Purchase orders (committed)
Purchase orders represent committed spend: money that has been allocated but not yet invoiced. This way you see the true budget utilization before the invoice arrives.
Recording a purchase order
Under Purchase orders you create an entry with budget (cost center × category), order date, amount and description — optionally with supplier and contract. The amount debits the budget cell immediately as committed and flows into indicators, utilization and forecast.
Approval (optional)
If your administrator has configured an approval requirement, purchase orders from the defined amount threshold first need approval by an administrator or controller. Until then the order shows Awaiting approval, does not yet bind budget as committed spend and cannot be marked as paid. Rejected orders remain visible for traceability.
Lifecycle
- Open — the order binds budget as committed spend.
- Mark as paid — one click creates the actual booking (amount adjustable if the invoice differs) and closes the commitment.
- Alternatively: Close if the order falls through — the budget is freed again. Closed by mistake? Reopen restores the commitment.
Why maintain committed spend?
Without it a budget looks healthy while orders worth thousands are in flight — the December surprise is inevitable. With committed spend the forecast tells the truth.
Analysis
Purchase orders appear in the budget matrix (committed column), on the dashboard (committed KPI) and in reports. The CSV export contains all orders with their status.