Purchase Orders — Edit & Update — User Guide
Module: Purchase
Audience: Procurement staff, purchase managers, approvers
Version: 1.0.0
Last updated: 2026-07-22
Overview
Use Edit on a purchase order when you need to change vendor details, line items, quantities, prices, taxes, or notes after the PO was created. Saving updates the record and may require re-approval if the PO was already approved.
Prerequisites
- Permission: Purchase Orders → Edit (or administrator).
- Access: If you only have “view own,” you must be the buyer, creator, or an assigned approver for that PO.
- Linked invoices: If the PO is approved and has purchase invoices, changing totals may require coordination with finance after re-approval.
Step-by-step: Edit a purchase order
- Go to Purchase → Purchase order.
- Open the PO from the list (click the row or PO number).
- On the preview screen, click Edit (or equivalent action that opens the PO form).
- Update header fields (vendor, dates, department, project, notes) and line items as needed.
- Add lines using the item selector.
- Change quantity, unit price, discount, or tax per line.
- Remove lines using the remove control on each row.
- Click Save (submit the form).
- You return to the PO preview with a success message.
Expected result: The PO shows your changes. If the PO was previously approved, status returns to pending approval and approvers are notified again automatically.
Important business rules
Re-approval after edit
If a PO was approved and you change meaningful details (not just a no-op save), the system:
- Resets approval to pending
- Sends a new approval request to configured approvers
Plan extra time for re-approval before the vendor should act on the revised PO.
Total cannot go below paid amount
If the PO is approved and linked to purchase invoices with payments recorded, you cannot save a new grand total lower than the amount already paid. You will see a warning showing how much has been paid. Adjust payments or invoices first, or keep the total at or above the paid amount.
Linked purchase invoices
When an approved PO with linked invoices is edited and saved, you may see a notice that invoice data should be reviewed after the PO is approved again. Coordinate with accounts payable if amounts or lines changed.
Service entry and work certificate numbers
If the PO form includes service entry or work certificate numbers, saving may copy those values to the vendor profile only when the vendor profile fields are still empty.
Field reference (common header fields)
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor | Yes | Supplier for this PO |
| Order date | Yes | Official PO date |
| Delivery / due date | Often | Expected delivery |
| Department / project | Optional | Cost allocation |
| Currency | As configured | Affects line totals and reporting |
| Terms / vendor note | Optional | Shown on PO documents |
Line items typically include item/description, quantity, unit, unit price, tax, and discount.
Common issues
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Cannot open Edit | Missing Edit permission | Ask admin to grant Purchase Orders → Edit |
| Access denied on preview | view_own only; not buyer/creator/approver | Open with correct account or reassign buyer |
| Warning about total vs paid | New total below paid on linked invoice | Raise total or adjust payments/invoices first |
| PO back to pending after save | PO was approved and content changed | Normal — wait for approvers |
| Cannot create PO from PR | Bid approval required on PR | Complete quotation/bid approval on the purchase request |
Related features
- Purchase order list and preview (same menu)
- Purchase order approval workflow (Settings → Approval)
- Purchase invoices linked to POs
- Purchase requests → PO conversion