Who this is for. AP Helpdesk Analysts and Managers, and ProcureToPay Managers and Agents. The record tabs are shared by both functions. See the Roles and Access.
The Purchase Orders tab lists the purchase orders available to the agent, read from your system of record. They are what the agent matches an invoice against during PO matching.
The list holds seven columns, plus two more where your system of record supplies them. They find an order and check its state, and the detail that matters sits on the record.
Figure 1. The Purchase Orders tab. Orders in different currencies sit in the same list.
Open the Purchase Orders tab
In the navigation rail, point to SmartVendor, then select SmartVendor from the menu that opens.
Select Purchase Orders.
Purchase order list fields
Table 1. Columns in the purchase order list
Column |
What it holds |
|---|---|
PO Number |
The purchase order reference, for example PO-4644. |
Vendor Name |
The vendor the order was raised on. |
PO Status |
The header status: Open, Draft, Closed or Canceled. A source status that does not map to one of those shows as Other. |
Date |
The date the order was created in the source system. This is the record’s Created Date. |
Currency |
The order currency. Orders in different currencies sit in the same list. |
Memo |
The free-text note carried on the order header in the source system. Shown where your system of record supplies one, and often empty. |
Default Tax Code |
The tax code the order defaults to. Shown where your system of record supplies one. |
Two of these mislead if read at face value.
PO Status here is the header status. Matching happens at line level, and a line can be closed while the header is still open. Open the record before concluding a PO is available.
Date is the created date. The Date field on the record is the purchase order’s own document date, and the two can differ.
Sort and page through the list
The five default columns can be sorted. Select a heading to sort by it, and again to reverse the order.
The footer reports the range and the total, for example 1-20 of 830, with the page number beside it. Rows per page offers 10, 20, 50 and 100.
Toolbar actions
A search box sits at the left of the toolbar, followed by Filter Records, Edit Columns and Export Purchase Orders. This tab carries no bulk actions and no currency switch, so amounts show as stored.
Table 2. The Purchase Orders toolbar
Control |
What it does |
|---|---|
Search |
Free-text search across the list. |
Filter Records |
Adds a filter row beneath the column headers. |
Edit Columns |
Opens the column chooser. |
Export Purchase Orders |
Queues the list as it is currently searched, sorted, filtered and columned. The file arrives under Downloads in the Notification Center. Needs export rights. |
1. Search purchase orders
Type into the search box to narrow the list as you type. Clearing the box returns the full list.
Figure 2. Searching narrows the list as you type.
2. Filter purchase order records
Filter Records puts a filter row under the column headers. Each column offers the operators its data type allows.
Text columns, PO Number and Vendor Name, offer contains with a text box.
List columns, PO Status and Currency, offer in with a picker showing the values present in the data.
The Date column offers on or after, on or before and between with a date picker.
Filters combine across columns with AND, and they apply to exports. Clear them from Clear All Filters.
Figure 3. The filter row, with the operator each column allows.
3. Customize table columns
Edit Columns opens the column chooser. On this tab it holds nothing beyond what the grid already shows: the same five columns, with a search box to find one by name.
PO Number, Vendor Name and PO Status are locked and always shown, marked with a padlock.
Date and Currency can be switched off.
Select Apply to commit the change, or Restore Default to put the original set back.
Figure 4. The column chooser. Only Date and Currency can be switched off.
4. Export purchase orders
Export Purchase Orders downloads the list exactly as you are looking at it. The search text, the sort order, every active filter and the columns you have chosen all carry into the file.
The button appears only if your role holds the export permission, and it is unavailable while the list is empty. Depending on your company settings the file either downloads straight away, or the export is queued and you are notified when it is ready.
The purchase order record
The PO record carries the header, the people behind the order, and the line items with their match status. It is the record to open when purchase order matching has failed and you need to see why.
The breadcrumb reads Purchase Order > and the PO number. A row of quick links sits above the detail, each opening another tab already filtered to this order, so you land on its rows rather than the whole list.
Quick navigation links
Table 3. Quick links on a purchase order record
Link |
Opens |
Present when |
|---|---|---|
Vendor |
The vendor record the order was raised on. |
Always. |
Bills |
The Bills tab, filtered to the bills billed against this order. |
Always. |
Vendor Emails |
The mailbox, filtered to this record, so the correspondence and the data sit side by side. |
Email communication is enabled for the tenant, and the app runs AP Helpdesk rather than AP Invoices alone. |
Item Receipts |
The receipts recorded against this order. |
The source system is NetSuite and AP Invoices is active. |
Figure 5. A purchase order record with its line items.
Standard Fields
The header of the record, held in the PO Details panel.
Table 4. Standard Fields on a purchase order record
Field |
What it holds |
|---|---|
Purchase Order Number |
The order reference. |
Vendor Name |
The vendor the order was raised on. |
Entity |
The legal entity the order belongs to. |
Created Date |
When the order was created in the source system. This is what the list shows as Date. |
Date |
The purchase order’s own document date, which can differ from Created Date. |
Requisition Number |
The requisition the order came from, where one exists. |
Buyer |
The person who placed the order. |
Requester |
The person who asked for it. |
Total Amount |
The order total. |
Status |
The header status: Open, Draft, Closed or Canceled. |
Currency |
The order currency. |
Extended Fields read No Extended Fields where the source system sends none.
Buyer and Requester are the two to note. They name the people who can authorize a change to the order. When a bill cannot match because the PO is wrong rather than the invoice, the resolution runs through them rather than through AP, which is usually the longest part of the exception.
Line Items
Bills match to a line, not to the order, so this is where a failed match is diagnosed. The line items carry Line Number, Type, Line Status, Service Period Start and End, PO Line Description, Supplier Item Identifier, Spend Category, Cost Center, Quantity, Rate, PO Line Amount, Matched Quantity and Matched Amount. The table scrolls sideways where the source carries more columns than fit.
Table 5. The line-item columns that decide a match
Column |
Why it matters |
|---|---|
Line Number |
Bills match to a line, not to the order. |
Line Status |
Whether this line is still available to match. |
Matched Quantity and Matched Amount |
How much of the line has already been consumed. |
Quantity, Rate and PO Line Amount |
What the line was raised for. |
PO Line Description |
What was ordered. |
Diagnose a failed match
Table 6. Why a bill would not match
What you see |
Means |
|---|---|
Line Status closed |
The line is no longer available to match against. |
Matched Quantity equals Quantity |
The line is fully consumed. The invoice is over-billing, or belongs on another line. |
PO Line Amount below the invoice line |
A price or quantity discrepancy the PO does not cover. |
No line resembles the invoice line |
The vendor billed something that was not ordered. |
Item Receipts, where available
An Item Receipts link is added where the source system is NetSuite and AP Invoices is active. It opens the receipts recorded against the order, so you can see what actually arrived alongside what was ordered and what is being charged.
The link is a way to reach the receipt records in your source system. Matching itself compares the bill against the purchase order and, where one applies, the supplier contract.
What a PO check actually tests
Each condition tests one specific thing, from locating the extracted PO number to confirming the order is still open.
Table 7. Conditions resolved against purchase order data
Condition |
What it checks |
|---|---|
PO Assignment |
The extracted PO number can be located. |
Vendor and PO Match |
The vendor on the PO matches the vendor on the bill. |
PO Status |
The purchase order is open. |
PO Balance |
The PO has lines with available balance or quantity. |
PO Line Matching |
The invoice lines match to the PO lines. |
PO Amount |
For service lines, the bill amount is at or below the PO line amount. |
PO Rate |
For goods lines, the bill rate is at or below the PO rate. |
PO Quantity |
For goods lines, the bill quantity is at or below the PO quantity. |
When a check fails on a figure that looks right
The rate, quantity, amount and sum-of-lines checks compare calculated values rather than the figures printed on the invoice. Decimal precision settings and auto-calculate options both change what is compared, so a rounding difference of a hundredth can fail a check that appears correct on the page.
This is a settings question rather than a data-entry one. Raise it with your manager rather than re-keying the invoice.
Why PO-backed invoices need less review
A field filled from a purchase order does not depend on a confidence score. A value taken from a PO is treated as authoritative rather than predicted.
That is why PO-backed invoices reach touchless processing far more often than non-PO ones, and why a missing PO reference sends an invoice to you even when everything else extracted cleanly.