# Purchasing and Receiving Create purchase orders, receive stock, and resolve receiving differences. # 1. Create a Purchase Start a received-inventory purchase and record its basic details. # How to create a received inventory purchase **In this guide:** Record merchandise that has already been received and add it to the selected location's inventory. ## Before you start - Confirm the location receiving the merchandise. - Have the vendor invoice, products, quantities or serial numbers, and purchase costs ready. - Count and inspect the merchandise before saving. ## Steps 1. Open **Inventory > Purchases**. 2. Select **New Purchase**. 3. Optionally select a vendor and enter the vendor invoice number in **Reference Number**. 4. Search for a product and add it to the purchase. 5. Enter the received quantity for itemized products, or enter every IMEI/serial number for serialized products. 6. Enter or confirm the purchase cost. 7. Repeat until all received merchandise is listed. 8. Review the total, choose how the purchase was paid or leave an allowed balance due, and select **Save Purchase**. 9. Verify the saved purchase in the Purchase List and confirm the inventory is available. ## Important This workflow records merchandise as received. Do not enter items that are only ordered but have not physically arrived. # How to select a vendor and enter the invoice number **In this guide:** Connect a purchase to the supplier and keep the supplier's invoice number with your record. ## Vendor selection A vendor is optional for a fully paid purchase. Select one when you want to review purchases by supplier, keep an open or consignment purchase, or track how much your business owes that supplier. ## Steps 1. Start a new purchase. 2. In the **Vendor** area, search for and select the supplier. 3. If the vendor does not exist, use the new-vendor option, enter its details, save it, and select it. 4. Enter the supplier's invoice or bill number in **Reference Number**. 5. Add the received products and continue the purchase. ## When a vendor is required RepairNest POS requires a vendor for an open or consignment purchase because the remaining balance must belong to a supplier account. ## Tip Enter the number exactly as it appears on the vendor invoice. This makes the purchase easier to search and helps prevent duplicate entry. # How to create a new product while purchasing **In this guide:** Add a product to the catalog without abandoning the purchase you are entering. ## Steps 1. From a new purchase, search for the product by name, UPC/barcode, or SKU. 2. Confirm it is not already in the catalog. 3. Select the option to create a new product. 4. Enter the product name, category, selling price, purchase cost, UPC/barcode, and SKU as applicable. 5. Choose the correct category type: Itemized or Serialized. 6. Save the product and return to the purchase. 7. Select the new product and enter the received quantity or unique serial numbers. ## Choose the type carefully - **Itemized:** Interchangeable stock tracked as a quantity. - **Serialized:** Individual devices tracked by IMEI or serial number. Changing a product's type later can be restricted when stock or active serialized records exist. # 2. Add Received Inventory Add itemized quantities and serialized units correctly. # How to add itemized inventory to a purchase **In this guide:** Receive quantity-based merchandise such as cases, cables, parts, and supplies. ## Steps 1. Start a new purchase and add the itemized product. 2. Enter the quantity physically received. 3. Enter the cost per unit shown on the vendor invoice. 4. Confirm the line total. 5. Repeat for each itemized product. 6. Review and save the purchase. 7. Open the Product List and verify the new quantity at the receiving location. ## How itemized stock works Itemized units are interchangeable. The received quantity is added to the location's existing balance. The new purchase cost may update the product's stored average cost, depending on your Inventory settings. ## Check before saving - Quantity matches the physical count. - Unit cost is not the entire invoice total. - The product and receiving location are correct. # How to add serialized inventory to a purchase **In this guide:** Receive phones, tablets, computers, or other devices tracked individually. ## Before you start The product must belong to a Serialized category. Every physical unit needs one unique IMEI or serial number. ## Steps 1. Start a new purchase and select the serialized product. 2. Open the serial-entry area when prompted. 3. Scan or enter the first IMEI or serial number exactly as printed on the device. 4. Enter the purchase cost for that unit. 5. Add any available device details or notes. 6. Repeat for every physical unit. Each serial must appear only once. 7. Save the serial rows and review the purchase. 8. Save the purchase. 9. Open **Inventory > Serialized Inventory** and verify every identifier, cost, location, and Available status. ## Important Serialized quantity is always one per identifier. If RepairNest POS reports that a serial already exists or is already in the purchase, find the existing record before continuing. # How to review a purchase before saving **In this guide:** Catch quantity, serial, cost, and payment mistakes before inventory is updated. ## Review checklist 1. Confirm the receiving location. 2. Confirm the vendor when one should be tracked. 3. Compare the Reference Number with the vendor invoice. 4. Match every purchase line to the merchandise received. 5. For itemized products, verify quantity and cost per unit. 6. For serialized products, match every IMEI or serial number to a physical device and verify its individual cost. 7. Compare the purchase total with the invoice total. 8. Choose the correct payment source and method, or confirm that the balance should remain due. 9. Save the purchase once. ## If the save result is uncertain Keep the draft on screen and check the Purchase List before trying again. Re-submitting an unconfirmed purchase can create duplicate inventory and payment records. # 3. Costs and Payment Understand purchase cost, average cost, payments, and vendor balances. # How purchase cost works for itemized inventory **In this guide:** Understand how receiving itemized stock can change the product cost used for reporting and profit calculations. ## Enter the correct cost On each itemized purchase line, enter the cost for one unit. RepairNest POS adds the received quantity to the location's stock and applies the cost behavior configured in **Settings > Inventory**. ## Average-cost example If you already have 10 units at a $5 average cost and receive 10 more at $7 each, the combined average cost becomes $6 per unit: **(10 × $5 + 10 × $7) ÷ 20 = $6** ## Why it matters - The selling price does not automatically become the purchase cost. - Cost affects profit, margin, inventory valuation, and related reports. - Historical purchases retain their own line costs even when the product's current average cost changes. ## Tip Review your Inventory cost-management setting before receiving stock if your organization uses a method other than average cost. # How purchase cost works for serialized inventory **In this guide:** Understand why each serialized device keeps its own exact purchase cost. ## How it works A serialized item is purchased and sold using its exact IMEI or serial number. The cost entered for that identifier stays attached to that individual unit, so profit can be calculated from the actual device acquired and sold. ## Steps 1. Add the serialized product to the purchase. 2. Enter each unique IMEI or serial number. 3. Enter the exact cost paid for each unit. 4. Save the purchase. 5. Open Serialized Inventory and verify the identifier and cost. ## Example Two phones may share the same product name but cost $220 and $250. When one phone is sold, RepairNest POS uses the cost stored for that exact serial—not an average of both devices. ## Important Verify identifiers before saving. Correcting the original purchase is safer than disconnecting a purchase-linked serialized record from its history. # How to record payment or leave a vendor balance due **In this guide:** Record how a purchase was paid or keep the amount due on the vendor account. ## Record a paid purchase 1. Review the purchase total and select **Save Purchase**. 2. Choose the payment source, such as an external payment or the register when allowed. 3. Select the configured purchase payment method. 4. Enter a payment reference when useful. 5. Confirm the amount and select **Pay & Save**. ## Leave a balance due 1. Select the vendor before saving. 2. Choose the option that keeps the purchase open or records the allowed unpaid balance. 3. Save the purchase and verify the remaining due amount on the saved record. ## Why the vendor matters A vendor is required when a balance remains due or the purchase is consignment, because RepairNest POS needs to know which supplier account owns the balance. A fully paid purchase may be saved without a vendor, but adding one improves supplier history and invoice lookup. *Vendor statements, balance reconciliation, and payables will be covered in a separate Vendor Accounts guide.* # 4. Manage Purchase Records Find, review, edit, correct, and verify saved purchases. # How to find and review a purchase **In this guide:** Find a saved purchase and review its vendor, invoice reference, inventory, payments, and balance. ## Steps 1. Open **Inventory > Purchases**. 2. Search or filter by vendor, reference number, date, status, or other available fields. 3. Select the purchase. 4. Review the receiving location, vendor, reference number, notes, products, quantities, serial numbers, unit costs, total, payments, and balance due. 5. Use linked product or serialized-item records when you need to verify current inventory. ## What to verify - Itemized quantities were added to the intended location. - Each serialized identifier appears once and is attached to the correct product. - The payment total and due amount match the vendor invoice. # How to edit or correct a purchase **In this guide:** Correct a purchase while keeping inventory, serial history, payments, and vendor balances consistent. ## Steps 1. Find the purchase in **Inventory > Purchases**. 2. Open it and select the available edit action. 3. Compare the record with the original vendor invoice and physical merchandise. 4. Correct the vendor, reference number, notes, itemized quantity or cost, serialized identifier or unit cost, and payment information as permitted. 5. Review how the change affects local stock and the amount due. 6. Save the correction. 7. Reopen the purchase and verify Product List or Serialized Inventory. ## Important safeguards - Do not create a second purchase merely to correct the first one. - Purchase-linked serialized inventory should be corrected through its purchase whenever possible. - If you are unsure whether the original save succeeded, check the Purchase List before submitting again. - Use the authorized void or delete workflow only when the entire purchase should be reversed. ## After correcting Confirm the purchase total, payment balance, itemized stock, serialized status, and location ownership all agree with the real merchandise and vendor invoice.