Frequently asked questions
to Digital Purchase Order
General Questions
What is a Purchase Order?
A Purchasing Software creates a binding agreement between a buyer and a supplier. A Purchase Order sets forth descriptions, quantities, prices, discounts, payment terms and so on. Once a Purchase Order has been approved and accepted by the supplier it authorizes a Purchase transaction.
Why do I need Purchase Orders?
Because the purchasing software provides security for both sides. The supplier makes sure to get paid, once all items and products have been delivered. The buyer is on the safe side, because he or she doesn’t get surprised by unknown or unexpected big bills.
When do I need Purchase Orders?
What is the benefit of Digital Purchase Order?
You can create a PO from anywhere, any time and get approvals instantly. On average our users need less than 60 seconds to create a Purchase Order and less than five minutes to get the final approval. At the same time, no information gets lost in our purchasing software. You are able to track all Purchase Orders 24/7.
Can I customize my Purchase Order settings?
Yes, no project is the same as the other. You can customize your purchasing software the way you want by choosing your departments, expenditure types, customizing your approval chain and so on. Please check our video tutorials for further information.
How do I access your purchasing software?
The purchasing software works through mobile apps for IOS and Android. At the same time you can also use the desktop version, which works through your web-browser.
How much does this service cost?
This depends on the average amount of users and Purchase Orders per month. Please review our pricing packages or send us an email to support@digitalpurchaseorder.com.
Security
What happens with my data?
We are running our own servers and secure all information through a SSL certificate. At the same time we follow German data protection regulations according to German Federal Law. For further information please click here.
I haven’t received a password to login. What can I do?
If you haven’t received your login credentials, please check your spam folder. If you already have a DPO account, you can continue using your original password. If you don’t remember your password, you can reset it here.
Where can I change my password?
Please go to your personal settings by clicking on your email address at the upper right corner after the login. You will be able to change your password there. Please note that your password needs at least six characters, at least one uppercase character, at least one lowercase character, at least one special character, and at least one number.
My account is locked. What can I do?
Your account will be automatically unlocked after 15 minutes. If you don’t remember your password, you can reset it here.
Create POs
Can I change a Purchase Order after completing and sending it?
Yes, please use the amendment button in order to keep the same Purchase Order ID.
Does the purchasing software memorize existing suppliers?
Yes, you will find a list of them when you enter the same supplier name in a new Purchase Order.
Can I copy an existing Purchase Order?
Yes, choose the Purchase Order that you want to copy from the “View” section and press the copy button on the right side of the Purchase Order box.
View POs
What includes the view section?
You can either review your own Purchase Orders, all Purchase Order or search by departments and suppliers. In addition you will be able to use various filters, sort option and keyword searches. All lists include a net total at the bottom.
Why can’t everyone see all Purchase Orders? There are some missing.
The administrator might have restricted the visibility of certain Purchase Orders for your user account. That’s why you might see only your own POs or the ones from your own department. In other cases you might have chosen the wrong filter, where your PO is not reflected.
Can I save or print all my Purchase Orders?
Yes, select the Purchase Order you want to print and select the “open as PDF” button on the right side of the Purchase Order box. Once you see the PDF, you can save and print the Purchase Order. You are also able to print many POs in a batch print.
Can I change the company logo on the PDF report?
Yes, please email us to support@digitalpurchaseorder.com for further details?
Approve POs
I don’t see any Purchase Orders to approve!
There are two possibilities. Either there are no Purchase Orders for you to approve right now, or you don’t have any approval rights.Please contact your project administrator if this is not correct. Please keep in mind that the approval list is customized to you like a to-do-list. You will only see Purchase Orders in there, when you are next in line for approving. Otherwise the list will look empty.
The purchasing software asks me to enter an account number. What is that?
The project administrator chose you to allocate Purchase Orders to certain account numbers. If you don’t know what that means, please contact your project administrator.
I have approved or declined a Purchase Order. Can I change my mind?
Unfortunately not.
Do I need to write a comment while approving?
No, this field is not mandatory. However sometimes your comment might be helpful for the colleagues approving after you. All comments will be shown in a separate email and not directly on the PDF document itself.
How many people can approve a Purchase Order?
There is no limit. You can setup as many approval levels as you want in the purchasing software. For further information please check our admin section video tutorials.
What happens after the final approval?
After the Purchase Order has it’s final approved, the purchasing software will email the final PDF document to all members of the approval chain. You can also activate an automatic notification for the supplier.
Admin Settings
Where can I edit the admin settings?
Go to the drop down field next to your email address on the top right of your screen and select “Administration”.
Why can’t I change the PO book duration?
The PO book duration depends on the license that you or the administrator has chosen. If you want to extend the PO book duration of the purchasing software, please contact your project administrator or click on the extension button in the admin section / project information tab.
Why do I have to enter the invoice address in the admin section?
Your invoice address will be printed on the final approved Purchase Order, which might be sent to a supplier. This supplier will need your invoice address to create an accurate invoice.
Can I work with various currencies?
Yes, you can work with multiple currencies in the purchasing software. You can either create a custom currency exchange rate or leave that field blank. In this case DPO will take the currency’s latest exchange rate.
What is an Expenditure Type?
For example “Rent” or “Purchase” or “Fee”.
What are Approval Levels?
Approval Levels represent the number of approvals for each Purchase Order. There can be only one approval for each level. The assignment of approving users to each level can be made in the users section.
Can I assign more than one person to the same approval level?
Yes, but only one person can make an approval for each level. Only the fastest user can execute the approval right, the other assigned users will lose their approval right at that moment. There is one exception if you choose “Approval by department only”. (see FAQ "What means Approval by department only?")
What means Approval by department only?
Normally, only one person can approve for a certain level in the purchasing software. However, if you work with different departments you might want that each department gets its own approval by their department representatives, even though all that happens on the same approval level. In that case, choose the option “approval by department only”. In this instance, many head of departments can approve only their own department. For more help please review the our video tutorial or contact the support.
Can I delete an approval level once the PO book is running?
Yes, but first make sure no user is assigned to that approval level.
What happens with all pending P.O.’s if I delete the last approval level?
If the pending Purchase Orders have received all approvals except the last level, they will automatically switch to final approval once you delete the last approval level.
What is a User and what is an Administrator?
An Administrator can edit the administration section of the purchasing software, the User cannot.
Can I choose more than one administrator?
Yes!
Can I delete a user while a project is running?
Yes. If this user has approval rights, make sure you install a new user for that approval level first, and then delete the other user.
What happens with the Purchase Orders of a User who I want to delete?
The status of Purchase Orders won’t change, just the user becomes inactive.
What means ‘Visibility of Purchase Orders’?
You can decide whether the user is allowed to see all Purchase Orders, just their own, or the ones from the department he or she belongs to.
Can more than one user enter an account number?
Yes!
Can the administrator change wrong supplier information?
Yes, any time. Even if certain Purchase Orders might have already received their final approval.
I cannot delete a user, why?
First remove the user from the approval chain. Then you can delete the user.
What means ‘Visibility of Purchase Orders’?
You can decide whether the user is allowed to see all Purchase Orders, just their own, no POs or the ones from the own department.
Can the administrator change wrong supplier information?
Yes, any time through the supplier tab. Even if certain Purchase Orders might have already received their final approval.
More Questions?
Schedule a live demo with one of our sales representatives today.