Handbook / The money
Purchasing and subcontracts
Issuing an order commits the money against the job the moment it goes out, not when the bill arrives.
Purchase orders and subcontracts are the same record with a different label. Both price the work by cost code, go out for the vendor's signature, and commit the money against the budget as soon as they are issued - which is what stops a job looking healthy right up to the week four invoices land.
An order
Vendors
Every subcontractor and supplier carries insurance and workers-comp expiry dates and W-9 status. Those dates are checked and flagged, so an uninsured sub is caught before they set foot on site rather than after something happens.
Receiving, and what it means for cost
Receiving is recorded per line, so a part delivery is visible. Vendor invoices are what actually become cost. They land against the order, with retainage withheld automatically where you hold it, and they discharge the commitment as they arrive.
Commitments are worked out one order at a time. Taking total billed away from total ordered across a whole job hides an order billed in full sitting next to one that has not been billed at all - so that is not how it is done here.
Undoing things
| What happened | The way back |
|---|---|
| Priced wrong before it went out | Edit it while it is a draft. |
| Repricing after the vendor accepted | Refused. Raise a revision instead. |
| Deleting an order with invoices against it | Refused. Void it. |
| Received the wrong quantity | Edit the received figure on the line. |
| A vendor invoice entered twice | Delete the duplicate. Cost and commitment both correct themselves immediately. |
Access: Purchasing management; vendors need directory access.