Understand purchase order statuses

Every purchase order carries a status that tells you where it is in its life. Because a purchase order is an operational document, none of these statuses affect your accounts. This guide explains each one and how an order moves between them.

The statuses

How an order moves between statuses

stateDiagram-v2
    [*] --> Draft: create
    Draft --> Sent: Send
    Sent --> PartiallyFulfilled: goods partly received (GRN)
    Sent --> Fulfilled: all goods received (GRN)
    PartiallyFulfilled --> Fulfilled: remaining goods received
    Draft --> Voided: Void
    Sent --> Voided: Void (before any goods received)
    Voided --> [*]
    Fulfilled --> [*]

• Draft → Sent when you send the order.
• Sent → Partially Fulfilled / Fulfilled automatically as you record deliveries with goods received notes.
• Draft or Sent → Voided when you void the order.

Voiding a purchase order

You void an order from the Purchases → Purchase Orders list: use the Void action in the order's row and enter a reason.

Warning: You can only void an order that is a Draft or Sent with no goods received and no invoice against it. Once any quantity has been received on a goods received note, or a purchase invoice references the order, voiding is blocked. You will see a message such as "Purchase order cannot be voided in status … or goods have been received." In that case, void the related goods received note(s) first if appropriate, or simply leave the order as a record.

Important notes

• No purchase order status affects your general ledger. Fulfilling an order does not post anything; only the eventual purchase invoice does.
• Received quantities are shown line by line on the order, so you can always see what is still outstanding.
• Voiding is permanent — a voided order cannot be reactivated. If you need the order again, create a new one.

Related guides

• Create a purchase order
• Send a purchase order
• Receive goods with a goods received note
• Record a purchase invoice