Creating purchase orders from the estimate

FullClarity provides a streamlined workflow for creating purchase orders directly from your cost estimate. Rather than manually creating a Purchase Order in NetSuite and populating all the project and estimate fields by hand, you can right-click on an estimate line, select a vendor, and create a PO with all the relevant fields pre-populated automatically.

The workflow has three steps:

1. Select Create Order from the estimate worksheet context menu
2. Choose a vendor in the Select Vendor dialog
3. Review and create the purchase order on the Create Purchase Order page

When to use this

Use this when you're ready to order materials or engage a subcontractor for a specific line in your estimate. It's most useful when you want to tie the purchase order directly back to an estimate line, track remaining quantities, and avoid manual data entry on the PO.

Prerequisites

• An estimate with at least one item line (lines that have an item assigned — not just category rows)
• The Estimate Worksheet open in your browser
• The vendor exists in NetSuite, or you're prepared to create the vendor relationship from within the workflow

Walkthrough

Step 1: Initiate from the estimate worksheet

Open your cost estimate worksheet and right-click on any item line (a line that contains an item — not a category subtotal line). From the context menu, select Create Order.

Step 2: Select a vendor

The Select Vendor dialog opens, showing the item name and item type at the top.

Existing vendor relationships

If the item already has vendors linked to it in NetSuite, they appear in the Vendor Price table at the bottom of the dialog. The table shows each vendor's rate and whether they are the preferred vendor. Click Select next to the vendor you want to order from.

Adding a new vendor

If the vendor you need is not listed, you can add them using the Create Vendor Relationship section:

1. In the Select Vendor field, type the vendor name and press Tab to search
2. Optionally enter a Vendor Code and Vendor Cost
3. Click Create Relationship

This adds the vendor to the item record in NetSuite. The Vendor Price table refreshes to include the new vendor. You can then click Select to proceed.

Step 3: Create the purchase order

After selecting a vendor, a new page opens: Create Purchase Order. This page shows all the estimate lines where the selected vendor supplies the item — not just the single line you right-clicked on.

Header fields

Fill in the purchase order details at the top of the page:

• Purchase Order Form — the NetSuite form template to use for the PO
• Contact Person — select a contact for the vendor
• Address — select from the vendor's addresses
• Delivery Address — enter a delivery address
• Delivery Date — when items are expected
• Additional Message to Vendor — any notes to include on the PO

The Project, Subsidiary, and Vendor fields are pre-populated and cannot be changed.

The Summary panel shows the running total of selected items.

Filters

Use the Category and Stage dropdowns to filter the items list if you have many lines to work through.

Items tab

This tab lists every estimate line where the selected vendor is linked to the item. Each line shows:

• Category and Stage from the estimate
• Item and Description from the estimate
• Estimate QTY and Estimate Rate — original values from the estimate
• Remaining QTY — how many units are still available to order (decreases as you raise POs against this estimate line)
• Purchase QTY — defaults to the Remaining QTY; edit to order a different quantity
• Purchase Rate — the rate for this purchase; edit if the vendor's price differs from the estimate
• Amount — line total

Check the Select box on each line you want to include on the PO. Use Mark All or Unmark All for bulk selection.

Additional Items tab

If you need to order items that are not on the cost estimate, use the Additional Items tab. Select an item from the dropdown, and the description and rate (if available) auto-populate. Enter the quantity and amount, then click Add.

Creating the PO

When you're satisfied with your selections, click Create. FullClarity creates a standard NetSuite Purchase Order with all the project, estimate, and FullClarity fields automatically populated on each line. This may take a moment for large orders.

Once complete, the new Purchase Order opens in NetSuite where you can review, approve, and process it through your normal workflow.

What gets auto-populated on the purchase order

FullClarity automatically sets the following fields on each PO line, saving you from manual entry:

• Project (Customer:Job / FC Project)
• Cost category, cost type, and stage from the estimate
• Estimate Item Line Ref — links the PO line back to the specific estimate line
• WP Location — if set on the estimate
• Asset Type — if set on the estimate
• Retainage % and Amount — if retention is configured for the vendor
• Expected Receipt Date — from the Delivery Date you entered

What success looks like

A new Purchase Order appears in NetSuite with all project and estimate fields pre-populated. The Remaining QTY on the estimate lines you included decreases to reflect the quantities ordered. You can track commitments against your estimate from the Budget worksheet.

Gotchas

• Create Order only appears on item lines. Right-clicking a category subtotal row will not show this option. You must right-click a row that has an item assigned.
• Remaining QTY decreases with each PO. If you over-order or need to cancel a PO, the Remaining QTY does not automatically restore — check your PO history if quantities look wrong.
• Large orders may take a moment. The Create button creates all PO lines in one operation; don't click it twice.

Related topics

• Managing cost centres