Workflow to generate a PO number and PDF
Approve a purchase request and create a PO
An approved PR will turn into a purchase order, a unique PO number is generated and a PDF to send to the supplier can be generated. Your newly created POs will appear in the purchase order tab.
Once the PR has been approved the PO will created, the system informs the requester and approvers via an email notification that the PR has been approved and provides you the link to Moss, where you can go to generate your PO PDF.
Note: You can ensure that your email settings are updated in “Settings” > “Notifications”.
Additional information:
Approvers and admins can edit details of the PR, including accounting fields, supplier information, and budgets before approval.
If a PR involves a named supplier entered via a free-text field and the supplier has not yet been added to Moss, the supplier can be onboarded. Once the supplier is added, the PR can be updated with the onboarded supplier by an approver or admin before approving the PR.
Accountants can only edit accounting fields and may do so both while the request is pending approval and after it is approved and converted into a PO.
For more, read this article about approving purchase requests.
Generate a PO PDF
Once the purchase order has been created, you can generate a PDF to send to your suppliers. You can customize the PDF to fit your organisations requirements.
The PDF includes supplier details, item descriptions, amounts, and an optional company logo.
By default, the person who submitted the Purchase Request is listed as the point of contact (POC) on the PDF. However, this can be updated or removed entirely before generating the PDF.
Once the PDF has been created it cannot be edited.
Steps to generate a PDF:
Go to “Procurement” > “Match”.
Select the PO and click “Generate PDF”.
Update the supplier point of contact and order description if needed.
Download the PDF from the purchase order screen.
Using POs for invoice matching
Matching invoices to POs
Once an invoice is received, it can be matched to an existing PO to complete the procurement cycle. Multiple invoices can be linked to the same PO:
The system uses OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to automatically extract PO numbers from invoices and match them to existing POs.
If no PO number is found on the invoice, the system will try to match a given invoice into a PO if all the conditions below are met.
The Invoice supplier matches the PO supplier. Must be the same supplier defined within Moss.
Expected delivery date of the PO must be +-7 from the invoice date. (e.g. PO Starting date 10 Feb PO end date 10 March. Invoice date between 3 Feb to 17 March will imply a potential auto match. Else, it will be discarded)
Invoice Amount is +- 25% of PO amount.
Steps to link an invoice to a PO:
Open the invoice.
Review and confirm the system’s automatically matched PO, you can also unlink a PO or manually link a PO if needed.
Alternatively, find the purchase order from the procurement section of the app and match the invoice(s) to it.
Two-way matching
After an invoice is matched to a PO:
The invoice skips the budgetary approval step in the invoice workflow, as this was completed during the PR approval stage.
However, if a matched invoice exceeds the approved PO amount, or if the supplier on the PO is different from the Supplier on the invoice, then the invoice will re-enter the budgetary approval step for reassessment
The verify step (if enabled) will still occur even if a PO is matched to an invoice. This step ensures factual verification through three-way matching, confirming that the billed items match what was delivered and what was ordered.
For more, read this article about the invoice matching process.
Configuring your POs
Customising PO numbers
Organisations can configure PO numbering to align with their internal processes:
Custom Prefix: Set a prefix for all POs (e.g., "PO-2025").
Length of Prefix: Choose 3-12 alphanumeric characters.
Starting/Next Number: Define the starting sequence for PO numbers / what the next number generated should be.
Steps to configure PO numbers:
Navigate to Settings > Procurement > PO Number Configuration.
Enter a custom prefix and starting/next number.
Save the changes.
Adding a company logo to PDFs
To personalise PO PDFs, add a company logo:
Supported formats: HEIC, JPEG, JPG, PNG.
Maximum file size: 20 MB.
Steps to upload a logo:
Navigate to Settings > Procurement > Company Logo.
Upload the logo file.
Save the changes. The logo will appear on all generated PDFs.
FAQs
Can I edit PO details after approval?
During ‘pending approval’ everything can be edited. Post-approval, only accounting fields, budget allocation, PO description, and the point of contact for the PDF can be edited.
What happens if duplicate PO numbers are generated?
The system prevents duplicates by maintaining a history log. If a conflict arises, you’ll be prompted to adjust the configuration.
Can approvers edit purchase request details before approving them to ensure the details of the PO is correct?
Yes.
Can POs be generated manually without a PR being submitted in Moss?
No, but it is something we are considering adding in the future.
How can I manage invoices that exceed the approved PO amount?
If the invoice will take the total of matched invoices over the PO amount then the invoice is sent for budgetary approval.
How can I manage POs that will be fulfilled by multiple separate deliveries/invoices?
Multiple invoices can be linked to a single PO, ensuring all partial deliveries or invoices are tracked against the same PO.
We already have a system for generating POs and existing PO numbers. How can I continue the PO numbering in Moss?
You can choose the prefix and starting number for the next PO that will be created in Moss in settings.
How can I import existing POs generated before using Moss that haven’t been invoiced/fulfilled yet or import POs from external sources?
It is not yet possible to import POs from external sources or those generated before using Moss. However, both features are under consideration for future updates.