.
- Modify order details as needed (quantity, cost, item status) as needed.
- Click Save or Place Order to add order to the Order List and return to the PWL.
- Select an item or select multiple items:
Additional Information
General
- From the More Item Information for [item] bar, you can click to search and view information for other inventory items not displayed on the PWL.
- Once orders are placed, manage them from the Order List (Inventory > Order List)
Column Display
- The Type column indicates if item is Suggested (no icon displayed) or from the Want List
. - Display specific columns and in preferred order based on logged-in user by right-clicking the column header row. Select columns and then drag them into the desired order.
- Click column header descriptions to sort the window by the column’s value (e.g., by vendor, by classification, etc.)
- Click Restore Column Defaults to reset column display and order settings.
Suggested Items
- Display based on current QOH and reorder information.
- Cannot be manually removed from the PWL.
- Will drop off the PWL once they are ordered, received, QOH is adjusted, or reorder information updated.
Want items
- Notes entered from the want list follow the item to the order and receipt. If an item is entered on the Want List multiple times, each with its own note, you can use the Want List report to capture notes before placing the items on an order and manually reenter the notes on the purchase order.
- If selecting multiple Want List items to add to an order, the note from the first selected item is used on the purchase order.
- Based on inventory defaults, Want List item status is either changed to Completed or item is deleted from the Want List once placed on an order from the PWL.
- Any quantity ordered from the PWL completes the Want List item. Examples:
- If Want List quantity is 3, and 2 are added to an order, the item status for the entry is still updated according to inventory defaults.
- If multiple Want List entries for the same item, 1 row is added to an order, the remaining entry item statuses are still updated according to inventory defaults.
- MLI only: if a location or group is selected at time of adding an item to the Want List, ordering by location group will retain other location/group specific Want List entries for the same item.
Adding multiple items
- The suggested or want quantity is added to the order for you (the Order Quantity field from the Add to Order area of the PWL will be blank when selecting multiple items).
- If an item is on the PWL more than once and all entries selected to add to an order, want and suggested quantities are combined in a single row entry on the purchase order.
- If wanting to maintain separate row entries on the purchase order for the same item, drag the Create Purchase Order window to side to view and use PWL to replicate row entries.
Multi-location inventory
- If you order and receive by location, select a location group to place orders and have other location-suggested quantities and location/group specific Want List entries remain on the PWL until ordered for their group.
- If location groups are not used, then the suggested order quantity will persist on the PWL when filtering by location but will show appropriately when looking at all locations together.
- If location or group details are not added on Want List entries for the same item, any Want List item row selected and added to an order completes all entries for the item.
- click Go to Transfer to open the Find and Transfer Items window and transfer quantities of an item from one location to another.
Related Reports
- Want List Report
- Reorder Report
- On Order report
- Backorder report
