Revise a purchase order

The Revise Purchase Order feature lets you create a new version of an already issued purchase order (PO), make changes, and issue the revised PO while keeping a clear audit trail. Bills, stock receipts and job cost references are handled automatically so traceability is preserved.

• Overview

  When you revise a PO, WorkflowMax creates a draft revision that is linked to the original PO. You can edit the draft, then issue the revised PO. On issue, bills and stock receipts are transferred to the revised PO and the original PO becomes Revised.

• How the feature works

  Initiating a revision

  • On any issued PO (single or bulk) an option Revise Purchase Order appears in the Options menu.
  • Selecting it opens a confirmation modal. Confirming creates a new draft PO revision.
  • The new PO number is formatted as {OriginalPO}/X (for example PO123/1 for the first revision).

• How to revise a Purchase Order — step-by-step

  1. Find the issued PO: Go to Purchases and open the issued PO you want to revise.
  2. Start the revision:
     1. Click Options > Revise Purchase Order.
     2. Confirm the action in the modal to create the draft revision.
  3. Edit the draft: The draft is pre-populated with every line item from the original PO — edit, add or remove items as required. Only one draft revision is allowed per original PO. While a draft exists, the Revise Purchase Order action is disabled on both the original and the draft. The original PO remains usable in its current status (Issued, Partly Received, etc.) and can still accept bills and stock receipts until the revised PO is issued. The system records a history entry linking the original and the draft and noting who created the revision.
  4. Issue the revised PO: When ready, click Issue on the draft. Review the confirmation modal (which explains that bills and stock receipts will be moved and the original will be locked) and confirm to issue.
  5. After issuing:
     • All bills and stock receipts are transferred to the revised PO.
     • The original PO status changes to Revised and is locked (displayed in purple).
     • Options to add bills, add stock receipts or mark the original as received are removed.
     • The revised PO becomes active and the job cost table and any linked job cost IDs are updated to reference the revised PO where appropriate.
     • History entries are recorded on both POs to maintain traceability.

• Special cases and rules

  • If the original PO item already has bills recorded, job cost lines are not rewritten — actuals remain driven by those bills.
  • If there are no bills on the original, job costs will be updated to match the revised PO when it is issued.
  • WIP locks and job status locks are enforced when issuing a revised PO; you will be prevented from issuing if locks apply.
  • The revised PO will be be associated with the same job. It's not possible to change jobs.
  • The feature supports both single and bulk PO revisions.
  • The Revise Purchase Order action is only available for POs in the Issued and Completed states (not Draft, Cancelled, or already Revised).

• Audit trail & history

  Every revision action is logged with the user and timestamp. The original and revised POs are linked in history so you can easily trace changes and who performed them.

• Usability notes

  • Revised PO numbers clearly show the revision suffix (for example PO123/1, PO123/2).
  • The system prevents multiple draft revisions for the same original PO.
  • The system will not allow the revised PO to be associated with a different job.
  • Buttons and menu options that would cause conflicting changes are hidden or disabled to reduce user error.

• Frequently asked questions

  Q: What happens to bills and receipts on the original PO?

  A: They are automatically moved to the revised PO when you issue the revision.

  Q: Can I revise a PO more than once?

  A: Yes. Each issued revision becomes a new PO that can itself be revised later (PO numbering increments: PO123, PO123/1, PO123/2).

  Q: Can I delete a PO that has a draft revision?

  A: No. A PO with an active draft revision cannot be deleted until the draft is cancelled or issued.

  Q: Which POs can I revise?

  A: Only POs in the Issued and Completed states can be revised. Draft, Cancelled or already Revised POs cannot be revised.