Purchase Settings
Purchase Settings is where you configure how the Purchase module numbers its documents and which purchase events send an email notification. The numbering you set here drives the default document numbers on new purchase orders, bills and vendor credits.
Unlike the rest of the Purchase module, this screen lives in the Settings sidebar rather than the Purchase sidebar. It has two tabs: Purchase Settings (numbering and terms) and Purchase Notification Settings (which purchase emails go out).
Who can use it
- The page itself is gated on the Purchase module being enabled for your user type. If the module is not in your list, the page returns a 403.
- The Purchase Settings link in the Settings sidebar has a tighter gate: you must not be a client, the Purchase module must be enabled, and your role's View Purchase Setting permission must be set to All. With anything less the link is hidden.
- In practice this is an administrator task, since it changes numbering for everyone in the company.
The whole Purchase section only appears in the sidebar when the Purchase module is enabled for that user type and the role has at least one non-None purchase permission. Purchase Settings itself sits in the Settings sidebar, so you reach it from Settings even though it configures the Purchase module.
Prerequisites
- The Purchase module must be enabled in Settings → Module Settings.
- Decide your numbering conventions before changing them, because the numbers already saved on existing documents are not rewritten.
How to Access
Navigation: Sidebar → Settings → Purchase Settings (/account/purchase-settings).
Setting document numbering
The Purchase Settings tab holds three sets of numbering fields, one for each document type. Each set has the same three inputs plus a read-only preview:
- Purchase Order Prefix, Purchase Order Number Seprator, Purchase Order Number Digits, Purchase Order Number Example
- Bill Order Prefix, Bill Order Number Seprator, Bill Order Digits, Bill Order Example
- Vendor Credit Prefix, Vendor Credit Number Seprator, Vendor Credit Number Digits, Vendor Credit Number Example
How it works:
- Type the Prefix, for example
PO,BLorVC. All three prefixes are required and the form will not save if one is blank. - Type the Seprator, for example
#. This is the character placed between the prefix and the number. - Set the number of Digits. The field is a number input with a minimum of 2, so the stepper will not take you below 2. The number is zero-padded to that width. The default for all three document types is 3.
- The Example field shows what the first document number will look like, for example
PO#001. It is read-only and refreshes as you type in the prefix, separator and digits fields — if you change a value with the number stepper or by pasting, click into the field and press a key to refresh the preview. - Click Save.
Setting default terms and conditions
Below the numbering fields is a Terms And Condition text area. Type your standard purchase terms, then click Save. It is stored once per company alongside the numbering settings, and the saved text is shown on the purchase order create, edit and overview screens and printed on the purchase order and bill PDFs.
Choosing which purchase emails are sent
Open the Purchase Notification Settings tab. It lists the purchase events that can send an email, each with a checkbox:
- New Purchase Order
- New Purchase Bill
- Admin New Vendor Payment
- Update New Vendor Payment
- Vendor Credit
- New Purchase Inventory
A Select All checkbox at the top ticks or unticks every event at once. Tick the events you want sent, untick the ones you do not, then click Save. Saving replaces the whole selection: anything left unticked is turned off.
Limitations and workarounds
- Changing a prefix does not renumber existing documents. Purchase orders, bills and vendor credits keep the numbers they were saved with. If you need a clean break, change the prefix at the start of a period so old and new documents are easy to tell apart.
- The Digits field will not step below 2. If you want short numbers, use a short prefix and separator instead.
- The example fields cannot be edited. They are previews only. Adjust the prefix, separator or digits to change what they show.
- Notification settings are on or off per event, not per person. There is no per-user opt-out on this screen. If someone should not receive purchase email, adjust their access to the Purchase module instead.
- This screen has no mail server configuration of its own. Purchase email uses the company's existing email configuration, so change that in the main email settings rather than here.
- Numbering settings are company-wide. You cannot set a different prefix per vendor or per department. Distinguish those documents in the document itself, for example in the terms or in the order note.
Troubleshooting
- Save fails and a prefix field is flagged. Purchase Order Prefix, Bill Order Prefix and Vendor Credit Prefix are all required. Fill in all three, then save again.
- You get a permission error opening the page. The Purchase module is not enabled for your user type. Enable it in Settings → Module Settings.
- New documents still use the old number format. Confirm you saved on the correct tab, then reload the create form. Numbering is applied when the form generates a new number, so forms already open keep the previous value.
- A purchase email is not arriving. Check the event is ticked on the Purchase Notification Settings tab, and remember that saving that tab turns off every event you left unticked.
- There is no Purchase Settings entry in the Settings sidebar. Either the Purchase module is disabled for your user type (enable it in Module Settings), your role's View Purchase Setting permission is not set to All, or you are signed in as a client. Client accounts never see this entry.