Create estimates and purchase orders not connected to a job

Problem

You need to create estimates or purchase orders from the office that are not tied to a specific job. For example:

• Building a proposal for a customer before scheduling a service visit

• Ordering truck stock, warehouse inventory, or office supplies that aren't related to a particular job or customer

Solution

Before you start:

• An estimate created without a job is still tied to a customer and location record. You start from the customer or location profile and not from a job.

• Once the estimate is sold, it can generate a new job and invoice automatically.

• A purchase order (PO) created without a job follows the same lifecycle as any other PO: send to vendor, receive, create a bill, and batch/export. It appears in your Purchase Orders list alongside job-connected POs.

• The navigation bar shows either Inventory or Purchasing, depending on which module is enabled on your account. From there, select Purchase Orders. If you do not see either option, the module may not be enabled on your account, or your user profile may not have the Access Purchasing/Inventory Module permission. Contact your administrator or Technical Support for help.

Create an estimate not connected to a job

1. Search for and open the customer or location record.

2. On the customer record, click More> Build Estimate.
   

3. Alternatively, on the location record, scroll to the Opportunities and Estimates section and click Build Estimate.

4. On the estimate screen, enter the details:

   • Name: Enter a name to identify the estimate.

   • Business Unit: Select the business unit the estimate should report under.

   • Summary (optional): Add a description that prints on the customer's view.

5. Add services, materials, and equipment to the estimate from your pricebook or from a proposal template.

6. When finished, click Create.

After the estimate is created, you can present it to the customer, send it online for review, or sell it. Selling the estimate generates invoice items and can create a new job depending on the sold type (Perform Now or Perform Later).

For more on estimate workflows, see Overview of estimates.

Create a purchase order not connected to a job

1. In the navigation bar, go to Inventory or Purchasing, then select Purchase Orders.

   Note: Your navigation bar shows Inventory if the Inventory module is enabled, or Purchasing if only the Purchasing module is enabled. If you do not see either option, verify that the Access Purchasing/Inventory Module permission is enabled for your user profile, or contact Technical Support to enable the module on your account.

2. Click Create New.

3. Leave the Job # field blank.

4. Select a Vendor and a Ship To warehouse or location.

5. Add the items you need to order.

6. When finished, click Save or Send to transmit the PO to the vendor.
   

The PO follows the standard purchasing workflow: after the vendor ships the items, receive them against the PO, create a bill, and then batch and export to your accounting software. For more on PO workflows, see Purchase order workflows.