Why can't I add serial numbers to an item in an old purchase order but can in a new one?

Problem

You can't add serial numbers to an item in an old PO. You can add them to a new PO.

Solution

You can add a serial number to the item in the old purchase order (PO).

Enable serialized inventory and troubleshoot old POs

1. Go to Inventory > Configuration > Enable Serialized Inventory to see if the serialization is enabled.

2. If serialization is enabled, remember when you did it. The date is important.

3. Compare the creation date of the old PO with the date you enabled serialization. If the PO date is before the serialization date, that's the issue. For new POs, serialization works because they were created after you enabled the feature.

4. If you need to add serial numbers to items in old POs, do one of the following:        

   1. Create a new PO for the same items.

   2. Bring the PO back to the Pending status, edit the PO, and set the Date Created field to the same date or after the serialization was enabled for the item.

5. When creating a new PO, go to the PO section. Click Create New PO.

6. Add the items you need to the new PO. Make sure to fill in all necessary details.

After creating the new PO, you should see the option to add serial numbers to your items.

Note: Serialization settings affect items based on their creation date in relation to when you enabled serialization. For items in POs created before enabling serialization, use a new PO to add serial numbers.